Gophers

Remember Clem Haskins?

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Oh, those days were good. The Golden Gophers were playing basketball all the way through the month of March. And things were easier. Players didn’t have to worry about annoying things like class. Nope, these men were full-time ballers, making the university proud, until the Pioneer Press made them red.

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Posted by Bradley Campbell at August 1, 2008 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

 

Estimated Prophet

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Well, the Gophers’ season came to a rather depressing end on Tuesday night, with a 68-58 loss to Maryland, in the first round of the NIT. The game was basically even save for the second half’s dreadful four opening minutes. In that stretch, the Terrapins took advantage of a discombobulated Gophers’ squad, fast-breaking and dunking their way to a 12-2 run. The Gophers had already been struggling on offense, failing to break 60 points or shoot better than 40% in their previous five games. This situation was not helped, to put it mildly, by the loss of their best scorer and only true one-on-one threat, Lawrence McKenzie, who injured his foot in practice. The team made some open shots early in the game in jumping to a 16-10 lead but, for the most part, they had an impossible time getting good looks.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at March 20, 2008 12:09 AM | Comments (0)

 

Fear the turtle

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As a lifelong Maryland Terrapin fan, proud owner of a "Fear the Turtle" t-shirt, and ardent believer that the day Len Bias died was the most tragic in sports history, a brief consideration of what the Gophers will face on Tuesday night.

Maryland got off to one of the worst starts in school history. They lost to a string of anemic teams prior to the ACC season: American, Ohio (University, not State), Virginia Commonwealth. Then they suddenly got their shit together and won six of seven in the ACC, highlighted by an away victory over top-ranked North Carolina. Just five weeks ago the terps looked to be a tournament lock and potentially a highly dangerous team in the post-season.

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Posted by Paul Demko at March 17, 2008 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

 

Slow Century

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In case you haven’t heard, the Big Ten is a little down this year (um, decade). I’ve heard lots of TV commentators attempt to counter this statement (usually by appealing to the quality of the conference’s coaches) but the tournament selection committee seems agree with the prevailing sentiment, as evidenced by the fact that only four teams were chosen for the 64-team field. Among the major conferences, only the ACC did as poorly and we saw what happened when the two leagues went head-to-head (in case you missed it, the ACC won almost every game). Even worse, the style of play that has taken hold in the Big Ten, a sludgy, defense and half-court approach, is pretty unpalatable. I really don’t know if this conservatism is a philosophic choice (some uncharitable reflection of dour midwesternism, maybe) or a response to the league’s general lack of talent, but, frankly, it’s a little depressing.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at March 17, 2008 12:26 AM | Comments (0)

 

College Counseling

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Last time we spoke, I mentioned Gophers’ fifth-year senior forward Dan Coleman’s verifiable on-court struggles and hypothetical off-court struggles. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here: I was trying to be a little funny—inasmuch as the existential anguish of all college seniors is a little bit funny in its outsized, melodramatic way—but I really wasn’t trying to make light of whatever the guy is going through. Actually, I was kind of trying to allude to the sad fact that we, as fans, are pretty good at marginalizing the outside (i.e. “real”) lives and inner worlds of the athletes we follow. In general, we pay attention only to the extent that those lives/worlds can be turned into consumable tidbits—“his father taught him the meaning of hard work”; “his brother helped him keep things in perspective”—and lose interest after that. Recall, please, that life is pretty hard and that pain is real—even if you can do things like shoot a basketball or blow out birthday candles perched ten feet above the ground. Think of yourself at age 22 and then maybe have a little sympathy.

I am happy to report that Coleman showed much more spark in the Gophers’ home win against Penn State and road loss to Purdue. He didn’t shoot well in either game—4-12 and 4-11 respectively—and he made some amazing mistakes against Penn State (like fouling a three point shooter late) that, Coach Tubby fumed “almost cost us the game,” but I’m honestly happy to see him work up the gumption to put shots up at all. What’s more, he pulled down seven rebounds against Penn State and thirteen (along with three blocked shots) against the Boilermakers. So, Coleman's mercurial temperament will remain something of a mystery. I'm just glad he doesn't look quite so sad and lonely.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at February 28, 2008 6:09 PM | Comments (0)

 

Home Invasion

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Here are some things Tubby Smith said in the press conference following Tuesday's game against Illinois: "pathetic defensively"; "didn't show toughness"; "lacked aggressiveness". In case you were wondering, the Gophers did not win. I find that Tubby is usually a bit hard in his team's defensive effort. It's true that they often give up open jumpers but they often make up for it with their aggressive ball pressure, creating turnovers in the backcourt and generally disrupting their opponent's execution. But boy, they sure didn't do any of that stuff against Illinois who, with a 2-9 conference record, was sitting in a tie for ninth in the Big Ten.

Trouble started early when it became very clear that Illinois center Shaun Pruitt was much, much to quick for the Gophers' Spencer Tollackson, easily beating him with a succession of baseline pivot moves. Tubby adjusted by switching to a 2-3 zone but this was even less successful; the Illini busted the zone with good three-point shooting while also managing to find open looks inside, the supposed strong point of that defense. Now, the hallmark of the Gophers' defense thus far has been aggression (rather than, say, poise or presence of mind) but, in this game, they were even less disciplined than normal. The Gophers (particularly Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson) repeatedly over-committed to ballhandlers and then compounded the problem by rotating poorly to open players. To their credit, Illinois executed their offense extremely well, baffling the Gophers with crisp motion and screens. They also finished with authority, shooting a remarkable 59% from the floor (including 7-13 from three). But the U's help defense was a step slow all night, resulting in many open shots, fouls and three point plays. It is often said that bad defense stymies a team's own offense and this was true for the Gophers in one concrete way, in particular. Lawrence McKenzie, the team's best pure scorer, fouled out after playing only 17 minutes; three of those fouls were committed at the basket as he was covering for out-of-position teammates.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at February 13, 2008 5:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

Ann Arbor Rock City

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Well, the last two weeks have been pretty instructive for the Gophers. First, they gave both Indiana and Michigan State scares at home. Then they looked fairly awful in a 76-60 road loss to a pretty good (but by no means great) Ohio State team. Then, just when they desperately needed a win, they came through with a good all-around performance on the road at Michigan. The unevenness of their play might make the Gophers seem a touch enigmatic but really, there is no mystery here. The fact is the Gophers are a very average basketball team. They do what average teams do: they lose to good teams and beat bad teams. When they play very well, it can almost look like they are almost as good as somebody who is actually good. When they don’t, they look pretty bad. This is totally ok.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at February 2, 2008 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

 

Tonight We Dine in Hell

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• For the second straight game, an opposing coach described a matchup with the Gophers as “strange.” This week it was Tom Izzo who, like Indiana’s Kelvin Sampson, was probably quietly wondering how a team without any consistent scorers was able to hang with his top ranked group. I find it a little strange myself, to tell you the truth. In the first half, though, the Gophers pretty thoroughly disrupted Michigan State’s offense, even without the injured Al Nolen, their best perimeter defender. But, by the second half, the Gophers’ tendency to aggressively overplay the ball, thereby leaving perimeter shooters open, again came back to haunt them. Without Nolen’s hounding defense, State’s star guard, Drew Neitzel, was repeatedly left open for threes. Neitzel buried five of the eight he took and eventually put the game out of reach.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at January 22, 2008 12:27 AM | Comments (2)

 

"Hoosiers": The Blog

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Thursday’s 65-60 loss to Indiana at Williams Arena was incredibly entertaining in the most college basketball-ish way. It was hard to even get one’s mind around the insane intensity emanating from the home crowd, especially when it looked like the Gophers really could pull off an upset. It was that intoxicating, individuality-dissolving group mania can make sports so inspiring (also works great for nationalist politics) and must feel pretty oppressive and menacing for the visiting team. The crowd’s energy clearly spurred the two teams to play with incredible intensity of their own, although it also likely inspired the very ragged play that held forth for large stretches of the game.

Unlike their road loss against Michigan State, in which the U had to fight from behind the entire game just to make it close in the end, the Indiana game was theirs to lose. The Gophers led 56-52 with 6:50 remaining, capping off a 9-0 run with a gutsy left-handed layup and (right handed) free throw by Dan Coleman. And they went up 60-58 with 1:49 remaining after Al Nolen set up the cutting Spencer Tollackson with a gorgeous drive and dish. But then they failed to execute on each of the next four possessions. First, they botched a rotation after Indiana’s Jamarcus Ellis drove the lane, leaving Lance Stemmler open to hit a three. Then the Hoosiers pressured the Gophers into a wild shot as the shot-clock expired. Nolen compounded the problem by fouling Indiana’s freshman star Eric Gordon along the sideline, where Gordon was in no position to score. Gordon hit both free throws to go up 63-60 and, on the ensuing possession, Lawrence McKenzie missed a wide open three of his own. Indiana corralled the rebound with six seconds left and that, friends, was the game.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at January 19, 2008 3:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

Tubby Smith Was Not Born in A Barn

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Gopher’s men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith chose a pretty big stage from which to send his latest unsubtle message to the University. In the last paragraph of a fluffy article in Wednesday’s New York Times preciously entitled “Few Expectations but More Enjoyment,” Smith was quoted this way:

How much longer can you play in the Barn? I know it’s sacrilegious to mention that, but it’s going to be 80 years old next year. How many 80-year-old buildings are still being played in? I’m sure it’s a long-term project, but what do you do in the meantime? We can’t play here forever. For now, we can make this a great environment, which it has been in the past.

(Incidentally, the piece contains a hilarious and depressing peak at the pre-feminist world of coaching marriages. The Times precedes a quote by Smith’s wife, Donna, by saying, “Donna Smith said the change had been good for both of them. [Italics mine] ‘He looks better,’ she said. ‘He’s having more fun. He’s more relaxed, and he loves what he’s doing.’" Sure sounds like they’re “both” really enjoying themselves.)

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at December 28, 2007 12:27 AM | Comments (1)

 

Dakota...South Dakota

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First things first. South Dakota State has totally righteous uniforms. They’re wrestling-mat blue and made of that amazing, fireproof double-knit rayon I remember so vividly from Middle School basketball games. Best of all, their only ornamentation is the word ‘State’ written in block letters across the chest. They look like what you might find in a commercial for car insurance or adult diapers when the happy couple is really enjoying each other at a “college basketball game” (now that he has his life back).

Also: the U of M dance team took the floor at halftime to Bjork’s percussion-less, sonically dense, totally un-danceable jam, “Joga”. If you’re not familiar with the song, check it out online and then picture the dance team perkily prancing out to half-court in their spangled, rhythmic gymnastics-y costumes and then very, very slowly…sort of solemnly moving in some kind of abstract relationship to the music. Then picture lots of maroon and gold-clad Gopher fans—like the middle-aged guy behind me who yelled along with all of the student section chants, even the ones where they made fun of the kids who fouled out—looking confused.

This whole digression here will be important later, when I explain how the Gophers nearly lost to a team called the Jackrabbits who are 3-6 and recently lost by 30 to Oral Roberts. No it won’t.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at December 13, 2007 9:04 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Great White North

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The biggest surprise of the Gophers’ 88-56 victory over North Dakota State on Monday was the improved play of senior forward Dan Coleman. Coleman had been caught in the muck of a season-long 17-49 shooting slump (that’s, lets see here, 34.7%) that had visibly affected his confidence in the other phases of the game. Against NDSU, Coleman was galvanized, perhaps by matching up against much smaller and less athletic opponents, and played his best game by far. He made seven of his 13 shots, showed some nice one-on-one moves, grabbed eight rebounds and was active on defense. This is the kind of play that had made Coleman one of the Gophers’ best players last year and compelled him to briefly (and terribly unwisely) enter last year’s NBA draft. If the Gophers are to have any success in the Big Ten this year, Coleman needs to play like this every night.

(Did I say “the biggest surprise of the game”? The biggest surprise of the game was actually when I walked into the arena a few minutes before the tip off and discovered that every last NDSU player was certifiably white. I mean I know its North Dakota we’re talking about, but seriously. Every last player. Again: North Dakota State, an NCAA Division I men’s basketball team, is made up entirely of white dudes. And not even a single one of them was Detlef Schrempf. Should somebody let Wesley Snipes know about this?)

The Gophers began the game a bit tentatively and the Bison hung in with them for the first 15 minutes or so, even taking an 18-17 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first half. Eventually, though, the Gophers’ superior size, athleticism and depth took their toll and as the game wore on, they were able to sustain a level of energy that NDSU couldn’t match. The U went on a 21-4 run in the last eight minutes of the first half and were never really threatened again. After the game, many commented that the Gophers “wore down” the Bison, and it was true; Tubby made good use of his deep, ten-player rotation, making sure that the five players on the floor were always well rested.

No doubt, it was the U’s best defensive effort of the year. They played disciplined, enthusiastic D for most of the game and, especially in the second half, used their trapping man-to-man to create easy baskets in transition. The problem here is that when the two teams played with roughly even energy levels (the first five minutes of each half, for instance) they looked relatively well-matched; only when the Bison fatigued did the Gophers seem like the more skilled team. Its fine to rely on depth and athleticism to pull you through against North Dakota State, a team that has played at the Division I level for only three years. But this is not a strategy that will serve them well during the Big Ten season. No matter how much they hustle, to beat teams like Indiana and Michigan State the Gophers are going to have to be able to play a little too.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at December 5, 2007 12:30 AM | Comments (0)

 

Iowa State upsets top-ranked Gopher grapplers

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Iowa State scored a pair of upsets early, then dominated the upper weight classes, knocking off the defending national champion Minnesota wrestlers by an 18-13 margin. The Williams Arena showdown between the top two squads in the country wasn't decided until the heavyweight bought.

It was an afternoon of low-scoring, gritty encounters. There were no pins and only one major decision. In fact not a single back point was scored by either team.

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Posted by Paul Demko at December 2, 2007 5:20 PM | Comments (0)

 

We'll Always Have Central Michigan

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Florida State Is My Favorite State

Seeing Tubby Smith patrol the Gophers’ sidelines gives me an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Maybe similar to if Otis Redding caught me singing in the shower; I just sort of wish he didn’t have to sit through that. This year, as it is whenever a famous coach inherits a struggling squad, is going to be weird. Sort of a throwaway season, waiting for Tubby to recruit the next Tayshaun Prince. But whether or not Smith is just waiting things out until his own guys come aboard and this latest crop of mediocre Minnesota high school stars has moved on, he already seems to have the Gophers playing more confidently and passionately than they did at any point last year. In Tuesday night’s loss to Florida State the Gophers stayed within ten points for most of the game by playing intense defense (they forced FSU into 16 turnovers and 42.3% shooting) and hanging with the bigger, more athletic Seminoles on the glass. The troubling thing is that they still lost by 14.

Its too bad hustle and energy can’t really run your offense for you. I mentioned that the score was close for a long while but, truthfully, it never really seemed like the Gophers could win the game. The first ten minutes were something of a free-for-all, with both teams running with abandon and raining threes, and the Gophers even managed to claw their way to a 22-18 lead during that stretch. But once reality set in, and Florida State’s talented guard trio of Isaiah Swann, Ralph Mims and Toney Douglas began to apply some serious backcourt pressure, the Gophers unraveled. U guards Lawrence McKenzie and Al Nolen began forcing passes into the teeth of the zone (3 turnovers each in 26 and 22 minutes, respectively) and all of the Gophers’ ball handlers started to look a little frantic and lost. Even when the guards did manage to beat Florida State’s pressure and execute the offense, forwards Spencer Tollackson and Dan Coleman had a miserable time converting, shooting a combined 5-21 from the field. In all, the Gophers shot a pretty horrendous 33.8%, including a tasty mix of rushed, contested threes and missed jumpers.

Once the pressure elapsed, the Gophers showed themselves to be a well-coached team, executing their offense crisply. But the sad truth is that even their best players (ostensibly McKenzie, Coleman and Tollackson) did not look skilled or athletic enough to play well against a good defensive team. To kill the party even further, the Gophers success on defense was somewhat illusory. It's true that their aggressive play forced Florida State to turn the ball over and shoot a low percentage. But they also sent the Seminoles to the line 32 times (compared to only 10 Minnesota free-throws), which probably tells us two things: the Gophers were out of position and they were out of control. Oh well, at least ESPN saw fit to show a bunch frat guys in luxury boxes do the Tomahawk Chop. So we were lucky enough to see that.

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Posted by Benjamin Polk at November 30, 2007 4:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

No. 1 Gopher wrestlers face No. 2 Iowa State

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The top-ranked Gopher wrestling team opened its dual-meet season last weekend by eviscerating Northern Illinois, Northern Colorado, and North Dakota State. Minnesota overwhelmed their opponents by a combined score of 109-21, and lost just four times in 30 matches.

On Sunday they will face substantially stiffer competition when they take on second-ranked Iowa State at Williams Arena. The Gophers outpointed the Cyclones last year to win their third national title in seven years. It will be the fourth time in just two years that Minnesota has been involved in a one-two showdown, with the Gophers prevailing in all three previous encounters.

Sunday's marquee matchup will pit the U of M's Roger Kish against Jake Varner. The 184 pounders are ranked one-two in the country. In four prior meetings, the rivals have each prevailed twice. Most notably, Varner pulled off a 4-2 win in last year's NCAA seminfinals.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 30, 2007 1:18 PM | Comments (0)