Gophers Loss To MSU Came With Built-In Excuse

Most Minnesota fans were positive when the Gophers went into East Lansing and fought hard before eventually losing. After the loss at home to Indiana, I was upbeat about the Gophers' chances moving forward. But the most recent loss at Williams Arena--if you listened to post-game remarks--came in part because a freshman point guard wasn't able to suit up and play.

Make no mistake, not having Al Nolen in the lineup Sunday afternoon during the 78-73 loss to the Spartans hurt Minnesota. But, in my mind, the Gophers played like a team all afternoon that was ready to level that as an excuse after the final buzzer sounded. Woe was the Gophers.

Without a relatively unheralded freshman to manage the game, the Gophers put up less of a fight then they had in previous games at Michigan State and Penn State and against the Hoosiers in the Barn. The Star Tribune's Jim Souhan picked up on this theme in his column Monday morning.

Nolen is a fine young player, but by the end of the news conferences Sunday, you would have sworn he was the next Michael Jordan.

That's hardly the case. Even without Nolen, the Gophers had plenty of opportunities to make point-blank baskets. Too often, though, when they needed a basket they came down the court and saw only underclassmen such as Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber moving without the ball as if they actually wanted it.

For those of you not able to watch Sunday's game, it was as if the Gophers forgot the importance of taking care of the basketball. Lawrence Westbrook turned the ball over five times alone, and while the Gophers squeaked out an edge in the turnover department, as they have all season, it wasn't enough to overcome MSU's advantage in virtually every other area. The Spartans took higher percentage shots, out rebounded the Gophers and went to the free throw line 13 more times than our maroon and gold.

Goran Suton had 13 rebounds to lead the Spartans. The Gophers were led by Damian Johnson and Spencer Tollackson with six apiece. In 32 minutes, Dan Coleman, a two-guard disguised as a post player, grabbed just three rebounds. In many cases rebounding is about position, hustle and desire. When Suton was able to bring in his own rebound off of a free throw miss, we knew something was wrong Sunday afternoon.

While the Gophers pointed to the absence of a freshman, the team's seniors went into hiding in some cavernous corner of The Barn.

*** Spencer Tollackson chucked up two three pointers and was routinely tossed around in the post by Suton, Drew Naymick and Raymar Morgan.

*** Coleman shot 4-13, and his misses were of the ugly variety. For whatever reason, Coleman has found a middle ground between settling for jumpers and taking it to the basket. Now, Coleman is driving to the basket. But when a defensive player bothers to play some defense, Coleman stops, pivots and fades. Or, in other cases, he launches strange-looking runners from the middle of the lane. In Tubby Smith's post game presser he said, "We have to learn to create offense. We have guys who can score but we have to attack the rim and get a foul instead of avoiding contact." That had to be a reference to Coleman.

Even on a layup (dunk!?!?) Coleman shies away from the rim Sunday

*** It would be easy to praise McKenzie for scoring a team-high 20 points, all in the second half. But the transfer from Oklahoma did nothing in the first half when the Gophers had a chance to put a real scare into the Spartans. We need 40 strong minutes from McKenzie, not 29 minutes of up-and-down play. I have tended to look beyond McKenzie's streaky play this year because Tubby Smith has him playing point guard for lengthy stretches, a position LMac is not accustomed to. But he proved Sunday he can score in bunches, and that has to make one wonder where his scoring has been prior to the second half Sunday. Is it his injured hand? Is he trying to find a balance between being a scoring guard and a distributor? Whatever the case may be, McKenzie needs to be consistent for this group to win big games. And he hasn't been.

Each of the three seniors are likeable ball players and individuals, but at times Sunday the team played in a way that made one wonder if they had the perfect scapegoat in mind: Al Nolen's thigh. It's at times like these when Coleman, Tollackson and McKenzie need to carry this basketball team. They weren't up to the task Sunday.

Injury Update: Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press wins Gophers Beat Reporter of the Day Award from PJS for providing a smidgen of information on Nolen's injury. At least three days after the injury occurred, Fuller tells us that Nolen "is day to day with a thigh bruise injury. He was injured in practice last Saturday after getting a knee in the thigh." Nolen will be reevaluated on Thursday, according to Fuller, to determine his availability for the game next weekend at Ohio State. Judging by the track record of our beat reporters, that means we'll likely find out sometime during the telecast from Columbus whether or not Nolen will be ready to play again.

Fantastic Reporting Update: For those following Myron Medcalf, well, the STrib's fearless beat reporter decided to make an excuse for not reporting the Nolen injury prior to yesterday's game instead of actually telling us how bad the injury might be. "Nolen's absence, caused when he was kneed in his right leg at practice Saturday -- unbeknownst to most outside of the team. ..." Yes, Myron, that's why it's called reporting. It sounds crazy, but sometimes sources don't go and call reporters every time news breaks. Sometimes, I know it's insane, sources want to keep information from reporters. Unbeknownst? Were you hoping for a press release, Myron?

Local Papers Still Ignoring Tubby's Gophers

In what seems like a lifetime ago, I wrote about the lack of mainstream media coverage in the Twin Cities that is dedicated to big-time college athletics.

The fact is the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press cater to larger audiences than your typical college-town newspaper. Ann Arbor, Evanston and Columbus, for example, aren't home to multiple professional sports franchises. So, the editors at the PiPress and STrib have to make more difficult choices. Unfortunately for those of us who bleed maroon and gold, oftentimes its the student athlete who is left out. And since the papers feel some pressure to lend at least some coverage to each amateur sport, even less print space is given to the team's most of us follow: men's hockey, football and basketball.

And don't think that this isn't noticed around the country. Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News picked up on this over the long weekend:

"Here's how Tubby Smith's life has changed: Sunday night, his new team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, went on the road to UNLV and got crushed, 81-64. It was the second loss for the Gophers, who were down 14 at the half and never really made it a game. And in this morning's Minneapolis Star-Tribune, you had to turn all the way to Page C12 to find the account of that game. You're not in Kentucky anymore, Coach."

The reluctance to provide consistent, insightful coverage of U of M athletics is a broader problem than just the placement of one story. Check out the STrib's Gopher Gold blog. Unless you are an avid Gophers hockey fan, there hasn't been much there for you in quite some time. Kudos to Roman Augstoviz for keeping the hockey coverage fresh, but where is the inside information on the men's basketball team?

Story ideas shouldn't be hard to come by. How are Tubby's Gophers going to counter team's in the future with top-notch back courts? What else ... Tubby's mention of replacing Williams Arena sparked considerable Internet discussion. That could be a very good story. Could Spencer Tollackson's troubles deserve some exploring? Why did Travis Busch get PT during the first half of the UNLV game? Who was Tubby upset with? Is the starting lineup set, or are changes on the way now that the Big Ten season is going to begin? Or, if you want to get all smart on us, how about a look at the finances of the athletic department, which finished in the red for the year.

Marcus Fuller at the PiPress has done a little better job than his competitor, Myron Medcalf, at the Star Tribune. But Fuller is at a decided disadvantage, as the PiPress apparently has him covering every Gophers sport, whereas the STrib reporters have a more manageable beat. The two papers shouldn't have excuses for the rest of the men's basketball season. The Vikings' season is over. The Johan Santana sweepstakes have died down. Nine people follow the Timberwolves. That leaves coverage of the Wild and Gophers until April when baseball begins anew.

So, hopefully the two papers step up the reporting on the Gophers men's basketball team (and the women too for that matter). If not, more and more people will turn to the message boards and the blogs for insight and information (which is one reason why newspapers are dying). And I guess that means I'll be happy either way.

Bryce Webster Says So Long To Minnesota

A week or so ago I posted about the mysteries surrounding Bryce Webster's rumored decision to leave the Minnesota basketball team. Now it's official according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press piece linked to above, like all the reporting on Webster's departure, is completely lacking of any insight into why he decided to leave. The AP suggests he was overmatched in the Big Ten: "Webster often looked overmatched against Big Ten competition. He appeared in 28 games last season, starting seven ties on a 9-22 team, and averaged 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.3 minutes per game."

Minnesota blogger Down with Goldy also suggests Webster was slightly overmatched.

I won't go that far, considering he was a true freshman last year playing limited minutes.

But I would like to reiterate what I said in my previous Bryce Webster post. The reporting on this situation has been embarrassing. Rumors have circulated on message boards that pointed to various factors contributing to Webster's departure. But no solid reason has ever been given. The rumors made Webster so umcomfortable he apparently contacted the message board to put some rumors to rest.

In any real college basketball town, the reporters would be fighting over this story no matter the real reason Webster decided to leave. If a sophomore leaves Billy Gillespie's team at Kentucky, I'd wager just about anything that the papers across the state would get to the bottom of the situation.

It was previously reported that he wanted to step away from the team--not transfer--because of academics and family issues. A transfer smacks of something more than a desire to hit the books and "family issues."

Did he feel outmatched? Did he want to concentrate on academics? Does he want to travel to Cali to play for Dan Monson? Is he not a Tubby Smith type of player? Does Tubby have plans that don't include him?

Or, does he want to transfer to Normandale Community College to be closer to his girlfriend? That might sound silly, but no one has reported any solid reason. Hopefully the Star Tribune andPioneer Press will pick up the slack.

UPDATE: Our two local periodicals continue to tell us next to nothing. Here's the Star Tribune's nothingness. The Pioneer Press at least tried, with this article by Marcus Fuller. The reporter quoted Webster's coach from his days with Howard Pulley as saying Webster didn't like the social aspect. But it's not clear if he meant that concerning his Gophers teammates. It was also reported he could be off to Harvard to play for Tommy Amaker.

Oh, and by the way, Charley Walters, in this series of blurbs published Friday, is still citing his famous birdies. Can someone tell Mr. Walters that once a press release is out about the situation, one need not cite unidentified sources to get out the same material? Sheesh. Correction: I read Walters' blurb wrong. He was citing a birdie that indicated Webster might head to Harvard. My bad. I still see no need for a 'birdie,' considering Fuller cited a source and reported the same thing. But I hereby take back the "Sheesh."

Whatever the real reason, I wish Webster well. If he's off to Harvard, I say congratulations.

The Bryce Webster Mystery

As many Gopher fans know, sophomore power forward Bryce Webster apparently plans to leave Tubby Smith's maroon and gold. Unfortunately, there has been more rumor and innuendo than actual substance to report on the mysterious decision by Webster.

I've hesitated to discuss the scuttlebutt in the local papers that the Minnesota forward is planning to leave the team. The GopherHole served as a home to considerable gossip about the cause for the Webster's departure, eventually forcing the sophomore to contact the message board putting some rumors to rest.

But this week the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman and Pioneer Press' Charley Walters weighed in again. Walters wrote that Tubby Smith indicated publicly for the first time that Webster would not be back this upcoming season. Hartman cited anonymous friends of Webster's who indicated it is unlikely the former 3-star Rivals forward will be back next season. Both of the columnists reported Tubby would talk with Webster again soon to try and convince him to stay.

There has been an incredible lack of reporting on this situation, which has lasted now for more than a month. Sid Hartman and Charley Walters, for non-Minnesota readers, are columnists who print more rumor than fact. I'm not doubting the information they've provided here, but this is a situation where the sports editors at the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune ought to realize their readers want facts, or as I like to say, the closest possible version of the truth. Both newspapers have let us down.

Webster, according to Hartman was the 2006 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. Rivals indicates that he had offers from Marquette and Boston College. He started seven games as a true freshman last season under Dan Monson, averging 9.3 minutes in 28 games. He is certainly a player that has/had the potential to blossom into a quality Big Ten power forward.

The best information about Webster comes from the aforementioned email he apparently sent to the GopherHole. He apparently indicated that his decision to leave the team centered around academics and family issues. I'll take him at his word, but because other rumors floated around, it might be a good idea for the local rags to have their beat reporters ask a few questions and put any and all rumors to rest once and for all.

Covering University Of Minnesota Sports

The announcement at the Gopher Hole that the STrib's longtime Gophers basketball beat writer Jeff Shelman is moving on to another endeavor gives me the opportunity to talk about the coverage our two local periodicals lend big-time sports at the U.

To be kind--and this isn't an attack on Shelman, who I've enjoyed reading for a long time--I've felt Gophers sports coverage has been lacking.

The Star Tribune and Pioneer Press sports staffs have daunting tasks. On any given day they have to deal with the Vikings, Twins, T'Wolves, Wild, Saints, Gophers football, basketball, baseball, hockey, men's and women's this and that, other small colleges, high school sports that demand coverage and an expanding AAU scene. Getting everything in a tightening news hole is a daunting challenge. Ad revenue is declining. Papers are being run these days by corporations interested only in the bottom line, not in providing a service.

As someone who works in print journalism, I try to understand the choices our periodicals make. But as the Star Tribune endures a hefty reshuffling, I hope they will take the time to make more choices in sports coverage.

The odd man out usually has been Gophers football and basketball. The papers will jump on the bandwagon, as they did with Janelle McCarville and Lindsey Whalen a few years ago, and Bobby Jackson and Sam Jacobsen in the late 90's. But day-to-day coverage of even men's basketball and football is sparse. On most days, the only printed items on major U of M sports comes from Charley Walters and Sid Hartman.

And don't think that college coaches from cities like East Lansing, Ann Arbor, South Bend and Columbus don't see this as an advantage. In those towns, the college athlete is the star. The college athlete is the toast of the town, not the NHL or NBA multi-millionaire. Now, there is nothing the STrib and PiPress can do to change that. They must cover the Vikings, Twins, Wild and T'Wolves. But, in my opinion, they need to cover those sports more efficiently and lend more space to big-time college sports. And because actual print space in the paper's hard copy is declining, the STrib and PiPress ought to do a better job providing information online.

Let's take the recent story by the STrib's Chip Scoggins on Brewster's football camp as an example. The article is essentially five paragraphs and tells us that Brewster is holding a camp, mentions four names who will be in attendance and adds a random quote talking about why camp is important. Scoggins wrote this story, it would seem, for a news hole. His editor probably told him he had 10 inches, or 400 words of space. Even if Scoggins had more information that diehards want, it wasn't included in the print or online editions. The Internet, these editors need to learn, is the future of newspapers. The online product shouldn't be dictated by hard copy space limitations.

Scoggins could have, had his editors asked, given us far more to digest online. Instead, the STrib loses readers to a pay service like Rivals, where many Gopher fans seeking information go--and pay these days--for the best recruiting information.

And then there is the choices the newspaper editors make. A quick look at the STrib's Gophers page--which includes links to additional Vikings information but not Gophers--illustrates my point. Today, as one scrolls down and looks through the online offerings, a reader gets far more coverage on non-revenue college sports than might be necessary. Stories on golf, baseball and track dominate the page.

While those sports deserve some coverage, and their seasons were winding down, the majority of readers don't go to the STrib for college golf or track coverage. And while it may anger those involved in the programs, for the good of the paper, and to appease the majority of its readership, I'd like to see the STrib and PiPress make better choices. And by that, I mean more men's basketball, football and hockey.

I'll miss Jeff Shelman's work as the Gophers men's hoops beat writer. But I hope his move to the STrib's metro section gives sports editors and the new beat writer a chance to review its coverage.

The lack of coverage is one of the reasons I started this Web site. At some point I might actually report here, instead of offering opinion, insight and the occassional gossip. I'm partially hoping that will never be necessary and our local periodicals step up to the task.

Why Is The Big Ten Network A Good Thing Again?

If you haven't read, the Big Ten Network is the best thing to happen to the Big Ten since Jim Wacker was forced out of Minnesota.

No, really, it's going to be great. Ask Marcus Fuller at the Pioneer Press. You'll realize once you read Fuller's article that very little time is actually spent spelling out what the Big Ten Network will be, and considerable time is spent perfecting the art of stenography.

Oh, the Big Ten Network will be good for recruiting you say Mr. Tubby Smith. Well, then, why not report that.

The Big Ten Network, scheduled to launch in August, plans to give more national television exposure to Big Ten Conference teams as well as expand regional coverage for regular-season and conference games. Smith talked at a news conference Tuesday about what kind of impact the new network would have on his program.

"I feel it gives us a lot to sell in the recruiting area when we go into homes and legitimately say that this is something no other conference has," he said. "Say there's a kid in Atlanta now or in California or wherever in the States. Families can see him play. Fans and relatives can see him play. That's going to be a critical piece when we go out there and sell Minnesota basketball."

That would all be great if it was 100 percent accurate. As it is now, Big Ten fans across the country, whether they are in SEC territory or out west, can see every game of every Big Ten team. Fuller doesn't explain this, but all games, it doesn't apppear, will not be available for every fan. Fuller does note, albeit briefly, that the Big Ten Network right now is only affiliated with DirecTV. Those of you on Comcast or some other cable provider--and this goes for Tubby's recruits in Atlanta and California as well--there's no guarantee you are going to get the Big Ten Network.

This isn't to say the Big Ten Network is going to be a Jim Wacker-like failure. The point is, with just a few months until the network launches, many questions are unanswered. It's up to reporters like Fuller to ask the important questions. Thankfully, the Big Ten Network, in it's trip around the conference, stopped in Detroit this week. Detroit Free Press blogger Mark Snyder picks up the slack.

His primary explanation -- that the giant cable companies have bigger issues than simply adding another sports channel -- makes sense. And his plan to place the BTN on a variety of platforms, including video on demand, broadband content as well as the standard television network, is a response to a changing digital world, which complicates the larger negotiations.

But there are other questions. When BTN President Mark Silverman did a Q&A with Hawkeyenation.com, he made a long-winded statement that leads me, and a Michigan University blogger wondering if people living outside of the Big Ten's markets will be able to see our teams--as we can now. It's long. Apologies.

Silverman: The Gameplan package as you mentioned will no longer have the Iowa games. The important thing to understand is that every Iowa home game, and we have no control over away games, the deal the Big Ten Network has incorporates only home games. The second key piece is that games will either be part of the ESPN/ABC family of networks or the BTN. The first three weeks are selected during the summer, then they are done in a six to twelve day advance window. As we go forward, every game played in Iowa City will be owned if you will by ESPN/ABC or the BTN. If that game is aired as a part of the BTN, what I am pledging we will do, is that we will have one BTN game of the week. In addition to those games, we will have a regionalization. Where we can put the Iowa game on in Iowa. If you are not in Iowa, and the game of the week is say, Ohio State-Northwestern, and that is on the BTN, what we are offering to Direct TV, Comcast, Time Warner, Mediacom and everyone, are all of these games. So the BTN primary feed will be the game of the week, but in addition to that, we are making these games available as a part of carrying the network. So the cable provider or satellite operator will have the chance to air all of the games. So there will be a crawl on the main saying if you want to view another game, go to this channel.

So, just for kicks, let's pretend that Minnesota and Illinois are kicking off at Noon on a Saturday at the same time that Wisconsin and Michigan are in the BTN Game of the Week. While BTN says it will have a crawl on the screen to alert viewers where to go, what is the liklihood that a cable provider in Oklahoma, Los Angeles or Virginia is going to carry all of these games? Those of us outside Big Ten Country would like to know: Will we be able to see our team every week?

And about those recruits Tubby speaks of. Are they going to be able to watch Minnesota v. Wisconsin hoops on a Saturday at The Barn if Michigan State v. Illinois is the game of the week?

My take on this may be off, and if so, someone give me a heads up. But with the reporting done on the network so far, there are a lot of unanswered questions.