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Minnesota Golden Gophers 2011-12 Preview

by - Published November 7, 2011 in Conference Notes

Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-14, 6-12)

Coach Tubby Smith (90-61) enters his fourth season at Minnesota.

 

 

 

Project starting five:

Sr. F Trevor Mbakwe
Fr. F Andre Ingram
Jr. G Julian Welch
So. G Austin Hollins
Sr. F Ralph Sampson III

Important departures:

Blake Hoffarber: 13.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 38.9 percent from 3-point range
Al Nolen: 8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.7 apg
Colton Iverson: 5.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg

Additions:

Fr. SG Joe Coleman (Rivals.com three-star player)
Fr. SG Andre Hollins (Rivals.com three-star player)

Outlook:

Minnesota looks solid with their two returning starters in Mbakwe and Sampson, both of whom entertained notions of leaving for the NBA. The Gophers surprised people last year with a late run in the Big Ten tournament, but unfortunately that fluke will not play out again. A lot of Minnesota’s players are good, but few are great and teams will exploit their weakened bench.

Schedule highlights:

A very weak nonconference schedule will help inflate the Gophers’ final record, but after being cannibalized in their conference, Minnesota will sink to somewhere at or below .500 overall.

Prediction: 12th

Next: Nebraska Huskers
Back to Big Ten preview

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Game On!

by - Published November 12, 2010 in Full Court Sprints

FULL COURT SPRINTS

BASELINE TO BASELINE

LAST SHOT
Go coast to coast with our roundup of the nation’s top stories.

  1. The top big man in this year’s freshman class, Kentucky’s Enes Kanter, is ineligible because he received extra benefits while tagging along with a club basketball team in Turkey, according to the Associated Press.
  2. ESPN.com’s Andy Katz observes that Kanter’s decision to (try to) go to college bucked a trend among top international players.
  3. There’s plenty of angst at Rocky Top as Tennessee opens the season against Chattanooga because the Vols dropped an exhibition game to Division II Indianapolis earlier in the week, writes Rob Lewis of VolQuest.com.
  4. Syracuse’s Scoop Jardine gives you a player’s perspective on the best guards in the Big East on ESPN.com.
  5. Minnesota’s second-leading returning scorer, Devoe Joseph, is out indefinitely after violating team rules, writes the Associated Press’ Jon Krawczynski. That means Joseph won’t get to go to Puerto Rico, where the Gophers could face North Carolina and West Virginia.
  6. Villanova McDonald’s All-American JayVaughn Pinkston will have to wait to make his debut after an assault and harassment charge, according to the Associated Press.
  7. Pressure? What pressure? Sidney Lowe’s job is on the line this season at North Carolina State, but the coach is only focusing on turning the Wolfpack into an elite ACC team, writes the Associated Press’ Aaron Beard.
  8. Doug Gottlieb of ESPN.com gives you a cheat sheet of other coaches that face must-win situations on a daily basis this season.
  9. Ho-hum, just another No. 1 recruiting class for Kentucky’s John Calipari, writes Steve Jones of CatsPause.com.
  10. It’s never too early for some Bracketology from ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi.
 Although the regular season doesn’t really get under way until today, the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic kicked off action this past week. Pittsburgh, Maryland, Illinois and Texas won their two games this week, though Maryland barely squeaked past College of Charleston at home. The Cougars led nearly the entire game, until Cliff Tucker hit a jumper with 4 seconds to go, giving the Terrapins a 75-74 win and denying Charleston a second win against ACC teams in two years. Bobby Cremins’ squad took down North Carolina last season, which was an omen of impending doom for the Tar Heels.

The other three 2K participants mostly breezed past their opponents, winning by an average of 28 points, though Rhode Island gave Pitt a scare in the opener Nov. 8.

Meanwhile in Manhattan (Kansas), the Wildcats are hype for this season as a favorite to contend for the national championship.

STUDY SESSION

OPENING TIP
This week, Hoopville introduced its Total Impact Quotient for players from the six power conferences. This metric tallies the total impact a player has on the game per 40 minutes. Check out the ratings from the 2009-10 season for your favorite team and players.

In addition to breaking into the player ratings business, Hoopville gets back into its regular-season mode with a preview of Rhode Island by Phil Kasiecki, who got an inside look at the Rams’ upcoming season from coach Jim Baron.

 Welcome to the official start of the regular season! We’ve got 134 games with Division I teams on the slate for Nov. 12, including 16 of the top 25 teams in action. Here are the games you’ll want to pay attention to.

Georgetown at Old Dominion: Monarchs took out the Hoyas in DC last season.

Seton Hall at Temple: Owls won a thriller, 71-65, in Jersey last season.

East Tennessee State at Kentucky: Rematch of the first-round NCAA Tournament game in which the Wildcats embarrassed the Bucs. East Tennessee State returns almost every major contributor. Kentucky doesn’t and occasionally starts the season slow. If you’re looking for a top 10 upset on Day One, this is your pick.

Other potentially surprising results could come from these match ups:

  • William & Mary at Virginia
  • Charleston Southern at Georgia Tech
  • Western Kentucky at Saint Joseph’s
  • Austin Peay at Saint Louis

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
If you’re deep into college basketball, you probably need a prescription for Ritalin.

We’re hours away from tipping off the first games for a couple hundred Division I teams, and we’re already a day into the early signing period for 2011-12. Fans are getting amped up for this season — and the next one. It’s enough to give you a case of attention deficit disorder.

Duke is the No. 1 team in the country and begins its defense of the national title, which the Blue Devils won just seven months ago. But Duke fans are almost equally giddy about the upcoming arrival of No. 1 recruit Austin Rivers in another 10 months.

In Lexington, Kentucky coach John Calipari has the top-rated recruiting class entering this season — though that ranking probably drops with Enes Kantes ineligible. Calipari also likely has the top-rated recruiting class for next season with three top 10 players heading to Kentucky. Let’s just go ahead and assume Calipari will deliver the top class to whatever school he’s coaching and start the rankings after that class.

The recruiting rankings are undoubtedly a big deal. Athletic directors and university boosters love to hear that their highly paid coach delivers highly regarded kids to campus. But let’s not forget to celebrate the moment, too.

There’s plenty to love about college basketball, from celebrating recent successes and basking in preseason hype to anticipating future success and lamenting the impending loss of top-tier talent to the NBA. But we should make sure that we don’t diminish the value of the thrilling action on the court.
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Minnesota: White Departs for Good

by - Published February 1, 2010 in Newswire

Minnesota freshman Royce White announced that he will withdraw from the university.

A highly regarded recruit, White has not played a minute for the Golden Gophers after a run-in with the law in the fall. He was under investigation for theft of a laptop from a campus dorm room. After that incident, he announced in a YouTube video that he quit the team — without informing anyone in the athletics department first. Upon further consideration, he decided to remain with the team, albeit suspended.

White recently returned to practice before making his announcement to withdraw.

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Minnesota: Sampson Sits Again in Gophers’ Loss to Purdue

by - Published January 5, 2010 in Newswire

Minnesota sophomore center Ralph Sampson III – yes, the son of that Ralph Sampson – missed his second straight game when he sat out in the Golden Gophers’ 79-60 loss at Purdue, according to the Associated Press.
Sampson, who averages 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, is recovering from an ankle injury that forced him to miss Minnesota’s win against Iowa last weekend. Sophomore Colton Iverson started both games in Sampson’s place, amassing only two points but 14 rebounds.
Without Sampson, coach Tubby Smith has played a smaller lineup and hastened the pace. Against Iowa, Minnesota forced 25 turnovers en route to an 86-74 win, an uncharacteristically high scoring affair for two Big Ten teams. One of the best teams in the nation, Purdue was better prepared for the Golden Gophers’ game plan, committing 17 turnovers while stifling Minnesota’s half-court offense. The Golden Gophers shot only 30.8 percent from the field in the loss.

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Phil Kasiecki on Twitter

  • Another two games are in store tomorrow: Temple at Rhode Island (2 p.m.) followed by Penn at Brown (6 p.m.). about 1 hour ago from web
  • Final score: Harvard 71, Cornell 58. Cornell remains winless on the road this season. about 1 hour ago from web
  • At the last media timeout, Harvard leads 62-47 with 3:34 left. about 1 hour ago from web
  • At the under-8 media timeout, Harvard's lead is up to 57-38 with 7:42 left. about 1 hour ago from web
  • When Cornell doesn't foul, they're a very good defensive team. They're already in the two-shot penalty just past the halfway point. about 1 hour ago from web
  • At the under-12 media timeout, Harvard leads Cornell 47-33 with 11:02 left. about 1 hour ago from web

Michael Protos on Twitter

Your Phil of Hoops

Northeastern is not yet a contender in the CAA

February 3, 2012 by

northeastern

After losing to Drexel on Wednesday night, where Northeastern stands is clear in the CAA. They are not contenders yet, and until they knock off a team ahead of them in the standings, that’s where they will be.

Harvard asserts itself in the opening weekend of Ivy League play

January 29, 2012 by

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The first full weekend of Ivy League play is in the books, and one thing that wasn’t too surprising happened: the league favorites asserted themselves as just that. Harvard looked like a team on a mission, and coming away with two convincing road wins is what was desired.

Quick Hitters – January 27, 2012

January 27, 2012 by

author_kasiecki

Some quick hitters about Boston University’s rebounding, a transfer helping Marquette, an improving Husky guard and a couple of key road wins among others as we head into another weekend.

Quinnipiac finally pulls one out to close road swing

January 22, 2012 by

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Quick Hitters – January 21, 2012

January 21, 2012 by

author_kasiecki

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Ron Hunter is already changing the culture at Georgia State

January 19, 2012 by

georgiastate

Ron Hunter knew he had a culture to change at Georgia State, and he knew he was in a different place. Now he has a different issue on his hands with his team, which stands 5-2 in CAA play after a loss at Northeastern on Wednesday night.

Boston College off to a surprising start in ACC play

January 15, 2012 by

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There’s a big surprise near the top of the ACC standings. With only Duke sporting an undefeated record, one team in the logjam at 2-1 is the very young Boston College Eagles after two straight home wins.

Boston University hopes to regain confidence with losing streak over

January 9, 2012 by

bostonuniversity

Just over a month ago, Boston University looked ready go on a good run. But a six-game losing streak resulted instead, and the Terriers hope to regain confidence after ending it on Sunday.

Harvard continues to live dangerously in Ivy League opener

January 8, 2012 by

harvard

Harvard improved to 13-2 on Saturday by winning the first Ivy League game of the season. While the bottom line is all positive, the Crimson also lived dangerously for a while, more so than the 16-point final margin of victory might lead one to believe.

UMBC’s non-conference struggles don’t matter with conference-opening road win

January 3, 2012 by

umbc

With conference play, a bad non-conference run with one loss after another doesn’t matter on the bottom line. One example of that is UMBC, a team that won one game in non-conference play but is tied atop America East after an 82-76 win at New Hampshire on Monday night.

Full Court Sprints

Percolating hoops intrigue makes February a fantastic month for sports

It’s February — one of the most underrated sports months of the year. With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, the biggest event in U.S. sports will command the attention of tens of millions of viewers, generating tens of millions of dollars for everyone associated with the event. A …

Conference Coverage

Big Sky Conference update – Jan 26, 2012

January 26, 2012 by

bigsky

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Cleveland State Vikings Overwhelm Milwaukee Panthers 83-57

January 22, 2012 by

horizon

In a game with major implications for the regular season Horizon League championship and seeding for the Horizon League Tournament, the Cleveland State Vikings dominated the Milwaukee Panthers by a score of 83-57 in a game in which the Panthers never led. The Vikings and Panthers began the day in …

Big Sky Conference update – January 18, 2012

January 18, 2012 by

bigsky

One team stands alone atop the standings for now, with another a little behind them and a logjam near the middle of the pack.

Cleveland State Use Barrages from Outside to Defeat Loyola

January 7, 2012 by

horizon

The Cleveland State Vikings started 2012 off on a winning note with a 69-48 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over the visiting Loyola Ramblers. In his pregame radio comments, Vikings coach Gary Waters stated that the Ramblers’ 5-10 record heading into Saturday’s matchup was deceiving and that the Ramblers were …

Big Sky roundup, week 1

January 5, 2012 by

bigsky

Opening weekend in the Big Sky Eastern Washington Record: 7-7, 1-1 Weekend: 1-1 Major superlatives: Won by 16, lost by 8; 76.5 ppg for, 72.5 against; plus-4 scoring margin; 52-112 FG; 20-53 3pt; 29-43 FT. Summary: One night, the lead stuck. The other, it didn’t. The Eagles made an early …

Your Big Sky Conference primer

December 28, 2011 by

bigsky

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Around the Horizon League: Week 7

December 28, 2011 by

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Like the rest of the country, the Horizon League teams have been enjoying the holiday season and taking it easy on the hardwood. Here’s a roundup of the action that did go down during the past week.

Cleveland State messes with Texas, defeats Sam Houston State Bearkats

December 22, 2011 by

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Cleveland State had plenty of Christmas cheer to share in the Vikings’ easy win against Sam Houston State, though they didn’t exactly give the Bearkats a festive feeling.

Around The Horizon League: Week 6

December 22, 2011 by

horizon

Butler Bulldogs (5-7): Butler began the week with a matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Having struggled in the early part of the season, the Bulldogs probably weren’t given much of a chance by most observers against the Boilermakers. Summing up some of the magic that has helped …

Around The Horizon League: Weeks 4-5

December 14, 2011 by

horizon

Butler Bulldogs (4-6): Butler has continued to struggle in the early stages of the 2011-12 college basketball season. However, don’t start writing Butler’s obituary just yet. Horizon League fans shouldn’t forget that Butler began last season slowly and bottomed out with a loss to Youngstown State before turning their season …

A busy and exciting week in the Big Sky

December 13, 2011 by

bigsky

We take a quick run through the results from the past week in the Big Sky Conference, giving a little love to each team in the conference.

Oklahoma has the best Big 12 player you don’t know

December 12, 2011 by

oklahoma

Missouri and Baylor are looking great, but we love the improvement of one of Lon Kruger’s guards.

Vikings pull out dramatic victory over Akron

December 10, 2011 by

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Longtime Cleveland sports fans are familiar with the “Kardiac Kids,” which was the nickname bestowed on the 1980 Cleveland Browns team that won multiple games in the waning seconds of the game. Although the 2011-12 college basketball season is still somewhat young, the Cleveland State Vikings have already given that …

Cleveland State Vikings Defeat Detroit Titans 66-61

December 4, 2011 by

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No cause for alarm in the Big East

November 29, 2011 by

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Yes, a few Big East teams have faltered early in the season. No, that’s not a reason to panic, as it is still November.