Comments on: 2012-2013 ITH season preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers

By: Thomas Beindit

Thomas Beindit — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:52:00 +0000

In reply to Jethro Troll. Yeah, but they brought in a new guy, where this guy is returning, plus they had a lot more help around him

By: jpniles

jpniles — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:24:00 +0000

I am not really sold on Tubby as a coach. His National Championship at Kentucky was with Pitino’s team. However, this team could be scary. I think they have the ability to finish as high as 2nd in the B1G. I would not want to see them in the tournament either… especially if everyone (ahem… Mbakwe) stays healthy. He is a beast and the Hollins boys are no joke. As long as they are not playing the Hoosiers, I will probably root for them.

By: jcopey

jcopey — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:48:00 +0000

In reply to Mel Piepho. Would have been great if he could have followed Crean to IU. We could have used him!!

By: Mel Piepho

Mel Piepho — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:37:00 +0000

In reply to BP12. Well, sort of. He was at Marquette during 2007-2008 season, but sat out with a knee injury. He was evidently set to return healthy the next year, but with Crean leaving, Mbakwe decided to attend Miami-Dade junior college. This will be his 6th year out of high school.

By: jahhoosier

jahhoosier — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:06:00 +0000

In reply to Jethro Troll.

Not to mention Tubby is one heck of a coach. One of the best defensive coaches in the game, the absolute best teacher of interior passing at the college level, and a heck of a class act.

So, agreed, they should be pretty darn good. They and Iowa, to my mind, are what make the league so ridiculous this year (though Minny should be better than Iowa). Any team that can get a road win against the league’s 6th & 7th best teams this year would have to be REALLY good. Of course, the top five teams may just in fact be REALLY good.

How many leagues can say either of those two statements?

By: Oldguyy

Oldguyy — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:51:00 +0000

In reply to Jethro Troll. I thought Eliason showed some potential last year. If he has a jump in effectiveness like Berggren did last year for Wisconsin, Minnesota would really have an imposing front line to go with some fairly good guards.

By: BP12

BP12 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:32:00 +0000

In reply to jcopey. I could very well be mistaken, but I think Mbakwe actually played for Crean at Marquette during the 2007-2008 season. Can't believe this is Mbakwe's 6th season of college ball.

By: Jethro Troll

Jethro Troll — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:31:00 +0000

I really like this team. It’s an outstanding collection of long, athletic guards and wing players. They should be very good defensively, able to crash the boards, and generally make life miserable for their opponents. This will be Tubby’s best team to date in Minneapolis, and they’re a surefire top half B1G squad and an NCAA team this year.

By: Jethro Troll

Jethro Troll — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:28:00 +0000

In reply to Thomas Beindit. Umm, didnt IU just do that? LOL

By: jcopey

jcopey — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Mbakwe is a beast. With him healthy and improved guard play from the guards, MINN will be a tough team this year.

As an aside, wasn’t Mbakwe a Crean recruit at Marquette, but chose MINN when Crean took the job at Indiana? Am I dreaming that? I sometimes do that . . .

By: Thomas Beindit

Thomas Beindit — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:05:00 +0000

I think it’s going to be extremely interesting to see if the return of Mbakwe can truly make this team that much better. They should certainly be better than last year, with or without him, but can they go from no relevancy to relevancy in 1 year? Maybe, but it’s sure going to be fun to watch.

By: Hoosier_DC

Hoosier_DC — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:23:00 +0000

I would hate to be the strength and conditioning coach at Minn. “More injuries in the past 2 years than I’ve had as 22 years as a head coach” is not something you want on your résumé.

By: SCHoosier

SCHoosier — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Tubby’s program has been hurt the last couple of years by injuries and suspensions. Quality coach….can’t overlook these guys as the season progreses..especially with the Big M back.