Coleman Reaches Milestone In Another Rout

Senior Dan Coleman, the recipient of some criticism from the Minnesota blogosphere in the first few weeks of the season, put up 22 points and 11 rebounds Saturday night as he led the Gophers to their first 90-point plus output for two years.

Coleman's 22 points allowed him to become the 34th Golden Gopher to surpass the 1,000 point total for his career. Congratulations, Dan.

For all the jabs we online pundits have thrown Coleman's way, he still leads the team in scoring with 12.1 per contest. Last week I suggested that Coleman was struggling to adapt to a new system. No longer was it considered OK for him to spot up outside the three point line and fire away. Now, he is being relied upon to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. As Tubby Smith said in the post game press conference, good things happen when his team aggressively attacks the basket.

In this Minnesota Daily article, Coleman talks about learning that new system. He said: "I feel like I'm starting to settle in a little bit. Learning the new system hasn't been the most natural transition for me."

While we should applaud Coleman's accomplishment, that doesn't mean he can't still take a step or two forward--especially if he has professional basketball aspirations. In the post game press conference--which I was able to watch online at GopherSports.com, as a paying member--Tubby Smith still suggested that Coleman can do a better job of taking the ball to the rim. Tubby said Coleman sometimes still feels more comfortable finding a spot on the perimiter.

It was in that answer that I realized Tubby is trying to completely change the way Coleman plays basketball. If Coleman can score inside, his outside game will only become that more dominant.

But Coleman wasn't the only bright spot in the Gophers' 91-74 win over Colorodo State. The game wasn't as close as even the final score might indicate. Blake Hoffarber came off the bench again and lit up the scoreboard. In 22 minutes, Hoffarber put up 21 points, including 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. Joining Coleman and Hoffarber with double digits were Spencer Tollackson (16), Al Nolen (11) an Damian Johnson (10).

One of the concerns we had heading into the season was scoring depth. With Hoffarber's ascension and the soli role play of Johnson and steady point guard play of Nolen, the Gophers can at least say they have four offensive players (Coleman, Tollackson, Hoffarber and Lawrence McKenzie) and myriad role players.

Quite the difference a year--and a Hall of Fame coach--makes.