2010-2011 Gophers

[Duffman]

Maybe Rubio can enroll?

[CJH]

It never ends with this team..........

[EBass]

Wonder what Devoe thinks now?

[CJH]

With Nolen out and Joseph gone (yes that looks like a major mistake by both parties now) the guards are thin and the lineup will be challenging:

With Al Nolen out, what are the lineup options for Tubby Smith and the Gophers?

Out of true point guards, Smith explores options

By Marcus R. Fuller

[email protected]

Updated: 01/26/2011 12:00:29 AM CST

Minnesota guards Blake Hoffarber (left) and Al Nolen in Minneapolis on January 16, 2011. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Tubby Smith is out of point guards. Al Nolen is out with a broken foot. Backup Devoe Joseph transferred to Oregon earlier this month. So Minnesota's basketball coach has to scramble.

Smith said he has three lineups he could try to help the No. 16 Gophers (15-4, 4-3 Big Ten) adjust, starting tonight against Northwestern (13-6, 3-5) at Williams Arena.

The Gophers could opt for height and experience. Or they could turn to their freshmen. Smith will try a little of everything, depending on the situation.

On Tuesday, one day after revealing that Nolen could be out the rest of the season, Smith said shooting guard Blake Hoffarber probably will start at the point.

"But I'm not sure where we go from there," he said. "We're looking at different options, and I probably won't know that until game time."

THE LINEUP

Point guard: Blake Hoffarber

Shooting guard: Rodney Williams

Small forward: Trevor Mbakwe

Power forward: Colton Iverson

Center: Ralph Sampson III

THE POSITIVES

This is the most experienced lineup the Gophers can put on the floor. Hoffarber is the only guard left on the roster with more than a year in Smith's system, and he played some point guard in high school. He also has shown improvement as a passer (leads the team with 4.4 assists a game). What Hoffarber lacks as a defender, Williams can make up for with his athletic ability and length at the point of attack. The size advantage inside would

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also help the Gophers become an even more dominant rebounding and shot-blocking team.

THE NEGATIVES

With Hoffarber looking to distribute the ball to his teammates, he might not look for his own shot as much. That's an issue because Minnesota struggles in its half-court set when Hoffarber isn't hitting outside shots. Williams would need to complement Hoffarber as a three-point shooter, but he was 2 of 23 from beyond the arc before Saturday. An even bigger issue for Smith, though, is not being able to count on all three of his inside players — Iverson (6 feet 10), Sampson (6-11) and Mbakwe (6-8) — staying on the court together for too long. When they got tired in the past, Smith rotated the three between two spots to keep them fresher. Also, spacing inside was difficult with Sampson and Iverson together. It would be even more cramped with Mbakwe, who gets a majority of his points near the basket.

THE QUOTE

"It just creates a problem because if they're in the game all at the same time, then they're all fatiguing at the same time," Smith said about playing Mbakwe, Iverson and Sampson together. "Then who do you take out of the rotation? It messes up our rotation."

THE LINEUP

PG: Blake Hoffarber

SG: Chip Armelin

SF: Rodney Williams

PF: Trevor Mbakwe or Colton Iverson

C: Ralph Sampson III

THE POSITIVES

Armelin might be the team's best player at driving to the basket now that Joseph is gone. Hoffarber and Armelin have worked well together in the backcourt, sharing ball-handling duties in the second half against Michigan. In that same lineup, Williams was able to concentrate on getting open on the perimeter, and he hit a couple of three-pointers. The lineup also would allow for more space inside with only two post players.

THE NEGATIVES

Relying on Armelin for offense could result in him being out of control and taking bad shots, reminiscent of former Gophers guard Lawrence Westbrook. That disrupts the offensive flow. The chemistry between Armelin and Hoffarber is a work in progress because they haven't played much together. Armelin and Hoffarber might be too much of a liability together defensively against solid outside shooting teams. And Hoffarber again would be more of a passer than a scorer.

THE QUOTE

"Coach tells us to attack the basket and try to make plays as best we can," Armelin said Saturday. "I've been watching Michael Jordan doing that stuff, so I kind of learned from him."

THE LINEUP

PG: Maverick Ahanmisi

SG: Blake Hoffarber

SF: Rodney Williams

PF: Trevor Mbakwe or Colton Iverson

C: Ralph Sampson III

THE POSITIVES

This would be the lineup with the least amount of change. Hoffarber, the team's scoring leader, remains at his natural position at shooting guard. The only difference would be replacing Nolen with Ahanmisi, which makes sense because he's the closest to a true point guard left on the roster. He started two games at point guard earlier this season when Nolen missed five games with a stress fracture in his foot. Ahanmisi is a better three-point shooting threat than Nolen, leading the team at 46 percent. He also can be relied upon, like Nolen, to make free throws, shooting a team-best 85 percent.

THE NEGATIVES

Putting the offense in the hands of an inexperienced floor leader is a big risk for a team trying to make a run at an NCAA tournament berth. Smith recruited Ahanmisi as a point guard, but he played shooting guard in high school and still is getting used to the position. Ahanmisi tries to play within the system but often makes poor decisions and mistakes under pressure. He has eight turnovers and only three assists in Big Ten play, including two turnovers and no assists in 13 minutes against Michigan.

THE QUOTE

"That really helped me starting before, and my confidence is higher because of that," Ahanmisi said Saturday. "I'm going to be ready whenever Coach needs me. I'm used to it now."

[Scott M]

Hopefully this puts an end to the ridiculous line changes. It's going to hurt this team, losing a defender and scorer of Nolen's and Joseph's caliber respectively and having people move out of their comfort zones, but the Gophers should still win a fair amount of games. I'd be surprised to see them ranked all year long though.

[Scott K]

We just need some one to step up into the vacancy. There is a great opportunity for someone, but who will it be?

[CJH]

Calling Rodney Williams.......

We have 15 wins with 11 games left. If we can win 6, with our strength of schedule, we should be in to the dance. I think that's very doable, you just have to have one of the three freshman guards step up, and it doesn't even have to be the same one every game.

[EBass]

I'm glad the Gophs aren't the only Big Ten team to loose a player for some off court issue.

From the Washington Post

"The player who will long be known around these parts as Korie "Bleeping" Lucious has been kicked off Michigan State's basketball team because of an unspecified violation of team rules."

It goes on and on, but he's done and will be transferring. Any ways, thought I'd share.

I wonder why Tubby doesn't start the freshman Maverick Ahanmisi at point so Blake can come off screens. We'll see, it will be interesting tonight.

[Scott M]

Nice game tonight. Poise by the upperclassmen. Lots of minutes for the starters, a noble job by Hollins off the bench. Big plays by the big men, lots of great interior passes. Iverson gets it going in the second half. Hopefully they keep it rolling. Some tough matchups coming in the next couple weeks. I'm cautiously optimistic after tonight's performance, but NW isn't any kind of big win.

[Nick Kuhn]

That 1-3-1 gave them some trouble. They handled it better in the second half but they still had quite a few turnovers. They really need someone who can break down the defense a bit off the dribble in those situations. That would open the passing lanes back up.

[SkunkedAgain]

I went to my one game of the season last night. That 1-3-1 zone definitely gave them problems, but Hoffarber just doesn't know how to put the ball on the floor and dribble. Joseph could get the ball moving, Blake needs a lot of coaching-up and practice. It seemed like Northwestern came back when the Gophers got tired/lazy. We stopped moving our feet on defense and #24 Sharma would just drive the lane or #22 would hit his three's. On offense everyone just stood around to see what Blake would do with the ball. It was ugly until the big guys would wake up, move to the hoop, and get some nice passes in down low.

Armelin, Hollins, and Ahanmisi tried but aren't that great yet. Many misfired shots. I like Ahanmisi best but Hollins put in good effort. After finally seeing him in person though, he looks like an 8th grader (physically). He really needs to grow into his frame. This team is shot unless one of these guys can quickly grow into Nolen's role.

To me, the reality is that Nolen is done no matter what. One of two things will likely happen. 1) Somebody will fill his shoes and the Gophers will make a run, relegating Nolen to backup status. 2) The Gophers won't have an adequate replacement and we'll get crushed in the second half of the season, making a comeback moot.

[Dotch]

Well, that went about like I would've expected. Let's see, Gophers on the road w/o a point guard against a good Purdue team that was completely squashed in their previous game. Toss in an officiating crew that made a half hearted attempt to control the usual Purdue clutching and grabbing along with their patented handchecking that IMO belongs on a sheet of ice, not a basketball court. Do they let them use sticks in practice? Result: The entire Purdue team would've had to have come down with food poisoning at halftime to lose this one.

Amazing the Gophers kept it as close as they did. The lack of a point guard is one thing, but the lack of any 3 ball threat other than Hoffarber, missing easy dunks, mental lapses on perimeter defense, and lousy free throw shooting pretty much put the final nail in the coffin. If I hear one more announcer whine about Purdue losing Robbie Hummel I'm gonna puke! I might anyway. This is one tough alien I'm battling!

[harvey lee]

Not a great game by the Gophers or the ref's. One might have thought it was a hockey game.

[CJH]

You knew they were going to struggle against Purdue this time around. They still need another wing to step up and Williams hasn't done it yet. Makes you wonder about him.........

[Scott M]

Didn't see any of the game (ice fishing) and forgot to record it. I figured they'd drop that one, guess we'll see what happens this week.

[CodyDawg]

Ya know, for a future NBA lottery pick, I gotta say that 2 points and 0 rebounds is a mite less than I expect from Rodney.

I think you gotta think about rolling the dice with ahanmisi at PG. Blake, bless his soul, cant do everything by himself. He might be serviceable if we had Blake II at the shooting guard spot, but we dont. The other thing is, Blake has to be more aggressive. He is the only guy who can consistenly shoot jumpers and he has to take more shots. He will go hot once in awhile and that puts a W on the board.

[CJH]

@ Indiana tonight. Not a great team, but they played them tough at the Barn, so who knows. It was mentioned in the paper this morning the Goph's are 4 Big Ten wins from being in the Tourney. Everyone counts!!!

[Duffman]

It'll be interesting to see how the Hoff will handle the point on the road.

[EBass]

Go Gophers!

[schmitty3]

WOW! What an ugly start. They have absolutely no offense in the half court. I'd lik to see them start running more. They have got a lot of athletic players and i think it would benefit them more. Hopefully they an somehow turn this one around.

[Duffman]

That offense that's been missing most of the season? They still havn't found it.

I'll give them credit for getting back in the game, nothing more.

Point guard, we needs it.

[CJH]

Ugly first half. First few minutes of the game, everybody was standing around except Hoff, and he had no where to go with it. Feel bad for him, though I give him credit for taking on the point.

I have never seen so many D1 guards/wings that couldn't knock down a shot (other than Hoff). Tubby has always said he wants to play pressure D. Where the heck is it. Get those young guys in there pressing and flying around. They've got young legs and could get some easy baskets off of turnovers. We are making it too easy to defend us. Every team will lock down on Hoff and make everybody else try and beat them.

[CodyDawg]

Guys, I am starting to think Tubby isnt the coach I thought he was. I didnt see the game, but listened to it and it was apparent this team was both not ready to play and was not prepared personnel wise. That is coaching.

[hunter76]

I agree about Tubby. They have the worst offensive play calling I have ever seen. Pass it around the 3 pt line with the big guys out there? Set some screens down low and jam it in there. They look so pathetic coming out of the gates its a joke. They seem to show up with about 5 minutes left in the game.

[Scott M]

I'd normally have a huge hissy fit rant right now, but I didn't watch a minute of the game and my wife didn't set the Tivo for me like I asked and I had obligations in the cities.

Same team we've seen for a few years now, they are going to be on the bubble. High water mark, November, low water mark, loss to Indiana. Sound familiar? From ranked team in February to bubble team in March. It's going to get worse.

[B. Amish]

i know several high school bb coaches and they've all been to gopher bb camps where tubby has given presentations. they all came away with a feeling of being let down afterwards with comments like 'man tubby didn't impress me at all'.

[Duffman]

In typical MN sports fashion, don't be all that surprised if the Gophs beat Ohio State Saturday.

"Beat the best, lose to the worst"

[CodyDawg]

playing to the level of your competition is one mark of bad coaching. yeah, i am having some doubts about him. kentucky sure didnt like him as they ran him outta there. and look at the talent he had there!

[thatoneguy]

You guys do realize that they are crippled by being forced to play their only shooter at PG, right?

[Dotch]

Yup and I guess there must be a whole bunch of bad coaching going on in the Big Ten if we're gonna look at it from the perspective some are starting to. Bad coaching by Tom Izzo because his team gets killed by 20 at IA last week and they're 5 - 5 in the conference, 13 - 9 overall? Fire him! Bad coaching by Bruce Weber for his Illini losing against Northwestern today? Fire him! Tom Crean whom everyone was calling a genius after last week's upset over MN all the sudden does a bad job of coaching when his Hoosiers lose to IA at Bloomington today? Fire him too! It ain't easy to win on the road in the Big 10, heck it ain't a gimme at home on any given night anymore. Does Tubby drive me nuts sometimes? Sure but who else we gonna get? Put the 5 Gopher players who are injured or defected over the past 2 seasons back into the mix and he may suddenly look like a better coach. It's a game. Players play, coaches coach. Fans, especially MN fans bellyache. Go Gophers!