U of Minnesota Game Thread

[Flatland Stater]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

Sorry for the late post, but I too was at the game. It was exciting to get within 5 in the second half - not like last year within 5 with 2 min to go.

A couple of thoughts:
Iverson had a fantastic game (20pts) vs. E. Washington 2 weeks ago when I was there. I was expecting another blowout like that since they were a similar team skill & size wise. I thought he'd want to showup his Dakota breathern. He was really a non-factor.

Hoffarber's absence was missed for the Gophers. It could have been ugly with him out there.

Sargent's 3-pointers kept us in emotionally. It was nice to see cheers throughout Williams Arena. I talked to at least 10 former Jackrabbits who were wearing maroon & gold (as I was wearing Jackrabbit blue) who spent the last 20+ years in the cities. We have support (in theory) up there.

The view from the Club Room over to the Gophers football stadium was fantastic. I can't wait for the drive back to Mpls for that game this fall! Their season tickets are already sold old for next year. Hmmm.

[JimmyJack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I suspect it's a bit past time for the players and the coaches, and all of the rest of us who care deeply about our men's basketball program to lighten up a bit and try to have some fun with this. It ain't brain surgery, after all.

Hey, we're South Dakota's only championship-qualified D-I school, we're in a league with an automatic bid, and we've got a team that can be competitive in that league. What's not to like?

I'm sure all of us reading this board spend time most every day wondering what we could have done differently, what we could have done better. That's a big part of what makes a good person a good person. And there are an awful lot of good people in the Jackrabbit Nation--starting with our players and our coaches.

So, let's all encourage the coaches, players, and ourselves to lighten up and have some fun with where we are, and where we're going, while continuing to encourage the team to leave their absolute best efforts out there on the court.

It's a game, after all. Just a game.

Go Rabbits! Beat Denver!

That post is just rep-tastic.

[filbert]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I enjoyed watching the game on TV first time I have seen the Jacks play a game which was televised.

I agree with the above post about the two fouls on Garrett and Kai, what I noticed more than anything was the body language, by the players and the coach on time out's, as they say the camera does not lie...

I am trying to remain positive but it is hard, When I see not only my son but other players get down about their performances on the court.

I did not think the Gophers played that well either, when the score was within 5 I thought we had a chance but it was not to be.

I suspect it's a bit past time for the players and the coaches, and all of the rest of us who care deeply about our men's basketball program to lighten up a bit and try to have some fun with this. It ain't brain surgery, after all.

Hey, we're South Dakota's only championship-qualified D-I school, we're in a league with an automatic bid, and we've got a team that can be competitive in that league. What's not to like?

I'm sure all of us reading this board spend time most every day wondering what we could have done differently, what we could have done better. That's a big part of what makes a good person a good person. And there are an awful lot of good people in the Jackrabbit Nation--starting with our players and our coaches.

So, let's all encourage the coaches, players, and ourselves to lighten up and have some fun with where we are, and where we're going, while continuing to encourage the team to leave their absolute best efforts out there on the court.

It's a game, after all. Just a game.

Go Rabbits! Beat Denver!

[JimmyJack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I enjoyed watching the game on TV first time I have seen the Jacks play a game which was televised.

I agree with the above post about the two fouls on Garrett and Kai, what I noticed more than anything was the body language, by the players and the coach on time out's, as they say the camera does not lie...

I am trying to remain positive but it is hard, When I see not only my son but other players get down about their performances on the court.

I did not think the Gophers played that well either, when the score was within 5 I thought we had a chance but it was not to be.

I hope the guys understand that there are a lot of fans out here who appreciate the effort we've seen from them this year and feel like things are definitely getting better. It can't be fun to lose, but I think they're going to win quite a few Summit League games this year and they have the tourney to play for.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I enjoyed watching the game on TV first time I have seen the Jacks play a game which was televised.

I agree with the above post about the two fouls on Garrett and Kai, what I noticed more than anything was the body language, by the players and the coach on time out's, as they say the camera does not lie...

I am trying to remain positive but it is hard, When I see not only my son but other players get down about their performances on the court.

I did not think the Gophers played that well either, when the score was within 5 I thought we had a chance but it was not to be.

Those two "poor calls" really took the momentum away from the Jacks. Overall, a fair performance, and I look forward to fewer moral victories and more actual wins this year.

[bballfan54]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I enjoyed watching the game on TV first time I have seen the Jacks play a game which was televised.

I agree with the above post about the two fouls on Garrett and Kai, what I noticed more than anything was the body language, by the players and the coach on time out's, as they say the camera does not lie...

I am trying to remain positive but it is hard, When I see not only my son but other players get down about their performances on the court.

I did not think the Gophers played that well either, when the score was within 5 I thought we had a chance but it was not to be.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I was wondering what we'd get out of him this year. Nagy said he would have won us 4 more games last year. He's only had 3 turnovers three times this year and 2 once so he's been protecting the ball well. His assists have been 4(2), 3(2), 2(4), 1(1) and 0(1).
The main drawback on him I see is his shooting. He was 5-5 against Oral Roberts, 1-1 against Upper Iowa and 2-2 against Centenary but other than those 3 games, he's struggled. He's shot 0-4, 0-1, 3-12, 1-3, 1-5, 3-9 and 1-8. Those aren't good numbers. 0-1 and 1-3 are fine but the others aren't. He's a average player and he does cut back on our TO's which is important.
I just wish Dale, Michael and he could hit the outside jumper consistently.

Was reading through the posts and was about to post something similar. Well said.

I think we could all go a little easier on the guys, especially when sitting at home watching the games on the radio. I was at the game, and other than starting out in an 11 point hole and giving up too many offensive rebounds thought we played pretty well.

Mark is averaging over 2 points and 2 rebounds per game in just over 7 minutes of action. Those are fairly productive numbers, especially when considering the fact that he is playing as a reserve. That is his role, and some of our 15 scholarships every year will go to role players like Mark (just like they did when we were Division II) or practice players (Lord No!). His toughness has been much better this year, but I fear he is not built for Summit League play with quicker, smaller big men than we faced against Minnesota.

Mac's biggest job is to manage the game. He has been doing that fairly well so far keeping us in most games. He isn't going to win us many games, but that's not his role--its the role of Clint, Garrett, and Kai. He isn't athletic enough to either create his own shot or get himself into position to make passes that turn into assists against bigger more athletic guards. He will do just fine in league play as a game manager, and he is the best one we have. He is extremely tough and only had 3 turnovers against some very athletic guards for Minn.

Kai needs to play better, and I'm pretty confident that he will, he is just too good not to. He seems like the kind of player who needs to let the game come to him (and there is nothing wrong with that) and the more he thinks about things and force the issue, the more he is going to struggle. He got some good looks (16 shots) and made some pretty nice plays last night, the shots just weren't falling.

I think if we can get 3 guys scoring more than 15 ppg on a consistent basis we will be a pretty good team this year. We've seen glimpses of really good games from 4-5 guys, so we know they can do it, they just need to do it on the same night. Last night we had 2 guys do that and still competed pretty well. If Kai goes 6 of 16 instead of making just 2 shots, we may have even won the game. His shots will start falling soon enough, and if Clint and Garrett keep playing well I think we will finish in the top half of the league. The guys defend fairly well and rebound amazing considering their size disadvantages.

Also people who think we are going to get recruits like Colton Iverson are a little bit delusional, IMO. Even Gonzaga has a hard time recruiting a solid big man, and we are quite a bit off from being a Gonzaga. We might get a Colton Iverson 1 out of 50 times, so we should still go after them, but expecting to compete with BCS schools for the cream of the recruiting crop year in and year out is fairly unrealistic.

With all that being said, I hope the players keep their heads up, keep playing tough, and start believing in themselves more. If they do, they'll earn themselves a spot at the Summit Tourney and we'll all get to see some pretty entertaining basketball.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

Since I was at the game, I'm always late on game thread posts...but a couple of thoughts (some echoing earlier posts but with exclamation points of my own):

1) I believe the referees were fine down to crunch time. But I was sitting 30 feet away (and the entire student section, which is very active was at the same end) when Callahan was called for the charge. It was the most bulls&&t call I saw all night...and it broke our backs. The team had worked very, very hard to get back into the game after a tight, terrible start. From the first media timeout (just under 4 minutes into the game), we had outscored the Gophers 48-42 over the next 29 minutes of play to get back into it. On the next trip down the floor, Kai was PUSHED out of bounds (right in front of me) on the end line, and no foul was called and Minnesota got the ball. I'm "calling out" the Big 10 refs who changed the game completely at that point.

2) Minor points: Casey was a walk on...I agree with other comments that he gives it everything he has...which may not be good enough in playing the likes of the Gophers. Engen did fine...remember we recruited him when we were trying to make the transition...we didn't get a lot of choices in recruiting big men at that time. Mark made a great block on Sampson and recovered the ball at the same time, which added to the four points and three rebounds he had in limited time.

3) Finally, I agree with the poster that said he thought the Gophers got "almost every" rebound...but it was basically they got a LOT of offensive rebounds. On at least five or more occasions, we had players blocked out, but the rebunds were tipped back (some awfully close to over the back) to the outside players and the Gophers got another shot attempt. Overall, we outrebound them through tough, aggressive play under the basket.

Moral victory...no...but did our team lay it all out on the line...absolutely! I know that if we had gotten a better start...it would have been a heck of a game (and for what it is worth, the Gophers started out 14-1 on NDSU at The Barn).

[BTownJack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

Terry's write up of the game:

Barn burner
Gophers thwart late Jackrabbit rally
Terry Vandrovec • December 11, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS - For the second year in a row, South Dakota State made Minnesota sweat in the second half, forcing the Gophers to go back to their formidable full-court press to protect the remnants of a once-sizable lead.

That made the loss doubly disappointing.

The Jackrabbits cut a 19-point deficit to five in the second half, but ultimately fell 74-60 to unbeaten Minnesota before a crowd of 12,388 Wednesday at Williams Arena. The defeat drops SDSU - a team with one scholarship senior - to 4-6 on the season and 0-12 in the series.

"I fully believe you play the way you think," coach Scott Nagy said. "Our kids just don't fully believe they're as good as they are. I don't know how to help them get over that hurdle. But it's costing us games."

(read more)

[JimmyJack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I was wondering what we'd get out of him this year. Nagy said he would have won us 4 more games last year. He's only had 3 turnovers three times this year and 2 once so he's been protecting the ball well. His assists have been 4(2), 3(2), 2(4), 1(1) and 0(1).
The main drawback on him I see is his shooting. He was 5-5 against Oral Roberts, 1-1 against Upper Iowa and 2-2 against Centenary but other than those 3 games, he's struggled. He's shot 0-4, 0-1, 3-12, 1-3, 1-5, 3-9 and 1-8. Those aren't good numbers. 0-1 and 1-3 are fine but the others aren't. He's a average player and he does cut back on our TO's which is important.
I just wish Dale, Michael and he could hit the outside jumper consistently.

Good points. I was a little hard on Mac. He does bring some toughness with him and as you point out, he's taken good care of the ball most of the time.

[91jack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

Casey needed to show some senior leadership there and set it up rather than taking two bad shots and then failing to get back on defense and giving up a layup.

Earlier in the first half, he had a bunch of turnovers and made a really dumb foul on a layup by Nolen.

I can't fault his effort, but honestly, we're still in search of a point guard.

I'd like to see us get one more little run and make this a single digit game. The Jacks have played very well in stretches tonight. I doubt we'll encounter too many players as athletic as Minnesota's first six in the Summit League. I think Tubby's got a nice team there.

I was wondering what we'd get out of him this year. Nagy said he would have won us 4 more games last year. He's only had 3 turnovers three times this year and 2 once so he's been protecting the ball well. His assists have been 4(2), 3(2), 2(4), 1(1) and 0(1).
The main drawback on him I see is his shooting. He was 5-5 against Oral Roberts, 1-1 against Upper Iowa and 2-2 against Centenary but other than those 3 games, he's struggled. He's shot 0-4, 0-1, 3-12, 1-3, 1-5, 3-9 and 1-8. Those aren't good numbers. 0-1 and 1-3 are fine but the others aren't. He's a average player and he does cut back on our TO's which is important.
I just wish Dale, Michael and he could hit the outside jumper consistently.

[BTownJack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

You have to have a valid reason for yanking a scholarship and I do not believe that performance is one of the reason. NCAA rule and all . . . plus it's not Nagy's nature. Bigs are premiums and even if you think he's not cutting it you won't find another 6'11 athlete hanging around. Some coaches would run the kid off but that's different than pulling the scholarship...it's more convincing the athlete they will never play, treat them like crap etc. Again not Nagy's style.

You are correct!

[sizzleman]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I'm not going to say anything bad about Iverson. He made his choice and that's all fine with me. I did hear that "there were just some oppertunties at Minnesota that made it a great situation for him". One they listed was to play early and often because of Minnesota's size. SDSU has the same problem. I think it's funny when you say that USD and SDSU were not out of it but then that's a reason why you went to Minnesota. Just say you wanted to go to a big time conference and be done with it. If he went to SDSU, we probably win that game and a few others.

If Hansb. went to SDSU we would have won that game.....unfortunately he didn't. Its our coaching staff that needs to get them here.

[91jack]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

the refs have been very good all game. we don't need to start complaining about them now.

I haven't read the whole post(yet) but I don't know about good the whole game. Maybe that's why Pam was so pissed about their women losing 2 years ago. She's used to those calls.
I think the turning point of the game was when we were down 7 and hit a driving layup. They called a charge. Take away the basket and free throw and then Minn scores the next 5 points(at least). That was a piss poor call.

I'm not going to say anything bad about Iverson. He made his choice and that's all fine with me. I did hear that "there were just some oppertunties at Minnesota that made it a great situation for him". One they listed was to play early and often because of Minnesota's size. SDSU has the same problem. I think it's funny when you say that USD and SDSU were not out of it but then that's a reason why you went to Minnesota. Just say you wanted to go to a big time conference and be done with it. If he went to SDSU, we probably win that game and a few others.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: U of Minnesota Game Thread

I would be surprised if the Gophers are a .500 team in the Big Ten this year. They are a poor shooting team that beat us on quickness and defense. Aside from Louisville in a week, they have a cupcake non-conf schedule and almost all are at Williams Arena. Against a team like the Badgers or Michigan, this Gophers team will stuggle to score points.

The refs did a good job last night, but the charge call against Callahan coming out of a timeout when we were down 7 (I think with about 4-5 mins left) was a horrible call and stuck the knife in our comeback chances. It should have been the hoop and the harm with Callahan going to the line with the possibility of cutting the lead to 4. Instead, the basket is waved off, the Gophers go on something like a 8-0 run culminated by a 3 point basket by #20 in the wing and the game was over.