SB Nation User Blog: PJS

Tubby's Gophers Lose Again

PJS — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:33:34 -0000

For the third straight game the Gophers were atrocious from the free throw line (7-15).

For the third straight game the Gophers couldn't develop anything consistent in the half-court offense.

For the third straight game the Gophers defense had some nice moments, but also way too many costly lapses.

The result? A 63-58 loss in Coral Gables to the Miami Hurricanes.

This one stings a tad less because it's a road game, but for the third consecutive outing Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers lost a winnable game against a team that most college basketball experts believe Minnesota is better than.

After a slow start Wednesday night, the Gophers' pressure defense forced numerous first half turnovers that led to easy Minnesota offense. Miami's poor ball-handling and Minnesota's pressure gave the Gophers a 30-25 halftime lead. But in the second half Minnesota's defense wasn't turning over the Hurricanes any more and those easy baskets wouldn't come in the half-court.

After being benched for the first half against Texas A&M, Lawrence Westbrook and Al Nolen were reinserted into the starting lineup. Both played well, especially in the first half. Nolen was creating turnovers (he had 5 of the team's 7 steals) and driving to the basket. Westbrook played under control for the most part and led the team with 19 points.

The Hurricanes played composed basketball in the second half--more composed than the Gophers--and earned this win. For a team that is known for turning the ball over, the Hurricanes only committed 13 turnovers against Minnesota's "tenacious" defense. The Gophers, by contrast, turned the ball over 11 times. Dwayne Collins, held in check most of the first half, dominated the glass with 11 rebounds. Durand Scott led all scorers with 20 and Malcolm Grant buried the Gophers from behind the arc.

Other thoughts:

** Ralph Sampson III played 23 mostly ineffective minutes. He couldn't handle the physical of Dwayne Collins. I'm wondering why Colton Iverson didn't see more action. He's the more physical of the two big men and Iverson has demonstrated some improvement to begin his sophomore campaign. Iverson seems better on the glass and better offensively. Free Colton?
** Rodney Williams looked lost. His stat line is as follows: 16 minutes, 0-2 from the field, 0-2 free throws, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and a personal foul.
** I don't really know what to say about the free throw shooting. It's beyond atrocious. Rodney Williams chucked one up there tonight that found itself lodged between the rim and the backboard. Yuck. Damian Johnson was 1-5, including some crunch-time free throws.
** To begin the game the Gophers struggled again against a 2/3 zone. Finally, after losing to Portland because of their struggles and after a few bad possessions against Miami, the Gophers finally started getting the ball into the middle of the zone by placing Damian Johnson around the free throw line. It worked. Damian hit a shot or two from the center of the lane and the zone collapsed often enough to give the Gophers open outside shots that they hit.
** It was nice to see both Blake Hoffarber and Devoe Joseph get hot for a period. Blake was 3-6 from three. Joseph was 2-5, though that included an air ball during crunch time.
** The Gophers were out-rebounded 32-24. Al Nolen led the team with 6 rebounds. No other player had more than 3.
** Despite reportedly being available for this game and no longer on suspension, senior Devron Bostick didn't see the floor.

Anyone have other thoughts or takeaways from the game? With the loss the Gophers are now 4-3 and return home for a stretch of games they should win. I can't see Brown, Morgan State, Saint Joseph's, Northern Illinois or South Dakota State giving the Gophers much of a game. Maybe what this team needs most is a confidence boost. They should get that in the coming weeks.

Post 76 Classic Thoughts

PJS — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:34:37 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

4 days ago: Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. Texas A&M won 66-65. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Browse more photos »

I know this was discussed in the Nugz below, but I had a few other thoughts that I took away from attending the 76 Classic in Anaheim. I think it's safe to say most Gophers fans left the tournament disappointed. After a tremendous performance against Butler, the Gophers pretty much fell flat.

Here are some thoughts.

Fans: The Minnesota fans deserve tremendous praise for showing up in large numbers. Minnesota probably had the largest contingent of fans at the tournament--Butler might have come close. The fanbase definitely traveled well. I'm starting out with that positive, because the rest of this will be relatively critical.

2/3 zone: Early on against Portland, the coaching staff for the Pilots had their team switching back and forth between a 2/3 zone and a man to man defense. The Gophers seemingly could never solve either, but it's the 2/3 zone difficulty that was the most alarming. If you watched many of Minnesota's possessions against the zone, you'd notice that the team seemed to have no idea what to do. Minnesota's center and power forward were positioned most of the time down on the blocks with the two guards and the small forward stationed at the top of the key or on the wings. There was rarely an attempt to get the ball into the middle of the zone to force the defenders to collapse. Instead, the Gophers swung the ball around the perimeter. And even when they did that, the passing was relatively non-chalant.

In my opinion, you need to do two things against a 2/3 zone: 1) Get the ball into the middle and 2) move the ball crisply and efficiently in order to make the defense move. The Gophers did neither.

And while the Pilots were switching from a 2/3 back to a man defense and then back again, the Gophers' players continuously failed to recognize what defense they were playing against.

To me, the failure against this 2/3 zone rests mostly on the coaching staff. I can't tell you how many times I turned to my buddy and asked if he thought the Gophers even had a 2/3 offense to use. It didn't look like it.

Westbrook/Nolen benching: Everyone here knows the duo was benched for the first half of the third place game against Texas A&M. Rumors around the arena mostly hit on Tubby Smith's desire to get the ball inside more often and the two guards' unwillingness to do so. What those watching on TV probably couldn't see is that during the entire first half against the Aggies, Nolen and Westbrook sat on the end of the bench looking entirely dejected. They looked ambivalent during huddles and timeouts. Now, while I take issue with how Nolen and Westbrook seemed to be handling the benching, it doesn't surprise me that there would be some concern with the offensive game plan the Gophers are putting forward. We're now in the third year of the Tubby-era and the Gophers continue to lack any continuity on offense or an identity altogether.

Entry Passes: If the reason for the benching was indeed related to a reluctance or inability for Nolen and Westbrook to get the ball inside, it's my belief that the coaching staff shares some blame. Other than Blake Hoffarber, can anyone here name a wing player on this team that is consistently capable of throwing an entry pass? The Gophers are abysmal at this and have been for two years. If Tubby believes that the Gophers need to play inside-out basketball, then his coaching staff really needs to teach these kids how to feed the post. Because at this point, they don't know how.

The team's best point guard: It was a point of discussion below and will likely be all season. Who is this team's best point guard? From my perspective, judging from this weekend, it's hands down Devoe Joseph. Many of you are spot on when you say Nolen is a great defender. Indeed he is. But Joseph isn't a liability on defense and when he was orchestrating the offense the Gophers did a number of things much better. They were able to get the ball inside. They moved without the ball significantly better and the offense against man defenses actually had some success. With Nolen on the court the offense at many points became incredibly stagnant unless Nolen was driving to the basket. Further, with Joseph leading the offense, all of a sudden the point guard can be a threat from outside offensively. If the Gophers are going to run a high pick and roll offense, then two things are needed from a point guard: 1) an ability to hit the open jumper and 2) an ability to feed the ball down low. Joseph does both far better than Nolen.

RSIII: Some of the talk over the last year-plus about RSIII "looking" disinterested has seemed silly. I don't care how he looks as long as he plays hard. Well, this weekend there were a number of times when RSIII was simply out-hustled for loose balls. Against Portland and the Aggies the Gophers as a team were out-hustled. RSIII certainly wasn't the only culprit, but his hesitance was obvious. It can't be about lighting a fire under RSIII anymore. I'm sure the coaching staff has tried that. RSIII simply needs to find the want-to necessary to play at this level. Right now he doesn't seem to have it.

"Tenacious" man defense: The talking point since Tubby Smith arrived was that the Gophers play a tenacious man-to-man defense. Well, in Anaheim, with the possible exception of the game against Butler, the Gophers' defense was anything but tenacious. If you want to watch a team that really does know how to swarm on defense, check out Bob Huggins' Mountaineers. West Virginia did to Portland exactly what we could have. They used superior athleticism and size to contest every shot. They beat Portland to loose balls, disrupted passing lanes and played help-side defense. Against the Gophers, Portland was able to consistently beat us off the dribble. They were able to get far too many open perimeter shots. There is absolutely no excuse for the Gophers to allow an inferior team athletically to consistently beat its "tenacious" man defense.

Who are the Gophers: It was sort of amusing to see the reaction of Minnesota fans after the win against Butler. There was talk of going to the Great 8. I was skeptical when hearing these fans because all I've seen through the first handful of games is the same team we saw last year that is simply one year older. When the team gets hot and hits its shots, it can probably play with most teams. But most of the time the Gophers are stagnant on offense, have no true scorer and play good but not great team defense. Unless Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe come back and have a meaningful impact, this Minnesota team is a middle-of-the-road major conference team.

Defense Leads Gophers Over Utah Valley

PJS — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:11:40 -0000

More photos » by Hannah Foslien - AP

14 days ago: Minnesota's Colton Iverson, left, guards against a shot by Utah Valley State's Kevin Woods II (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien)

Browse more photos »

One statistic sufficiently sums up why the Gophers defeated Utah Valley 76-51 at The Barn.

Turnovers: UVU- 26, Minnesota-5.

In a game that was probably closer than it should have been--but also never really in doubt--it was the Gophers' defense, that in turn led to offense that made the difference. And, I suspect, when the Gophers are playing their best basketball this season the defense will be leading the way.

Rodney Williams led the way with 17 points, including 13 in the second half in which the Gophers pulled away after leading by 8 at halftime. DJ Swat poured in 15 points on 7-10 shooting and Al Nolen dolled out 7 assists to go with 11 points.

But not everything was pretty. For the third straight game, the Gophers struggled in the first half. In the opening 10 minutes, the Gophers offense settled far too often for outside jump shots early in the shot clock. Off-the-ball movement on offense during this period was suspect and ball movement was relatively non-existent.

But towards the end of the first half Tubby called a time out and clearly sent a message. During the next two possessions the Gophers had a plan on offense--a high-low game with Ralph Sampson III and DJ Swat. And from that point on the Gophers seemed to settle down and began to attack the basket instead of settling for the jumper.

And the team will have to play inside and drive to the basket if tonight's 26 percent shooting from three is a sign of things to come. But, hopefully, it was just one of those nights with the rim. Devoe Joseph was 3-13 and 1-5 from three. Ugh. But, again, the Gophers can survive those types of nights when their high-intensity man defense is creating the types of turnovers it did tonight.

Hats off also to the Wolverines. The game wasn't really out of reach until the final five minutes when the Gophers defense took over for good. The Wolverines fought the entire way.

A few more thoughts below the fold ....

This was the first game I've been able to see this season and I can see why everyone has been talking about Williams. I believed everyone that his athleticism was the real deal. But I was impressed with his basketball instincts. Rodney followed his shot. He crashed the boards. And he cut to the right spots on the floor to finish after a turnover.
Like much of the non-conference slate last year, the Gophers pressed most of the game. During the Big Ten conference portion of the season the Gophers played full-court far less often. I'll be very curious to see what Tubby does against Butler. Butler is no regular mid-major and they are a veteran team that will be ready for defensive pressure. Will the press simply be part of Minnesota's DNA this year, meaning that the Gophers are a pressing team the vast majority of the time? I sort of hope so.
I really liked a lineup tonight that consisted of Nolen, Joseph, WIlliams, Carter and Johnson. They created turnovers and ran the floor very well.
This was the first game I was able to watch this year, and Miss PJS' first comment was that Colton Iverson is looking much better. Quite the basketball mind I'm living with!
I'm not sure if I like the new floor.

What did you see tonight?

Going to the 76 Classic

PJS — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:31:34 -0000

I'll be heading to Anaheim for the 76 Classic. I can't wait.

Let me know if anyone here is attending and maybe we can enjoy a beer or two.

The Gray Era: If Not Now, When?

PJS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:01:57 -0000

The Marqueis Gray era should begin Saturday against South Dakota State. There is no reason to prolong the Adam Weber experiment.

In the post below GN cries out to give Weber more time. Weber's been inconsistent, GN argues, which means that sometimes he's been less than awful and therefore he should remain the starter. Bah. Sorry, GN, I love ya, but I completely disagree with you here.

We've had almost three full seasons to watch Weber now. At one point, perhaps like many of you, I had high hopes for the Shoreview native. But instead of taking a step forward in his junior year, Weber has regressed. I don't know if it's the change in offensive coordinators or the tweaks to his throwing motion. It doesn't matter. Weber is completing 54 percent of his passes this season, down significantly from 62 percent last year.

In looking through Weber's stats for his three seasons one thing stuck out to me. Would any of you had imagined during Weber's freshman or sophomore seasons that as a junior, against Purdue, Weber would attempt only 9 passes? Or that he would throw for more than 300 yards only once as a junior--during his 416 yard aberration against Michigan State.

It's not just because fans live or die with the team--or play Madden football--that many fans are calling for a change at quarterback. It's because we've seen a quarterback who once looked to have promise take a few steps backwards. Has he made some good plays? Led the charge on some nice drives? Absolutely. And has he perhaps had a raw deal with the turnover at coordinator and the offensive line situation? Yep.

But now is the time to make the change for reasons beyond Weber's on the field performance.

That reason wears #5 for the maroon and gold. Here's what GN said about why starting Gray won't happen..

And brace yourself for this...barring injury, he'll likely start every game next year. I know that many of you are going to throw your arms up and declare that if Brewster even thinks about starting Weber over Gray next year he should be fired before the 1st quarter is over. But it just won't happen.

First and foremost, coaches will go with what they know and who they trust. I coached basketball at the college level for several years and while I completely understand that it is a different sport and a VERY different level of talent, I learned several things that are true at any level. One is that coaches will go with who they trust. Adam Weber has a three year resume under his belt and Brewster, after watching him in 38 games and hundreds of practices knows exactly what he is and is not capable of. The casual or even passionate fan who is so livid after the first two quarters of the Illini game that they saw nothing positive in the second half; are not nearly well enough informed to make this decision.

Brewster is going to play the QB that best gives him a chance to win.

Gray happens to be the most heralded recruit to come to Minnesota under Brewster. He's the future. I'll grant GN that Weber is the quarterback who gives the Gophers the best chance to beat the Jackrabbits and the Hawkeyes, but continuing to start Weber into next year only prolongs the maturation process for Gray and stunts the longterm potential of the team.

Let me put it this way .... which quarterback might eventually lead the Gophers to the Rose Bowl? I think we know now that Adam Weber will most certainly never do that. So, why not let Gray learn the ropes now? Why not let him build a rapport with Brandon Green? Why not let him adjust to the speed or defensive packages of the Hawkeyes in an unfriendly environment during the season finale? There's no good reason, not even Brewster's job security.

If Brewster transitions to Gray now, all of a sudden Minnesota fans will be looking for signs of hope instead of pointing out reasons for despair. Gray will be the first quarterback recruited by Brewster to throw to receivers recruited by Brewster. This is one of the rare occasions where the best thing for the football Gophers is also the best thing for Brewster's job security and the public relations needs of the program.

I have no idea how Gray will perform if he's given the starting nod. I expect he'll have some flashes of good with a steady stream of bad. And the offensive line will be just as bad for Gray as it has been for Weber.

None of this is an indictment on Weber, his character or work ethic. But, again, for the long-term health of the program, it's time to turn the keys over to a young quarterback who just might lead the Gophers out of its decades-long funk.

If not now, when? Gray's junior year? I might be alone in this, but I'd much rather see what we have in Gray sooner rather than later.

Poll

Who should start Minnesota's final two games?

Adam Weber

62 votes

Marqueis Gray

106 votes

Goldy

25 votes

193 votes | Poll has closed

Sometimes the Day Job Trumps Blogging

PJS — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:27:38 -0000

For many of the regulars here, you've probably noticed that my byline has been nowhere to be seen for the past month or two. During that time my life has been incredibly busy and taken a life-changing turn.

Many of you probably knew that after college I went into the newspaper business. My first job was as a sports editor for some podunk paper in upstate New York. I went from there to Washington where I took a glorified internship with PBS' NewsHour progam. In the years since, I jumped around a couple newspapers in Virginia covering politics. It was a career I enjoyed but I soon realized that making a living in the newspaper business wasn't something I'd be able to count on for the years to come. So, two years ago I was approached to join a public relations firm based out of Washington. After much thought, I made the jump.

One of the reasons I maintained this blog with GN--and before that on my own blog--was to allow my creative energy an outlet. That was even more important for me once I stopped writing on a daily basis for newspapers.

But now my life has taken another turn that demands more of my attention--like 16 hours per day attention. I decided to go out on my own and start my own public relations and government affairs business. I've spent the past month or two making sure my clients would come with me, signing new contracts, registering my new business, moving, and just about anything else you'd imagie comes along with starting and managing your own small business.

And so while it pained me that I wasn't living up to my obligations here, the day job had to take precedence. Right now, I'm about two weeks into being on my own with my new business. Things are going well, and I figure that if I'm surviving now, in this economic climate, then that could foreshadow big things to come.

I've been talking with GN about this for awhile and we've transferred the site from my name to his. GN has asked that I consider writing a weekly column or contributing on occasion. At this point I can't commit to a weekly column, but do hope to chime in from time to time. Hopefully as my life settles and I find a balance with the day job, I'll be able to justify the time spent blogging.

So, I'm not leaving entirely. But I wanted to make everyone here aware that my involvement will be sporadic at best for the time being. Something tells me I won't be able to resist the urge to analyze Tubby Smith's Gophers!

Golden Nugz for 6.3.09

PJS — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:58:28 -0000

I hope many of you will join me in telling U President Robert Bruininks that it is NOT OK to sell alcohol only to patrons at TCF Bank Stadium who pay enough to be in "premium seating" areas.

The Minnesota Daily has the latest on the alochol debate here.

But no matter what one might think about alcohol at sporting events, I think it's unfathomable that we'd have two sets of rules for different types of fans. This is basically Bruininks giving those of a higher socio-economic status the opportunity to watch a game with a beer.

And don't think this impacts me. It doesn't. I live out of state. But having one set of rules for people who can afford a more expensice seat and another set of rules for everyone else, well, that strikes me as bullshit.

The Bleacker Report ranks Tim Brewster as the ninth best coach in the Big Ten. I'm not going to quibble with their rankings and think they had fair and honest things to say about Brewster.
Hockey News is looking forward to the NHL draft and has an item on Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder.
I mentioned the other day that Penn State coach Joe Paterno would like to see the Big Ten have a playoff and potentially expand. Well, SI's Andy Staples picks up on that and provides three potential scenarios for expansion. He suggests the scenarios are Missouri, Notre Dame or a Big East team join the conference. I'd still like Nebraska I think, but that's probably not happening.
In passing, Andy Katz suggests Dan Monson is "reviving" Long Beach State.
Perhaps Tim Brewster's first big recruit while in Minnesota, his son Clint, is now headed to Tennessee Tech.

Golden Nugz for 5.29.09

PJS — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:36:35 -0000

I really hope it's an accident. As noted in a fanpost to the right and at Mike Hlas' site here, it appears the Gophers' 2009-10 football media guide omits Iowa's 55-0 shellacking of our beloved rodents last year.

The Wizard of Odds has more here.

It'll be a matter of hours before the lads at Black Heart Gold Pants, in Triumph the Insult Comic Dog fashion, weigh in.

It's an accident, right?

RSIII getting some recognition. He'll be trying out with 16 others for the Team USA 19-and under team that will compete in New Zealand this summer. There's a great group of young collegiate players in the mix for spots on this team that will be coached by Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon. More here.
And here we have the Washington Post basically smacking veteran Star Tribune scribe Sid Hartman. Grandpa Sid reported recently (based on an incorrect Rivals.com report) that Hyattsville, MD, running back Marcus Coker had committed to the Gophers. One problem. Coked didn't! Here's the Post: "So you're DeMatha running back Marcus Coker and you wake up one morning and learn that you've committed to play for Minnesota. Small problem omitted from various reports - included the one I linked, which includes no attribution - Coker didn't really accept a scholarship offer to play for the Golden Gophers."
Nice move here by Brewster and the U football folks to have Murray Warmath serve as honorary coach in the opener of the new stadium.
Why is it that perhaps the oldest man in Big Ten football is the only one with a vision? Joe Paterno is arguing for a 12th team in the conference and a conference championship game so the Big Ten isn't relegated to the sidelines in December. Paterno wants a 12th team to come from the East, and I think that's good if possible. It would give PSU a logical inter conference rival. And he's right about the six weeks off in between the last regular season game and the Rose Bowl. It's completely silly. Here's the Morning Call with a report from yesterday on Paterno's wish list.

Saul Smith Weighing In On UK Issues

PJS — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:15:05 -0000

So Saul Smith is apprarently weighing in on Kentucky basketball. Well, weighing in before he had apparently deleted his comments on his Facebook page.

Here's UK blogger Jerry Tipton quoted at length.

On his Facebook page, former Kentucky point guard Saul Smith cautioned the basketball program about running afoul of NCAA rules.

“Bad bad day for my alma mater,” Smith wrote on Thursday. “The UK athletic program will never regain its true champion nature with Businessmen running it. Never, no matter how many so called blue chip players you bring in. You can’t sacrifice your integrity for success. You just can’t do it. I’m an alum and I deserve a clean-ran program, plain and simple. Period, and if anyone disagrees, you, my friend, shouldn’t support the program I played 4.”

Smith now works as an assistant coach for his father, former UK coach Tubby Smith, at Minnesota.

Later in a follow-up interview, Smith said he did not mean to suggest new UK Coach John Calipari used questionable methods.

“Coach Cal is my guy,” Smith said. “I’m close to him.”

Smith said he interviewed for a spot on Calipari’s Memphis staff in 2007.

Of the Memphis allegations, Smith said of Calipari, “I don’t think he knew about it, so he says.”

Smith also said his father refused to “pay” for players as Kentucky coach.

“He had the opportunity to get great players,” Saul Smith said. “But the integrity wouldn’t be there. . . .

“I’m not saying Cal has done that. I’m just saying (Kentucky) can’t afford it. We’ve been down that road.”

Smith has apparently now taken down his comment on Facebook

On the face of it, I'm always for people saying what's on their mind. But this strikes me as Saul perhaps sticking himself into a situation that doesn't benefit his current situation. While Saul is an alum of UK and has as much right to weigh in as someone like Rajon Rando, I'd hope Saul would take a page from his father's book and stay above the fray.

There's more to Tipton's piece and please read it for full context.

And here's more Kentucky reaction to Saul inserting himself into this issue.

Golden Nugz for 5.26.09

PJS — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:45:51 -0000

As GN noted below, the Gophers drew Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Here's what UofM communication folks put out about the postseason berth.

This NCAA Tournament bid is the 29th for Minnesota, which is the most among any program in the Big Ten. It is also the 16th appearance for Golden Gopher head coach John Anderson, which is the most NCAA Tournament appearances by a Big Ten coach.

"I am extremely proud of this year's team," said Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson. "They played at a consistently high level week in and week out this year. Down the stretch this season, we were on the road for the final three weeks and our team continued to play well throughout that timeframe. This past week, we did a great job, after losing to a tough pitcher in our first game of the Big Ten Tournament, of battling back to get to the championship game. This team has worked hard all year, and deserves the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament. I am excited for them that they will get a great opportunity to play in front of what is in my opinion one of the best college baseball atmospheres in the entire nation."

LSU enters the 2009 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament, and has a 46-16 record this season. The Tigers finished tied for first place in the SEC West with a 20-10 record, and won the SEC Tournament this past weekend. LSU defeated Minnesota 10-9 in an exciting NCAA Regional matchup in 2001.

Baylor brings a 29-24 overall record into the 2009 NCAA Tournament and is seeded No. 3 in the region. The Bears finished eighth in the Big Ten at 10-16, and went 2-1 in the Big 12 Tournament this past week.

And here's a link to the regionals and times for each game. It looks like the Gophers will face Baylor at 7 p.m. Friday night.

Football coach Tim Brewster is fired up about recruiting ..... for Gophers wrestling.
Sticking with Brewster, he spoke with Marcus Fuller of the PiPress and said the following, ""Recruiting is really going well," he said. "Going into your third year now, everything is in place. There's a lot of excitement. There's a lot of buzz out there about us. And you know what? We're going to have a good team."
On the recruiting front, Brewster continues to get high marks. In this RIvals Q&A with their analysts, Brewster is given plaudits for his recruiting and it's suggested that the Gophers could surprise this year.
Joel Maturi also talks to Marcus Fuller of the PiPress here about fundraising for a basketball practice facility and a new baseball stadium.
Random link..... Ienjoyed this set of feaerless weekend predictions. John Calipari, Jake Peavy and Lane Kiffin coverage.