TCF may get some more rental use in 2018...McGuire still trying to acquire land.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/12/06/uniteds-stadium-groundbreaking-in-st-paul-will-be-monday/

Richard Pitino

• That's as good of a response as we could have hoped for from Tuesday.
• Amir, Nate, and Dupree distributed the ball really well and got us open looks. We rebounded poorly last game and really stepped it up tonight.
• Our offense at the beginning of the game provided a spark and towards the end of the game, our stops got us the win. I always tell our guys "defend, rebound, and run"
• I thought Dupree played really well. He's playing with great confidence and effort.
• I always tell Nate to look at himself as one of the better guards in the league.
• Bakary's given us really valuable minutes. If he didn't play through the tough times last year, he wouldn't have been ready to really help us this year.
• Unselfishness led to the scoring output from the backcourt, giving up a good shot to get a great shot.
• Always tell kids every minute and possession is one where you can improve. We never
• I thought it was a great crowd. We obsess over fan support and that narrative, but I thought that was a great crowd. I saw that volleyball won, so that's awesome. We're not just a basketball school, we're kind of an everything school. It's great the support we have.
• Nice to get the bench in. They're all working hard in practice so it's nice to be able to reward them.
• I'm proud of Gas. He's worked his butt off and is a tremendous teammate. This team is a great group to be around.

Nate Mason

• This was a good response to the lack of effort from the previous game.
• Fans have been great. It's a boost for us.
• Coach sat us down after the last game and said we disrespected each other for not playing hard. We had a team meeting and came out and practiced hard the next day.

Dupree McBrayer

• Nate set the tone with making shots and then everyone kind of got going.
• "I get confidence from New York, play with swagger."

Preview here.

Georgia Southern is a good but not excellent mid-major led by a strong backcourt. They lost by only two on the road to NC State earlier this season. Georgia Southern's Pomeroy rating is 162.

Walking here, there were way more people going into the Pavillion for the volleyball game then basketball game. It will be interesting to see what attendance is like tonight.

Interesting hire. Leaving South Florida for the Pacific Northwest.

Gophers wins today:

Men's Hockey over MSU 4-2
Women's Hockey over Boston U 5-1
Wrestling over MSU 20-17
Volleyball over Missouri (on to elite 8)
Basketball up over Georgia Southern by 22 in 2nd half

We are good!

Our talented, athletic, and beautiful Women's Volleyball team are in the Sweet 16! They host the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matchups at the Pav tonight and tomorrow night! At 7:15, our #2 Gophers will square off against #15 Missouri. The winner will then advance to tomorrow night's Elite 8 matchup against the victor of #7 North Carolina/#10 UCLA. There are still a few tickets left, so go out to the Pav tonight and tomorrow night and support the best Gophers team in the Athletic department!

A quick year in review for those shameful few who haven't been following squad. They finished the regular season 25-4 and 17-3 in the big 10 conference, ranked #1 in the AVCA poll. However, they earned the overall #2 ranking in the bracket. Sarah Whilhite was named B1G player of the year. Hannah Tapp and Samantha Seliger Swenson also received 1st Team All B1G honors.

Tonight's matchup sees Minnesota facing off with Missouri. I'll preview Mizzou with pictures, because let's be honest, that is why you opened up this thread. Other than Kira Larson, who is an absolute smokeshow, give me the Gophers all day every day on and off the court. Gophers will win 3-1.

Melanie Crow (on the left)



Emily Thater


Courtney Eckenrode



Paige Perego



Kira Larson






Julia Towler

Pregame reading for you all before the game at the top of the hour.

https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/georgia-southern-preview-3

Could very likely be that Ed Warinner and Tim Beck go to Western Kentucky... Luke Fickell and Kerry Combs may be headed to Cincinnati. I am hearing that Joker Phillips may come in and help the offense with Billy Davis maybe coming in to help Greg Schiano with defense... Davis has NFL defense experience as a coach... Would not be surprised if they approached Darrell Hazell to come back in some capacity.. Good assistant for the Buckeyes before taking the head coaching job at Purdue.

Urban Meyer has beaucoup contacts so he wont be hurting for options if those guys leave... The Buckeyes may actually get better as they may get new fresh minds in the program, as coaches.. Who knows?? He may get Tim Tebow to rejoin him in Columbus to help the program(just kidding)... Josh Harris, his former QB at Bowling Green, lives in Columbus..I would say maybe Chris Leak but I understand he is going to jail, so that wont work out so well.(okay I am just being stupid now)...... Interesting who they hire if these coaching moves transpire.

First, Nebraska the #1 seed barely survives against #16 Penn St today. They lost the first two sets and were down 24-22 (two match points for PSU) in the 3rd set. They ran off 4 straight points and then won the next two sets to escape the upset.

Secondly, how in the world did the Gophers get screwed on the television. So EspnU is showing Nebraska, Wisconsin and Texas games live this afternoon/evening. Those are the other top seeds. Then while the Gophers are playing in primetime, espnU is showing a women's soccer game. Then after we are done, they will show the UCLA/UNC match live from the Pav. It's nice we got the primetime start time but wtf?

Our game is the only top 4 seed game that will be on espn3 only.

So, I've seen at least a little bit of all the other B10 teams and of course the Gophers. Because of the unbalanced scheduling in the conference I wanted to take a look at how the Gopher schedule stacked up and what might be the keys to making a run at the NCAA bubble. Here are my thoughts.

I think there are fairly clearly 3 tiers of teams in the B10 this year. (Kenpom rankings in parentheses)

NCAA Locks: Indiana (16), Purdue (12), Wisconsin (8) and Michigan St. (38)

MSU has struggled a little early with a very, very difficult schedule but assuming Miles Bridges gets healthy they will compete for the B10 title.

Bottom Feeders: Rutgers (139), Penn St (99), Iowa (87), Nebraska (75)

Nebraska isn't bad and easily the best of this group. They could eek up to the middle tier and I still think they are probably in this group but they could surprise this year. Iowa is young and could get better as the season goes on but they are so bad defensively.

The rest of the teams fall in the middle in almost any order. I think probably 2-3 of these teams will make the NCAA some way.

Battling for tourney: Michigan (28), Ohio St. (33), Northwestern (43), Minnesota (55), Maryland (63), Illinois (71).

So it really comes down to how these middle 6 teams perform so I wanted to take a look at their schedules and see how many times each team plays the top 4 teams and the bottom 4 teams. So to rank their strength of schedule I'd rank them this way.


So Maryland and Illinois luck out with the schedule this year. Illinois is a fragile team. Our game with them will be important although it's on the road.

So what is Minnesota's road to the tourney. I think here is my map.


That should do it. There you go. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

UT Arlington leads #12 St Mary's on the road by 11 midway thru 2nd half

This would help elevate our win over UT-A

all over the potential of our football program. All of that TV revenue and Claeys is still forced to fight tooth and nail and he may not even get the linemen facility we need.

So, WTF do we the fanbase do?

I have no idea what to do, so I'm throwing ideas against the wall and hoping either something sticks, or one of my fellow posters has better ideas than the ones I've thrown up here.

--A petition by season ticket holders to prioritize football
--contact the BOR so often that they feel the pressure and capitulate
--Change the makeup of the BOR in order to better reflect our priorities.
--An overt protest at a BOR meeting complete with news coverage?

This school has wasted money propping up the non-revenue sports for too long.

Revenue from football operations belongs in the AD's budget, not the general fund.

We gotta reclaim our University.

Georgia Southern is a team that I thought could be a possible trap game for the Gophers.. They are only 4-4 but they took North Carolina State deep into the game before losing.... THE THING THAT STANDS OUT ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN IS THEIR YOUTH.....They were the youngest team in the D1 last year.... They return all 5 starters from last year and NONE are seniors so they all return next year, as well. As a matter of fact, their only 2 seniors on the team are walk-ons that have only gotten cameo appearances. They returned 8 of the 9 in their rotation, and as I said, they will return everyone next year. This is a team that, if they recruit a solid big in the future, will make all the difference in the world for the better.. They are that ONE BIG away from really causing havoc in the South.

They are led by their backcourt and a junior wing.. Their backcourt is made up of 2 sophomores who are very good.. Ike Smith and Tookie Brown are the sophomore guards and Mike Hughes is the junior wing.. They are all double digit scores led by Smith with over 21 a game. Brown is their PG and he averages almost 15 a game. Hughes averages about 11 a game.... The thing that Georgia Southern does NOT have is a shot blocking presence or even a big that is scary... They have run into problems where they go stretches of a game that they cant get stops.... I think Minnesota would be smart to try to get Jordan Murphy some post touches early in this game, for confidence sake if nothing else. Just cant let those sophomores take over the game.. Nate Mason needs a good outing like against NJIT.. If Springs plays similar to the NJIT game, all the better. Those guys can have big games again.

Georgia Southern had a huge deficit in their last game against Florida Gulf Coast that they came back from, to get within 3 points... Those 3 guys I mentioned are the ones that have to play well if they will compete with the Gophers. None of the guys is tall. The backcourt will be 4 year starters together, in all probability so this is a program on the rise.. They need bigs so we have the huge advantage in that department. for this game.

Mark Byington is their coach.. He was a long time lead assistant to Bobby Cremins at College of Charleston. A good college player at UNC Wimington..His very young Eagles team was one of the top dozen teams in the NCAA in turnover margin last year, despite that youth..Coaching staff did a good job with those players.

This is a game that the Gopher bigs should be able to dominate and get some confidence. We are one of the top teams in the nation in FG % defense and Reggie Lynch is one of the top shot blockers in the nation.. Play our game and we win.. But we have to treat this opponent with respect or risk a huge letdown... Limit their perimeter play and get our bigs the ball early and play strong on both ends of the floor is the strategy in this game, I would think. Gophers go 9-1 after this one but this is a scary talented team in the backcourt that will mature into a solid NCAA team before these guys graduate.

OLB Bryson Jackson from Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge told me that he will be in Boulder this weekend for an official visit. He's already visited Minnesota and Boise State. Interest in Jackson is definitely trending up with Nebraska and Texas keeping tabs on Jackson.

https://n.rivals.com/news/lots-of-new-interest-for-jackson-upcoming-official-visit

Signed to Vikings practice squad. With H. Smith injured, wonder if he'll be activated for next game.

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Cedar Grove-Belgium (Wis.) wide receiver Reid Hilbelink accepted a PWO offer today. I believe O'Brien may have been in to see him today.

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Ok, so Zaire is visiting wisconsin and North Carolina during the next 2 weeks.

The one dual threat JUCO we are after may or may not be visiting.

The 2 newest JUCO's on the board are more pro-style than dual-threat.

Our coach says he wants more of a dual threat QB.

Croft is more of a pocket passer. And even then, from all accounts, he struggles mightily.

Green is way more of a runner than a passer but he has no experience.

Mitch regressed his senior year.


Can someone make any sense out of our QB recruiting and development ?

I think the 2018 class is a key class in that we ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO recruit bigs and multiple ones at that.. I know that we dont know who is leaving before then in our program so recruiting in the class could easily be affected to change the circumstance.. But if Nate Mason, Reggie Lynch, Bakary Konate, and Gaston Diedhou stay the course, my ideal recruiting class would be as follows:

For Lynch, Konate, and Gaston - we would recruit Moses Brown, Daniel Oturu, and Race Thompson

For Nate Mason - we recruit Markquis Nowell(who listed in Rivals as high interest for Minnesota) unless Tre Jones shows Gopher interest where in that case I would take him instead.

I know that the bigs are going to have schools that give Minnesota stiff competition and we may not have the lead on any of those kids..... Race Thompson would be a legacy recruit... Oturu said he wants to play close to home... I am guessing all the high majors needing a big will recruit Moses Brown but having Washington and Harris hopefully helps us in that recruiting as well as Kimani Young.

MY QUESTION IS "HOW LIKELY DO YOU GUYS FEEL THAT THIS CLASS WILL LOOK CLOSE TO THIS, FOR THE GOPHERS??" Is there any other guys that you know about, right now, that factor in?? There is a wing from New York named Bryce Willis that I would love to see in a Gopher uniform if a current Gopher wing transfers out. .I know Sid Wilson would be in the fray if he showed some interest in the Gophers. Nowell is a bit small but I watched some video and he looks to be a good floor general from NYC. It always worries me when we have to play young bigs right away but I know that a graduate transfer may factor in at the bigs or maybe another transfer. This is a CRUCIAL recruiting class for the Gophers, in many ways.

How can Green Party gal, Jill Stein, get a recount in WI? Looks like she has raised the money to do it and the state is prepping for it. I wonder what she was promised from the Dems to be the one to ask for it? I LOL at the Dems thinking the votes were hacked, they just can't accept that people are tired of their BS

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo...cle_87dae9e3-76ad-5ecb-973a-51006668ab74.html

Minnesota may host a defensive line visitor that's not on the visit list. I can't give his name, but it's someone we've mentioned before.

I'm still not confident Ryan Glover flips, but it's worth noting that one of his friends and high school teammates just decommitted.

Malik Zaire may visit Wisconsin on Wednesday and has legitimate interest in Pitt, North Carolina, Auburn, and maybe some more. Even with his girlfriend here, there seems to be little to not interest from Zaire. I haven't heard anything about interest being reciprocated.

As EJ said earlier, Ta'amu is visiting Ole Miss this weekend, and I think he may commit at the end of the weekend. Ole Miss thinks they have him in the bag, unfortunately. The interest in Nick Johns and other quarterbacks is related to Ta'amu.

Bart Miller is visiting Jimmie Terry today. Yesterday, he visited two-star Mt. Prospect (Ill.) tackle Alex Palczewski (Hudl), who holds offers from Illinois, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt. Here's what Palczewski told me about Miller's visit: "We just talked a bit about the school, but a lot about here because he went to Elk Grove which is ten minutes from Prospect. And my head wrestling coache was his coach for football when he was playing. I'm pretty interested in Minnesota. I just have to learn more about it, like what majors it has and just the university overall."

Tomorrow Miller is visiting two-star Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School guard Gage Blackston (Hudl) tomorrow.

Reeves visited top high school tight end target Jake Paulson yesterday. Remember, Paulson's visiting this weekend. There's interest in Katy (Texas) tight end Parker Eichenberger (Hudl), a Houston commit. Reeves visited him last Wednesday and is calling tonight.

Another new target that's received some contact from Anderson is Lexington (Ky.) Tates Creek wide receiver Jackson Beerman (Hudl). Anderson visited Terry Wright yesterday and is visiting Grant Walker Thursday morning.

Claeys, Poore, and Phelps all visited Joshua Croslen last night.

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Phelps will do another in-home visit with Kendrick Green tonight.

Either O’Brien or Sawvel will visit Madison (Fla.) defensive tackle Kelvin Kegler (Hudl), a USF commit, today.

Sherels and maybe Claeys will be in-home with Kyrei Fisher tonight. I think Fisher is back firmly in Minnesota's hands, as the Gophers have had some great conversations with him and the Hawg Sports writer tells me he thinks Arkansas has backed off. Arkansas only wants one more linebacker and is pursuing Thomas Johnston really hard.

Minnesota offered Kittanning (Pa.) Armstrong running back Zane Dudek (Hudl) a preferred walk-on spot.

Andover's Jacob Paul picked up a preferred walk-on offer tonight.

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In Ohio, Cincinnati St Xavier won the Division 1(BIG SCHOOL) state championship when they beat perennial state power Cleveland St Ignatius in 3 overtimes.... What is interesting is that Cincinnait St Xavier entered the state playoffs with a 5-5 record, which is the worst record ever to eventually win a state title in Ohio.. Then they ran off a string of 5 state playoff wins to get the state title..... What is funny is that during the regular season, St Xavier was 4 plays away from losing 4 more regular season games. They could have easily been 1-9, had those plays not went in St Xavier's favor, and not made the state playoffs.. 4 plays were the difference between state championship and a 1-9 record.

Same is true in other sports.... Coach K had a declining and LOSING record at Army when he took the Duke job in basketball, then weathered a bad start where they were talking about firing him after his first couple years... Now, he is an institution in the college basketball game. In college football, I know that Dave Clawson at Wake Forest and Matt Campbell at Iowa State are at dead end jobs, historically..Both are great guys and I feel are great coaches. They may surprise and have winning records at those schools but those places, HISTORICALLY, have burnt out some good coaches over the years. At Iowa State, Dan McCarney has the wins record for the school at 57 and it took him 11 years coaching to do it. If either Clawson or Campbell make it past 7 years at those respective universities, I will be completely shocked. I will be incredibly impressed if they can get a record that is .500 or better... Regardless, those guys are great coaches and worthy of being looked at by bigger schools than they are at now. Coaches cant just wave a magic wand and recruit as well as Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, or whoever. Especially if there are no resources to support the program(not just money). I say that if Minnesota is looking for a coach down the line or not.. The difference between championships and losing records is not always that great of a difference.

I've decided to give-up on thinking about the instant dream big-money hire. It was just a dream from a long-suffering Gopher FB fan. Venting too. But the Regents' actions and comments (and just who they are) has snapped me back to reality. And I'm tired of being negative. So my ideas will be focused within a $2.5M budget for a head coach.

That being said....I will kick-off my new-found attitude with an outside-the-box idea. Let's say I'm Coyle, I want to win, but I'm being hamstrung by the budget. What could I possibly do?? I have an idea. Find the son (age 20-30) of the best coach possible. Maybe Saban or Meyer has a son. I don't even care if he's in coaching. I'd make a secret deal with Claeys. I'd tell him to hire this kid as an assistant. I'd tell Claeys that we're grooming him. In return, I'd promise Claeys to go to bat for him and keep him a few extra years longer than he'd normally be here. Fight for an extra contract and money for him. But he has to groom this kid....and help spread propaganda that this kid is dynamite.

I think it's a good idea. With teamwork, it might work even better than the Pitino hire. I'm willing to wait, as long as there's a good plan in place. Note: I highly doubt this will happen either. But at least it's something different to think about.

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011

This is pretty cool....Amazon go