gophers/ncaa

Being 3-2 after playing the likes of MSU, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan isn't bad at all, but the Michigan loss was a little deflating. We were really never in the game and Michigan looked to be the much better team. That said, the Gophs have an opportunity to rebuild a little momentum over the next four games. Wisconsin will be very tough at home, but there's no reason why we can't win all four. Assuming Tubby's rotation won't change, the one thing the players can do for themselves is adjust their own expectations. The pressure's off now; the weight of being a Top 10 is gone. Just play ball.

OK Tubby, can you PLEASE play Ellenson????

Until Tubby lives in Minnesota for 66 years like I have he doesn't know the meaning of disappointment. Oh well he's a millionare and 6th or 7th in the big ten isn't that bad

Iowa beat WI. last night. no need to panic.

Both these next 2 games are winnable, but they're also loseable. We have to beat Northwestern because Tubby will get outcoached against the badgers.

"OK Tubby, can you PLEASE play Ellenson????".. For heaven's sake, why? Ellenson is a green freshman who hasn't done anything to deserve the time, he isn't anywhere close to the Big Ten opponents in skill, and his skill set is not unique. He will only muck up the defense - and the offense - getting a point here and there playing cowboy until he learns how to play in D1... This is like the call for untested, unplayed, and untried Walker to start and save the team - what happened to those calls? Oh.. reality hit... Ellenson? Really?

Hey Joe, go practice your free throws (and maybe your on the ball defense as well).

"There's no reason to panic, but I'm just really disappointed in two games, with the way we've played in the first half [and practiced] ,"... It is amazing that he has headed programs as long as he has and clearly has not caught on about college kids, awe, disagreement, and performance - just amazing... They don't question the coach out loud, to him or to anyone. They don't tell any coach what they really think verbally for fear of losing playing time and rank. They look to their game-leader to make things right by talking to the coach, and if the game leader is not the team leader - which is more often the case than not - the play leader doesn't tell the coach verbally either... But after 40 years at it, I can tell you that they DO communicate - by practices that are not quite hard enough, by games played not quite without all the heart - until their sense of "fair" is met and then they play hard - or they play hard in spurts when conditions can be used to subtly signal "go-hard agree" after "not-all-in disagree"... And his public frustration signalling "me vs they" is the OPPOSITE of what he should be conveying in this situation... The AD needs to do some mentoring on this, because this team is special, and they need to believe together - and right now, with poor practices and slow halves, something in the background easy to fix by Smith is keeping them from being all in.

90% of coaching at a high level is getting everybody to believe, and from that comes team, hard work, and enthusiasm for playing every game. I am not alone in believing this - every top ten program coach has said it, and it was a core of Marine training and philosophy... I have won a fair number of championships and skirmishes with far less than the best players, by using each to his strength, and by having them all believe with all their hearts... And just like with Knight's and Coach K's programs, there has always been one player who was the heart - and rarely was it the most skilled player. I caught on early that when he is respected, the teams practiced hard and played hard and enjoyed the practices and games. I could always tell when I was not seen as fair, by the level of practice or training- and I fixed it by personal actions that said respect for that player or Marine and for any other non-starter... Smith has a problem with practices and inconsistent games? - he needs to look at what he is doing to see why they might doubt. It's not blame, because he's not perfect - but he is responsible, so it will be his blame if he sits and blames others and doesn't get it fixed.

Ellenson will play, he's a skilled and athletic player who has all the ability and talent to not only play but to thrive in the B1G. Quick feet, fast hands, big motor and he always had a ball in his hands. Why you ask, it's easy to see, a novice would think otherwise. I have seen him play since he was a young boy, fun to watch. Wally's energy when he plays is a difference maker let alone skill and athletacism. We will see, the time will come, fellow alum we will be proud. Did I mention crazy dunks?