Category: Golden Gophers

 

Game One of the post-Trevor Mbakwe era starts tonight for the Gophers.

About 54 hours after the announcement that the senior forward is done for the season because of his torn right ACL, Minnesota (5-1) will play Virginia Tech (6-1) in a nationally televised Big Ten-ACC Challenge game from Williams Arena.  Months ago the Gophers knew this would be a statement game, but no one had any idea the assignment was going to look so difficult.

“Anytime you lose your best player it puts you in a real bind,” Dan Dakich said. “You want other people to step up.”

Dakich, a former college player and coach now analyzing games for ESPN, includes Mbakwe among the top 10 players in the country.  Few collegians impact a game like Mbakwe who was averaging 14 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season, after averaging a double-double last season including a Big Ten best 10.5 rebounds last year.  He also ranks with the best shot blockers in the country and was a preseason All-American.

Mbakwe had improved his play this fall from last season.  His free throw shooting and leadership had become assets for the Gophers.  When the Gophers found themselves in close games, Mbakwe often was a difference maker.

That productivity had Dakich sympathizing with the Gophers this week.  When he coached at Bowling Green, Dakich said he lost his best player during seven of 10 years.

Dakich suggested head coach Tubby Smith, his assistant coaches and the Minnesota players will have to avoid becoming “deflated” about Mbakwe.  Even before the injury (sustained on Sunday in a loss to Dayton), the Gophers were predicted to finish among the bottom six Big Ten teams.  Now no one will expect anything of Minnesota other than a fight to avoid last place in the conference.

Dakich said junior forward Rodney Williams and senior center Ralph Sampson III — both underachievers in the opinion of fans — must lead the Gophers now, replacing the scoring, rebounding, defense, and leadership missing without Mbakwe.  Williams has been even more inconsistent than Sampson during his career but his athleticism is extraordinary.  “It’s time he (Williams) played like an All-Big Ten kid,” Dakich said.

Sampson?  “He has the ability and experience to be as good as any Big Ten player there is,” Dakich said.

Sampson’s lack of aggressiveness has characterized his career but Dakich said that needs to change.  “You never want to leave college the way you came in.  That’s your fault.”

Smith is in his fifth season at Minnesota and has lost key players because of injuries, transfers and off-court problems.  Now comes the Mbakwe season ending injury.  “This makes me sick for Tubby and the kids,” Dakich said.

 

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Before the season I thought the Gophers would win three to five games.  Others who got caught up in the optimism of a new coaching staff predicted five to seven wins.

The Gophers finished the season on Saturday at 3-9, defeating Illinois in a surprise 27-10 win.  Minnesota won two of its last five games with wins over Iowa and the Illini.  The Iowa victory came a week after an improved second half performance during a loss to Nebraska.  “I think the second half from Nebraska on, it’s been a different group of kids,” coach Jerry Kill said last week.

What happened to the Gophers was players bought in more to what the coaches were teaching.  Kill said change came about both because of technical changes and the players believing they could win.

Predicting “we’ll be better next year,” Kill said the gradual transformation of his program is what he expected.  “I think that where we’re at right now is pretty much where you usually are when you take over a football program.  You really don’t know what you have or where you’re at or how the school works.  It takes you a full year to go through it, how the Big Ten is, the level of play and how far you’re away and those kind of things.”

Kill writes notes about how to improve his team during the season.  Those notes will help him assess his program and plan for the next off-season.

“You win in the off-season,” Kill said.  “You win in the weight room.  You win in spring ball.  Our kids—if you remember when I talked with you during that time—I said, hey, haven’t bought in, we hadn’t worked hard enough.  We hadn’t—so all of a sudden it’s kicked in now a little bit, but it’s too late (for a better record).”

Kill expects the Gophers to become a winning program but he’s far from that goal now.  Minnesota finished 2-6 in the Big Ten and last in the Legends Division.  The 2-6, 3-9 overall records and other numbers document how this Gophers team compared with others in the Big Ten and major college football.  The Gophers were 112^th nationally in scoring offense, and last in the Big Ten going into Saturday’s game.  Minnesota was 102^nd in scoring defense and again last in the conference.

Quarterback MarQueis Gray will be a senior next season.  He rushed for 966 yards, a new school record for a quarterback.  His passing still needs work, but he gained a lot of experience in running, scrambling, passing, play calling and leadership in his first season as a starter.

Gray is one of only a few superior personnel assets among the Gophers.  Minnesota has developing and promising players but few that have already proven they are superior Big Ten players.

Kill and his staff—not distracted by preparations for a bowl game—will be watching potential recruits during a lot of film study in the days ahead.  The 2012 recruiting class will be the first that Kill and company had 12 months to work on.  With all the personnel needs Minnesota has, the coach said “we can’t afford to miss in recruiting right now.”

That means checking and reassessing multiple times.  “You triple check, quadruple check,” Kill said.  “You talk to the (prospect’s) coach… can you guarantee me?  You have to really do your homework.  And we’ll make mistakes, too.  Everybody does. But you don’t know until they get on the field.  You really don’t.”

Kill didn’t specify how many scholarships he has to work with but intends to bring in 35 new players.  He doesn’t have that many scholarships to give but plans to reward some of the 35 players with a scholarship sometime beyond February 2012.  He also hopes to have about eight of the new players enrolled in school prior to spring practice.

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