A Christmas Wish

I'm not going to preview the South Dakota State game (Go Jackrabbits!).  I'm just not.  You can't make me.  They are the last in a string of terrible non-conference opponents, they're terrible, and they have nobody worth watching.  Instead, I'm going to do a cliched cheesy christmas wish list.  Hopefully it's not terrible, but if it is, you get what you pay for.

Dear Santa,

Please bring:

Al Nolen the ability to finish at the rim.  I could have gone with jumpshot here as well, but if he can only have one I think adding the threat of being able to score when he consistently blows by his defender is more valuable than an outside shot.  Once the big ten season starts, players aren't going to leave their men for easy dishes - they know things.

Damian Johnson a consistent outside shot.  Remember Travarus Bennett?  Similar player, but he developed into a good perimeter shooter his senior year (as did Eric Harris).  Johnson is improved, but he's not there yet.

Ralph Sampson a mean streak.  He's nearly perfect physically (*swoon*), but it would be nice to see him a little more fired up, maybe knocking around a few people's heads and toss in a technical here or there.  Get pissed Ralphie, you're being disrespected.

Colt Iverson the dream shake.  Although improved, his footwork on the low block can be cringe-worthy at times.  If he adds some moves and be smoother and more fluid, I am starting to think he could be a serious offensive weapon down the line.

Joe Mauer the one team loyalty of Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken. Come on Joe, you know you want to.  What can money buy you any way outside of happiness, love, and everything you could ever want?

Bill Smith some aggressiveness.  The J.J. Hardy trade is a good start, but there is a lot more work to do here, especially if you want to prove to Jo-Jo that you're serious about winning.  Take a page out of Seattle's book - they have a higher payroll but they maximize it.

Carlos Gomez the drive to excel when he's been disrespected (think Steve Smith).  I'd rather have him do it with the Twins, but he's gone now.  I'd love to see him channel their giving up on him into becoming a great player.

Brad Childress all the mental faculties a head coach needs.  Any of them would do, I'm not sure he has a single one.

Adrian Peterson twenty carries a game.  How is this something we even have to ask for?

Brett Favre the fountain of youth.  Don't you go falling apart on me old man.

Michael Cuddyer the hope that someone takes away Greg Gagne's inability to resist the down and away Slider in the dirt - this would be the White Elephant/Yankee Swap portion of the evening.

Devoe Joseph a brother to play with.

Lawrence Westbrook some focus.  You may be the "#1 option", but this whole team is essentially 1B to  your 1A, and drifting in-and-out of attentiveness on both ends of the court is not an endearing trait.

Delmon Young some plate patience.  I'm not sure what his ceiling is, but I'm confidant we aren't going to see it unless he stops swinging at every pitch he sees.

Devron Bostick a time machine.  If he had chosen St. Louis or Northern Illinois (two others who offered) he would be averaging 15-20 per game.

Blake Hoffarber nothing.  He's perfect.

Baseball some kind of reform.  Watching the Yankees and Red Sox continue to stock pile anything they want is actually starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I know I'm late to the party and have defending the sport over and over again.  The Yankees just picked up Javier Vazquez, who is owed $11.5 million next year, to be their fourth starter.  $11.5 million for a fourth starter!  If he doesn't work out, they just shrug their shoulders and move on, meanwhile that money would be a huge investment for 90% of the other teams.  Frustrating.

Francisco Liriano some kind of miracle cure.  I can't be the only whose heart breaks every time he's on the hill, and not just for me as a fan, but for him as well.  It has to be incredibly frustrating.

Joe Crede the guy who worked on Larry Bird's back towards the end of his career.  Bird couldn't move on non-game days, but when he had to play the dude worked his Miyagi/Kilmer magic and Bird would go mess around and get a triple-double, yet Crede has missed like, 75% of his teams games.



I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but unfortunately that's all the time I have.  For now, let me say Merry Christmas (and all other Holidays) from Down with Goldy and Wonderbaby^TM, who really is not a big fan of Santa Claus:

Yawn along with Me

Game thoughts from the about to be thrilling-no-doubt Gopher/Northern Illinois game.  It will be a miracle if I get to half time.

20:00 - This Silas guy they are getting back from injury is the guy I mentioned in my preview who had 18 in their opener.  Could be the difference here. 

19:59 - I'm kidding of course.

19:32 - Turnover Westbrook, who From the Barn pointed out today is the worst player ever, leading to a layup by Silas.  Maybe he really is the difference.

18:52 - Damian rebound.  That's a fantasy point.

18:01 - Excellent defense by the Gophers leads to a shot clock violation.  This is more like it.  Except for how they are still losing 2-0. 

17:40 - Ralphie knocks down the 18-footer.  God it just kills me that I dropped him in fantasy.  I'm souless., I really am.  Like Derek Jeter but with even fewer human emotions.

16:14 - Hoff with the board, then coast-to-coast for a pull up three-pointer when the Huskies inexplicably don't pick him up in transition.  Then he gives it back on the other end by being unable to guard anybody.  I really am not sure what to make of him this year.  He can clearly shoot the lights out and dominate piss-poor teams, including dominating the boards, but he's not a good defender by any stretch and I'm just not sure what his role will be once conference play starts.  He's not nearly the liability Shamala was, and his basketball IQ is extremely high, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

15:30 - Hoff from about 28.  That one was deep. 

14:52 - Hoff from about 26.  Jesus this is like watching Jake Sullivan at the Hilton.

14:14 - Hoff from 24.  You want me to say it?  Fine, I'll say it.  This is like watching Larry Bird.  Apparently his role in the Big Ten games will be "white jesus."

14:12 - No Ill timeout down 16-8.  Tubby goes an all new five coming out of the timeout (the first of the game).  Makes sense since eveyone is probably a bit tuckered, but I hate taking the Hoff out right here.  He hasn't even gotten to take his heat check, and you're already cooling him down.  Freakin' Tubby.  He's like the Cooler in that movie "The Cooler."

13:40 - Nice job by Bostick getting a dunk (which he kind of Randy Cartered).  After he missed a three the Gophers got the offensive rebound, and instead of standing around Bostick got himself open right under the hoop for a wide-open super polite "dunk."  He's still got good offensive instincts, and I'd almost bet he ends up with a 20-point game at some point this season, but there are a lot of reasons to only give him a few minutes here and there.  He should have gone to a smaller school in like the MVC or OVC or even the Mountain West.  I bet he'd be averaging 15 a game at a smaller school.

11:40 - Gophers go to some full court pressure and immediately get the steal.  This game feels like the Gophers are up more than 18-10.  They certainly should be up more than 8.  The pace of this game is brutal.  It's like watching pre-shot clock ball.  I keep waiting for them to get the ladder out to get the ball out of the peach basket.

10:30 - By the way, I'm going to go ahead and strongly recommend the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons.  Yes, it's kind of homerific and yes, it's arrogant in a lot of places and yes, it is peppered with constant pop culture references, but it's also very entertaining and far more informative than I expected.  You can really tell he did his homework and I learned a lot in an entertaining way.  Highly recommend.

9:45 - Hoff for 3.  That's 5-6 by my count.  I am really, really wanting to see either a pull-up three on a breakaway with no defender in front of him or a 40-footer.  Come on Hoff, do it for the fans.  Let's see a little Kingsbury here.

8:43 - Great touch pass by Westbrook to find Sampson for a dunk.  Nice press Northern Illinois.  You guys are worthless.  If it wasn't for Michael Turner they might as well just shut the whole place down.

7:35 - Right now with 1 rebound and 1 turnover Damian Johnson is sitting at a total of -1 fantasy point.  Oy.  I feel like I started T-Jax.

7:20 - A three for that Silas guy who is actually decent.  Westbrook answers.  30-17 gophers.

6:13 - A steal and an assist by DJ, which is a quick five points. 

6:10 - Text from Snacks "Mbakwe not on the bench tonight."  I actually don't have a clue if he usually is, so I don't know if this is interesting information or not.

6:07 - Text from Dawger "How big does the Hoff's crank look tonight."  Kids got issues, man.  But I'd say large.  Think Dirk Diggler. 

4:48 - I'm getting HDTV on Friday.  I'm giddy.

2:45 - Devoe for three.  Gophers now up 19.  Only real drama here is a 26 point spread.  I think Brown would beat this guys by double-digits.

1:56 - New Twins guy to hope they sign:  Kelly Johnson, 2b, formerly of the Braves.  Atlanta didn't offer him a contract for whatever reason, so he's out there for the signing.  Although he struggled last year, hitting .224/.303/.389 with just 8 homers, the previous two seasons were excellent with OPS+ numbers of 116 and 109, or the equivalent of last year's Denard Span, and that's from the second base position.  IF his poor numbers were just due to his injury (only played in 106 games due to an injured wrist) and IF he is affordable he is very high on my wishlist for the Twins for next season.  

0:00 - Half ends with the Gophers leading 44-23.  I might be done here.

18:54 - Hoff hurt his ankle!  He's limping, shit.  This is just like when Larry Bird racked his face on the floor and ruined the Celtics seasons.  Oh the humanity!

18:27 - Nolen with a beautiful dish for a Sampson dunk.  He (Nolen) is such an enigma.  He basically can't be guarded, and when he can get to the lane and find open players he is so so so good.  Then he has games where he is completely lost out there and can nearly single-handedly lose a game for the team. 

17:08 - And then he does things like get a steal which leads to an alley-oop from Devoe to DJ.  Every time I think I'm out, he pulls me back in.  Damn you Nolen.  He's the Sam to my Diane.

16:40 - Text from Snake "Is Rodney in jail?"  That's a good question.  Haven't seen him tonight.

15:01 - 52-32 Gophers.  I'm pretty bored, and Mrs. W is even worse.  I think we are going to watch last night's Big Bang Theory.  I might be back later. 

11:00 - ESPN.com tells me the Gophers are up 65-34 and that Hoffarber is back in and made another three.  Good.

10:31 - Just flipped the game back on in time to see Blakey's seventh three pointer.  I so want to see a heat check.

8:18 - Hoffarber is out and so am I with the Gophers up 32.  Let's get on to the conference games already. 

Yo I'm Here (Gophers vs. Miami)

Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a bit.  Turns out I will have time to post on tonight's game, but only the second half.  Because of the early start, I was on Wonderbaby^TM duty and sort of caught the first half in bits and pieces between "fishing" and "playing blocks" and other various wonders of the baby variety.

The Gophers lead 30-25, and here is what I was able to tell:

1. Al Nolen is playing his best game of the year.
2. Miami is really sloppy with the ball.
3. Rodney Williams is really bad at free throws.
4. Miami is more athletic and it shows on the boards and when they drive to the rim, but luckily they hit a bunch of threes early, have fallen in love with the outside shot, and haven't gotten inside nearly enough.
5. Not nearly enough touches for Ralph.

So now Wonderbaby^TM is in bed, the wife is in the other room watching god knows what kind of crap on our brand new TV, and I'm holed up in the bedroom watching the Gophers on a 13 inch screen. But I am watching. Go

19:41 - Miami immediately tries to drive the ball, gets repelled, and then settles for a horrible three-point attempt that lodges between the rim and the backboard like a Rod-Will free throw.  I like this.

18:56 -  Ralphie dunk on another great assist by Nolen.  THIS is what he needs to be.  It's freaking glorious when he does this - I just wish it happened more often.

17:00 - Gophers miss a couple in the lane and an open jumper, shades of the Portland game.  This team is very good at getting quality shots, they just aren't very good at getting them to fall.  I'm going to consider this a positive though, because they eventually have to hit, right?  RIGHT?

16:40 - Is this guys' name Duece?  That would be sweet.

16:25 - Ralphie jumper!  Unstoppable.

16:13 - I looked it up, and his name is Dews.  That's disappointing.  Also disappointing?  This 23-10 rebound edge the Hurricanes have.  How is that even possible?  They're shooting 38%.  In 24 minutes o fgame play don't you think you'd get more than 10 rebounds by accident?

15:38 - They can't guard Nolen.  Their only chance is to just let him shoot instead of pass.  Remember how far off of Rondo the Bulls played in 2008?  That should be the defensive strategy here for the Canes.  I also want to use this space to point out to you that every single girl named either Casey or Cassie is hot.  It's true.  See:

15:30 - Oh, so apparently thanks to work I totally missed that Royce White pled guilty to something.  Now I'm going to have to spend my free time looking it up.  Maybe I'll just text Snacks.

14:15 - Damian with an offensive tip in.  Announcer guy wants us to know he has great length.  I'm sorry but I laughed.  The Canes tie it on another launched three (you guys go ahead and keep launching) but Hoff gives the lead back with a three of his own on yet another assist from Al freaking Nolen.  That's got to be at least 20 for him already.  He's the next Scott Skiles.

12:38 - Another chucked three missed by Miami.  Good god who coaches this team, Beilein?  I'm going to have to look this up now and see if this is just a team strategy. 

11:31 - Does anybody else think maybe Paul Carter, Rodney Williams, and probably Damian Johnson should maybe not shoot three-pointers?  Am I even allowed to talk badly about DJ?  I feel really guilty right now. 

10:44 - Canes take the lead 43-42 on another three pointer.  This one was open.  And since I know you've been waiting, it turns out Miami is in the upper 20% of teams in terms of how often they shoot threes.  Even more interesting, they actually have the 7th best shooting percentage of all teams on 2-pointers, but are 129th in 3-point percentage.  So yes, by all means stay on the perimeter.

10:30 - Whoa, how did Illinois get back in that game against Clemson?  Last I saw, the Illini were down 20.  Now they're down just five.  It makes me physically angry at myself how much I want the Big Ten to win this.  And it's not even from a rational mind as in raising the conferences RPI in order to help the Gophers get to the NCAA Tournament, it's just from some kind of conference pride.  When did I turn into my father?  I hate all the other Big Ten teams.

8:55 - Devoe with back-to-back threes to put the Gophers back up one.  Take that, three-point chucking jerks.  Maple Leaf power and all that shit.  Speaking of swearing, I'm reading the Bill Simmons basketball book right now, and it's weird because he swears in it.  Not a lot, and not excessively, but just occassionally enough.  It's like you're reading one of his columns (back when he still wrote them) with all it's homerism and arrogance but still damn entertaining, and then he drops a shit or a fuck on you.  Jarring.

7:57 - Since I didn't write a preview, here's your MIAMI FUN FACT:  Rick Barry not only holds every scoring, scoring average, and rebounding record at the school (game, season, career), he also holds the top eight single season scoring marks in the school's history.

7:39 - Westbrook just airballed a 12 footer with the Gophers down one.  What.  The.  Fuck.

7:12 -  Terrible defense on a high screen.  No help, no switch, no step out - not even a show by whoever the big guy was whose man set the screen.  I don't have Tivo in this room so I can't rewind, but I'm going to assume it was definitely not a lapse by Ralph.

6:03 - Nolen continues to be unguardable, and continues to get guys open shots.  And they continue to be missed.  I'm starting to think maybe that 15-footer isn't in Ralph's range.  But it's so pretty and so smooth.  He's like the next Sam Perkins, but without the three-point range.  Yet.

5:51 - Tie ballgame, Gophers go to a full-court press and force Miami to take a timeout.  I like this.  The Canes have been very sloppy with the ball all game, could be a good gamble here.  Or it could lead to thousands upon thousands of open three-pointers.  Also my new boss used the word "irregardless" when talking to me today, and I'm 99.9% sure he wasn't trying to be funny.  It took every ounce of willpower I had to not say anything.

4:45 - I'm about 90% sure Malcolm Grant could go by Devoe just as easily as Nolen has been going buy everybody tonight.  Luckily he has chosen not to so far.  And as I've been typing this Damian Johnson missed two free throws and Devoe airballed a three-pointer.  Bad omens.

2:57 - So I know Westbrook leads the Gophers in scoring and all tonight, but boy does he seem lost out there a bit.  I guess it's a nice improvement from last year, when he would seem lost and just stand around and do nothing.  And he just missed a pretty huge jumper.  Gophers down 55-53, Miami ball, 1:30 left.

0:42 - Westbrook turnover.  Gophers down four and now need to foul.  We're kind of in miracle territory here.  Somebody please go back in time to when I said I felt like Westbrook was in for a special kind of senior year and kick me in the nuts.  This more like Corky-special, not the good kind of special.

0:37 - Or, instead of fouling, they could let the Canes baseball pass it over their heads for a dunk, then turn it over without getting a shot, and give up a three-point play and suddenly be down by 8 with only 28 seconds left.

0:00 - Sigh.  Gophers lose .  Yet again, another missed opportunity to get a quality win, their last chance before conference play.  Similar to the Portland and Texas A&M games, this isn't going to go down as a bad loss, but it's another whiff on a chance to get a marquee win, which could come back to haunt them.  That's less margin for error in the conference games. 

I'm really just so disappointed.  Four big chances for big non-conference wins, four winnable games, and a 1-3 record.  Damn it. 

Suck it, Mid Major (and refs)

Now that, my friends, is a nice, nice victory.  Quite frustrating, especially with the refs seeming to call every little ticky-tack thing on the Gophers all night long, but a very nice win over a 10th ranked team, however dubious that ranking might seem after watching them play.

Make no mistake, the Gophers were clearly the better team, and were probably twenty points or so better than the Bulldogs.  It was the sheer volume of Butler free throws (36-45) that kept this game close.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, since Butler was 20th in the country in getting to the line coming into the game, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

In the first half, it was the Colton Iverson show (alternate headline:  There's a new Iverson in town - get it, Allen might be retiring).  The sophomore was absolutely everywhere, notching a double-double in the first half - his first career double-double - and playing as well as I've ever seen him.  Defensively, there isn't really much doubt that he can be a contributor (2 blocks), and his rebounding will always be a welcome addition (11 boards), but his offensive output tonight was a welcome surprise (13 points).  It wasn't always (or ever) smooth and it's not exactly like watching Hakeem the Dream out there, but his play was the biggest reason why the Gophers were up four at half.  Due to his effort tonight, I will not say a bad word about him, no matter what, until 2010 at the earliest. 

There wasn't much Colton in the second half - except for when he tossed fat ass free throw shooter with no other discernable skills unless making refs think you got fouled is considered a skill jerkass Matt Howard to the ground - but he wasn't needed.  Devoe showed why he was such a highly regarded recruit, having to take over at the point with Nolen out most of the half with four fouls thanks to a nice pele routine that earned him a tech.  He handled himself well taking care of the ball, and showed a nice ability to score inside, outside, and in transition.  Damian was the other star, showing off his newly developed well-rounded offensive game.  It's not pretty much of the time, but he looks so much smoother than he used to, and has actually developed some nice moves, including a little hook, a three-point shot, and the ability to get to the rim by putting the ball on the floor.  The more I watch him, the more I can't believe he was a Monson recruit (NOTE:  Nolen, I believe).

Speaking of Monson recruits, I should also mention Westbrook and the Hoff here.  Westbrook started the night in a fog, as he did far too often last year, but didn't stay there, really asserting himself for a short stretch late in the second half.  He not only had a huge three point dagger, but also pulled off an incredible move for a layup that was probably a travel, but since it wasn't called thanks to the refs being clueless all night, it counts as a great move.  And Hoff started the night with an airball, but then went on to make three of his other four attempts from beyond the arc, played well at the point when called upon to fill in, and played good defense in a grueling 35 minute night.  Great game for him. 

And great game for the team overall.  They dominated this game.  The score might not show it due to 8 billion free throws made by Butler, but the Gophers outclassed them in every way.  Great win, and as long as they don't lose the next two out in Anaheim we can consider this tournament a huge, huge, success. 


NEXT UP:  vs. winner of UCLA/Portland , 8:30pm, ESPNU.  I will try to put up a quick preview if I get a chance tomorrow.  Hopefully it's UCLA, and hopefully the Gophers can control the game like they did tonight, although will far, far fewer fouls and sloppy turnovers.

And hopefully we get more Rodney.

Week In Review - 11/23/09

If you've been watching basketball on ESPN this week, you would have noticed them pimping the hell out of their NCAA Basketball Encyclopedia, and probably become a bit annoyed by it.  I got annoyed by it, but I have to tell you that I have this book and it is totally awesome.  There is more information in there than any person could possibly need, and I mean that in a good way.  Like, did you know Delino DeShields was a top basketball prospect coming out of high school?  It's full of all that kind of stuff and more.  It's not like a baseball encyclopedia, like where you could say "I wonder what Kenny Lofton's stats were when he played for Arizona" and then look him up, but it's got tons of other info.  It lists every D-I team, their best players, best teams, best coaches, some cool little fun facts and other information, as well as their record every single year and their leading scorer, rebounder, and assister for each season.  Plus a bunch more cool stuff.  I highly, highly recommend it. 

WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Zack Greinke.  This was refreshing.  The BBWAA actually didn't screw this up and voted Greinke the American League Cy Young award, which is at it should have been.  In case you forgot, Greinke went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP this year, leading the league in both of those last two metrics, and if you watched him at all he seemed even better than that.  I figured the voters would screw this one up, since they love giving awards to players on good teams (The royals were awful), they love evaluating players based on wins (six pitchers had more wins than Greinke), and they love Yankees (Sabathia looked like a perfect candidate for the idiot voters).  But, for once, they made the right call.  Also a congrats to Tim Lincecum for winning the NL award for the second year in a row.  Who would have known Mitch Kramer would have grown up to be such a success.  

2.  Syracuse.  It seems my prediction of "Syracuse will suck this year" might be way, way off, while the cretins who vote in the polls and had them 24th were closer to the truth (also still underrating them).  After the two gimme wins last week, they headed to Madison Square Garden for the final four of the Coaches vs. Cancer classic, and walked out with the title.  They did it in impressive fashion, as well, beating #12 Cal in the semis 95-73 and #4 North Carolina 87-71 in the championship.  Their defense is still top notch, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche have filled in for Jonny Flynn nicely, Andy Rautins is actually making shots, Wes Johnson is as good as advertised, and Arinze Onuaku has stepped his game up.  Very nice week for the Orange.  I still kind of think this might be a house of cards a bit, and also that Cal and UNC were majorly overrated, but Syracuse has already proved me wrong, and it wouldn't shock if they continue to do so.

3.  John Wall.  Well, I think we can go ahead and say "believe the hype."  Wall was the top recruit this season, was picked by someone I read as the National Player of the Year, and so far neither of those seem too ridiculous.  In his three games this year, Wall has averaged 20.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game, all while shooting 56% from the floor.  His turnovers are about the only thing remotely concerning (averaging four per game), but he only had two in Saturday's win (to 11 assists) and for a freshman this early in the season it's not a surprise they are a little high.  Kentucky still hasn't really played anybody, and won't until December, but for now Wall looks very good, and Calipari is certainly squeezing as much out of him as he can in what his likely his only college season - he's played 38, 37, and 35 minutes in the three games.   

4.  Minnesota Vikings.  Are you like me and life as a Minnesota fan, and specifically a Viking fan, has conditioned you to expect the worst at all times?  I mean the Vikes are absolutely rolling, now at 9-1 and just destroying teams, such as the poor, hapless Seahawks who they rolled to such a degree that T-Jax actually played almost an entire half.  Everything is perfect.  Brett Favre has played nearly flawlessly this season.  Adrian Peterson has gone from "possibly the best back in football" to "the best back in football."  Percy Harvin is heading towards a possible rookie-of-the-year award.  Sidney Rice has realized his untapped potential and vaulted into maybe a top 10 receiver in the NFL (Don't believe me?  He's 17th in catches and 3rd in receiving yards in the NFL).  And the defense, although showing a few weaknesses at times, is still an elite unit with a front four that is basically destroying everybody - And all this without Antoine Winfield.  And yet, instead of relaxing, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and someting to go horribly, horribly wrong.  Will it be a Favre injury?  An injury to some one else?  Or will it be smooth sailing until an epic choke job in the playoffs?  I don't know, but you know damn well it's going to be something. 

5.  Rodney Williams.  I think it's finally time to recognize that this kid might not just beat beating up on poor teams, he might legitimately be a Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate.  It seemed the consensus on the Gopher freshmen coming into the season was Royce = FOY candidate, Cobbs = immediate backup, might steal the starting spot, and Rodney = project, possible redshirt.  Well, after putting up games of 14, 14, and 17 points, all on better than 58% shooting, and adding an average of three boards and two steals per, he's suddenly looking far beyond a redshirt.  Besides his stellar defense and insane athleticism, which were given, he's answered questions about his offense by showing a nice outside touch (3-8 from three) and a good offensive IQ.  I'm starting to wish I took him in my fantasy college hoops league.  Although I did get Damian Johnson, who is just ridiculous in every way.

To give you some example, in the scoring system our league uses (pts, rebs = +1, asts = +2, stl, blks = +3, TO = -2), he has put up 46, 40, and 42 points.  Last year's returning leader was Luke Harangody (also on my team), and he averaged 42 per game.  I realize DJ probably won't be able to continue to put up those kind of numbers, especially the blocks and steals, once competition improves, but in any case, he is just so, so valuable, and I'm talking real life - not fantasy.  I don't care who ends up leading the Gophers in which statistical categories, Johnson is hands down this team's MVP.  Except maybe Ralph. 


WHO SUCKED

1.  Penn State.  Ouch.  It looks like Iowa and Indiana won't be battling for 11th place by themselves, the post-Geary Claxton era is looking ugly.  The Nittany Lions were basically Talor Battle and that's it, and needed somebody to step up and help out this year.  That hasn't happened, and Penn State basically embarrassed themselves at the Charleston Classic this weekend, finishing in 7th place (out of 8).  It was a pretty low-level tournament, and was set up for a South Carolina/Miami final, with Penn State and South Florida as potential sleepers and then four cupcakey-type teams.  Well, the final happened, but Penn State never got their sleeper campaign going, dropping their opener to UNC-Wilmington.  Ok, fine.  At least they should be able to rip through the consolation bracket and salvage some pride, right?  Wrong again.  They lost their first consolation game to Tulane, setting up an epic seventh place game against Davidson, which they mercifully won.  Gopher fans have been there - remember the Old Spice Classic? - so we feel your pain, Penn State.


2.  Pac 10 Hoops.  The Pac was already said to be down this year, but things might be worse than originally thought, especially after watching one of their two "top flight" teams get swept by Ohio State and Syracuse in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, and do so without much of a fight (although to be completely fair, the Bears were missing a couple of players).  There are a ton of other black marks as well; Arizona State needed a miracle finish to beat a terrible TCU team, Stanford lost to Oral Roberts, UCLA lost to Bryce Webster and CS - Fullerton, USC was knocked off by a god awful Loyola Marymount team, Oregon lost to Portland, and Oregon State (the conference's big sleeper) lost to Texas Tech to drop to 1-2 and then lost on Saturday to Sacramento State - one of the worst teams in the country - and that all happened just this week.  I honestly can't remember ever seeing a major conference struggle this mightily this early.  At least the Washington schools are still undefeated, although neither has really played anyone yet.  The real winner in this is Arizona, who was heading for a down year and whose 24 straight years with an NCAA Tournament bid record was in jeopardy.  With a decent team, in what suddenly looks like a super weak conference, we could be looking at 25.

3.  Pittsburgh Steelers.  Funny thing about the NFL this year, there are a handful of teams that are so gad awful they never win and never even threaten to win:  Oakland, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Kansas City.  Except - whoops - Kansas City beat the Steelers on Sunday, 27-24 in overtime - and did so without Dwayne Bowe, who is suspending for cheating.  I have no idea how it happened.  Roethlisberger threw for 398 yards, but threw two picks and the Steelers turned the ball over three times, and then allowed Matt Cassell to have a nearly perfect second half and overtime, leading to four scoring drives including the game-winning field goal.  I don't even know what else to say.  This is like when Forrest Gump won the Oscar over Pulp Fiction.  Oakland also beat Cincinnati, and in even more embarrassing fashion, but I still feel like the Pitt loss was more stunning even though the Bengals have a better record than the Steelers.  I guess I've learned that you can never trust the Bengals completely.  Kind of like a wife or girlfriend.  Or any female, really. 

4.  Gopher football.  Did you ever think you'd pine for the days of Glen Mason?  I certainly didn't, and yet, that's what I found myself thinking on Sunday watching Maroney run for the Patriots.  I found myself harkening back to the days of Barbaroney (and G-Russ) and thinking, at least when Mason was here the Gophers had some talented players.  At least they were exciting and fun to watch.  And then I stopped myself, and realized what I was saying.  I wish Glen Mason was still here.  I WISH.  GLEN MASON.  WAS STILL HERE.  And I have a feeling if you're reading this and haven't thought that, you're thinking it right now.  Isn't that the most damning evidence that the Brewster era has been a failure? 

5.  NCAA Fascists.  FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!!  FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!!!  FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!!  Who's with me?  FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!!  FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!! FREE RENARDO SIDNEY!!  FREE RENARDO... (also now featured on the front page of the espn college basketball section).


I am crazy fired up for college basketball this year, and this is one of the best times of the season with all the holiday tournaments going on.  We already had the Coaches vs. Classic and Puerto Rico Tip-Off winners, but there's plenty more going on, and I'm most interested in the Maui Classic (other than the 76 Classic, of course).  I've been pimping Cincinnati as a final four sleeper this year, and this will be their first chance to show if I'm at least near the right track or not.  They start off with a good Vanderbilt team today on ESPN2 at 4:30 - check them out.

One other quick note from the weekend - the Gophers opponent in the Big10/ACC Challenge, Miami, won the Charleston Classic this weekend by beating Tulane, UNC-Wilmington, and South Carolina.  That's not really all that impressive, since the first two are weak teams (although Wilmington beat Penn State) and South Carolina's second best player went down with a knee injury seven minutes into the game and never returned, but still, it boosts Miami's profile and therefore the Gophers' if they manage a win on the 2nd - which I certainly think they can.

Thanks BTN!

Awesome.  I pay $2.99, and I get nothing but freezed pictures, skip aheads, and, rarely, as many as four consecutive seconds of uninterrupted picture.  And that's the second half of the game.  The entire first half was nothing more than 1-2 seconds of play, a frozen picture, hit refresh, and do it all again.  So here's what I saw from the game:

-  Justin Cobbs take some fool on the dribble for a layup

-  A super-sexy sweeping lefty sky hook from Ralph.

-  Justin Cobbs hitting a three.

-  Rodney Williams hitting a three

-  DJ forcing some overmatched donkis to turn it over

-  What looked like an awesome 2-1 break with Ralph and DJ, but I have no idea how it ended

-  Paul Carter getting matched up on the wing with some slow white dude and blowing by him like Brandon Jennings v. Brian Cardinal.

That's it.  Now, don't take this as a condemnation of the BTN streaming video, I had no problems with either the Moorhead or Tennessee Tech games, but tonight was just brutal.  I will have no problem using it again in the future - assuming they respect my email and refund my money for tonight - but it really, really sucked to not be able to watch the game, so I'm going to have to piece this together from the boxscore/make stuff up.

-  I know the first half wasn't pretty, even leading to a text from Snacks that read "this team isn't any better than last year", and resulting in a SFA lead deep in the first half, before a mini-run to close out gave the Gophers a 26-19 lead at the break.  In the second half that run continued - and how - with the mighty Gophers outscoring the non-mighty Lumberjacks 56-23, to end up with a 82-42 victory that would have been another 2x if not for a late cheapie layup by some dork from SFA.

-  I was going to do a whole thing here where I made stuff up like "Rodney Williams had a 360 dunk on his way to 14 points" and "Devoe Joseph was 3-3 on three pointers tonight, including two from 25+ feet" but I am suddenly simultaneously annoyed and tired, and it would take far more devotion to a bit to pull that off than I can muster up right now.  Instead, here's a fun fact regarding Stephen F. Austin U that I forgot to include earlier:  "In 1970, five players from SFA were drafted into the NBA.  Only eight other schools can match that in a single draft."  Information = power, kids.  Don't ever forget that.

Since I have no other way to talk about the game, and I don't want to speculate based on box scores, here is an update on the fantasy college basketball draft, and I know damn well you care because you've never played fantasy college basketball and you're very curious:

1.1 DWG - Luke Harangody, F, Notre Dame
1.2 TLEF - Craig Brackins, F/C, Iowa State
1.3 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas
1.4 Saintfool - Grievis Vasquez, G, Maryland
1.5 Aerial Assault - Kyle Singler, F, Duke
1.6 WuBanger - John Wall, G, Kentucky
1.7 Truck - Jarvis Varnado, F/C, Mississippi St.
1.8 Jeter23 - Patrick Patterson, F, Kentucky
1.9 Tar Heel Boy - Damion James, G/F, Texas
1.10 BasketballCoach - Michael Washington, F/C, Arkansas
1.11 Tobias Funke - Evan Turner, G/F, Ohio State
1.12 Balco - Greg Monroe, F/C, Georgetown

2.1 Balco - Lazar Hayward, F, Marquette
2.2 Tobias Funke - James Anderson, G, Oklahoma St.
2.3 Basketball Coach - Tasmin Mitchell, F, LSU
2.4 Tar Heel Boy - Trevor Booker. F. Clemson
2.5 Jeter23 - Devan Downey, G, South Carolina
2.6 Truck - Dominique Jones, G, South Florida
2.7 WuBanger - Jeremy Hazell, G, Seton Hall
2.8 Aerial Assault - Kalin Lucas, G, Michigan St.
2.9 Saintfool - Manny Harris, G, Michigan
2.10 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Devin Ebanks, F, West Virginia
2.11 TLEF - Willie Warren, G, Oklahoma
2.12 DWG - JaJuan Johnson, F/C, Purdue

3.1 DWG - Derrick Favors, F/C, Georgia Tech
3.2 TLEF - Jerome Jordan, C, Tulsa
3.3 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Andrew Ogilvy, C, Vanderbilt
3.4 Saintfool - Deon Thompson, F, North Carolina
3.5 Aerial Assault - Jerome Randle, G, California
3.6 WuBanger - Ed Davis, F, UNC
3.7 Truck - Wayne Chism, F/C, Tennessee
3.8 Jeter23 - Solomon Alabi, C, Florida State
3.9 Tar Heel Boy - Sherron Collins, G, Kansas
3.10 BasketballCoach - Al-Farouq Aminu, F, Wake Forest
3.11 Tobias Funke - Mac Koshwal, C, DePaul
3.12 Balco - Stanley Robinson, F, Connecticut

4.1 Balco - Jerome Dyson, G, Connecticut
4.2 Tobias Funke - Corey Higgins, G, Colorado
4.3 Basketball Coach - Talor Battle, G, Penn State
4.4 Tar Heel Boy - Scottie Reynolds, G, Villanova
4.5 Jeter23 - JaMychal Green, F, Alabama
4.6 Truck - Jeff Allen, F, Virginia Tech
4.7 WuBanger - Lance Stephenson, G, Cincinnati
4.8 Aerial Assault - Roland Schaftenaar, C, Oregon State
4.9 Saintfool - DeMarcus Cousins, F/C, Kentucky
4.10 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Malcom Delaney, G, Virginia Tech
4.11 TLEF - Sylvan Landesberg, g, Virginia
4.12 DWG - Tyler Smith, G/F, Tennessee

5.1 DWG - Chris Warren, G, Mississippi
5.2 TLEF - Gordon Hayward, F, Butler
5.3 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Gani Lawal, F, Georgia Tech
5.4 Saintfool - Sean Evans, F/C, St. John's
5.5 Aerial Assault - Alex Franklin, F, Siena
5.6 WuBanger - Luke Babbitt, F, Nevada
5.7 Truck - Jonathan Tavernari, G/F, BYU
5.8 Jeter23 - Xavier Henry, G/F, Kansas
5.9 Tar Heel Boy - Mike Holmes, F/C, South Carolina
5.10 BasketballCoach - Isaiah Thomas, G, Washington
5.11 Tobias Funke - Arinze Onuaku, C, Syracuse
5.12 Balco - Chris Wright, F, Dayton

6.1 Balco - Samardo Samuels, F/C, Louisville
6.2 Tobias Funke - DeSean Butler, F, West Virginia
6.3 Basketball Coach - Robbie Hummel, F, Purdue
6.4 Tar Heel Boy - DeShawn Sims, F, Michigan
6.5 Jeter23 - Jon Scheyer, G, Duke
6.6 Truck - Greg Echenique, F, Rutgers
6.7 WuBanger - Keith Gallon, C, Oklahoma
6.8 Aerial Assault - Kevin Coble, F, Northwestern
6.9 Saintfool - Dexter Pittman, C, Texas
6.10 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Trey Thompkins, F, Georgia
6.11 TLEF - Kemba Walker, G, Connecticut
6.12 DWG - Nic Wise, G, Arizona

7.1 DWG - Deonta Vaughn, G, Cincinnati
7.2 TLEF - Robert Mitchell, F, Seton Hall
7.3 NotoriousTREJetBrit - Wesley Johnson, F, Syracuse
7.4 Saintfool - Jimmer Fredette, G, BYU
7.5 Aerial Assault - Landry Fields, G/F, Stanford
7.6 WuBanger - Quincy Poindexter, F, Washington
7.7 Truck - Ben Uzoh, G, Tulsa
7.8 Jeter23 - Alex Tyus, F, Florida
7.9 Tar Heel Boy - LaceDarius Dunn, G, Baylor
7.10 BasketballCoach - DJ Kennedy, G/F, St. John's
7.11 Tobias Funke - Jeffery Taylor, F, Vanderbilt
7.12 Balco - Iman Shumpert, G, Georgia Tech

8.1 Balco - Elliott Williams, G, Memphis
8.2 Tobias Funke - Matt Howard, F, Butler
8.3 Basketball Coach - Augustus Gilchrist, F/C, South Florida
8.4 Tar Heel Boy - Patrick Christopher, G, Cal
8.5 Jeter23 - Chas McFarland, C, Wake Forest
8.6 Truck - Alex Oriakhi, F/C, Connecticut
8.7 WuBanger - Corey Stokes, F, Villanova
8.8 Aerial Assault -
8.9 Saintfool -
8.10 NotoriousTREJetBrit -
8.11 TLEF -
8.12 DWG -

Which gives me: 

G - Chris Warren, Ole Miss
G - Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati
G - Nic Wise, Arizona
G -
F - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
F - Tyler Smith, Tennessee (also G eligible)
F -
F -
C - JaJuan Johnson, Purdue (also F eligible)
C - Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech (also F eligible)

Which I think is a pretty good team.  I am currently five spots away from two picks, and I think I might go the double homer pick - Damian and Ralph.  The only other consideration right now is Ekpe Udoh from Baylor, and I'm really not sure if he's a fluke or legit.  I don't know if Damian and Ralph are the two best picks at this point, but they are definitely the two most fun; besides, if I lost out on Ralph I'd have to kill myself.  I'm actually almost positive I'm going to take Rico Tucker with my last pick.

Gophers win, Royce White is still a mystery

Usually when a rare Saturday roles around where I have no plans and no major projects needing to be done, which today is one of such of that, I like to do nothing.  Sit around, play with Wonderbaby^TM, watch some tv, and generally do nothing. However, with the Gopher basketball opener taking place last night and the whole Royce White deal, it seems I don't have much of a choice but to spend some time typing.

I'm just quickly going to touch on Royce White, since his status seems to be changing by the second. He wasn't on the bench for the game, rumors were flying that he was going to be expelled, and the news actually reported he was expelled. Seemed pretty clear, but now this morning both Tubby and Joel Maturi have said he is still on the team. I had expected he had gotten the boot, and despite my "wins come first" attitude and how vigorously I defended White previously, I thought it was probably the right decision. Now, who knows? I'm going to hold my thoughts on this matter until everything shakes out, but I'll just say if Royce is still on the team by the end of the week he is a very, very, very lucky young man. I just hope he will realize that, although I am not optimistic.

On to the fun part - the game. The team looked very good in their 87-50 win over Tennessee Tech, and the most impressive part was the defense. The numbers by themselves are impressive, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting, turning them over 27 times, and out rebounding them 35-26, and blocking 15 shots. Since the competition wasn't exactly top caliber, I was more interested in how they played rather than the results, and I'm happy to report that they looked good in their rotations and help side defense - absolute keys if they're going to do anything this year. That kind of defensive effort will keep them in a game against anyone. Needless to say, I was very impressed.

A few call-outs:

- Lawrence Westbrook led the team with 22 points on 9-13 shooting, including 4 three pointers, and he looked very good. He's slimmer and faster, and his shot right now is dead on and he knows it, showing supreme confidence once again in his jumper. I feel a little bit silly typing this, but I am getting a feeling that we might be in for a special senior season from Westy. Remember the leap in his game Travarus Bennett took from his junior year to his senior year? Or Eric Harris? I'm getting that feeling. I hope I'm right, because he'll be a big part of how far this team can go.

- Ralph Sampson started his run towards Big Ten POY with a nice night - 9 points and 9 boards on 4-5 shooting. He towered over everybody on Tenn Tech so the rebounds aren't really that impressive, but his offensive game looks far more polished than last season - that new turnaround J is a thing of beauty. With his added muscle as well, he should be able to have some very nice games this year.

- Al Nolen was unguardable last night. Seriously, there was nobody on TTU who could stay in front of him, and he was able to get to the lane at will and then usually find an open teammate for an easy basket, resulting in a team high 7 assists for Nolen last night. He still did his patented "get to the lane and then jump stop and pick up the dribble with no idea what I'm going to do with the ball move" a few times, which is still worrisome. It's one thing to slice up a bottom-tier OVC team, it's something different facing Big Ten defenders. Overall with Nole I was encouraged, but worried at the same time. I'm really looking forward to that Butler game. That's a touch defensive squad reminiscent of a Big Ten team, and will be a nice litmus test not only for the team, but for Nolen in general.

- Rodney Williams is the talk of the game, and for good reason. He was always said to be a ridiculous athlete who had some work to do on his offensive skills, and although that's not completely untrue he has looked far more polished than I and many others were expecting, and was the team's second leading scorer last night with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, including another three pointer. If his outside shooting is for real, a Gopher may still end up winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, just not the one initially expected.

- If I have to pick one player who didn't play well, and it isn't easy when your team wins by 37, it would be Devoe Joseph. He struggled shooting the ball, made some really poor decisions with the ball, and lost his man on defense a few times. I still think he's going to be a major contributor and a big part of this team for the next three years and everthing, just last night he stuck out as having a poor game. Not a concern.

- Finally, Damian Johnson is ridiculous. Look at this line: 9 pts, 2 rebs, 3 assists, 6 steals, and 5 blocks. Just a great all around game, and I have a feeling we won't see another game with DJ grabbing so few boards. Even if his offense hasn't improved (although it looks like it has), he's still going to be the most valuable Gopher again this year.

Overall a very good win. A game like this can't really tell you how good your team is, but it can warn you if they are flawed in some way. The Gophers got through this one with no red flags - an excellent sign. With or without the currently inactive players, this is going to be an NCAA Tournament team. After the Thanksgiving Tournament, we should have a pretty good idea if they can be more.

Gopher Basketball is finally here

Perfect timing.  With baseball season ending, it is time to turn to college basketball and the Gophers start tonight in a preseason exhibition against the hated Bulldogs of UMD.

The team has certainly been in the news lately, and for all the wrong reasons, but now it's time to hit the court and I can't wait, although my excitement is a bit tempered because the two guys I really wanted to see play are both suspended/being held out of games.  However you want to word it, it sucks.  But there is still plenty to look at tonight

- Ralph Sampson.  Tonight begins his march towards All-American status.  Reports are that he is in incredible shape and has put on quite a few pounds of muscle, as well as that his mid-range jumper is coming along nicely.  He had some nice post moves last year, although unpolished, and if he's spent the time working on his offensive game could be an incredible inside/outside weapon.

- Colt Iverson.  What's his role?  Offensive weapon?  Defensive stopper?  Big time rebounder?  Warm body?

-  Lawrence Westbrook.  L-Dub was a big-time weapon at times last year, but had a tendency to disappear just as often when he was needed.  It will be tough to tell from one game against a lesser opponent, but he needs to be focused all season, every game.

-  Al Nolen.  Excellent defender, good at taking care of the ball, not an offensive threat whatsoever and it sounds like he still might not have found a jumpshot.  If he can't keep defenses honest from the perimeter, when does he become more of a liability than a weapon?

-  Justin Cobbs.  It sounds like Cobbs can shoot it, based on his runner-up finish in the three-point contest.  What about the rest of his game?  With Mbakwe and White out, he becomes the new guy I'm most interested in.

-  Rodney Williams.  But I didn't forget about Rodney.  No question he's an incredible athlete, what about the rest of his game?

-  Blake Hoffarber.  Is his shot back?

-  Devoe Joseph.  Now that he doesn't have to worry about playing the point, how high can he go with his offensive game?  We got a taste a couple of times last year, now back at his natural position what is the limit?

-  Damian Johnson.  Has the offensive game caught up with the rest of him, not that it would need to for him to be the team MVP.

-  Paul Carter.  He becomes even more important with those two clowns not playing, and the reports are he will be much improved this year.

-  Team nerd.  With both Travis Busch and Kevin Payton gone, who fills the role of the team nerd?  You know, the guy who stands at the end of the line for intros and does the weird handshakes and jumping butt bumps or whatever you call that thing people do?  Since I'm going to the bar before the game, I'm guessing I'm going to miss this part.  Bummer.  My money is on Cobbs, dark horse Joseph.

-  The Team.  How do they react to all that's gone on this week?  Come out focused and destroy UMD, or wander around going through the motions?


So you see, despite it being a meaningless game, there is plenty here to look at.  I don't have the time nor inclination to do a preview of the Bulldogs, but if that's your sort of thing the esteemed blog From the Barn has done the research.

Fantasy College Basketball Update

Ok, I have some more details about this Fantasy College Basketball League I'm going to be in.  We are going to be using the six main conferences (Big Ten, Pac 10, SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Big East - suck it, A-10), and a few other teams (Butler, BYU, Creighton, Dayton, Gonzaga, Memphis, Nevada, Siena, Tulsa, and Xavier). 

Scoring is:

1 pt per point scored
2 pts per assist
1 pt per rebound
3 pts per steal
3 pts per block
-2 pts per turnover

And we start 2 centers, 4 forwards, and 4 guards, with a total roster size of 16, and weekly games (so if someobdy is playing 2 games in a week and someone else is only playing 1, you would play the 2 game guy).  We don't start until December 14th, but the draft is going to be taking place soon and it's a slow draft, like a pick or two per day kind of thing.

We roll some internet dice thing for draft pick, with highest going first, and with about half of the league (12 members) having rolled I'm sitting at 90 right now - currently the #1 pick.

I think the real key here is the 3 points per steal and per block.  It's easy to focus on the main three stats, and actually the only fantasy college preview I've found does just that, but that is a lot of points for playing defense. 

For example, last year Damian Johnson would have averaged 28 points per game, despite just 10 points and 4 rebounds per game.  A guy like Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell, who was tenth nationally in scoring at 23 per game and is an early pick in this kind of thing, averaged only 31 points per game.  I'm guessing I could snag DJ ten or more rounds later than Hazell, depending of course on how much everyone else is paying attention - and that will be the key.

Like, Harangody and Brackins are kind of the top two guys, and last year they averaged 41 and 35 per game, but thanks to Cole Aldrich's three blocks per game, he averagd 36 - more than Brackins and would be the #2 player and that's if he doesn't improve.

Basically, those are the top three and I don't know if there's anybody else you could argue should be included, and if I end up with the #1 Harangody is the smart pick, Brackins is the fun pick, and Aldrich is the intriguing pick - I'd probably end up going Aldrich or Harangody, and would be much happier with Cole.

Any thoughts?  Sleepers?  Defensive guys I'm missing?

HUGE Sigh of Relief

A huge sigh of relief was the prevailing emotion last night, at least amongst myself, Dawger, Snacks, and the Old Man after the Gophers nearly let a game they had dominated in every way except point margin slip away.

But then Lawrence Westbrook completed his movie story arch, going from hero to villain and then back to hero (like Anakin Skywalker), shedding the mono/flu/dope-induced haze he's been under for the past month and a half and remembered that he's a half-crazy mo-fo who don't take no shit from nobody and went into, what Snacks calls, "F You Mode." L-Dub scored the last 10 points of the game, and every time he got the ball his mission was clear, get to the rim at all costs, and nobody is stopping me. Much like against Sconnie in Madtown, it worked and the Gophers completed the season swep of the hated Badgers for the first time since 1938.

The Gophers led almost the entire game, thanks to another tremendous defensive effort at the Barn, holding Wisconsin to 33% shooting and turning them over 13 times, a huge amount for a Badger team that doesn't turn it over much. A few lapses, specifically Sampson and/or Iverson on mega-nerd Marcus Landry kept the Badgers in the game when the big guys couldn't get out on Nerdboy and he, the career 37% three-point shooter, knocked down everything in site (until the one that really mattered, eat it nerd!) This is the kind of defensive effort we've seen at the Barn a bunch of times, but the Gophers can't seem to bring it the same way away from home. They're going to need to, not only in the Big Ten Tournament but assuming they make the NCAAs. If they don't, it's going to be a short, ugly dance - like Dawger at a wedding.

When the Badgers suddenly took a five point lead with little time remaining, you could feel the Barn start to deflate, with the game suddenly mirroring the season and heading towards a complete collapse. Then, the heroic Dawger stood up and willed the Williams Arena crowed to it's feet, and Westbrook went into F You Mode and was completely unguardable getting into the lane - which he should have been doing all game. I'm not quite ready to put the Gophers in the Big Dance yet, but with bubble teams dropping games left and right, this is a very big step.

Player notes:
- Ralph and Colton played well, despite their difficulty in guarding Meganerd behind the line, which could be expected. The number weren't eye-popping, but they were the focal point of the offense, as they should be, as the Gophers mainly focused on getting the ball in the paint and staying away from the three-point chuckery that has become an offensive staple. Iverson had a couple of very nice moves, but also a couple of really brutal attempts. He's clearly a work in progress, but as a freshmen he looks really good.
- Al Nolen continues to confuse, and suddenly his defense is going the way of his offense. He did seem a bit more in control and didn't turn the ball over, but watching Trevon Hughes drive right by him was not a pleasant experience. Devoe started over him and played well. He's still a shooting guard playing the point, but he's doing a better job than Nolen right now.
- Jonathan Williams actually got some time, mainly thanks to Colt and Ralph both missing dunks on the same possession.
- DJ is DJ, but suddenly had a jump shot last night. Like, a pullup in your face jump shot we haven't really seen this year. If that becomes a regular thing, he becomes a Big Ten POY candidate next season. I'm serious.
- Blake Hoffarber is suddenly the best point guard on this team. If only he could shoot.
- Finally, and I hate to do this after a win, but I have to question some of Tubby Smith's moves. Devron Bostick was no where to be found, despite the great success he had against the Badgers last time in driving to the basket he was given 0 minutes. Travis Busch instead played three minutes, and fell down twice. I like him only playing three minutes, although it should be less, but why not give those minutes to Bostick and see what he can do? There's nothing Busch can do that Bostick can't, other than falling down and throwing a length of the court pass. I am going to miss Bostick next year. Also missing last night was the genius three man weave on the perimeter that basically won the game in Madison. I don't even remember seeing it attempted. Lastly, when the man-to-man defense was working so well, Tubby inexplicably switched to a zone and Trevon Hughes immediately hit a wide open three. They didn't bother with it again, but I have to question why you would even go to it in the first place when you are shutting them down in the man-to-man.

Even so, it was a win, and an absolute stressful win at that. If the Gophers can beat Michigan on Saturday, that should be enough to put them in the dance.

Especially with what's going on in the NCAA, as another bunch of bubble teams lost very important games last night. Kentucky, Miami, and Virginia Tech all lost and pretty much killed their at large hopes, while Boston College and Florida also lost and damaged their hopes and at the very least hurt their profiles. The only bubble teams that manage to win other than the Gophers were BYU, who was probably already in, UNLV and Texas A&M. With everyone else dropping off, did Northwestern suddenly put themselves on the bubble by winning at Purdue? If they can win at Ohio State this weekend, they maybe. In any case, the Gophers are looking very good right now.

On to the small tournaments kicking off today:


MISSOURI VALLEY: The Mid-Major darling and poster child for multiple bids for smaller leagues from a few years ago, the MVC has fallen on hard times. If Creighton wins the conference tournament, this will be a one bid league this year - and could be if the Blue Jays don't win a few games before falling.
FAVORITE: Creighton. Even though they are the 2 seed, the Jays are still the favorite and are in line for at at-large bid if they falter thanks to a top 40 RPI, a ten game winning streak, and non-conference wins over Dayton, George Mason, and New Mexico.
SLEEPER: Illinois State. The Redbirds got some press as a possible regular season winner this season after an excellent year last year despite losing some good players. They retained their best player, however, Osiris Eldridge, and got some help from a couple of transfers, including leading scorer Chamberlain Oguchi, to give them a very balanced attack.
W's PICK: Illinois State. The Redbirds beat Creighton by 18 earlier this year, and although the Jays are hot, ISU is still the best defensive and rebounding team in the conference - and those things can come up big in tournament situations.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: Even though it's one of bottom two conferences in the country, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the NEC ever since LIU's Charles Jones took a swing at Miles Tarver - that was a pretty fun game.
FAVORITE: Robert Morris. The Colonials were a heavy favorite to get to the NCAA tournament last year, but were upended in the Semis by Mount St. Mary's. They lost two of their top three scorers from last season, but still rolled through the NEC, going 15-3 to win by three games.
SLEEPER: Mount St. Mary's. Can the Mountaineers do it again? They were swept by RMU, but only by a total of 10 points in the two games. RMU has trouble taking care of the ball, and MSMU is decent at turning team's over, so it could happen again.
W's PICK: Robert Morris. I don't see them blowing it two years in a row.

BUBBLE GAMES OF NOTE:
St Joes @ Temple - The Owls are probably out already, but an RPI of 45 and SOS of 33 says they still have a slim chance. Definitely need this one though.
Providence @ Villanova - The Friars got a marquee win over Pitt, but they still need more
Tennessee @ South Carolina - Both teams look good, but the Gamecocks need another marquee win and this is a big chance to get one
Illinois @ Penn State - The Nittany Lions almost certainly need this game
Dayton @ Xavier - Dayton is probably in already, but this would guarantee it
Cal @ Arizona - Cal is probably in, but Arizona is on thin ice and this win would go a long way towards helping.


TOMORROW: American East, Colonial, Metro Atlantic, Southern, and West Coast conference all get it going, and we get our first taste of the afternoon games, at least in conferences that you can bet on.

And for those complaining about the quality of the pictures posted lately, here's an early preview of the Michigan game:

Gopher/Illinois Game Blog

Yippee skippee. I feel sick before this game even starts, and it it's not from the Cheeseburger Ranch Hamburger Helper (made with Turkey) we had for dinner. It's also not from drinking, because I'm not.....oh wait. Hello Cranberry & Vodka (with Lime). How did you get in my hand? Weird.

Hopefully I'm wrong and the Gophers, at the very least, acquit themselves nicely here, if not squeak out a win. Gophers need to play tough man-to-man defense, and get into the lane on offense in order to win. On to the game, Illinois favored by eight, I have no money on the game.

- I really hope the bad Illinois shows up tonight. And the good Gophers I suppose as well.

- Good start - two handed slam by DJ on a nice feed from Ralph. Points in the paint - good trend.

- They are continuing to attack inside and have a 5-2 lead with 17:30 left and haven't shot a three yet. I would be just fine if they don't shoot a three ball all game.

- Twins are 2-0 this spring after thumping the Reds 10-4 today. And who needs Joe Crede? In the two games, Twins third basemen (Brendan Harris, Luke "the future" Hughes, Brian Buscher, Danny "the other future" Valencia, and someone named Deibinson Romero) have combined to go 8-11 with two doubles and four runs scored. I say we trade Crede now for bullpen depth. Or make him play shortstop.

- DJ with an incredible stretch, scoring a fast break layup then getting a steal for a dunk to stretch the lead to 9-2. I am really like how this is shaping up so far, on both ends. Although it is still very early and things could fall apart in a hurry.

- God damn it, three straight turnovers - a blocked shot, a steal, and then Nolen drives and loses it out of bounds. Suddenly it's 9-7, momentum Illini.

- Wow, Tubby definitely reads my blog. Gophers really attacking in the paint right now and just killing Illinois with it. Not to mention absolutely crashing the offensive boards - and another layup for DJ as we speak, who has 12 of the Gophers 15 right now. I couldn't have scripted this much better.

- In other good news, I just completed a trade in our keeper fantasy football league for Dwayne "The Show" Bowe. The downside is that I had to give up the #2 overall pick in the rookie draft. I hope Michael Crabtree is a bust.

- Why is Travis Busch in the game? Not only does he completely suck on defense, but he's undermining everything they're trying to do on offense right now. It's clear that the focus of the offense is to get the ball inside to a big guy on the block and let him go to work. Well, Busch isn't an offensive threat even a little bit, and when he gets the ball the Illini defense just laughs. It just makes zero sense.

- Illinois on a 9-0 run with Busch in the game.

- I also want to note that the Gophers are 0-8 from three. STOP.

- Halftime, Illinois leads 28-23. Positives are the Gophers seem to have a plan in attacking the basket from the paint, hitting the boards hard on both ends, and they are forcing the Illini to settle for jump shots. Negatives are they still will chuck a stupid three far too often instead of getting it inside, are turning the ball over way, way too often, and the continued regression of Al Nolen. Despite some negatives, I still very much feel like the Gophers are in this and have a decent shot at pulling it out.

- People not named Damian Johnson are shooting 4-21 at the half for the Gophers. Oof.

- Right off the bat the Illini dump it inside to Tisdale. He missed, but I definitely like it better when Illinois was doing their Gopher impression and refusing to get closer than 15 feet from the hoop.

- A couple Illinois jumpers and it's suddenly 32-23. It's getting very nervous in here.

- Don't you miss The Bear? I do. I emailed him to make sure he wasn't dead, and he isn't, and he claims he still reads all the time but he hasn't left a comment in months. Hopefully baseball season and Dawger's insanely idiotic comments and his Jack Cust love and draw him out of his cave of hibernation.

- Damian Johnson is utterly and completely unstoppable on either end. He's like the new JaJuan Johnson who is the new Hakim Warrick who is the new KG.

- Oh good, Travis Busch is in. That makes sense.

- Trent Meachem takes it right at Busch who is camped in the lane and Busch can do nothing but Greg Paulus flop. Running tally is now 11-0 Illinois with Busch in the game.

- Fine, he hit a three pointer. Congratulations. Even better, announcer guy just said Busch is playing a very good game. Um, it's Illini 11, Minnesota 3 when he's in the game. His reason: good energy. Seriously, anybody can come in the game and run around like a god damned retard wearing a helmet at Christmas-time. But when your team gets outscored while you try to see how many times you can fall on the floor, you're not doing anyone any good. Why are people so dumb? Why do they always buy into the scrappy, hustle-y white guy thing? I want to blame David Eckstein, but it's been around way longer than that. Read this. Know it. Live it. Love it.

- Iverson might have the worst hands since Bogart's guy Troy Williamson. Or Randy Carter.

- Suddenly the Gophers are winning thanks to Damian Johnson just stealing and/or blocking everything. Oh, not any more thanks to a lob pass right over that midget Busch's head.

- Seriously, if the Gophers could hit anything from the outside at all they'd have this one in hand. But, well, they can't.

- Where's Ralph?

- Seriously, they called a moving pick on the Gophers? John Thompson would be happy. (One time Thompson was doing commentary on a game on ESPN, and he spent pretty much the whole game complaining about all the moving screens. It was awesome).

- Tubby's tie is hilarious. It's gold and maroon striped, but as Mrs. W just said, , "it looks like it's from Harry Potter." Zing.

- There's Ralph. Dominating. 42-41 Illinois, 6 minutes to go. Come on you stupid jerks.

- You know what? When Demetri McCamey has the ball at the three point line all alone, somebody should probably go and try to guard him. He got the ball, hesitated, and when nobody bothered to guard him he shot and made it. I rewound the play, and Snake's guy Westbrook was the closest to him, but just stood there like a fat lazy slug who doesn't give a crap. God that's just so frustrating.

- and then on offense he gets the ball in the corner and just holds it for the last five seconds before the shot clock runs out, and the Gophers don't get a shot. 45-41 Illini with 4 and a half to go, but I'm more than a little bit afraid this one's over. Especially since Westbrook is still in there, trying to lose. Expect him to hand the ball directly to McCamey at some point.

- What the hell happened to getting the ball into the post? And what ever happened to Hoffarber's jump shot? This whole team is one big regression line.


- Game over, Illinois wins 52 to 41. My head says the Gophers played a good game and what more can you really ask for going into Champaign. My heart says screw this shit, I'm done with this after they fell completely apart in the last five minutes by playing like idiots. We'll see who wins.

PJ Hill is a Douche (not the Badger running back)

And, more importantly, the Gophers knocked off the #24 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 68-59, assuring that they won't start the Big Ten 0-2, will probably keep right around their current ranking of 21st, and I will still go to the games this year.

In case you missed it, the aforementioned Hill decided that although his team was getting it's doors blown off this afternoon he'd take it upon himself to trash talk one Mr. Lawrence Westbrook, a guy who I wouldn't fight if I was offered a million dollars and given a gun. He even took the douchiness to a special level usually reserved for guys who put their sunglasses backwards on their heads and wear bluetooth ear pieces everywhere they go by standing next to Westbrook on the free throw line after L-Dub was fouled an about to shoot, woofing at him the whole way until the refs made little P.J. move - Minnesota was up like 8 at this time with under a minute left. He then continued yapping even after Westbrook made the free throws, after the final buzzer sounded (and his team lost), in the handshake line (which almost led to an altercation), and from the entry to his team's tunnel while the Gophers were singing the rouser (along with Will Buford, who Jon Diebler eventually pushed to get him to get down in the tunnel).

I don't have a lot of rules in life - ok, that's not true, I have a ton of rules and most people constantly break them and piss me off - but this one is a biggie: when you aren't very good at basketball, and your career high in points is seven, and you managed all of three on that day, and the guy you want to trash talk scored fifteen and averages over 10 times as many points per game as you, and your team just got worked, you keep your god damned mouth shut you stupid douchebag, or you just look like even more of a jackaas than you already do with your wanna-be a broke ass Troy Hudson dreads. I hope he dies.

Anyway, the game was awesome. With Al Nolen in foul trouble very early, like before we even got to our seats, running the offense for the majority of the first half fell to Devoe Joseph, and he answered the call in a huge way, leading the Gophers to a 34-24 halftime lead with his scoring and, more importantly, some stellar point guard play, including breaking a Buckeye press with the dribble and finding Shamala cutting from the corner with a pretty pass that would have been a monster dunk by pretty much anyone else on the team other than Hoff or Busch. Joseph's numbers actually ended up pretty pedestrian, 7 points on 3-9 shooting, four assists and two turnovers, but unlike it baseball the numbers can't and don't tell the whole story here. If Joseph can't step in like he did, Westbrook would have had to give it a go, and that's not a good look. Absolutely the player of the game in my book.

Although it is very hard to overlook what Damian Johnson did out there today. This statline is just sick: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks with zero turnovers. A completely dominating performance without actually being dominating. What can't this guy do? Well, he can't hit a jumper beyond about fifteen feet, but that's ok. And I think he's starting to realize that himself, so that's even better. PJS over at the Daily Gopher is falling more and more in love with him each game DJ plays, and has even started lobbying for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year consideration. And you know what? I completely agree.

Overall it was a very enjoyable game, and it was awesome to see a game where the Gophers were much more talented than a Buckeye team. A couple of short thoughts on some other players:

- Ralph Sampson III is probably my second favorite Gopher behind Joseph, and he looked to be on track for a nice offensive game after scoring a couple of early buckets. Tubby pulled his playing time however, opting for a smaller, more athletic lineup and RSIII ended up with just those four points in 17 minutes, but finished tied for second on the Gophers with five boards. Call me crazy, but I know Snake will agree, I think Sampson has the potential to be an absolute star by the end of his stake here.

- The guy who tied Sampson with five boards was Paul Carter, who looked good today and helped the Gophers outrebound the Bucks 35-27, a nice change from the Michigan State game (although let's not compared the two opponents, let's just be happy with this result). I'm not really sure what to make of Carter. At one point today I joked he was Quincy Lewis without the scoring, which is funny because that's all Lewis did. I think Carter can follow in DJ's footsteps eventually. I don't expect him to a major scoring threat at any point, but he could easily develop into something approaching DJ's all around game.

- Travis Busch and Jonathan Williams only played 3 minutes each, none of them in the second half - and the Gophers won. Not a coincidence.

- I think I still believe in Devron Bostick, but I'm starting to wonder if he's nothing more than a more athletic Hoffbauer. Nearly half his shot attempts are from three. Of course, the Hoff is at over 70%, so maybe not quite. (NOTE: Not a rip on Hoff. I love what he gives this team).

- Jon Diebler for the Buckeyes is at over 75%, and that's before today's game where he chucked up 13 shots, 11 of them from beyond the arc. Although "chucked" seems to invoke visions of poor shots, and since he was 5-11, I'll withdraw my adjective.

- Lastly, B.J. Mullens is very, very good. I don't know why he doesn't get more touches, but I'm glad for the Gophers and the rest of the Big Ten. He only took two shots today, but made them both and they were both impressive. The first was a really smooth jump hook from about 12 feet, and with his seven foot frame was pretty much unstoppable. The second was even more impressive, getting it on the block and using a combo shot fake-drop step-duck under to go right around Colt Iverson like he was Felton Spencer for the easy lay-in. The kid is very smooth, and has very good footwork. Once he gets a little more confidence and with it more aggressiveness it's going to be trouble. Although I'm still pretty sure RSIII can take him.






Also P.J. Hill is a douche (not the Badger running back).

March to a Title, Game 2

I'm coming in late to the game, because the wife and I had to watch the last hour or so of Boogie Nights. Now she's off to bed, and it's time to drink beer and watch the march to a title continue. Now, I'm a bit nervous here, because I told Snacks I was going to be watching the game on Tivo, yet he texted me that the first ten minutes of the game are great and the Gophers look really good in the beginning. Knowing that I was going to be watching on tivo, and knowing how his brain works, I'm expecting the Gophers to be down 20-2 at the 12 minute time out. Let's see.

Oh, and by the way, Illinois beating Purdue just opens the door a little wider for the Gophers' miracle run. Remember, you heard it here first.

19:51 - Did I just see Jon Williams starting? I guess Spencer must be really hurt. This is not a good sign. Not the Spencer hurt part, that's not really a big deal, but Williams starting scares the beejesus out of me.

19:09 - DJ just hit a three?

18:37 - Did you know Johnson averages exactly one three point attempt per game? Seems high. As in, he should probably never shoot that shot.

18:21 - Minnesota 1-0 all-time versus Indiana in the Big Ten tournament. I'm sensing a trend.

18:06 - DJ makes two free throws, which is a statistical improbability, and he has all five Gopher points. Never thought I'd type that.

17:22 - And Dan Coleman is playing tough down low. This is not the Gopher team I recognize. March to the Title: activated.

17:18 - Spencer Tollackson's career rebounding average: 3.7 per game. 3.7. Three point seven.

16:18 - DJ with a Rico Tucker like jam. Dominating. DJ White who?

16:00 - And that's the second foul on Eric Gordon. Eat it, Sidler.

14:54 - Stemler, the asshole who hit the big three to sink the Gophers at Williams, just airballed a three. The announcers want us to know he's 0 for his last twelve. Couldn't miss the one in Minneapolis though, could you, ass?

13:42 - McKenzie hits a three to make it 14-5 and I actually jump pumped my fist like Theory playing Golden Tee. I'm a little embarrassed, but also pretty excited here.

13:29 - Although I don't know why I'm excited, this is what the Gophers do. Second half will be full of nothing but dumb plays and bad defense as they piss away a lead.

12:22 - 19-5, as Shamala hits an 18 footer. Why he didn't just end his cut a little further and behind the 3-pt line, I don't know. God help me, I'm starting to believe.

11:24 - Eric Gordon throws one of the worst passes ever. Whoever drafts him is going to be in for a looooooooong year. Please don't let it be the Wolves.

11:24 - So they throw up a graphic showing the Big Ten Assist leaders. Three Spartans, a Buckeye, and a Wildcat. But we're watching Gophers/Hoosiers. What was the point? I swear they just hit random buttons up there sometimes.

10:27 - Eric Gordon never closes his mouth. It's creepy.

9:51 - I'm starting to develop a crush on Hoffbauer. I'm kind of afraid it's ASSWIP Syndrome.

8:39 - I hate to agree with announcers, because most of them are dumber than you are, but DJ White should be touching the ball every time down. As he proves with a bucket and the foul. And misses the free throw.

6:17 - 7-0 run by Indiana to make it 24-15. Gophers starting to get killed on the O-boards. This a major concern and I don't like it. Gordon gets an o-board and a putback as I type this.

4:52 - Jesus Christ. Apparently somebody pointed out to the Gophers that they were leading. As they've completely changed their style of play. Tentative on offense, lazy with the ball, poor defense and no rebounding, and it's now 26-20. Still Gopher lead, but things have changed dramatically. How bad is it? Tubby put in Travis "Hair Pie" Busch.

1:11 - Jordan Crawford can't take Busch off the dribble, how sad.

0:00 - Good news: Gophers lead 34-27, and Coleman sat out most of the first half. Bad news: They were up 16, and the last Hoosier possession of the half showed, beyond a doubt, that Minnesota doesn't have anybody who can even come close to checking DJ White.

19:27 - Holy crap Deandre Thomas is a fatass.

19:00 - Exhibit 10 billion why this is a dumb team and Dan Coleman is the worst offender. Coleman takes a three and misses, Indiana rebound. Coleman rushes in at the guy who got the board, leaving DJ White open streaking towards the other end.

17:59 - Danny boy Coleman picks up his fourth foul. Fourth. In two minutes this team has made eight just inexcusably dumb plays. It's over. Gophers still lead 34-32, but it's over.

17:35 - I'm going to throw something.

16:01 - This half, Gophers have 0 points, 5 turnovers. And it's now tied at 34.

15:28 - 30 second timeout and Tubby is hot. I don't know at who, specifically, but I assume it's the whole team. Who then turns it over after the TO. This is sad people, sad like cancer.

12:48 - Westbrook with an excellent basket. He seems to be a second half player, maybe time to take over? He's Philadelphia Eagle Brian Westbrook's cousin, you know.

11:48 - I just got texts from Snacks and Sidler within 20 seconds of each other. I'm going to assume something awesome happens at some point.

11:08 - Sweet, Busch is in again. Only good things can come of this.

10:28 - And Bogart just sent me a text. I am officially very curious.

9:43 - I can't take it. Fast forwarding a bit.

3:52 - Started watching again here, Gophers up 50-48 holy carp westbrook for three 53-48 Gophers.

2:44 - Another Theoryesque fist pump from me, as DJ puts one back to make it 55-50 Minnesota. I believe (tm).

1:55 - Minnesota up five. Another text comes in, but I'm not even going to pick it up. If this comes down to free throws, I'm very nervous.

0:55 - Nolen airballs the biggest three of his life. Nice shot, rook.

0:43 - DJ fouls out. That is not excellent.

0:10.6 - Dan Coleman is a weak homo, and gives the ball away. Indiana ball, 57-55 Minnesota. Oh, and another text comes in. Still ignoring.

0:03.4 - Gordon fouled and will go to the line. Based on all the text messages, I'm going to assume he makes both and we go to overtime.

0:03.4 - Holy shit he missed the first one. The Gophers are going to win this game unless they're idiots, which they are, so I'm still very, very nervous.

0:03.1 - You have to be fucking kidding me. No. fucking. way. No fucking way.

0:01.5 - What? What? Oh my god. I can't believe this shit. I have no words. I feel sick.

oh my god holy shit.

un fucking real. hell yes. I told all you people the Gophers were going to take it all. Now they just run the f over the illini and we're on our way baby, we're on our way.

Oh, and Erin Andrews interviews Blake, and asks, "What was going through your mind before you hit that shot" and Blake says to her, he says, "I just knew I had to get it off." Yeah, baby.

Hey Illini. Make your time.

Oh, and here's a message to all Indiana fans, but only from 16-18 seconds. ignore everything else.



Although, if you want to watch the rest it's very similar to how the Gophers are going to treat Illinois tomorrow. March to the Title^TM Minnesota 66, Illinois 56.

I just watched it again on on espn and it moved. and then they showed the same god damn shot from his ass again.

Illinois

No time for a Gopher/Illinois preview due to the sales meeting, but here’s a picture anyway. There apparently are no attractive Illini fans who get their picture taken, so here's an alleged picture of some Bears fans. Gophers 72, Illinois 64.

I wrote this on the plane, due to the fact that my boss was sitting just a few rows away from me. I figured if he glanced back and saw me on the computer, he’d assume I was working and think I was some kind of hard worker guy. Genius, I know. So here you go.

Being about halfway through the Big Ten season, why not grade the Gopher players thus far through the season? I think From the Barn did this earlier in the season, but I’m on a plane, and, as such, can’t really look it up and link to it.

Dan Coleman: The numbers are nice, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding, but the problem is, this is what was expected. Two years ago. He’s now developed where he should have been two years ago. You can blame that on Monson if you want, and he surely deserves some of the blame, but not all. Couple that with his tendency to disappear in big games, and you come out to here. C-

Spencer Tollackson: Tough to grade, seeing as how I expected nothing and have seen, well, almost nothing. He had an excellent game against Northwestern, and has had a good game here and there, but in general hasn’t been impressive. It’s clear he’s worked hard on his footwork and offensive game, as often times the moves are there, he just doesn’t have the natural ability to actually score the ball. A good passer and decent defender for a big man, and much improved at the free throw line since some early season embarrassment. B-

Lawrence McKenzie: Have to give him credit for changing his game, although he seems to have changed it to the point where he’s become completely schizophrenic. He’s either run the offense and distribute McKenzie, or offensively taking over, looking to score McKenzie. If he could find a way to blend those together, he’d be a heck of a player. As it is, he’s half a player all of the time. Playing very solid defense this year helps him out. C+.

Al Nolen: Seeing as how there were rumors swirling after Tubby was hired that Nolen wasn’t a Big Ten caliber recruit, I wasn’t expecting much at all out of him. He’s quickly become a top defender on the team. Clearly the best at taking the ball, although I don’t think he’s the actual best defender on the team, at one point I believe Ken Pomeroy had him leading the country in steal percentage, or at least close to it. Has moments of excellent offensive play, whether knocking down the three or getting into the lane. Still has plenty of freshmen moments, and makes some decisions that look downright Burlesonian in nature, but looks to have an excellent future in front of him. A-

Blake Hoffarber: Another freshman who I wasn’t expecting much from. I’m not ready to say I’m pleasantly surprised by Hoffbauer just yet, as he’s a shooter and that’s it. He’s had his moments, but the remainder of his game isn’t up to speed just yet, to the point where against more athletic teams he’s getting very little playing time, and the Big Ten is just going to improve over the next three years (it has to, right?) I’m very much hoping he develops his game to the point where he can create his own shot, get to the rim, and actually play defense, both on and off the ball, and doesn’t become just another version of Shamala. I do believe he will become a capable player. B-.

Lawrence Westbrook: L-Dub was a guy who you knew had to have the ability to score, as he came in with quite a reputation (PJS has a well done post on him, if you care to find it). He was tentative last season, and I was hoping he would take a step forward in his sophomore year or end up transferring. Happily, he’s done the former, and looks to be an important cog in the Tubby rebuilding machine. This year he’s asserted himself on the offensive end, both inside and out, as well as showing that he’s not one dimensional, becoming the best perimeter defender on the team, both on and off the ball. I expect Westbrook to take another step forward next year, when he’ll be looked upon to score even more, as well as become a team leader. A-

Jonathan Williams: Um, I don’t know? Has he played extended minutes, ever? I suppose I have to rate him kind of far down, as he seemingly hasn’t made any strides since last season. Although I did see him make a left handed baby hook in one game, so I guess that’s something. Still, he’s going to need to develop in a hurry to help out next season, and if this season is any indication, it’s not likely to happen. D

Damian Johnson: Wow. If Westbrook took a step forward this year, DJ took three. Most of last season it wasn’t even clear who was the better recruit, Kevin Payton or Johnson, and now we’ve gotten to the point where one should probably transfer and the other has pretty much locked up a starting role for the next two years. He still has plenty of work to do on the offensive game, as it pretty much consists of layups, put backs, and garbage baskets right now. However, even if his offensive game never develops beyond what is now, as disappointing as that would be, he will still be a valuable part of the team due to his defense, rebounding, and energy. A

Jamal Abu Shamala: I haven’t exactly been subtle in my opinion of Shamala here at DWG, and the Northwestern game isn’t going to change it. Shamala is a shooter, and he’s very good at what he does. But that’s all he does. He can’t play defense, he can’t create for himself or his teammates, and he’s pretty much a liability out there against any team with athleticism. As he showed against Northwestern, he does have a place out there against poor teams who can’t exploit his slowness afoot, which why I still think he would have been better off going to a mid/low major program, but he wanted to play at the U, and I can respect that. I just can’t respect his defense. I guess in fairness, it is pretty much what I expected this year out of him. D-

Kevin Payton: I honestly can’t figure out what led Monson to give him a scholarship, but then again, Scout also gave him three stars. Where is that game? He has to have completely changed, because the Payton that (rarely) gets out there for the Gophers has the offensive game of Miles Tarver, without the defense or rebounding, and makes Kevin Burleson decision making look like Arriel McDonald. Absolutely baffling. He averaged 20 a game in high school, and I have no idea how. Still, when he has played he does show a lot of heart (did I really just write that?) and is a decent defender. Plus, he seems to have accepted his limited role without being a problem. D

Travis Busch: Is anybody else sick of the undersized white kid from Minnesota who works his ass off to get playing time and even though has little to no skill has all the hustle and grit in the world? Anybody else? It’s become quite a sickening and annoying tradition on the Gophers, and Busch is just the latest incarnate. Plus, he wears a shooting sleeve. On his off arm. Go away. F

Ryan Saunders: Unpossible to grade, since it appears he’s never going to actually play. Snappy dresser though. I’m going to give him a grade anyway. F

Tubby Smith: It would be pretty easy to give Tubby an A+, just for the recruiting class. Seeing as how I don’t believe Dan Monson had a class that was ever ranked better than 337th in the NCAA, and Tubby comes in with number 20, that’s pretty amazing. Seems to be a good game coach as well so far. I have some serious questions about some of the lineups he tosses out there at times, but when your talent is so limited, I suppose you have to try things at times that may seem a bit weird. A few times the team has seemed pretty unprepared as well, but it doesn’t seem to be an epidemic, and I feel the blame mainly falls on the players in those cases. A

Rico Tucker: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++