It's Been a Good Year and the Future is Bright

Well, just like that the Gophers season is over. To break down what happened in the Texas game takes just one sentence. Abrams got hot and the Gophers panicked. It was a 3 point lead in the second half and then Abrams hit 4 straight threes. The Gophers then tried to score quick and from the outside and with this team that is a disaster. Damian Johnson did well on Damian James, but no one was stopping A.J. Abrams and no matter how hard Sampson and Iverson tried they were never going to be able to hold down Pittman who only Dejuan Blair might be able to stop.

This loss does not detract from what was a good season. The program has excitement that has not been around since 1997. This team made the NCAA tournament with NIT talent. This loss early should drive the returning players and especially the freshman to work hard in the offseason so this doesn't happen this year. Kentucky message boards in an effort to disparage the Tubby success says that the Gopher fans are just happy to be in the tournament and have low expectations. That was true this year but that is not the expectation for next year. I expect them to not be on the bubble and I expect them to be playing a lower seeded program in the opening round next year and not the 9 seed.

In a lame attempt at a season recap I will show the Gophers resume as if they were the next opponent.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-11, 10-10)

Wins to Showcase:

• Vs. Louisville 70-64
• at Wisconsin 78-74

Losses to Hide From:

• at Northwestern 65-74
• at Penn State 63-68

Assets:

• Interior Defense: This team had four very capable shot blockers in Sampson, Iverson, Johnson and Carter. They also after some issues in the non-conference schedule became a very good rebounding team. With the addition of bulk in Mbakwe and White, I don't see any opponent having any success down low next year.
• Free Throw Shooting: Outside of Colton Iverson, this entire team is very good at shooting free throws. That may seem small but many games were salted away by Westbrook and others not missing a free throw down the stretch. Sampson is very good at 75% that will be very benficial for a big man who should see the line a lot in his future.
• Damian Johnson: I don't care what the coaches decided but Damian Johnson is the best defensive player in the Big Ten. He can guard almost every postion and is all over the place with blocks, steals and rebounds. Towards the end of the season his offensive game really started to develop. He ended the season with 9.8 ppg but in the last 8 games he averaged 12.1 ppg. If he continues to develop in the offseason he can be a 14-15 point scorer next year while providing his world class defense.

Issues:

• Outside shooting: This was what held the Gophers back all season. They lacked a scorer who makes threes in their sleep that all successful teams have in College Basketball. Going into the season many asssumed it would be Blake Hoffarber but that just did not happen this year. Westbrook can make them but for often then not forced a contested one. Joeseph didn't shoot a lot and was also hot and cold. This is my biggest worry for next year as the recruiting class does not address this issue. The Gophers will need Hoffarber to bounce back and Joseph develop his shot and confidence where he can be that shooter. I think it is possible but we can not shoot like we did this year and be successful next year.
• Turnovers: We were too sloppy with the basketball too often. Many blamed Nolen for this issue but he had an assist to turnover ratio of 2.5 which is pretty good. It wasn't one persons fault but the team as a whole. For a poor shooting team like the Gophers they needed all the possessions they can get. This should improve next year with everyone becoming more experience and improving.
• Go-To Scorer: Lawrence Westbrook usually tried to fulfill this role but he is merely just holding it for someone else. A slow 6' footer with a mediocre shot is not who you want to be counting on down the stretch. The Gophers lacked some one like A.J. Abrams who you can count on to get hot and take over the game. They need a player or players that they can count on for 15-20 points a game and to get us through the lulls that plaugued us this year. I see Sampson, White and Joseph potentially be one of those guys but I don't know if that will be by next year. One thing I do see is Westbrook won't be the only player averaging double digits.

It was an exciting year and while sometimes frustrating it was a very enjoyable year. This will be a very long offseason as Midnight Madness can not come fast enough. This season was a stepping stone and next year should be the beginning of a long and beautiful run as a player in the college basketball scene.

Texas Game Preview

#10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-10) vs. #7 Texas Longhorns (22-11)

The whole season has been leading to this. Will the Gophers just be happy to make the tournament or will they strive for more? Regardless of the outcome this should be a good game with two great coaches and fairly equal teams. Here is Texas' resume:

Wins to Showcase:

• Vs. Oklahoma 73-68
• Vs. Villanova 67-58

Losses to Hide From:

• at Arkansas 61-67
• vs. Kansas State 81-85

Assets:

• Interior Defense: Average 42 rebounds a game 22nd in nation and 5.5 blocks a game for 10th best in nation.
• Damion James: Averages 15.4 ppg and 9.2 rebounds. Here is a ferocious rebounder for someone who is only 6'7".
• A.J Abrams: Averages 16.3 ppg while shooting 38.9% from behind the arc.

Issues:

• 3-pt shooting: Shoot 32.1% from behind the arc for 257th in the nation.
• Free throw shooting: Shoot 67.1% from the line for 236th in the nation.
• Ball Control: 12.5 turnovers per game for 283rd in the nation.

There should be an asterisk by the Oklahoma win as Blake Griffin went down in that game with a concussion. Texas might be our long lost twin. Trouble with ball control and outside shooting. Good rebounding team that blocks shots. They went into the Kohl Center and took a win from Wisconsin. They lost at home to Michigan State. They were once highly ranked only to come back to earth in conference play. Outside of Wisconsin struggled to win on the road losing to Arkansas and Nebraska. Looking at the Texas team there is a lot of Gophers in them.

Interesting Things to Watch

• DJ vs. DJ: That is All-Defensive Team Damian Johnson versus All Big 12 second team Damion James. They are both 6'7" slashers who rebound. Damian Johnson needs to win this matchup while producing on the offensive end if the Gophers are going to have a chance.
• Dexter Pittman vs. the Twin Towers: There has been a lot made of this matchup but it is justified. The Towers have struggled to this point against physical big men like Goran Sutton. With this team's inabliity to score from the outside, the Gophers aren't able to win if Iverson and Sampson can't get touches and points inside.

Prediction

Texas and Minnesota play a very similar game and have similar faults. The difference is that once the shot clock is running down they have a guy who can take the shot in A.J. Abrams. They have the go to guy they can ride that the Gophers do not have. The Gophers will have to try to combat that with defensive intensity and depth. The biggest issue is that while Sampson and Iverson have grown and got tougher this year they are only freshman and having to guard Dexter Pittman on National Television is a tough task. This game should be close for the majority of the game but in the end an offensive drought somewhere in the game will be the Gophers undoing.

Texas 67, Gophers 62

And Now We Play the Waiting Game

While not a lock to be in the tournament, the Gophers with the win over Northwestern and playing MSU very tough they are in very good shape. They played very hard, and fared the best out of the three matchups. They were done in the by the same issues (lack of outside shooting, turnovers) but they also found a new issue. They were terrible at free-throw shooting. They are typically a very good free throw team shooting 72.6% on they year. Today they went 13-27 or 48%. If they went 21-27 from the line it is a tie game. The Gophers have enough offensive issues that they do need to be creating more.

The player of the game was Damian Johnson. He lead all scorers with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He drew the defensive assignment of Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe. They combined for 5 points and 8 fouls. He is our best player and continues to prove it every game.

I know other blogs are doing this but here is a summary of what has hurt or helped the Gophers chances.

Hurt the Gophers

• Baylor is hanging around by beating Texas. They are in the Big 12 title game against Missouri. They are not a at-large team but if they win they will steal a bid from a bubble team.
• Maryland beat Wake Forest. Maryland was looking for a high-quality win and they got it by beating Wake. They have wins against UNC, MSU and Wake. They still have a worse resume than the Gophers but that will change if they beat Duke in the Semis.
• Temple beat Xavier and San Diego State beat BYU. They both became likely at-large teams who can both be automatics if they win their conference title games. I don't think they knock off the Gophers but they will push them closer to the bubble with less at-large spots.
• USC beat UCLA. They are a legitimate at-large team now. I still think they have a worse resume than the Gophers but that could change if they beat ASU in the title game and got an automatice bid.
  

Helped the Gophers

• Penn State lost convincingly to Purdue. Penn State will be the first team from the Big Ten not invited. I don't think Penn State will make the tournament.
• Kentucky lost to LSU. Kentucky is done and we don't have to worry about the legacy pick.
• Virginia Tech lost to UNC. Virginia Tech is no longer an option.
• South Carolina lost by 18. Another team with a worse resume than the Gophers.

What to hope for tommorrow

• Missouri crushing Baylor
• Maryland losing to Duke
• Temple wins the A-10
• USC loses to ASU
  

In summary, the Gophers are in fairly good shape but it is not for certain in the wacky NCAA. If Baylor, USC and Duquesne steal automatic bids the Gophers could be in real trouble. It looks like the Gophers right now will be a 11 seed. If they can bring the intensity and effort they have the last two days along with a confident Devron Bostick, this team can win the first round game but it would be safe to assume that it would end there.

Wisconsin Game Review

I have never been a huge Westbrook fan but as much as I dislike him, the whole state of Wisconsin hates him. He has been inconsistent all year and has disappeared for most of the Big Ten but he has single-handedly beat Wisconsin twice when we had no business winning either. Westbrook didn't equal the 29 he scored in Madison but he scored 15 all in the second half. He scored the last 10 points for the Gophers.

This was a huge win. If we had lost that game we would have needed a huge run in the Big Ten tournament. Now, if we beat Michigan on Saturday, we will be in the tournament regardless of how the Big Ten tournament turns out. In fact CBS Sports with the win moved us off the bubble and has us listed as safe. It might be true but I would not like to test that theory by going 0-2.

Another interesting development was that of Devoe Joseph. He started the game at point guard in place of Al Nolen who has been much maligned in the blogosphere. He did not do much only getting 2 points, 2 rebounds and 0 assists but the interesting thing was at the end of the game when we needed stops he was out there and not Nolen. He was in charge of stopping Hughes when we desperately needed stops and he did. He forced back to back misses from Hughes and he also had a hand in the shooters face for both missed 3's down the stretch. While I think he is better as a shooting guard, his defense has drastically improved this season and I would guess he will get the starting nod again on Saturday.

Stats of the Game

• 53.6%: Percentage of Gophers scoring by Westbrook in the second half. He won this game for us down the stretch by being the scorer in the half court.
• 11.25: PPG for Damian Johnson in the last 4 games, outside of Westbrook down the stretch he is the only one who consistently gives the effort and is trying to will the team into the NCAA's. He has become the on-court leader this team needs. He is a lock to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
• 2-22: The Gophers from behind the arc in the last 2 games. They currently have no perimeter game. The two 3's were made by Paul Carter and Travis Busch, not exactly the likely suspects. This team would be so different if Blake returned to last year's form but it just is not going to happen.
  

Illini Game Review

This game was more of a shame than anything else. The effort was there, the intensity was there, the defense was there. They just could not hit a jumper to save their life. They didn't just miss the shots they bricked the shots. There had to been at least double digit shots that didn't hit the rim. It seemed as if the guards were more interested in breaking the rim than making a shot. It was almost comical if it wasn't so depressing. If they shot even reasonably well we could have won that game. It was there for the taking but we didn't capitalize. This does not hurt our chances but I think the Gophers need to win both games at home to close out the season or put on a good run in the Big Ten tournament.

The player of the game is not hard to find in this game. There was not a single thing the Damian Johnson did not do. His line is incredible but it still does not do him justice to how he played tonight. He ended up with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. He was absolutely everywhere. Also playing well were the two freshman down low. Ralph had 8 points and 4 rebounds and Colton had 4 points and 8 rebounds.

While Johnson was the hero we also have goats of the game. Lawrence Westbrook and Al Nolen cost us this game. They combined for 8 turnovers and only 4 points and 1 assist. They did nothing and they caused nothing but turnovers and bricks. To be a good NCAA team you need guard play. Find a team that is elite without a point guard. A lot of people are fed up with Nolen and say that he has regressed. He has not regressed he has just faced the Big Ten. He is not to the point yet where he is an elite point guard. He needs to develop a shot. Also we need him because while he is struggling Devoe Joseph is more of a combo guard and can not run the offense as a starter.

The Gophers are still alive but they have two big games coming up. They have played well at home but the Wisconsin game scares me a lot. Wisconsin needs the win and they are mad about the Gophers winning at Kohl and starting the 6 game losing streak. We will face a very determined Wisconsin team. It helps that we have 5 days to prepare.

Stats of the Game

• 5-35: Shooting by Gophers not named Johnson, Sampson or Iverson. That is 14%. That is unimaginable. This team lacks a shooter and the problem is that even though the incoming recruits are good none are good shooters so those on the team need to step up.
• 1-14: Gophers 3-pt shooting. That is 7%. A high school team would put up better perimeter shooting than that.
• 37-25: The rebounding edge for the Gophers. This was the only reason it was close. The Gophers got 15 offensive rebounds but that is easier with so many bricks.
  

News and Notes

• The Alabama job is officially a possibility as Alabama has fired Mark Godfried. Alabama is 12-7 and 2-3 in the terrible SEC. I am going to get so sick of the speculation that Tubby might leave just because of those who think Minnesota is an inferior school.
• The Gophers fell out of the top 25 in the AP poll but are still ranked 24 in the ESPN poll. The team is 36 in the latest RPI. The latest bracketology has the Gophers a 7 seed playing Florida State.
• Lawrence Westbrook is no longer the only Gopher averaging double digits in scoring. With 18 against Indiana Damian Johnson is now averaging 10.1 ppg along with 4.2 rebs.
  
• Gophers Illustrated has released the top 10 juniors in Minnesota football. If you have the premium service you can view it here. Seantrel Henderson (Cretin) could be the number 1 player in the nation. Other juniors who will be strongly recruited are Jimmy Gjere (Irondale), Beau Allen (Minnetonka) , Tobi Okuyemi (Wayzata), and Joel Bauman (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg). I don't see the Gophers getting Henderson because he can go anywhere and start on day one and the Gophers have never been able to recruit Cretin kids. He likely will follow the Cretin train to Notre Dame. The Gophers should be able to get the others however.
• Some Vikings news: The NFL has settled the lawsuit with Korey Stringer's widow. It has been 7 years since the incident. There is still a pending lawsuit with Ridell, the maker of the helmet and shoulder pads he was wearing at the time. Viking great Carl Eller has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer.
• Blake Wheeler was named the MVP of the YoungStars game leading the rookies with a hat trick. He will get some serious consideration for Rookie of the Year. I would not have guessed that considering his underwhelming run as a Gopher. He went from barely making the team out of training camp to 14g, 16a and a whopping +/- of 27.