Tollackson Update

Blogging continues to be sparse, but there is a good reason. I swear! Should have an announcement in the coming days/weeks that I think many of you will like.

Meantime, check out this article from the Chaska Herald that was sent in by a reader that updates everyone on the status of graduated center Spencer Tollackson. He's going to play pro ball in Europe. Good for him. He wasn't the greatest of centers to grace the Williams Arena floor talent-wise, but he played up to his potential, IMO, and gave us all he had.

Congratulations, Spencer.

Tubby Ball Year In Review Part 1

PJS Note: This is the first installment in a series looking back at the first season of Tubby ball.

The Departed Seniors

As we began the season, optimistic Minnesota fans looked to three seniors--Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie--as cause to justify arguing the Gophers could vastly improve on their 9-22 record from one season ago.

Winning 11 more games should be considered a vast improvement, but it's this scribe's belief that the departing seniors didn't have as much to do with the turnaround as we would have hoped. Sure, McKenzie, Coleman and Tollackson produced the lion share of Minnesota's offensive output on most nights. And there were stretches when McKenzie took over games. But, it is my belief that the turnaround had more to do with Tubby Smith's brand of defense then it did with this trio of seniors.

Here's a look at each of our dearly departed seniors.

Spencer Tollackson: Every one's favorite theater major did what he could. When on the court, he busted his ass, but his athletic limitations rendered him obsolete against most big men from decent teams. Tollackson finished the season averaging about 9 points and 3 rebounds per contest, as his numbers dwindled down the stretch with the Gophers playing mediocre to good Big Ten teams.

Expecting more from Tollackson was perhaps unfair. A 3-star recruit out of Chaska, Minn., Tollackson's athletic limitations never allowed him to be anything other than a decent Big Ten center. He wasn't athletic enough to be a force on the glass, and he perhaps wasn't willing to be physical enough to wear down slimmer, quicker big men. And finally, he wasn't deft enough around the basket--Jeff Hagen style--to be anything but an average big man in a BCS conference.

I'm not trying to knock Spencer, but instead look at him the way he should be seen: As a big man with a load of heart who perhaps exceeded his talent level by playing significant minutes for a Big Ten team.

Dan Coleman: No player infuriated Minnesota fans more this season than senior Dan Coleman. Blessed with a solid outside shot for a big man, a quick first step and the length scouts love, Coleman was unable to take the leadership role many Minnesota fans wanted. He would disappear for long stretches against top notch opponents. He would make freshman like mistakes--even as late as the conference tournament.

Maybe it was because Coleman had already graduated or the fact that he had a little guy to take care of. Part of it could also be our perception. While Tollackson wears his emotions on his face, Coleman appears without emotion.

Whatever the case was, Coleman could never take his game to another level. All season--from Florida State to Indiana and Illinois, when the games were on the line and the Gophers needed something from their most talented big man, more times, than not Coleman was absent. Of all of the three seniors, it's Coleman's final year that is highly disappointing.

Coleman also failed miserably to change his game from being outside-oriented to a more hybrid player. Tubby clearly wanted Coleman to use his quickness to take the ball to the basket and draw contact. Coleman's softness prevented any hope of diversifying his game. And because Coleman was so focused on being an interior player, it wasn't until very late in the year that he started shooting from the outside.

Lawrence McKenzie: I have to admit that I felt pretty bad for McKenzie as he watched his career end in the NIT against the Terps. Beset by an injury, McKenzie went out playing just one minute against the Terps. And I felt bad for McKenzie all season. Here's a guy who went to play for Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma, decided to transfer back home to play for Dan Monson, then played for Jim Molinari before Tubby Smith finally took over. That's quite the whirlwind college career.

With his offensive talent, it would have been something to see McKenzie play four years under someone like Smith, where he could get comfortable in an offense and know what is expected of him.

But thanks to circumstances beyond his control, McKenzie's role shifted often as a Gopher. Under Monson, McKenzie was asked to score. And score he did. To begin the 2007-08 season, McKenzie was asked to take on a different role. McKenzie was asked to play some point guard and distribute the ball. The strategy was clear early this season: Get the ball inside to Coleman and Tollackson. Once Tubby Smith learned he didn't have big men who could be difference makers on the interior, McKenzie was freed up to look for his shot more often.

The decision to play McKenzie at the point might not have been Tubby's first choice. But there weren't really any other options. Al Nolen wasn't ready to play point guard to start the season, and I'd suggest he's not ready to start at the point now. So, McKenzie, ever the soldier, accepted Tubby's orders. He didn't complain. He went on the court and played the role expected of him.

As the season progressed we saw the outbursts from McKenzie we expected every evening. He's probably not well suited to either playing point guard or being the number one perimeter option on a team. If McKenzie were surrounded by a play-making point guard, I'd expect his numbers to soar. Unfortunately McKenzie never had any back court help at Minnesota.

Conclusion: Overall, Minnesota's three seniors provided a scoring lift and some stability from last season. McKenzie and Tollackson played with a certain passion that surely rubbed off on players like Damian Johnson. But neither Coleman, Tollackson or McKenzie could put together consistently excellent play, or take their games to another level. And that's what was needed for the departing seniors to have led this team to an NCAA Tournament run.

New Look Gophers Go Into Hiding Against Wisky

The Gophers played their worst 40 minutes of the season Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena. There didn't seem to be any fire, desire or intensity. There was no fight in a Gophers team that gave away its last best chance to grab the proverbial "big win" they needed to solidfy an otherwise shaky resume.

Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers did all of the little things right--and when I say little, I mean like making entry passes to the right hand, etc--and embarrassed Tubby Smith's Gophers in front of a crowd that would have went nuts had the local lads just given them an opportunity. But no such opportunity emerged for the Barnyard to erupt. The Badgers jumped out to a quick 10 point cushion and really never looked back.

It was almost as if the Gophers didn't have any fight left. OTS said as much after the game. From Jim Souhan:

The latest failure prompted Smith to wonder how college seniors winding down their careers can fail to reach an emotional peak on such a day.

"I don't know how that can be," he said. "I don't know how your mind can not be there. You're playing Wisconsin, your archrival."

At home. "This one was probably worse than the last one," Smith said. "The last one [against Michigan State], we at least gave ourselves a chance. This one we didn't have a chance."

I appreciate the honesty from Smith. All season, he hasn't shied away from saying what is obvious to those of us who follow this team. You can't mince it: Senior 'leaders' Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie have all been highly disappointing. We all want them to be so much more. We want them to fight to win something during their senior year, but whether it's a lack of skill (Tollackson), consistency (McKenzie) or passion (Coleman), this group doesn't have it.

What's more unfortunate is that it appears this team is regressing. Tubby Smith is known as a bench coach and a teacher. Even those who wanted him out at UK give our coach that much. But other than Damian Johnson, not one Minnesota player seems to have improved either from last season or from the first tip of the year against Army. And during Big Ten season, as the team should perhaps be completely in sync, they are anything but. After fighting to the last whistle with Michigan State and Indiana, the Gophers have folded early in their last two big games: at Ohio State and Sunday against Wisconsin.

Those are troubling observations.

Some of this can be attributed to Tubby's decision to change directions. As the season began, Tubby went 10 or 11 players deep every night. Many of us cringed as Kevin Payton struggled, Jamal Abu-Shamala tried to play defense or Travis Busch tried to guard Raymar Morgan. So, Tubby shortened his bench, started effectively playing 6 or 7 guys. New roles. New expectations. Worse results.

Because of this we can, for the first time here at PJS, criticize Tubby Smith's leadership.

If Tubby didn't know that Payton, JAS and Busch were incapable of performing at the Big Ten level, then Tubby didn't do a very good job evaluating the talent on his team. Every Internet pontificator knew as much. Tubby either didn't see it or didn't care and instead worked to develop the aforementioned players.

But when things got tough, Tubby panicked. After an excusable, albeit disappointing, three game skid--against Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State--the Gophers came out against Michigan on Thursday a different team. Instead of playing full-court pressure defense and forcing turnovers, the Gophers played half-court pressure defense. With a much shorter rotation, Tubby couldn't apply full-court pressure. So, in a reactionary move to stabilize the talent level on the floor, Tubby effectively changed the DNA of this team.

In hindsight, it probably would have been best for the coaching staff to notice the lack of bench talent early on and get Coleman, McKenzie, Tollackson, Al Nolen, Damian Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook used to playing 30-40 minutes.

Either way, the Gophers probably don't have the talent to be much more than an NIT team this year. But if Tubby had handled this team a little differently over the last few months, perhaps the home crowd would have had at least one chance to rise to their feet in support of our lovely rodents.

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?

Well Worth The Trip: Tollackson Impresses Throughout In Comeback Win

The Golden Gophers of one year ago would have hung their collective heads. They would have sulked back to the bench during timeouts. And they certainly wouldn't have shown the backbone and intensity needed to comeback from 16 down, with 13 minutes to play, in a hostile environment no less.

That's exactly what the Gophers accomplished Saturday afternoon, as I watched from 7 rows back slightly adjacent to the basket nearest the Penn State bench. Sure, the Penn State Nittany Lions performed like a team that didn't know how to win. They were miserable at the free-throw line and seemed to relax after building a double-digit lead. They gave away the game as the Gophers took it, leaving State College with a 76-73 win.

Spencer Tollackson played like a man all afternoon. He was the interior presence the Gophers needed to beat an athletic, but short in stature team like Penn State. He finished with 19 points, including 5-5 from the free throw line, and five rebounds. Tollackson gets my game ball for playing a hard-fought 34 minutes--many of which he played while in foul trouble--of aggressive, hard-nosed basketball.

There are other superlatives to lend out. Tubby Smith out coached Ed DeChellis. Tubby ramped up the tempo when the Gophers fell behind big in the second half. The faster pace allowed the Gophers to extend the game by ensuring they had more possessions to make the comeback. Tubby also had to mix and match his lineup all afternoon because the Gophers committed an astonishing 28 fouls (more on this later). Tubby also did well to mix up his defenses down the stretch. And the fact that he started Damian Johnson over Jamal Abu-Shamala was a great sign. Johnson was one of two Gophers who were capable playing Geary Claxton one-on-one.

Perhaps most impressively was the play of freshmen Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber. Hoffarber made a handful of clutch threes in succession to bring the Gophers back at the Bryce Jordan Center. He finished with 19 points in 25 minutes--more time than two starters. We needed his offense Saturday and Tubby knew it and gave him a chance to bring the team back.

And then there was Nolen. The freshman point guard, again, was up-and-down Saturday. He made an insanely stupid behind-the-back pass while in the middle of a slew of traffic in the lane during the first half. While he racked up seven assists, his five turnovers were of the sloppy variety. But .... Nolen was the hero against the Nittany Lions. With under 10 seconds to play, after the Gophers had previously handed Penn State numerous chances to win the game, Nolen jumped a bad pass from Claxton on the perimeter and dribbled the length of the floor before he was fouled. An intentional was called and Nolen nailed 3-4 free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Earlier in the game, after the ill-advised behind the back pass, I was cursing Nolen from the stands. And at other times this year he has frustrated me. But like those other games, Nolen has tended to find a way to redeem himself. He's still playing up and down basketball, but the Gophers were at their best when he was on the floor.

With about 13 minutes left in the game, I looked at Miss PJS and said something like "Well, I'm glad we drove 2.5 hours for this." At the time, of course, the Gophers were on the verge of being run out of the BJC. Miss PJS said "They just have to give the ball all the time to Hoffarber." The Gophers did that, and with the help of Tubby, Tollackson, Nolen and others, the Gophers completed a great comeback.

Other notes from the Saturday win:

** Dan Coleman had another double-double Saturday with 10 points and 11 rebounds. But of the three Minnesota seniors, Coleman was the one who wilted down the stretch and reverted to some old Dan Monson ingrained habits. With under one minute to play, Penn State was at the line. As was the case all afternoon, the Nittany Lions missed. But this time, Coleman didn't box out. He didn't put his ass into Jamelle Cornley (I think, don't remember, it could have been Claxton) and the Nittany Lions came away with an offensive rebound. Coleman complained that he was pushed from behind, and he might have had a case, but as I stood just rows from the play, my reaction was Coleman didn't do all he could to secure the rebound. He didn't box out with energy.

While he was perfect from the free-throw line, Coleman again struggled offensively. But as has been his norm against more athletic competition, Coleman has faded away on his jumpers. And he didn't take the ball to the basket. The double-double was needed. And Coleman wasn't bad on Saturday, but he certainly wasn't leading either.

** All of the superlatives aside, the Gophers really should have lost this game. Penn State out rebounded the Gophers 38-25. And they went to the free throw line 36 times. Thankfully they shot just 47 percent from the charity stripe.

** The officiating crew of Sid Rodeheffer, Dan Chrisman and Dwayne Gladden should be ashamed. I realize that this crew's desire to call every single contact as a personal foul likely led to the Gophers winning, but fans of both teams had right to be upset with this crew all day. Big Ten basketball is known for relatively physical play. You couldn't so much as cough on your opponent Saturday without getting a whistle.

** Kevin Payton recorded some solid minutes during the second half comeback. He frustrated as usual in the first half with his inability to make crisp decisions on offense. But it's worth noting he totaled eight minutes Saturday. Lawrence Westbrook and Abu-Shamala had 12 and 1o minutes respectively.

** While A-S played sparingly down the stretch, he seemed to me to be the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines. He just wants to win and contribute where he can. That's laudable.

** Lawrence McKenzie was obviously frustrated with the officiating and he only recorded 21 minutes as a result. But, McKenzie came through down the stretch with a big-time three, even with his finger wrapped due to injury. And he was 5-8 from the floor for 12 points despite being hurt.

** Finally, on the Bryce Jordan Center. My reaction is blah. The atmosphere was very good. The Penn State crowd was into the game and that thoroughly impressed me. But the arena itself was a mini Target Center that lacked any semblence of originality. Beaver Stadium, Joe Paterno's home which sits adjacent to the BJC, is another story entirely.

UP Next: The tough stretch of Minnesota's schedule continues. This week Indiana and Michigan State come to The Barn--which better be rocking. After facing two ranked teams, the Gophers will travel to Ohio State to end a four game murders row. I completely concur with Gopher Nation, who wrote yesterday that his mantra during this next stretch is "steal one game." I'm thinking right now the Gophers could do better than that. Michigan State looked abysmal last night in a loss at Iowa.

The complete box score from Saturday's game is here.

Gophers Take Care Of Lowly Northwestern

The Gophers did what they were supposed to do Wednesday night. In fact, they did what they had to do. The Gophers' upcoming slog of a schedule has been well chronicled, making it all that much more important that they dispatched the lowly Northwestern Wildcats in relatively convincing fashion during Tubby Smith's debut at Williams Arena.

From my vantage point--recliner, beer, DirecTV--Spencer Tollackson led this team against the Wildcats. His interior passing was crisp, effective and even fancy. In 27 minutes, Tollackson scored 14 points on 5-for-6 from the field (a big improvement for him) and contributed in other areas (four rebounds, three steals and two assists--a number that could have been higher had the recipients of his good interior looks converted). Tollackson also completely impressed with his ability to get out on perimeter shooters while rotating on defense. The boy was hustling.

We can write his performance off if we want because the Wildcats have very little height and the Gophers had a clear inside advantage. Still, this was Tollackson's best, most active game of the season and it was good to see this senior lead the way.

Fellow senior Dan Coleman also had a nice game. But Coleman has done this to us before. He continues to excel against inferior opponents and struggle against average to very good teams. He finished with a great line (19 points, 14 rebounds). Until Coleman proves he can be a difference maker against the best teams in the conference, I'm not going to give him large ovations for dominating the Northwestern's and North Dakota State's of the world. He'll have a chance again this Saturday when the Gophers travel to meet Geary Claxton and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Against Northwestern, we saw the Gophers dominate in numerous aspects of the game. The Gophers forced the Wildcats into a season-high 19 turnovers. The Gophers won the war on the boards handily. Our pressure defense had an impact, and the Gophers' rotations on defense were very impressive.

Other thoughts on the Gophers' 82-63 win:

** Al Nolen is far and away the best defensive guard on the team. He impressed in the Michigan State game by frustrating Kalin Lucas. Against the Wildcats, Nolen worked in the second half to apply pressure at key times to cause turnovers that led to easy scores. He played 22 minutes Wednesday night (the most of any non starter) scoring 10 points with six assists to three turnovers. And according to the Gophers' PR folks, Nolen had three steals on the night and has had three or more steals in seven games this season. Nolen has 34 steals on the season, and seven in two Big Ten games. He's still slightly up-and-down, but the Gophers are at their best when he is on the floor causing havoc in the opponents' back court.

** There was some clamoring in the post below for Blake Hoffarber to replace Jamal Abu-Shamala in the starting lineup. Some also questioned the lack of second half minutes for the freshman of ESPY fame. It's easy to make the argument that he should start, or at the very least see an increase in minutes, when he shoots the lights out like he did in the first half. But I tend to like his offense coming off the bench. Last night's game is a prime example. The starters were a little flat coming out and NW jumped out to an early lead. Off the bench, Hoffarber provided the spark we needed. He's the go-to guy in the second group offensively. Put him with the starters to begin games and he'll get lost while we try to establish an inside presence or get Lawrence McKenzie going. More than anything else, I'd like to see Nolen replace Westbrook in the starting lineup.

** Kevin Payton played just four minutes, and honestly, I though they were fairly impressive four minutes. That said, it's good to see Tubby shortening his bench now that Big Ten play has begun. The BTN flashed an interesting statistic last night that indicated the 10 Gophers players had played in every game of the season. No other Big Ten team had more than eight players play in every contest. Similarly, Jon Williams only recorded seven minutes last night. Part of that was because Tollackson and Coleman were playing so well.

** Dan Coleman does deserve some recognition for becoming the 17th player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Congratulations, Dan.

** Lawrence McKenzie's new role as distributor continued against Northwestern. He scored fewer points (five) than he had assists (six). I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but like I've said before I'm not sure Tubby Smith has much of a choice. Someone other than Nolen needs to put together quality minutes at the point. Interestingly, McKenzie led the team in minutes with 31.

UP Next: The Gophers head to face Penn State (10-4, 2-0), a team that has kicked off the Big Ten season with road wins at Illinois and Northwestern. The game Saturday at 1 p.m. central time will be the Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener.

** This post was updated at 8:50 p.m. eastern time Thursday to accurately reflect the rebound total for Tollackson.

Tubby's Gophers Brought Down To Size

For the second time this season, the University of Minnesota men's basketball team faced an athletically-superior opponent. For the second time this season, the Gophers were virtually run out of that team's gym.

The first measuring-stick game came against the Seminoles of Florida State and ended with a 75-61 loss. Sunday night in the finale of the Duel in the Desert Classic, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels ran the Gophers out of the Thomas and Mack Center from the opening tip. The Rebels grabbed a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back en route to an 81-64 win.

The Seminoles and Rebels have one thing in common: athletic guards who can beat Minnesota's pressure defense, fill the basket from beyond the arc and take our less athletic defenders off the dribble. In both games the Gophers tried for a period to run with the opposition, only to find that the other team had better athletes to run-and-gun. When the Gophers (10-2) tried to slow things down against the Rebels and Seminoles, our guards were unable to effectively get the team into its offensive sets.

When the Gophers have dominated cupcakes this season, they've done so by forcing a large number of turnovers and scoring easy transition baskets. Against FSU, the Gophers lost the turnover battle 18-16. Those numbers weren't lopsided Sunday night, but UNLV had a 14-11 advantage. In both of these games, offense didn't come easy for the Gophers.

This is partially because the talent level on the Gophers is simply less than UNLV or Florida State. UNLV (10-3) was a Sweet 16 team last season and is led by outstanding junior guard Wink Adams. He was the aggressor Sunday night, leading the rebels with 20 points, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, and racked up 7 assists to zero turnovers. Adams' back court mate Curtis Terry did quite a bit of damage on his own, going 4-for-6 from three for 14 points. Make no mistake, UNLV is a good team and they came to play Sunday night.

This loss shouldn't cause anyone to be any less excited about the Big Ten season. The conference, for the most part, is weak. Illinois lost Sunday to Tennessee Tech. After Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana and maybe Ohio State, there isn't a team in the conference I don't think the Gophers can beat. The Gophers can be an upper-half Big Ten team. No one should have been having delusions of Final Four appearances before Sunday night and likewise we shouldn't take the throttling from UNLV and be any less inclined to sell out Williams Arena as the Big Ten season gets ready to begin in earnest.

Some other general thoughts from the loss at UNLV:

** As much as I preach that starting lineups aren't really that important, the Gophers would have benefited tonight had Blake Hoffarber been in the starting lineup as opposed to Jamal Abu-Shamala. Against teams like UNLV the Gophers need as many people on the floor who can A) score and B) handle the basketball. Hoffarber can do both better than Abu-Shamala. The freshman did see five more minutes on the floor against UNLV than Abu-Shamala. Additionally, the Gophers can apply pressure more effectively and handle opponents' pressure more easily when Hoffarber is on the floor instead of Abu-Shamala.

** Sticking with the lineups ... I know Tubby Smith is trying to get Lawrence McKenzie accustomed to the point guard spot. But I still feel our best lineup would be with Al Nolen at point, McKenzie at off-guard, Blake Hoffarber at the three spot and Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson underneath. McKenzie is one of two multi-threat scoring options on the team (the other being Coleman). Making McKenzie a distributor first would seem to be wasting what he does best: Score. I understand why Tubby is playing him at point, and it's hard to argue with it. The Gophers have one true point guard on the roster in Nolen, a freshman. McKenzie needs to take up minutes at the point, but in doing so the Gophers sacrifice his much-needed offense.

** The Gophers have two players who can handle the ball in pressure: Lawrence McKenzie and Al Nolen. This is going to hurt the Gophers all season against teams with quick guards. It'd be nice to see Lawrence Westbrook progress in this department.

** Dan Coleman led the Gophers again offensively, but he still has a bad tendency of fading away on most any interior shot. While leading the Gophers with 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting, Coleman didn't go to the line once. Instead of taking repeated fade away jumpers, it would be nice to see Coleman take a nice power dribble once in awhile and take the ball to the basket. He's taken small steps in this department, but can still be much more aggressive.

** Spencer Tollackson shot 2-for-7 from the free throw line. Yuck. Tollackson only recorded 16 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing just one rebound. In comparison, Jon Williams recorded 17 minutes and pulled down 4 rebounds.

The full boxscore for the game is here.

Up Next: The Gophers have five days to prepare for what will be one of their tougher road tests all season when they head to East Lansing for a meeting with Tom Izzo and the Spartans. If the Gophers are competitive next Saturday, that will show signs of progress against quality opponents.

Yeah, So, That Was Close

In a post earlier today I suggested that Gopher fans take a deep breath. The 6-1 start was nice, I wrote, but I cautioned that it didn't mean a lot in the larger scheme of things. We destroyed some cupcakes that Eden Prairie, or maybe even Mahtomedi could beat.

And Wednesday night, in the Barn no less, the Gophers proved why we need to be careful with our expectations for this team.

Something called the South Dakota State Jackrabbits fought the Gophers for 40 minutes, and for most of the game controlled the game. The Jackrabbits handled the Gophers on the offensive end of the floor. When the Gophers played zone, the Jackrabbits attacked the zone and found the open shooter when the zone collapsed. When Tubby Smith had the Gophers in a man-to-man defense--which should have benefitted us considering we are far more athletic--the Jackrabbits made the Gophers overcommit, and when the help-side defense wasn't there, the Jackrabbits pounced.

The blue bunnies from South Dakota had about a 10 rebound advantage. A lot of this came when the Gophers were palying a flat-footed 2-3 zone. Not only did we fail to box out, but as the bunnies ran out to a 9 point first half lead, we failed to challenge a slew of outside jump shots.

Basically, the Gophers are incredibly lucky to have walked out of Williams Arena with a 78=72 win against the Jackrabbits. Had this been a team with a less childish nickname, say the Spartans, the Gophers would have been run out of the gym.

What else should we take note of? Here's a list.

** This near-disaster was mostly about team defense. Shots weren't challenged. The help-side defense was slow.

** On numerous occasions, the Gophers struggled to get going offensively. A 35-second violation against the blue bunnies is somewhat embarrassing. Part of the reason for tihs is the Gophers don't have a guard that can effectively, and consistently create his own shot. Only two Minnesota players on this night could create their own shots: Damian Johnson and Dan Coleman. Lawrence McKenzie? No. Al Nolen? He'll get there, but not yet. Kevin Payton? LOL

** Where art thou Lawrence McKenzie? He finished the game with 7 points on 2-for-6 shooting. Gophers bloggers took Dan Coleman to task earlier this year for lackadasical play. Coleman has since put up his first back-to-back 20+ scoring games in his career. Perhaps we should turn our attention to McKenzie.

** Speaking of Coleman, he led the Gophers tonight, and they needed every bit of it. Twenty-four points on 10-for-14 shooting is nothing to scoff at. He scored with his back to the basket, and showed off a baby-hook, among other inside moves. It's good to see him play down low.

** In the last two minutes, with the Gophers holding on to a two to five point lead, this is the lineup we saw: Damian Johnson, Dan Coleman, Spencer Tollackson, Al Nolen and Lawrence McKenzie. All the talk about starting lineups is pointless. The lineup at the end is what matters. Here is your go-to Gophers lineup. I'd assume that if Tubby wanted offense instead of defense, he'd have Blake Hoffarber on the floor instead of Johnson--but that might not be the case. Johnson has been the Gophers MVP so far, and he's not a liability on offense.

** Spencer Tollackson came through in the clutch. With 1:30 left, and the Gophers nursing a 3 point lead, Tollackson had the ball on the block with the shot clock at 10. He did his best Kevin McHale up-and-under, jumped, and somehow underhanded a pass to a wide-open Coleman under the basket.

** South Dakota State sophmore Garrett Callahan should transfer to the Gophers. He destroyed us. He has a quick a release as Blake Hoffarber, can penetrate effectively and was the best player on the floor Wednesday night.

** The Barn can still get loud!

** Al Nolen hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch for his only three points of the game. But he was feisty on the defensive end, and on this night the Gophers needed his energy

** Sometimes I think I sound like I'd like to knob off Damian Johnson. But I can't stop with the superlatives for him. He led the Gophers in rebounds. He altered shots down the stretch. He was the most effective Gopher in drawing fouls and penetrating. Johnson finished with 10 points and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Most improved Big Ten player?

In summary, the Jackrabbits put quite the scare into the Gophers. The win wasn't pretty. But 7-1 is 7-1 and the Gophers now have 10 days off before Santa Clara comes to town. The close game should give Tubby Smith plenty to bark about in practice. It was clear at times he wasn't happy Wednesday night.

For the same reasons we shouldn't point to the 7-1 mark and start talking about Big Ten titles, we also shouldn't point to this surprisingly close game and believe that the Gophers can't be competitive. They can. But there is work to be done.

NDSU Review: The Lightning Rod Known As Dan Coleman

Monday night it was proven just how much impact Tubby Smith has had on the Golden Gophers. The defensive intensity was abundant--traps were set quickly and aggressively, defenders were quick to deny passing lanes, tip passes and be a complete pest nagging at the North Dakota State Bison.

And thank the heavens that Tubby Smith has arrived, because North Dakota State isn't a bad collection of basketball players. And had the Bison come into Williams Arena and won, our friends of Fargo-fame would have bragging rights in both football and basketball.

And while Minnesota's 88-56 win can't be described as anything but dominant, there were certainly some areas where the Gophers still need to improve. I'll go through a handful of items that stuck out to me, both good and bad.

** Let's start with the lightning rod known as Dan Coleman. The burgeoning Minnesota Gophers blogosphere has been all over him. Here are a few takes.

Down With Goldy wrote: Danny Coleman scored 15 points, had 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Sounds like a pretty good line, and if you hadn't watched the game, you'd be pretty impressed. Don't be. Coleman hasn't developed at all. Against this team, he should have completely controlled the game, and he most certainly didn't. He floats around, looks lost half the time, and just seems kind of out of it.

Jon at The National Anthem Before A Cubs Game wrote: Coleman was, up until tonight, probably the lone Gopher not meeting expectations for the year. The head coach had questioned Coleman's effort and heart, and he was losing minutes to Damian Johnson. But on Monday, Coleman came out and showed again why he's one of the "big three" on this Gopher team, leading the team in points (15, tied with Nolen), rebounds (eight), and assists (four, tied with Kevn Payton). Not surprisingly, Coleman was also the only Gopher to play more than 30 minutes.

In writing that Coleman and Kevin Payton led the Gophers to victory, From The Barn noted: The Gopher forward is on his way back. Though he still needs to return to form in a few areas, he filled the stat sheet last night. ... Most importantly, he showed determined effort on both ends of the court, at one point rebounding his own miss three or four times before getting the tip in. He also stuck to what he is best at, finding openings in the zone for easy dunks and 10 foot jumpers. Of course, in what has so far been a disappointing season for Coleman, the story was not all positive. He committed four fouls in what was a very strangely officiated game, and also had four turnover including a dunk he missed by 10 feet (really). The stats were a bit inflated due to the opponent, but it was at least a game that can be build on.

Finally, we have Gopher Nation with this take: Hats off to Dan Coleman for having his first non-sucky game of the year. ... He is NOT as good as an outside shooter as he thinks he is and he is NOT a great post scorer. Last night he finally played to his strengths and had his best game of the year.

The consensus? I guess it's that Dan Coleman didn't suck, put up some numbers but is still disappointing. I don't want to be too hard on Coleman. It's no doubt difficult to transition to a new offensive scheme, with a coach that is probably demanding that you do different things. It would be good to push Coleman out of his comfort zone, and that's what I think Tubby is doing. If by mid-season Coleman can combine his outside shooting and quick first step with an ability to effectively penetrate and get to the basket and score inside without fading away, Coleman will be a much improved version of his former self. My feel is that we're living thruogh some growing pains right now. Or that could be the long lost optimist in me talking.

What do you think?

** Jonathan Williams continues to shoot mid-range jump shots and not look awful. While I previously teased Williams about his shooting prowess, I'm starting to think that Tubby wants him to shoot that open 15-footer when he has it. I'm changing my position and am now encouraging Williams to take the shot when he has it.

** People can question Spencer Tollackson's talent (my brother played against him in high school and trashes him incessantly) but no one can question his desire and intensity. The boy brings it, whether his game is going well offensively or not. It's a pleasure to watch you, Spencer.

** I'm loving the defensive intensity and the trapping in the post and the corners. The Gophers didn't play horrible defense last season, but this new version of Gophers seems to be playing with a certain tenacity on the defensive end.

** Damian Johnson was not a one or two game wonder. He's playing with confidence and continues to be a difference-maker on both ends of the floor. I'm excited about his future. I've previously suggested that one way to measure Tubby will be by watching the progression of the younger players. Johnson, at times, has been the best player on the floor for Minnesota. That's quite the endorsement for Tubby. Who thought Johnson would be this solid game in and game out?

** I predict that when things get tough in the conference season, Tubby will shorten his bench to at least nine, and maybe eight. I think Blake Hoffarber has earned time with his shooting and all-around play. That means that when the bench shortens, I beleive Kevin Payton and Jamal Abu-Shamala will see their playing time limited. Though Abu-Shamala will continue to get minutes when we need his outside shooting.

** Finally, a personal note. I had intended to offer this synopsis yesterday, but my life, professional and personal, got in the way. It was a great pleasure to know--as I made a long drive home tonight--to know that I had begun this blog post yesterday. I knew I was going to escape into the process of finishing it. I'm flattered by how many of you show up here everyday, but I'm pretty sure I'd continue this blog if it were still just me and my brother reading it. It's been an escape for me, while I've tried to forget about the highly insane world of my daily life. For me, that's a job in politics, which these days--I guess always, actually--is much more about personal destruction and spin than an actual desire to do good things. So, thanks for reading. It's a pleasure having you along for the ride.

Is Coleman In Tubby's Doghouse?

Updated 12/1 6:30 p.m.

The Gophers handled UC Riverside 75-38 Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena, but it seemed during the first half that one of the three seniors who was expected to be a leader for this team was not only receiving the infamous Tubby "glare," but at least for the first half appeared to be neck deep in the coach's doghouse.

Here is discussion of that, and other findings from Saturday's win, including the continued ascension of Damian Johnson.

** For the second straight game, the Tubby Smith led Golden Gophers looked better offensively and defensively with backups Jonathan Williams and Damian Johnson manning the frountcourt. Meanwhile, Dan Coleman found himself in Tubby's doghouse most of the first half, playing only the first five minutes before finding a spot at the end of the bench. Coleman finished the game 1-for-6 from the field with five rebounds in 20 minutes. It was pointed out in the comments that Coleman picked up two fouls early in the first half, giving perhaps another reason for Coleman to ride the bench for the remainder of the half. But in trying to take the ball to the basket early--at the request of Tubby--it seemed like Coleman was out of his comfort zone and began to force.

Meanwhile, Johnson continues to be all over the place, using his long frame to grab rebounds and influence and block shots. He finished with 13 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and a team-leading six rebounds and three blocks and three steals. Doghouse or not, Johnson is filling up the boxscore and Coleman isn't. Coleman better turn things around, because sooner or later Tubby is going to have to give Johnson more minutes. Where are those going to come from? Likely Coleman. After the loss to Florida State, Tubby questioned the effort and energy of his senior trio. Tubby didn't specify which player, if there was an individual, who he was upset with. If there is some other explanation for Coleman sitting all but the first five minutes of the first half, please someone let me know. Until then, I'm blogging under the impression that Coleman has some work to do to regain the confidence of his new coach.

** Neither Al Nolen or Kevin Payton graced us with their perscense in the starting lineup. Instead, Tubby started Lawrence McKenzie, Lawrence Westbrook, Jamal Abu-Shamala, Coleman and Tollackson. We continue to see Tubby flirting with different lineup combinations. We saw a three-guard lineup against Florida State. And we've seen Tubby start true freshman Nolen. I'm not sure I like starting McKenzie at point guard. He's the team's most prolific scorer. While I understand what Tubby is doing here--McKenzie is the most consistent, and trusted ball handler on the team--it would benefit the Gophers greatly if Nolen can mature rapidly to take some ball handling duties away from McKenzie.

** Spencer Tollackson continued to struggle with his back to the basket. Against the Seminoles, Tollackson was the inferior athlete in the post. Against UC Riverside, I was baffled to see Tollackson fail to establish himself as a force underneath. This isn't to say that Tollackson's platy was all bad, but he clearly hasn't been the force underneath many Gophers fans would like to see. His final numbers look OK, 10 points on 4-for-10 from the field and five rebounds. But some of that came in complete garbage time. I have not once this year questioned Tollackson's effort. He seems to be busting his ass. But he can be a bigger force than he has been.

** In the post below this, I questioned the idea of starting Jonathan Williams. I might have been wrong. Out of our four big men, Williams looks the most comfortable in the post, and seems to have the best vision and passing ability. On multiple occasions Williams had the wherwithal to find a cutting teammate with a nice pass in the paint. Tollackson hasn't been comfortable enough in the post to make these types of passes. As long as Tubby is experimenting with lineups, how about starting Johnson and Williams for a game instead of Tollackson and Coleman?

** The Gophers still need to get to the free-throw line more often. This was an area that Tubby reportedly emphasized in practices, even tweaking the offense to provide more opportunites to get to the rim and draw contact. The Gophers got to the line 21 times against UC Riverside, an improvement to be sure. But the Gophers were still perimiter oriented and didn't have enough success in the paint to play inside-out. Also, the Gophers hit just 12 of those 21 free throws. My guess is Tubby will make the boys run a big for that 57 percent shooting from the line.

** Lawrence McKenzie put up 18, shooting 6-for-10 (5-for-7 from 3) from the floor. The Gophers need this from him every night in the Big Ten if we're going to pull an upset or two.

** Blake Hoffarber continues to impress with his quick stroke from beyond the arc. He finished in double digits for the second straight game, this time putting up 13 points while going 4-for-7 from three-point land. Hoffarber also isn't proving to be a large liability on the defensive end. That might change against more athletic Big Ten teams, but for now I'd like to see more of Hoffarber.

** Tubby continues to use a 10-man rotation. If there was a player in jeopardy of being the odd man out when Tubby shortens his rotation, I'd like it would have to be Kevin Payton. The Gophers need the scoring ability of Hoffarber and Abu-Shamala, and they need all the minutes from the four big men. Once again Saturday, Payton proved to me that he's the weakest link in the current 10-man rotation.

UP Next: The Gophers have a quick turnaround with a game Monday night at Williams Arena against North Dakota State. The Bison have started 2007 with a 4-3 mark, but that's somewhat misleading as their losses have come at Florida, at Rutgers and at Wisconsin-Green Bay. I'd expect this to be a much closer game (the Bison only lost by 10 at Florida) and it will be interesting to see if Tubby tweaks his lineup yet again.

Saturday Links: Obsessing Over Tubby

If you haven't noticed on the right sidebar I've created a couple shirts. The one that is displayed says Tubby Ball, Est. 2007 on the front. On the back side, it says "Thank You Kentucky." I think I can speak for all Minnesota fans when I say this: We couldn't be happier you ran such a respected man and coach out of Lexington. It's your loss and our gain.

That's why it's so entertaining for me to watch some blame-Tubby-first Kentucky fans struggle to find reasons for their loss to Gardner-Webb and close call this week with Stony Brook. What are the radical portions of the UK fanbase going to say if/when North Carolina comes into Rupp Arena today and demolishes the Wildcats. Right, I already know the answer: They'll blame Tubby.

Well, at least most of the time. It seems that some UK fans have already gone to criticizing new head coach Billy Gillespie, per this Scout interview with prize freshman Patrick Patterson. Patterson, you might remember, is the 5-star diaper dandy that UK fans salivated over--literally frothing at the mouth I think--during last year's recruiting wars. They had to have Patterson. And even though it was clear Patterson was going to go to UK when Tubby was there, UK fans pointed to the hiring of Gillespie as a reason why Patterson picked UK. We'll get to recruiting in a second, but here's a telling quote from Patterson:

“People are out there saying this is the worst Kentucky basketball team in the history of Kentucky.”

Who is saying that to you?

“Fans, people around campus, when you are walking in restaurants and stuff like that. I have heard people say stuff about the Kentucky basketball team losing to Gardner-Webb and saying Kentucky hasn’t lost to a mid-major school since 2001 or something like that,” Patterson said. “I have heard people saying this is worst team or that we are not doing anything. On Facebook, they have stuff about Coach (Billy Gillispie). "

It almost makes you sad. Here's this young, talented basketball player, who is apparently bombarded with negativity everywhere he turns. In class? Criticism. On Facebook? Cheap shots at his coach.

But most of the conversations still center around Tubby. In this Lexington Herald-Leader article, Jerry Tipton sits down to talk with Dick Vitale and the ESPN announcer reiterates his criticism that a portion of the UK fanbase went too far in their desire to see Smith jettisoned.

And then the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds suggesting satirically this week that all UK travails begin and end with Tubby. Here's a taste:

You see, it's all Tubby's fault that UK is a mess right now. Through his lack of recruiting and inability to win consistently over his ten years in Lexington, Tubby almost single-handedly destroyed the once-storied legacy of Kentucky basketball.

Earlier this year, it was "Tubby's Fault!" the Cats lost to Gardner Webb. Saturday, it most likely will be "Tubby's Fault!" if the UNC Tarheels crush UK, as expected. Shockingly, new UK coach Billy Gillispie has come under relatively little scrutiny for a man in his position.

Some might view this as the fans just enjoying their honeymoon with him - but that wouldn't be right, because far too many of them are still kicking and screaming about a good man and coach who they ran out of town.

Even though that blogger was writing tongue-in-cheek, it's clear that the UK fan base is forever going to be obsessed with Tubby Smith. Adding salt to their wounds right now is the 2008 recruiting wars. A quick look at Rivals' rankings--there are others that are far more favorable to Minnesota and Tubby--and it would appear that Tubby is recruiting on par with Billy Gillespie, even though Billy Clyde has the UK tradition, facilities and Ashley Judd to fall back on. The Rivals rankings linked to above list UK as 19th in the country and Minnesota right behind at number 20. Tubby also won the first head-to-head recruiting battle when Ralph Sampson III picked Minnesota over Billy Clyde's Wildcats. Once again, Thank You Kentucky! And is there any way ya'll can become livid with Ashley Judd and send her north too?

Now, on to a few other things.

** Staying on the obsessing over Tubby/basketball recruiting topics ... the Wisconsin Rivals site Badger Blitz is beginning to worry about Tubby. Could Tubby be turning the tide in the border recruiting wars? Could Bo Ryan be on defense for once to keep his players home. That'd be a nice change, wouldn't it?

** Star Tribune men's basketball beat writer Myron Medcalf asks in this blog post whether Tubby should go to a big lineup. Medcalf suggests a lineup of Al Nolen, Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman, Jonathan Williams and Spencer Tollackson. That'd be a big lineup, and would help us on the boards. And I think that Coleman is more suited to play on the perimiter, though I worry about how he'd matchup against quicker small forwards. It could be worth a try from time-to-time, but does anyone really think Jon Williams should start?

** The Pioneer Press and Star Tribune report that Tubby benched seniors Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie during the loss to Florida State Tuesday. Tubby was not happy with their leadership, energy, intensity and lack of scoring, the reports suggest. McKenzie called the development a "reality check." And Fuller also reports that Tubby has tweaked his offense some to encourage fewer jump shots and more penetration/inside play that could help the Gophers get to the foul line--an area where they struggled against FSU.

Thoughts On Tubby's First Loss

Marcus Fuller of the PiPress called it a "measuring-stick" game. The Gophers lost last night, 75-61 in a game that began as an up-and-down, fast-breaking affair. That was a style much better suited to the athletic Seminoles. That was the first lesson. We can't out run a more athletic team.

Tubby told Fuller he can use this game moving forward: "We needed a game like this so we can evaluate and measure where we are," Smith said. "We can learn from it and use this as a teaching tool." Hopefully it can teach Tubby to find a nice spot at the end of the bench for Kevin Payton. I digress.

The point here is there were both good and bad things that happened last inght. And while it would have been great to storm through the nonconference scheduled unblemished, it simply wasn't going to happen. But, the Gophers can take this game and make sure they correct some things and get ready for a 7 game stretch that they should sweep, before the nonconference season ends with a game against UNLV in Vegas.

But that's all quite a ways down the road. Here are my thoughts on last night's loss.

Positivies:

** Blake Hoffarber was active on both the offensive and defensive ends. He continues to shoot with confidence and I'm beginning to think he can help this team out in more ways then just spot-up shooting. Hoffarber led the team in scoring.


** Damian Johnson continues to impact games with his reboudning and shot blocking abilities. His critics are correct that he needs to work on his offensive game, but he's just a sophomore and if there has been one big surprise to this season so far it has been Johnson.


** While Lawrence Westbrook took a couple ill-advised shots and was made to look silly when his layup was forcefully rejected on a fast break, the Gophers need him to be a fourth scoring option like he was to at least begin the game last night. He hit the three early on while Lawrence McKenzie was struggling and allowed the Gophers to play a three guard lineup against the quick FSU backcourt.


** Al Nolen starting. This is a positive if for no other reason Kevin Payton isn't on the court. Nolen looked a little jittery last night, made a few mistakes, but he's still a better option than Payton.


** Even down the stretch, when FSU had the game in the bag with about 5 to 6 minutes left, the Gophers kept battling. Hoffarber scrapped for rebounds along with Jamal Abu Shamala. McKenzie kept pushing the basketball. Spencer Tollackson, who did not have a good night, continued to battle on the boards. Hard work and intensity counts for something.


Negatives:

** Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson were completely neutralized by FSU's more athletic frontcourt. Tollackson couldn't do anything with his back to the basket--and he couldn't even win position in the post to allow an entry pass in from the wing. Meanwhile, Coleman, facing the basket, wasn't quick enough to to take the ball to the basket. His perimiter jump shot wasn't falling and his game, both offensive and defensive, was ineffective all night. In my opinion, the Gophers were better last night with Damian Johnson and Jonathan Williams on the floor. Though that mostly had to do with Johnson over Coleman. Tollackson was effective on the boards for most of the evening.


** Lawrence McKenzie needs to carry this team, much like Isiah Swann did for FSU. Too often, I thought, McKenzie was handling the ball on offense (this was when Nolen was on the bench). I'd like to see McKenzie play the two-spot exclusively, freeing him up to fire away from three-point land. In games where the opposition is more athletic, the Gophers need McKenzie to lead the way. Tubby told Fuller in the articled linked above that the team absolutely needs scoring from its senior leaders. That begins and ends with McKenzie, in my opinion. Coleman and Tollackson are more easily neutralized. It's McKenzie who needs to shoulder the scoring burden on those nights.


** Kevin Payton continues to show he has no business playing point guard at this, or any, level.


** The up-tempo game certainly didn't work in Minnesota's favor. I'm not sure if Tubby wanted them to push the basketball against FSU. He's been talking about a team that's going to push the ball. But the run-and-gun game helped FSU last night. And while that's not surprising, what is worrisome moving forward is that the Gophers made some poor decisions on the fast break. At times, our guards pushed the tempo when a fast break wasn't available. At other times, they forced long, cross-court passes that were interecepted. The entire team needs to make better decisions if its going to play a fast-paced game--especially against a more athletic team.

Thoughts On VIctory At Iowa State

I figured I'd put the long car ride to the inlaws to good use by blogging today. You have to love these fancy new Internet cards.

Like most of you, I was thrilled with the outcome Tuesday night. During the Dan Monson era, the Gophers were beyond terrible on the road. And while Iowa State doesn't appear to be a NCAA tournament team, and they were without one of their best players, many thigns about the Gophers win impressed me. And during the hard-fought win, we gained some insight into the rotation to expect in the future. So, here are some general thoughts.

** Damian Johnson is going to be a big part of this team. We shouldn't expect huge offensive numbers, but what he has provided is a prescense on the boards. He's changing shots and being active on defense. I criticized his quickness earlier this year, but at least defensively, he's been up to the challenge. After Spencer Tollackson, it appaers to me that Johnson is the best rebounder on the team. With Dan Coleman playing out on the perimiter a lot, having Johnson banging will help.

** Tubby has no faith in Kevin Payton. Yes, he's still starting, but Payton was nowhere to be foud during crunch time. Al Nolen was getting those minutes. And while Nolen made a couple of mental errors, it's clear the Gophers are a better team offensively and defensively with Nolen on the floor.

** Tubby's defensive schemes impressed me. The Gophers switched up defenses a few times in the second half when the game was going back and forth. The half-court zone trap forced Iowa Sstate into shots it wasn't comfortable taking. And as a former coach, that was one of the things I always wanted when we applied half court or full-court pressure. The turnovers are nice, but forcing the opposition out of its comfort zone is the overriding objective. This is another area where I think Johnson can be effective all season, hanging out with his wingspan ready to take thise risky cross-court passes. I will say, however, that the Gophers struggled a bit, I thought, rebounding when in the 2-3 zone. That's always a problem, but the lads just got to find someone to box out.

** Lawrence McKenzie and Spencer Tollackson carried this team. Most nights they will have to. Tollackson desperately needs to stay out of foul trouble if the Gophers are going to beat some of the upper-echelon Big Ten teams.

** I liked Jonathan Williams' bank shot from 15 feet!

** Tubby seemed to shorten his bench in the second half with the game on the line. The key contributors were Nolen, McKenzie, Tollackson, Johnson, Williams, Westbrook and Coleman. Blake Hoffarber and Jamal Abu-Shamala, it would appear, were losing minutes in crunch time to Johnson and Westbrook. When McKenzie, Tollackson and Coleman are putting up offensive numbers, I expect we'll continue to see this: Tubby choosing Johnson's defense over Hoffarber's and Abu-Shamala's spot up shooting.

** I'm going to be paying attention all season to the progression of Nolen. I'd love to see him become a pass-first, foor leading point guard. I'm not criticizing him here, and I'm not saying he shouldn't look to score. But for the Gophers to succeed, they need someone to penetrate and kick, someone to run the offense and get the ball into the post. Kevin Payton is not the answer in this area. Nolen can be. And with the Gophers 2008 recruiting class full of forwards/centers, the pressure will be on Nolen far beyond this year to deliver, and eventually, lead.

** The Gophers now host Central Michigan Saturday in a game the team should win, but since it's situated between the ISU win and the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, it has the potential to be a trap game.

With The Number 4 Pick In The NBA Draft ....

The Memphis Grizzlies select, from the University of Minnesota, Spencer Tollackson!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Yes, it's a mock draft. But here's the good part. It was done by Minnesota Timberwolves personnel. No offense to Spencer, but this is yet another reason why my beloved Timberpuppies are destined to do nothing during the KG era.

I was hoping this was just a joke. But all of the other choices made by Wolves personnel, who were pretending to be general managers for the 14 lottery teams, were legitimate.

See the insanity for yourself here.

Hat tip to IHeartKG.