Starters next year?

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golfinggopher

golfinggopher

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What is everyone's guess? Does Nolen keep his spot after his obvious lackluster play lately?
Do any newcomers crack the lineup? My guess is that Trevor Mbakwe (JC) starts for either Iverson or Sampson. The only real lock that I see is DJ for his intangibles on the court that Tubby obviously loves..... However, that leaves Royce White out of the starting lineup and I think he could be the "go to" scorer we need in the half court.

It will be quite interesting to see the starting lineup next year and I think it will be real tough for Tubby to keep all the egos in check. A lot of guys will feel they deserve to start and while I think that is a good thing, some of the guys are really going to have to accept a lesser role. As of right now, I don't see Hoffarber playing much @ all. Here is my guess for next years lineup by the time the BT season starts....

PG=Al Nolen
SG=Royce White (can he play there??)
SF=Damian Johnson
PF=Trevor Mbakwe
C=Ralph Sampson III
 

White can't play SG, unfortunately. My guess, at this point, would be that Tubby starts off with Nolen, Westbrook, DJ, Mbakwe, and Sampson, and by the end of the year, the lineup is Nolen, Devoe, DJ, Royce and Sampson. Royce is going to be starting by the end of the year, in my opinion. We need somebody who's not afraid to call his own number.
 

I look forward to 2010 when we will have more stability going in. the talent upgrade should be complete next year but we still face the difficult task of integrating many components. It will be very interesting.
 

I think the likely starting lineup at the begining of the year is Nolen, Westbrook, DJ, Mbakwe, and Sampson. It all depends on how Iverson progresses in the off season. If he can learn to be a little more aggressive and hang on to the ball, he could be starting in place of Mbakwe to start the season (same lineup as right now). I think it'll take White a little bit of the season to break into the starting lineup. We are fairly talent laden at the forward positions (at least on paper) and he's the newest/youngest of the group.
Having Cobbs coming in at backup PG will hopefully let us get Devoe more minutes at SG to quicken up that position as the season prgresses. Not sure if he'd start in place of Westbrook, but you never know.
 

I think we overlook that Tubby still sees Ralphy as a PF/C. he'll use him how it makes sense, but in his ideal world iverson locks down the Center position. I think that makes the gophers the best team. We haven't seen it in games yet but Ralph is suppose to be a good shooter and he has speed agility and really good ball handling skills for a big dude. He's alright in the post but he'd be much better along side a strong post player.

Right about Cobbs, he frees Devoe.

All in all, we'll have a very nicely rounded team next year, just much to figure out.
 


Once Upon a Time......

I had a chat with a legendary high school coach. I had just watched his two junior forwards go for about 22 apiece, and his heady junior point guard control the ball when the game got tight in the end. After the game I said to him......"You're going to have a nice team next year." He looked at me with the wisdom of his 25 plus years on the bench and said, "If they get better."

What I'm trying to say here is, just because we'll be a year older next year, doesn't mean we're automatically better. Our backcourt, which looked to be OK after last year, is a question now. Cobbs is the only new player coming in, and he will be a freshman, given to freshman mistakes.

I believe now our front court is loaded. Iverson is your center, but Ralph can play there....and with Johnson, Carter, White, and Trevor the beast, there is not enough playing time to go around.

The guards are another question. Let's hope they prepare well and "get better."
 


Rodney Williams has too much talent not even to deserve one mention.
 

Streaky as he is, Westbrook is our leading scorer. He will get plenty of minutes next year as a senior.
 




Based on what I have seen (including videos), heard and read in that order:

for the Big Ten Tournament

PG Bryant Allen or Justin Cobbs
SG Devoe Joseph
SF Royce White
PF Trevor Mbakwe
C RSIII

6th man DJ
 

Plinnius said:
What talents does Rodney Williams possess aside from being an outstanding athelete?
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I've watched Rodney Williams play this year and I can't remember watching a basketball prospect with his raw athletic ability in this state, maybe Sam Jacobson. He has a presence on the court like Michael Floyd did on the football field. He plays a lot at the 4 and will be a wing in college, so that might be an adjustment. He's got a funky stroke to his shot that reminds me of Terrance Simmons, but they seem to go in at a decent rate.

Royce is a sure thing and possibly the best player on day one, I think Williams will be a nice player but he might be a 5-15 minutes a game player as a frosh.
 

C-Sampson
F-DJ
F-White
G-Joseph
G-Nolen
Iverson, Mbwake, Rodney White should have big roles off the bench. I'd like to see Tubby settle on an 8 player rotation. Westbrook, Hoffarber, Busch, and Carter are role players on a top 20 team and I hope that is where we are next year.
 



Forgetting about pedigree and judging strictly from what we're seeing on the court the last few games, Travis Busch should be starting. Whoever starts next year should legitimately have to beat Busch out.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
F are Royce and Mbakwe. C is Sampson. G are Joseph and Nolen.
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I tend to agree with FOT on this one in terms of starting lineup. Mbakwe will come in and be a starter from basically day one. He's just too good of a rebounder and a presence in the paint to not get a lot of playing time.

I think Royce will eventually become a go-to scorer sometime during the season. How long that takes to happen, I'm not sure. Rodney Williams will play a lot as well because, quite frankly, he'll be our best pure athlete, has long arms, is quick on defense and explodes to the rim unlike any player we've had in a really long time (or maybe, ever).

All of this will help open things up for Sampson (who will be better next year) and for Joseph, who is already a good outside shooter and will benefit from not having to handle the point as much with both Nolen and Cobbs in the fold.

The guys that are on notice in terms of having to improve??: Hoff, Westbrook, Iverson, and Bostick.

Returners that will still see some time: DJ, Carter, Iverson and Westbrook (although, the stupid stuff will have to subside at some point). Hoff might also factor in somewhere, but he also needs to get a grip and improve.
 

I think we'll see a very different starting lineup at the end of next year than the beginning. IMHO much will have to do with Iverson's development. Initally up to B10:

Nolen
Canada
DJ
Ralphy
Iverson

There is no way in hell a freshmen takes a seniors spot unless it becomes painfully obvious on the court in games that it needs to be that way. So the freshmen regarless of hype, sit for at least half the year during tip.

The key here, is that i don't think Iverson gets much more than 20 minutes, which means in the end ralphy gets most of his minutes in the post. Mbwake ends up with 20-25 minutes at PF either way, but starting Iverson continues his development which will pay off huge.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Forgetting about pedigree and judging strictly from what we're seeing on the court the last few games, Travis Busch should be starting. Whoever starts next year should legitimately have to beat Busch out.
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I like the energy Busch brings to the table, but realistically, he'll get minutes simply because he kills himself every time he's out there. That's why he plays as much as he does right now. He's not very skilled or athletic, but gets good results because of his energy level.

Next year, it will be even tougher for him because the four guys we're bringing in are all more athletic and bring more upside to the table. However, if he continues to work as hard as he has to this point, he'll probably get between 5-10 minutes of floor time a game next year...
 

Disagree about not being skilled. He's about the only dude that hit a 3-point field goal against the Illini, and he's got enough skill that he's the only player I trust to consistently finish inside, especially in traffic. An uncoordinated doofus can't do those things.
 

He's either a SG brain in a thick body, or a very talented post guy in a little body. It's just an unfortunate mix. But I agree he is talented. He's too slow on the perimiter and too short in the post. Whatta ya do.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Disagree about not being skilled. He's about the only dude that hit a 3-point field goal against the Illini, and he's got enough skill that he's the only player I trust to consistently finish inside, especially in traffic. An uncoordinated doofus can't do those things.
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I didn't call him a doofus or uncoordinated. Simply that he isn't as talented as the other guys that are coming in, so I have a hard time seeing him start since he isn't even doing that this year. Yeah, I could see him starting the last two games because to be perfectly honest, I think he's earned it.

But I don't see him as being penciled in as the starter come preseason practice next year. If we have the type of team we all want, he'll qualify as a role player. A very good role player perhaps, but a role player nonetheless.
 

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