Posts Tagged ‘Tubby Smith’

Two B1G transfers find their new schools

Published by Source on May 15th, 2012

Two former B1G players announced where they were headed next on Tuesday. Minnesota transfer Chip Armelin tweeted that he had officially signed to play at Southern Mississippi out of Conference USA. Around the same time, former Ohio State Buckeye JD Weatherspoon announced that he would transfer within the state to a MAC school, Toledo.

Chip Armelin is originally from Louisiana and signed with the Gophers out of high school. Tubby Smith was the only power conference coach to offer Armelin, who chose Minnesota over Louisiana Tech and North Texas. In his two seasons as a Gopher, Armelin averaged 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.5 minutes. He saw his minutes go up his sophomore year but decided to leave the program in early April. Giving up his scholarship actually cleared room for Gophers’ star Trevor Mbakwe, who was granted a 6th year of eligibility after missing a majority of the last season to an ACL tear.

The Golden Eagles of Southern Miss enter next season with a new coach, former Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall. In his six seasons at MSU, Tyndall won two OVC tournament titles that translated to two NCAA tournament appearances. The highlight of his tenure may have been the Eagles’ first round upset of 4th seed Louisville in the 2011 Tournament, led by senior sensation Kenneth Faried (now with the Denver Nuggets).

Back on April 16, Buckeyes JD Weatherspoon and Jordan Sibert announced their intentions to leave the program. Both are Ohio-natives that came to OSU as nationally-ranked high school prospects. Weatherspoon is actually from Columbus, playing alongside Buckeye star Jared Sullinger at Northland HS. He was a late addition to Thad Matta’s impressive 2010 recruiting class, which was headlined by Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas, but he struggled to find his place in the Buckeye rotation. He averaged just 2.7 points in 6.0 minutes last season, appearing in just 10 games before being ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the year.

Last week, it was announced that Sibert was headed to the Dayton Flyers out of the Atlantic 10. Weatherspoon will also remain in the Buckeye state, heading to the up-and-coming Toledo Rockets. In just his second season, head coach Tod Kowlczyk was able to turn a 4-28 team into a 19-17 squad that finished 2nd in the MAC West. Last season was capped off by an appearance in the CIT, where the Rockets advanced to the second round. Toledo has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980 but have made several NIT appearances since then.

 

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2012 NIT Brackets released

Published by Source on March 12th, 2012

For the bubble teams who did not find themselves in the NCAA field, or the mid-major teams that fell short of their conference’s automatic bid, there is the 32-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Those brackets were also released Selection Sunday, and feature several local teams. The top seed in the first round (seeded 1-8) will host the game, except in Iowa’s case as explained later. Below is a breakdown of who is in and what they are up against:

 

Northwestern - The Wildcats fell short of the NCAA tournament once again despite a great season and a record-setting year from senior John Shurna. While Northwestern is still in search of their first ever NCAA bid, head coach Bill Carmody continues to have postseason success. The 4-seed Wildcats will host Akron Tuesday night (9pm/8ct ESPN2). A win will find them up against either 1-seed Washington or 8-seed UT-Arlington. This is the fourth straight NIT appearance for Northwestern, who advanced to the quarterfinals last season.

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Posted in Iowa, Mid Major, Minnesota, Northwestern, Uncategorized
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Minnesota’s Mbakwe has torn ACL

Published by Source on November 28th, 2011

Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith is no stranger to adversity. He has had to deal with numerous injuries and defections in his time in Minnesota, but this year was supposed to be drama free. Star forward Trevor Mbakwe is the senior leader of a team that is supposed to be building off of a rough season last year in which a hot start was spoiled by an awful ending.

Things got a little bit more complicated for the head Gopher Monday when his greatest fear became a reality: Mbakwe’s “serious looking” knee injury is in fact a torn ACL, and the star senior will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

Mbawke suffered the injury on Sunday in Orlando while the Gophers were facing Dayton (5-1) in the Old Spice Classic title. Early in the second half, with his team trailing 45-36, Mbakwe twisted his right knee awkwardly under the basket while going for a rebound and was unable to put any weight on that leg as he was helped off the court. He returned to the bench later in the half with a heavily wrapped and iced knee, but the look on his face had most fearing the worst.

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Powerade Fab 50 Preseason List

Published by Source on October 20th, 2011

ESPNHS has released its preseason Powerade Fab 50, a list of the 50 best boy’s high school basketball teams in the country. There are a number of Illinois and Indiana teams on the list, as well as plenty of teams with players committed to or being recruited by B1G and Chicago-area colleges. Here’s the highlights of the list:

 

1. Simeon Career Academy (Chicago, IL)

- Chicago powerhouse Simeon landed the well-deserved top spot on this year’s list. Behind outstanding junior Jabari Parker, considered by some to be the best player in the 2013 class, the Wolverines lineup features several other highly-touted prospects. Senior Steve Taylor is already committed to Marquette, while junior Kendrick Nunn recently re-opened his recruitment after making an early pledge to Texas A&M. Also joining the group is junior point guard Jaylon Tate, who transferred to Simeon from De La Salle this past summer. Tate has been hearing from most of the B1G already, plus hometown DePaul, and has already landed an offer from Northwestern.

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Posted in Chicago HS Prospects, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Mid Major, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
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Minnesota Freshman Profile: Andre Hollins

Published by Source on September 1st, 2011

By: Jonah Steinmeyer, Minnesota contributor

Player Profile

Name: Andre Hollins (2011)

School: White Station (Memphis, TN)

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 200

Position: Shooting Guard

 

In 2009, Tubby Smith and the Golden Gophers scooped up an under-the-radar recruit in Austin Hollins out of Memphis, Tennessee. It wasn’t like he was a nobody; his father is Lionel Hollins, head coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. But there was just something about his game that didn’t shine bright enough to grab the attention of the more prestigious programs around the nation.

He was too lanky to be a point guard and didn’t have the right abilities but seemed far too thin to be a shooting guard. Austin had a bad case of Tweener syndrome: A disease a player can catch when they’re body doesn’t meet a position’s ideal blueprints.

But that didn’t stop Austin from having a successful freshman season coming off of Tubby’s bench all season long. A reserve to Blake Hoffarber and Rodney Williams Jr., Austin came into games and did what he did best by utilizing his athleticism and bounce to overwhelm his defenders. He picked up a handy three-point shot while he was at it, too.

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The B1G’s Top 12* Players – Part 2

Published by Source on August 29th, 2011

The Windy City Source is profiling the top 12* players in the Big Ten Conference for the upcoming season. The reason we say “12*” is because rather than choosing the best players regardless of school, we will be taking 1 player from each team. Some players will be obvious, others not so much. And in case you forgot, Nebraska is in the conference now! Anyways – here’s the second part of four (link to Part 1), featuring players from the “M” schools:

* Tim Hardaway Jr. – Michigan sophomore from Miami, FL

With the early departure of guard Darius Morris to the NBA, the Wolverines have become Tim Hardaway Jr’s team. The sophomore guard, son of former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, will be relied upon for a heavy leadership role (and more dunks like this one) on an up-and-coming Michigan team. John Beilein’s crew is looking to continue building upwards after a surprising season that ended with a Sweet Sixteen loss to top-seeded Duke. One of the youngest teams in the conference, Michigan finished the season strong due in part to Morris and 13.9 ppg from Hardaway. The Miami product finished his freshman campaign as a 42% shooter, having scored 20+ six times. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention and was a unanimous choice for the All-Freshman squad. Not bad for a player ranked a 3-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout.

This past summer, Hardaway travelled to Latvia with Team USA to compete in the FIBA U19 World Championship where he emerged as the team’s sixth man. The experience allowed the sophomore to grow as a basketball player. USA coach Paul Hewitt noted: “…going to the basket and finishing with contact is something he probably will be better at next year.” Hardaway is already a seasoned veteran, starting all 35 games for the Wolverines last season. Michigan fans will certainly be counting on Hardaway, along with seniors Stu Douglass and Zack Novak, to keep the momentum building in Ann Arbor. The leadership and experience on the Wolverine roster is quite an improvement over last year’s squad and should be enough to push Beilein’s crew back to the top of the conference and into the NCAA Tournament.

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Wally Ellenson becomes first 2012 Minnesota commitment

Published by Source on August 18th, 2011

By; Jonah Steinmeyer, Minnesota contributor

 

With Ralph Sampson and Trevor Mbakwe set to graduate after this season, as well as the potential of losing junior Rodney Williams to the NBA Draft, having a solid 2012 recruiting class is vital for Tubby Smith and company.

With that in mind, Tubby did not want to miss a step. Wally Ellenson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, is the Gophers’ first verbal commitment of the 2012 class. Ellenson, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, is renowned for his dunking abilities, but Tubby believes Ellenson has a real future ahead of him as a scorer.

“[Tubby] talked about my role,” Ellenson told the Star Tribune. “He said I could be a shooting guard coming in and I would be relied on to make a lot of shots.”

Ellenson is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com and had already been offered by such teams as Nebraska, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. He is familiar with the state having spent the past summer playing with Minnesota Pump ‘N Run.

Although Ellenson’s commitment isn’t going to blow minds away with his name or game, it should be considered a real win for Minnesota basketball fans. To sum it up, they swooped a solid recruit away from his home state and ultimately, a rival school. There have been countless occasions where Bo Ryan ends up with a Minnesota kid who matures into a top contributor for the Badgers, most recently Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer.

Whether Ellenson can play the dagger-to-the-heart role that Taylor and Leuer have done their whole careers against Minnesota remains to be unseen, but you can certainly consider this a step in the right direction in what should be Tubby’s most important recruiting class yet.

 

Ellenson video:

CityLeagueHoopsTV Mixtape

YouTube page of High Jumps and Dunks

 

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Scouting Report: Hollins and Coleman

Published by Source on August 13th, 2011

By: Tyler Dahlk, Minnesota Contributor

 

Back on July 14th, I had the opportunity to check out two of the new fresh faces coming to play for Tubby and the Gophers. Andre Hollins and Joe Coleman both play in the Howard Pulley league in Eagan and their Information Investors Group squad had a playoff game last night.

 

I will start with Andre Hollins. First off, I really hope Tubby is looking at him for staring point guard this year. He is listed as a shooting guard at 6-2 190 lbs (trust me, it’s a thick 190). But last night he ran point for his team and I was blown away with what I saw. He is quick, he has great court vision and he can SHOOT. His defense was good all night, though it’s not comparable to Big 10. Andre Hollins looks to me as if he is going to be a stud PG for the Golden Gophers for the next 4 years. Even if he does not start right away, his impact off the bench will be something the Gophers were desperately in need of last season. Coach Smith also needed a player capable of being a game changer, a role that Hollins can certainly fill. If you can’t tell I fell in love with this kid and trust me: when you see what he can do, so will you.

 

Joe Coleman, the 6-3 SG, Mr. Basketball of Minnesota, and younger brother of former Gopher Dan Coleman, was also in action. In the first 3 quarters of the game, Coleman did not stand out much. He took a few jumpers and showed a knack for driving to the hole. The 4th quarter was an entirely different story, as it became the Joe Coleman Show. He started knocking down threes, taking it to the hole and drawing fouls. If he can span out what he did last night into his career at Minnesota then Gopher fans are in luck. This kid can straight up ball. It was easy to see last night that Tubby is bringing in some real talented players. The Gophers on paper look legit this year so let’s hope everything falls into place and the Gophers become a team to be reckoned with in the Big Ten Conference.

 

For more on Coleman, check out the scouting report by Windy City Source’s Jonah Steinmeyer.

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Minnesota Freshman Profile: Joe Coleman

Published by Source on August 11th, 2011

By: Jonah Steinmeyer, Minnesota contributor

Player Profile

Name: Joe Coleman (2011)

School: Hopkins (Minneapolis, MN)

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 200

Position: Shooting Guard

 

Last season, the Golden Gophers really struggled with injuries. Big Mo Walker went down early for the season and shortly after that, Al Nolen’s senior season took a turn for the worse and never really healed up in time.

Those two injuries in particular caused a major headache for head coach Tubby Smith. As all good coaches do, he had to work with what he had. That led him into the move that changed the season’s outlook: moving Blake Hoffarber from shooting guard to running the point for the majority of the season. The move kept freshman Maverick Ahanmisi from being pressured into the starting lineup to replace Nolen.

It’s easy to say the move did not work.

Although Hoffarber did indeed show good skills at the point with his improved ball handling and passing, the void at the 2-guard was never filled properly in his void. There were just too many holes to plug all of the leaks and the season was soon washed away.

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