Although Gopher seniors Dan Coleman, Lawrence McKenzie and Spencer Tollackson may emerge as Big Ten Conference stars this season, the biggest storyline for 2007-08 will be new head coach Tubby Smith. The Minnesota “triplets” are beyond comparison as the team’s best players. But Smith, the former NCAA champion coach at Kentucky, is a national story now that he’s in Minneapolis.
The Gopher season starts next week with a home exhibition game against Minnesota State University Mankato on Thursday. Last season the Gophers were 9-22 overall, 3-13 in the Big Ten and lost their last nine games. If the Gophers make improvements, Smith will be lauded. A poor season will be explained away by most observers as not Smith’s fault because the roster lacks talent and depth.
Wanting to embrace Smith, this town is impressed by his 1998 national title, four elite eight NCAA teams, three national coach of the year awards, five SEC regular season championships and 14 consecutive 20-win seasons. The Smith personality endears him to people quickly, too. Particularly one-on-one, Smith is friendly, engaging and more like a next door neighbor than a high powered college basketball coach.
But talking to the media earlier this week Smith provided a glimpse of the intensity and determination that his players see everyday in practice. “There’s a lot of question marks about what we’re capable of doing but I expect us to be very competitive,” he said.
Make no mistake, Smith is in charge of the Gophers and he expects his players to be disciplined and grateful. He said players who are too questioning of how they fit in as individuals will receive a direct answer. “Be grateful” to be on the team because there are others on the outside who want the opportunity.
Smith wasn’t specific about predicting wins and losses for the coming season, and offered some humor on the subject. “I am not Nostradamus,” he said.
His team is sorting out who the starters will be beyond the “triplets.” Most challenging is the point guard position where McKenzie, freshman Al Nolen, and sophomore Kevin Payton are candidates. Ball handling is a top priority, Smith said, as the Gophers work on limiting turnovers that helped spoil their last season.
The “triplets” are the highest returning scoring trio in the Big Ten. McKenzie averaged 14.9 points per game, Coleman 14.2 and Tollackson 12.0. McKenzie and Coleman made honorable mention all-conference, but there’s plenty of potential for improvement from all three as they try to help the Gophers to the post-season world of the NCAA or even NIT.
Smith wants McKenzie, more a shooter than a playmaker, to make his teammates better, too. He refers to Coleman as a “workaholic” and mentioned that his 6-9 forward arrives at practice 30 minutes early to start work. Smith said Tollackson, the 6-9 center, has a “ton of talent” and is a leader.