Minnesota GDT

[zooropa]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Only a minor quibble with Zoo's post: in a 30 pt loss I don't think we scored with impunity from any part of the court.

I also understood that his comparison was to the Jacks, and I will be anxious to see how this Gophers team handles the conference games.

Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away.

Still, the Jacks probably could've taken an open 3 point shot most times down the court.

[rabbit_boy]

Re: Minnesota GDT

After Minni built their big lead they rotated players and didnt play D with much intensity. Can criticize that for whats its worth. I too am curious to see how we do in conference play. If we come out spirited I could see a 500 season. I am HOPING for this. I just dont know what to think about the mind set of the players. I hope we dont mail in the rest of the season.

[rcjacks]

Re: Minnesota GDT

goof? what is a goof? never heard of them before. is it like a jack?

p.s. how come you seem to be so antagonistic towards minnesota? why do you seem to have an attitude towards anything minnesota? what is your problem? are you not a happy person? it is christmas time in the city, bud!

p.s.s. please name off ALL OF THOSE "well-stocked" big ten teams you spoke of.......you know the ones who are both as tall as the gophers AND are great 3pt shooting teams. because the last i checked the gophers are also a pretty good 3pt shooting team........and they actually are tall.

Don't worry about zooropa, he is always upset about something. Your Gophers killed us while playing lax D the second half (being kind to not completely run up the score) and Zoo still rags on them. I don't get it. Next year when you get Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White playing, the Gophers will be the team to beat in the Big Ten.

Also, what a class act coach you have in Tubby Smith. I appreciated how he complimented the Jacks in his interviews. He didn't say one negative thing about our Jacks.

[zooropa]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Zoo still rags on them

Bet Tubby's got the same concerns I've got about the gaps in Gopher play.

BTW: SDSU shot about the same from 3 point line in both halves.

he is always upset about something

Yeah. I'm the guy that's continually bellyaching about playcalling during the football season, about basketball coaching during the basketball season, about recruiting all year round, and I'm constantly clamoring for the replacement of coaches.

I'm not upset about the Goofs. I just don't think they're all that great. Best Goof team to beat the Jacks over the past few years, for sure but based on what they showed me, they ain't gonna run away with the Big Ten.

[rcjacks]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Bet Tubby's got the same concerns I've got about the gaps in Gopher play.

BTW: SDSU shot about the same from 3 point line in both halves.

Yeah. I'm the guy that's continually bellyaching about playcalling during the football season, about basketball coaching during the basketball season, about recruiting all year round, and I'm constantly clamoring for the replacement of coaches.

I'm not upset about the Goofs. I just don't think they're all that great. Best Goof team to beat the Jacks over the past few years, for sure but based on what they showed me, they ain't gonna run away with the Big Ten.

Well, the "Goofs" as you call them definitely ran away from us on Wednesday.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Bernie...for the record I lives in Minnesota for 5 years, married a Minnesotan and was supposed to be there now if not for the weather...so I think can speak on your state. And I LOVE IT! Love the state and love the people. I appreciate the mini-rivalry/big brother-little brother rivalry we have developed w/ the U of M.

I like the Minnesota team. I think if Sampson and Iverson can develop they are going to be solid in the Big Ten (Big Ten isn't exactly a great bball confrence). I think Tubby is a great fit and will only continue to get better. People have to remember the barn wasn't exactly rocking due to a snow storm and Christmas break. Add to the fact that the Gophers probably weren't exactly real pumped to play SDSU and a 30-point win is pretty solid. Thanks for stopping by the board, Merry Christmas.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Minnesota GDT

I was encouraged with Mark Engen's play last night and wonder why don't see him for 5-10 minutes a game. We lack a true center that can protect the rim and Mark moved around pretty well last night. I think his biggest weakness is just staying in control on offense and his shot selection, but he came in last night and had 3 blocks in 5 minutes and gave the team good energy.
Cordova isn't playing at the level he played at last year and he looks lost/asleep at times out on the floor. It wouldn't hurt to play Engen more against the tall lankier centers.

THANK YOU! I have been wondering why, on this SDSU team seriously lacking height and interior defense, we don't see Engen more.

And yes, AC and Kai were invisible last night. Do they care?

[BernieBierman=5NC's]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Don't worry about zooropa, he is always upset about something. Your Gophers killed us while playing lax D the second half (being kind to not completely run up the score) and Zoo still rags on them. I don't get it. Next year when you get Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White playing, the Gophers will be the team to beat in the Big Ten.

Also, what a class act coach you have in Tubby Smith. I appreciated how he complimented the Jacks in his interviews. He didn't say one negative thing about our Jacks.

zooropa - you could learn a lot from this guy (as well as teajackrabbit). pay attention and follow their lead.

wishing you all a spectacular holiday season! good luck to the jacks in 2010!

[zooropa]

Re: Minnesota GDT

pay attention and follow their lead.

Yes. The true path to peace and happiness it to turn a blind eye to the mediocrity of the Minnesota Gophers.

[BernieBierman=5NC's]

Re: Minnesota GDT

Yes. The true path to peace and happiness it to turn a blind eye to the mediocrity of the Minnesota Gophers.

wow.....get a clue bud. you are too predictable. i am guessing that most people can read you like a book.

anyways, enough of this juvenile stuff. i am going to bed (finally) after a long day of holiday cheer with the family. i sincerely hope that you enjoy your negative message board posting until the wee hours of the morn........


p.s. hey look! i can make rolling eye emoticons too!

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Minnesota GDT

I have been advocating for Engen to be more part of the rotation for a while and once again last night he was productive in the "garbage time" he recieved at the end of the game with 3 block shots including an absolute in your face block on Ralph Sampson. Our other post players Fiegen and Cordova were powerless to make any stops or provide help defense. The most mind boggling quote in the post game interview came from Nagy when Imming asked him about Engen's productivity and Nagy responded yes we thought Mark matched up well with their post players? So why then was he not put into the game until under 5 minutes left and then pulled before the horn sounded? I get the fact Mark is not going to be the answer on the offensive end, but I think he can provide some shot blocking and better matchups with the taller post players we face. IMHO it's a disgrace the way this senior is being treated. To his credit he seems to be an absolute team player who cheers for his teamates and makes the most of the limited opportunities he gets and always with a postive demeanor.

bump

[reveroo]

Re: Minnesota GDT

I was encouraged with Mark Engen's play last night and wonder why don't see him for 5-10 minutes a game. We lack a true center that can protect the rim and Mark moved around pretty well last night. I think his biggest weakness is just staying in control on offense and his shot selection, but he came in last night and had 3 blocks in 5 minutes and gave the team good energy.
Cordova isn't playing at the level he played at last year and he looks lost/asleep at times out on the floor. It wouldn't hurt to play Engen more against the tall lankier centers.

You have to understand that the coaches see Mark everyday in practice, and his playing time is based on that. Yes, Mark can look encouraging at times when he gets in, and his presence in the middle is good, but his lack of strength does come in to play on the offensive end. I trust the coaches on what they see everyday in practice. And yes, Mark truly is a TEAM player, always accepting his role. That is what is needed for a team to succeed. Hopefully this team will do that in conference play.

[GopherHole]

Re: Minnesota GDT

After watching the Gophs last night against Penn State, I do feel better about the Jacks. While Penn State is not a top 25 team, they have a stud at guard and a number of quality D1 roll players. Minnesota's defense caused many problems during the game and I thought our guards handled the pressure well as compared to Penn State.

I still would love to see our players work as hard as Minnesota does on defense. That commitment to baseline-to-baseline defense can wear a team down and create some easy baskets. AC would need to work on some conditioning, but I think we have enough athletes to run a deeper rotation and keep players fresh like Minnesota does. It may not work against quality opponents like the upper half of the Big 10, but I think it would work well in the Summit.

[HoboJack]

Re: Minnesota GDT

After watching the Gophs last night against Penn State, I do feel better about the Jacks. While Penn State is not a top 25 team, they have a stud at guard and a number of quality D1 roll players. Minnesota's defense caused many problems during the game and I thought our guards handled the pressure well as compared to Penn State.

I still would love to see our players work as hard as Minnesota does on defense. That commitment to baseline-to-baseline defense can wear a team down and create some easy baskets. AC would need to work on some conditioning, but I think we have enough athletes to run a deeper rotation and keep players fresh like Minnesota does. It may not work against quality opponents like the upper half of the Big 10, but I think it would work well in the Summit.

I watched most of the Penn State game as well. MN got out to an early run & I thought Penn State did a good of staying calm & battling their way back into the game. Battle is a very good player, the rest of the Penn State team are quality role players. MN's balance really helped them put it away late.

I think it was our lack of hight more than athleticism that really hurt us in the MN game. AC had a couple of breaks where he got out in front and beat their big men back down the court. With their height on defense, it really took him out of the offensive flow. AC is at his best, when he gets a defender on his hip and can use his strength & body size to create space for his shot. When a defender plays off and AC squares up to face the basket, he doesn't have the hops to take the jumpshot over taller players, doesn't look comfortable on the dribble-drive, & gets a few offensive foul calls when he lowers his shoulder to establish contact. If he could develop a drive step & a 10-12 foot jumper with consistency that would help soften up the defense & allow him to be much more consistent scorer, as well as pull defenders away from the basket to allow him to use his passing skills to the cutters.

We get a little more of that with Tony with ability to step out a little further, but unfortunately he doesn't have the strength/size to do what AC does well with body contace (weight room/experience will help). Mark is kind of a combination of the two with better length, but no one part of his game really stands out as being superior.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Minnesota GDT

I have been advocating for Engen to be more part of the rotation for a while and once again last night he was productive in the "garbage time" he recieved at the end of the game with 3 block shots including an absolute in your face block on Ralph Sampson. Our other post players Fiegen and Cordova were powerless to make any stops or provide help defense. The most mind boggling quote in the post game interview came from Nagy when Imming asked him about Engen's productivity and Nagy responded yes we thought Mark matched up well with their post players? So why then was he not put into the game until under 5 minutes left and then pulled before the horn sounded? I get the fact Mark is not going to be the answer on the offensive end, but I think he can provide some shot blocking and better matchups with the taller post players we face. IMHO it's a disgrace the way this senior is being treated. To his credit he seems to be an absolute team player who cheers for his teamates and makes the most of the limited opportunities he gets and always with a postive demeanor.

Bump