This morning, the Star Tribune has reported that senior point guard Al Nolen sustained a broken right foot in Saturday's victory in Ann Arbor. He is expected to be out for four weeks or more (and possibly not putting on a gopher uniform again). Just when gopher fans thought we could put everything that has happened this season behind us and move forward, we lose arguably our most important player. Unlike last year, we no longer have a reliable alternative to take over for Al's absence due to Devoe Joseph's inability to understand the concept that there is no "I" in TEAM. This brings the number of scholarship players on the gopher's roster to a measly 8.
As a result of this, the pressure will be on freshmen guards Maverick Ahanmisi and Chip Armelin. This is kind of ironic, because going into the season, these were the two recruits that were considered afterthoughts, and some fans questioned Tubby in giving them a D1 scholarship. Thank God Tubby has given them some descent playing time early in the season, as they must rise to the occasion in order for us to remain competitive in the Big Ten race. I expect to basically see a rotation of Blake and Mav at the point and a rotation of Chip, Blake, and Hollins at the 2. Tubby could conceivably have Chip play a little point guard as well. Blake will likely have to play 38-40 minutes from here on out.
In the Michigan game, the gophers did not see a drop in overall production in the second half when Nolen went out. However, in the long term I am concerned with how Blake will hold up playing so many minutes from here on out. Also, Al seemed to have a knack for making key buckets/defensive plays when we really needed them (especially in the North Carolina and Purdue games). I am just worried of what is going to happen when we rely on our freshmen in some of these key situations.
Get well soon Al and beat Northwestern!
How did you choose Gopher great Whitey Skoog for your background image? Some say he "invented" the jumpshot, guessing he may have been one of the first to bring it to the Midwest.
ReplyDeleteHe was the long time coach for Gustavus Adolfus. I saw him coach several games in Collegeville against the Johnnies.
KF
Well when we were brainstorming names and ideas for the blog, his name popped up. Since we didn't name the blog after him, we thought we could honor him as our background. Not only did he "invent" the jumpshot, but he might have one of the best all time names in basketball history.
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