When will the Teddy Bear wake up?

When will Gopher Basketball matter?

If you haven't realized it yet, playing a basketball game with no true point guard is difficult for many reasons. But expecting to win any game in the Big Ten with no true point guard creates a recipe being made for the NIT. Gophers took a tough loss yesterday at Indiana losing 60-57. As much as Blake Hoffarber is sick at draining shots from downtown. HE IS NO POINT GUARD.

That showed in the first half when he committed 4 turnovers in the first 10 minutes. We all know he is trying his hardest and we can't blame him for that, but we need Blake to come off screens and hit shots, not him struggling bringing the ball up the court when a smaller and quicker defender is guarding him. Tubby finally realized this in the second off when he brought in 3 freshmen guards in to bring the ball up and that strategy brought the Gophers close enough to win the game by outscoring the Hoosiers by 9 in the second half.

We need to clone Al Nolen or we this season could already be down the drain......unless

RALPH SAMPSON III could wake up and actually play to his potential.

Is it me or does it seem that Sampson takes more outside shots as each game passes? Can anyone tell me why he launched two 3-pointers yesterday? His box score might looked impressive, he did have 10 points and 9 rebounds. You also don't see the fact that he shot 4-11 from the field with most of those shots coming from 14 feet away from the basket. Why is the tallest player on the team taking 5 shots a game 14 feet away from the rim? Anyone? Why has he shot 17 three pointers this season?? (He has only made 4) Maybe this is why he averages only 5 rebounds a game... which is pathetic to think that the tallest player on the court gets that few. Iverson averages more rebounds then him and he plays about 8 minutes less a game then Sampson.

He needs to get his ass down on the block and actually post people up. Has he never watched any tape of his father??

If the Gophers have any chance this season, it will come down to guard play and our big guys.
1.Trevor Mbakwe didn't get the ball enough yesterday, which is baffling due to the fact he is our best player in the post and in general.

2. Play the freshmen so we can use them down the stretch, Hollins had a huge game and we need him every game to step up like he did.

3. Don't be afraid to put Blake at the 2 and let him do what he does best...come off screens and shoot.


Anybody else agree or disagree with me??

Stay Fresh,

Noel

My thoughts to start off the week....

Here are some quick thoughts off my mind about what is going on currently...

-As some of you know, Nick Punto signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals after he learned that the Twins weren't going to pick up his option this year. In an article written in the Pioneer Press located here, Punto thought Twins General Manager Bill Smith would call hoping to hear the Twins wanted him back.....I just don't understand how Punto would ever think the Twins would pay him $5 million dollars just to come off the bench. Don't get me wrong, his defense is not in question but I'm pretty sure I could can come up with more hits then he can. Punto is just pain to the eyes when he comes up to the plate.....I would rather send Pavano to the plate, I would bet that his mustache would hit a ball farther then Punto would.


-Us Gopher Basketball fans saw first hand what happens when your one and only point guard goes to due to injury. With Devoe Joseph leaving the program, the Gophers are left with Blake Hoffarber leading the point while two freshman come off the bench.... I noticed two things in the loss against Purdue
1. Rodney Williams needs to step up quick and fast. He is not on the team to score points. He is on the team to bring speed and athleticism on the perimeter. He needs to protect the ball and make sure the big men get the ball inside. His defense needs to improve as all.
2. The only way Hoffarber is going to score is when he is NOT running the point. Hoffarber is deadly when he runs around screens and the offense sets him up with the ball. That is impossible when he is bringing up the ball.

- We will find out pretty soon what the first class of recruits Jerry Kill will bring to the Gopher Football nation. Good news is that Wisconsin only has one commitment from Minnesota. Jerry Kill has a LONG road ahead of him and if he is ever going to turn around the Gopher Football nation... it all starts with recruiting. So we shall see what is ahead for the upcoming season.

- I'm going to keep this last one short and simple.... if Kevin Love isn't selected to the All Star Team, I will no longer watch a NBA game for a whole year. There is no argument to be made that he isn't an All Star. Give on look at his stats and the rest of this story is history....

Hope your Monday was alive and kickin,

Stay Fresh,

Noel

How far will the Gophers go?

Hello World,

I apologize that I have abandoned this blog. Life sometimes calls for an intermission.

Some quick notes.

Minnesota Golden Gopher basketball lost a key member this past week when Al Nolen broke his foot against Michigan. This is possibly one of the worse case scenarios for the Gophers. Not only does Nolan have tremendous defense which is key because the Big Ten is full of great point guards, this leaves a huge hole for some of the freshman to somehow fill in. I think that the Gophers had a chance for a Big Ten title with Nolen but I feel that hope is gone with him sidelined.

Minnesota Wild continues to show that they are they better Minnesota team in the winter as they have more wins then the T-Puppies!

I don't even know where to begin about Kevin Love's game.... too bad that he won't last in Minnesota. The true question is when will he leave?

I will post a true blog post in a couple of days..

Until then..

Stay Fresh,

Noel