2012-2013 Gophers

[Scott M]

It was a good tourney for the Gophers, a couple wins, and they got some good play from Dre Hollins and Mbakwe, amongst others.

Florida State is next on Tuesday night in the B1G/ACC challenge. Last year's ACC champions lost a number of players but will still get after it on defense. Won't be a runaway but I'm hoping the Gophers can sneak one out.

[schmitty3]

Gophers ranked 21 in the new AP poll.

[Scott M]

Nice game for the Gophers, controlled it from the tap and shot pretty nicely from the floor. Should help the RPI if FSU gets better as the year goes along as is expected. Pretty cakey for the rest of the non-conference schedule. @USC will be a little tougher, but that was a bad team last year.

[Scott M]

Gophers ranked #14 in the AP poll. Too high as they aren't a Sweet 16 team from the looks of em now, but if they jell a little and things go their way they could get that far and maybe further. Gotta take care of the rock for that to happen though. SDSU tomorrow night. You'll get to see the ball on a string style of Nate Wolters. I'll say he goes for 25 on 20 shots and the Jacks next closest guy in shot attempts will take 6 or 7.

[schmitty3]

Wow, at least they are getting some respect. No way they are #14 in the country though. If they can keep the turnovers down maybe, but right now I see them more as team that should be ranked around 25.

[schmitty3]

Well after posting I looked at the rankings, and realized there really aren't too many real good teams surrounding the Gophs. A few teams are having down years so far, which is allowing the Gophers to sneak up there. So now I see how they ranked where they are.

[rundrave]

SDSU tomorrow night. You'll get to see the ball on a string style of Nate Wolters. I'll say he goes for 25 on 20 shots and the Jacks next closest guy in shot attempts will take 6 or 7.

SDSU has had some issues as of late. They are getting complacent and seem to stand and watch Wolters. I just hope its a close game, and fun to watch.

[rundrave]

Local beat writers twitter:

Quote:

SDSU injury report given last night was incomplete: Wolters turned ankle at practice. He did participate in shoot around but is questionable.

Regardless he wont be 100% if he plays. Bummer I was looking forward to watching him tonight.

[Scott M]

Bummer is right. This game was over by halftime, 48-24. I too was hoping to see him fill it up. Last year I went to the game.

Everybody got some run for the Gophs. Out to USC on Saturday to try and get a solid road win. USC has some transfers that are finally playing and playing well. Will be a nice little test. Then it's home for NDSU before Finals break.

[schweady]

Andre Hollins couldn't miss in that first half.

Austin Hollins is incredibly quick.

Coleman is providing some very solid play.

Even when Mbakwe only scores two points, he gets you off your seat.

Hopefully, Walker is still in the gym, working on free throws.

Nice ball movement, aggressive play.

Fun to be watching a #14 team, eh.

[CodyDawg]

Here is the good news as I see it. I dont think we have hit our potential yet. When Mbakwe is back to form and starting, then we will be in top form.

Need to stay away from the injury bug.

one last thing....Mo hasnt looked good to me so far. I was expecting more. Are they bringing him along slowly like Trevor?

[schmitty3]

Not a very pretty win tonight, but a win on the road none the less. They had no answer for Arabi inside, brought back memories of the Duke game with Plumlee.

[Scott M]

No Pac12 network here. Gophers took care of the rock early and built up their lead, then turned it over as usual but came out on top with a solid finish. Too many points for USC's big man off the bench.

I like how the team is handling their success. They appear to have good chemistry and bring a pretty good defensive effort from game to game. Congratulations to Tubby on win number 500. Should have hit it some time last year, but that's for a different thread.

NDSU on Tuesday night, then 11 days off for finals.

[mr_jman]

Gophers ranked 13/16 in the polls. Two more "exhibition" games then we'll see if this team is for real on December 31st! Hoping to ring in the new year after a beat down on Michigan State!

[schweady]

What an athletic team. Really fun to watch tonight.

Weakest link? Walker needs to start earning his feed.

[schmitty3]

Weakest link? Walker needs to start earning his feed.

The guy can barely move, maybe he's still not 100%, but man he doesn't look anything like the guy pre-injury. Otto Osenieks has looked pretty bad too though, can't believe we can't find anyone better than that to come off the bench.

[birchbranch]

I agree about Moe. He is very slow, cannot jump, and rebounding is a challenge unless it falls in his hands. I think Eliason will hurt them in Big Ten play unless his minutes are limited. He plays hard, but it appears to be a struggle for him. No question Mbakwe should be starting. Otto O. doesn't appear to bring much to the table for Minnesota. The Gophers should be tough if guard play is solid. Rodney Williams was a pleasure to watch this evening. NDSU has a decent team. They sure played hard....

[schmitty3]

On a positive note though, Rodney Williams had the #1 play on SC top 10 and Mbakwe had #3. That 360 was nasty!

[Snag]

Normally, the gophers don't improve in the off season, but everyone except for Eliason has gotten better. He needs to step it up when we get to the Big 10.

Our defense is much better this year.

[Scott M]

Went to the game last night, Gophers looked really sluggish. They have 11 days off but looked like they were coming out of a break rather than going into one.

Mo Walker is in need of some conditioning. I remember his freshman year he hit some outside shots, grabbed some rebounds in traffic, and had a soft touch inside. This year he's got no touch, isn't catching cleanly, and is jogging down the court.

Elliason made Marshall Bjorklund look a lot better than he is by giving up position and getting carved up by drop steps and up and unders.

Oto got beat up by Taylor Braun, looked two steps slow at all times.

AusDre Hollins dropped 10 dimes but shot 5 of 17 finishing with 16 points. Those two were decent but can and should play a notch or two better.

Rodney was very efficient. He missed an opportunity for a breakaway in the first half but got his buckle up, 360 dunk later before the end of the first half. It was #1 on SC's Top Ten. If Rodney can keep hitting outside shots (long 2's, I prefer he not shoot 3's although he's hit a few), he'll help stretch the defense.

Trevor was a beast. He'll probably come off the bench one more time for the last non-conference game, but beyond that he needs to start. He grabbed a career high 18 rebounds in 21 minutes (grabbing a couple boards away from team mates ) and abused NDSU's front line. I actually thought his tip dunk was the best dunk of the game. You could see it coming in slow motion when his man rotated and Trevor ran to the rim on the shot attempt. If he makes more plays like that, he won't be reading any more articles that declare him a "below the rim" player that's been robbed of his athleticism.

[Scott M]

Gophers opt to life Wally Ellenson's redshirt 12 games into season.

by Nate Sandell, ESPN 1500

MINNEAPOLIS -- When Gophers coach Tubby Smith motioned for Wally Ellenson to check in for what would be his collegiate debut, a feeling of nervousness surged through the true freshman guard.

"He said his body was in shock, because his was in a relaxed mode and then coach called him and he was like, "Ohhh,'" sophomore guard Andre Hollins said with a grin Tuesday after the Gophers' 70-57 against North Dakota State.

Ellenson was granted his wish to play in his first year on campus.

In a surprising move, the Gophers lifted Ellenson's redshirt 12 games into the season. After mulling over the situation for an extended period, Smith met with Ellenson and his parents on Monday night. They came to the conclusion that the Wisconsin native would begin his initial year eligibility, despite the season already being nearly six weeks old.

"He wanted to play. His parents felt comfortable with wanting to play," Smith said. "They were all in agreement that lets get him in there and get him going, see how he does and go from there."

Ellenson's debut was brief. He entered with under four minutes to go in the second half and the Gophers' holding a comfortable 16-point lead. Fighting through obvious first-game jitters, Ellenson committed a turnover within 30 seconds of stepping on to the court before sinking one of two free throw attempts.

"He looked different out there without a practice uniform on," senior forward Rodney Williams said. "It's definitely good to see Wally out there. He's been waiting a long time. He finally got a chance. Hopefully we'll seem him more."

Ellenson's season was derailed before it could begin when broke his left hand in practice in late October. He was kept him sidelined for four weeks. The injury seemed to make it likely the Gophers would preserve his redshirt, as they had already opted to do with fellow freshman Charles Buggs.

However, the Gophers waited to see how Ellenson progressed through the recovery process. He returned to practice in limited fashion during the last week of November. Smith avoided making a final decision on Ellenson's status until he had several practices to observe him after he was cleared for full contact.

Known largely for his dunking ability, the 6-foot-4 combo guard averaged 20.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds last season for Rice Lake High School (Wisc.). Smith hasn't defined what Ellenson's role will be this year, but feels there is a spot for him in the Gophers' already crowded backcourt.

"He's going to be a good player for us," Smith said. "Wally has got a tremendous amount of talent and athleticism. I think he will help us."

Under Smith's rules, freshmen are not allowed to speak with the media until the team's first Big Ten game.

Smith's willingness to allow him to play right away may also be tied to the Gophers' current pursuit of Ellenson's younger brother, Henry. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound high school sophomore, is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. Along with the Gophers, he is being recruited by Kansas, Iowa State, Georgetown and Baylor.

[Scott M]

From Luke Lapinski, ESPN Rumor Central

At the moment, Minnesota sits at 11-1, ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25. The Gophers are finally healthy, Trevor Mbakwe is making his presence felt up front and a number of guards are making things happen along the perimeter. With things already going so well, why lift the redshirt of one of the program's top freshmen?

Whether it makes sense on the surface or not, that's exactly what Tubby Smith has done. In the team's last outing, he allowed Wally Ellenson to get into the game for four minutes. That means this year will count as one of the young guard's four years of eligibility -- and he's already essentially missed the first 12 contests.

A closer look at the situation reveals a few potential reasons for making such a move though. For one, Ellenson is capable of helping Minnesota with a nice shooting touch from the outside. Even though things are going well now, it never hurts to have an extra weapon or two at your disposal -- especially in the loaded Big Ten. And the Gophers seem primed to do some damage this year, so why wait? They also already have another shooting guard (Alvin Ellis) set to hit campus next fall, so it's not as if they'll be thin at the position down the line just because Ellenson's suiting up now. On top of that, Nate Sandell of 1500ESPN.com points out that the program is currently recruiting Ellenson's younger brother, Henry -- a four-star prospect ranked No. 22 overall in the 2015 class. Allowing Wally to play right away -- something both he and his family wanted -- certainly can't hurt in that recruiting process.

[Dotch]

I should've pm'ed you before the game and would've been able to meet you in person Scott. We had tickets for the game a friend had given me just the day before. Worked out slick because I had to be in town for meetings as did a group of St. Paul campus Gopher alum. I even took a SDSU grad along who had never been there so he could see the historic old facility. Dandy seats. Across from the opponents bench about 10 rows up from the floor and Flip Saunders was actually a few rows behind us!

Was fun to get back to the confines of the Barn once again. Agree with your assessment a few days back. They got off to a slow start as I saw it and had to work at it to get control of the game which I commend them for. Trevor too I felt started slow but once he got it cranked up, he was the beast once again. They could've easily mauled the Bison had they taken the ball inside more and gotten a thin bench into early foul trouble. But hey, what's the fun in that when you can camp outside and practice shooting and miss all those mid-range jumpers?

[Scott M]

Watched BTN and the Gophers last night. Slow outta the gate, but they overhwlemed Lafayette with their depth.

Coleman had a nice game, going hard to the hoop and getting rewarded with some dunks, he also got out in transition and flushed a few. Everybody got to play except Elliason. Apparently he's in the doghouse, TUbby wouldn't elaborate. Attitude about not starting, bad practices, a speeding ticket (?!?) were some of the speculation I heard. I have a hard time thinking he'll be out for long, guy always gives 100% and works hard so I'm not worried about it.

Next up is New Years against Michigan State. They need to start on the right foot and win at home, against a ranked team. We'll see what they have, they should be hungry to get this one and the barn should be rocking.

[schmitty3]

Yea not much of a test last night. The talent differential between the 2 teams was just so big. I didn't think they looked too good, but it's tough when you are playing Lafeyette.

Can't wait for the B1G season to start!

[Scott M]

Would like to see a win tonight if this team is seriously thinking of contending this year. MSU is having a down year, relatively speaking, so you gotta take care of home court. I am nervous about the long layoff...

[Scott M]

Nice closeout, Gophers score final 12 points. 76-63 Final. Tubby shortens the bench and the starters respond. Nice opening win, setting the bar high. Still too many turnovers, Appling hurt them early, but they pounded the glass hard to compensate.

[schmitty3]

Yep they finally bucked the trend of falling apart at the end of big 10 games and took over at the end there. Dre Hollins and Mbakwe were huge at the end.

One thing that's concerning is the half court offense. Seemed like unless they were getting fast break points they had nothing. They also gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, but made up for that with offensive rebounds of their own.

Now i'm hoping Iowa can somehow pull off a win over Indiana...

[Huskie]

Nice win for the Gophers, it's a good way to start the year in a conference that's loaded. It still will be tough for them to finish above 4 or 5 with the talent in the league. They still need to do a lot of work on their half court offense, you can't win on transition alone. Also, how about a few of you drawing up some out of bounds plays and send them to Tubby so we can inbounds the ball under our own basket---maybe even score a time or two. Go Gophers!!!!!

[schmitty3]

Yea those base line inbounds were ugly. Don't think i've ever seen a team without a play for that situation. Everybody would just stand around until it got close to 5 seconds and then they would panic. Even the basic "stack" that you learn in youth ball would have been better than what they were doing.