The journey to the Gophers best basketball season in more than a decade might begin tomorrow night in British Columbia when Minnesota plays the first of three late summer exhibition games.
Last season the Gophers were 21-14 overall, 9-9 during the Big Ten season, and won three of four in the conference tournament to earn their way into the NCAA tourney for a second consecutive year under coach Tubby Smith. Off-season news included the transfers of guard Justin Cobbs and forwards Paul Carter and Royce White to other schools but the return of two talented ineligible players last winter has shifted momentum to the positive for 2010-11.
Senior point guard Al Nolen and junior power forward Trevor Mbakwe have skills that are the envy of many college players. Nolen’s on-the-ball defense could make him one of the nation’s leaders in steals, while Mbakwe brings shot blocking, interior defense and rebounding that will draw attention next winter.
A long time ago legendary Marquette coach Al McGuire said: “You win with your seniors.” The Gophers are likely to have two senior starters in Nolen, 21, and forward Blake Hoffarber, 22. Mbakwe, a junior college transfer who started his post-high school career at Marquette, is 21 and a mature player. Nolen was a regular last season before becoming academically ineligible and along with Hoffarber, junior guard Devoe Joseph and junior centers Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson, the Gophers have five experienced players who have been starters at Minnesota.
Smith spoke about experience recently on the Gophers website. “We’ve got a good nucleus of veteran players that I think can compete with anybody in the country,” he said in a web interview. https://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=204980619
The Gophers haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since the 1997 team went to the Final Four. The 2010-11 team will be experienced and accomplished defensively. Smith said in the web interview he will be looking for improved rebounding and passing on the trip to Canada. The Gophers have games tomorrow night, Friday evening and Sunday against Canadian university teams.
The NCAA allows a program to make a foreign trip every four years and the Gophers have been given 10 days of practice they otherwise wouldn’t have received in the summer. The three games, along with the practices, are a bonus for a team that could be headed for a big season.