With five new players on the roster and without three starters from last season, the Gopher basketball team’s outlook seems as much about guesswork as it does facts. Coach Tubby Smith is not without expectations, though, and that includes improving on last season’s 20-14 record, 8-10 in the Big Ten Conference.
Smith said on Friday he hopes the improvement equates to “more wins and being in the NCAA tournament.” The Gophers began practice last week and are preparing for their exhibition opener at Williams Arena against St. Cloud State on November 3 without last season’s three leading scorers, guard Lawrence McKenzie, forward Dan Coleman and center Spencer Tollackson. Smith and his staff will be trying to figure out how best to blend his eight returning players with newcomers Ralph Sampson III, Colton Iverson, Devoe Joseph, Devron Bostick and Paul Carter.
Sampson and Iverson are forward/center guys who provide size on a roster that doesn’t have much. Smith said both are two inches taller than Coleman and Spencer, both listed last year at 6-9. Sampson will be a face-the-basket player, while Iverson is better near the basket, according to Smith.
Joseph, a guard who is considered one of the best young players in Canada, can handle the ball and score. So, too, will Bostick, a junior college transfer with a big reputation for outside shooting. Carter, another junior college transfer, is 6-9 and will have to help with the size issue although he only weighs 195 pounds.
Among the returnees are guards Blake Hoffarber, Lawrence Westbrook and Al Nolen, and forward Damian Johnson. Hoffarber, although only a sophomore, is already considered a clutch scorer and his .427 three point field goal percentage last season is eye-catching. Smith said Westbrook was one of the team’s “most consistent” players last season, contributing offensively and defensively. Nolen’s athleticism helped him rank second among Big Ten leaders in steals (1.94 per game) but he needs to be a more aggressive playmaker as the team’s point guard. Johnson is a defensive specialist who improved his scoring last season, going from 1.6 points per game in 2006-07 to 7.1 last season.
In Smith’s first season as Gopher coach the team improved defensively from 66.2 points per game in 2006-07, to giving up 63.2 last season. There will be no less emphasis on defense going forward. “If they don’t defend, they won’t play,” Smith said. “I promise you that.”
Two college basketball preview magazines add evidence about the guesswork for the coming season. Athlon Sports predicts a fifth place finish for the Gophers in the Big Ten. Lindy’s College Basketball puts the Gophers in eighth place. Athlon forecasts a Big Ten title for Purdue while Lindy’s likes Michigan State (plays here on New Year’s Eve). Both publications have the same four teams making the NCAA tournament, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Smith’s teams at Kentucky made 14 consecutive tournament appearances. Asked on Friday whether he had any regrets about coming here and building a program, Smith said no. “I think every place is good,” he said. “We expect to be as good or better here. …”