couple of things...
*his dig at McBrayer and Murphy are classic!
*Sounds like we have a few guys who need to get in shape still
*Our schedule is legit... we may not have the big names coming to town, but the overall schedule from top to bottom could get us in line for NCAA's if we can capitalize on it
Good Afternoon Gopher fans,
It's been a while since I have done a blog because, quite frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about this summer. That's not to say the summer wasn't productive; it's just that six of our players weren't able to practice due to injuries and academics. Eric, Daniel, and Amir were all fully held out physically. Dupree was also limited in his on-court practice time. Dupree and Amir have been fully cleared. Eric and Daniel are getting close! Brock and Matz were both busy fulfilling their academic requirements as well. With that being said, after a few practices, I am starting to get a good feel for the potential of this team.
Academically our guys are continuing to get it done in the classroom. The freshmen killed it this summer with a 3.8 GPA. Our team cumulative GPA is the highest it has been in over a decade! Shoutout to Kyle Quagliana and Ryan Livingston for all their hard work in putting our players in a position to succeed in the classroom.
This fall we will continue to build our Gopher Pride program that has been so vital in the success and growth of our basketball program. We are excited to bring in Brenda Tracy and The Program next week. We will also continue to bring in more speakers to educate our guys in all aspects of life this year.
Let's talk scheduling. Last year, the NCAA tournament selection committee made a point to teams who didn't make the tournament that they didn't schedule hard enough in the non-conference. For the first time since I can remember teams towards the bottom of their conference made the tournament over teams towards the top. Why? It's more important to beat "good" teams on your schedule as oppose to lose to a "bad" team. Quite simply, that means put yourself in a position to play as many good teams as possible on your 32-game schedule. We start with a brutal stretch of Utah, Texas A&M, Santa Clara, Washington, at Boston College, Oklahoma State, at Ohio State, and Nebraska. All these games will be played before December 5th! Seven of those eight teams all played in either the NCAA tournament or the NIT last year. Couple that with our 20-game league schedule and our guys will certainly be put to the test!
The first couple of fall practices have been very impressive. We have made a few minor changes to our offensive and defensive playbooks that I have really liked. I am really trying to have all of our guys play multiple positions. One of the biggest differences in college and pro basketball is the definition of positions. In college people seem to want to focus on what position everyone is playing. In the pros they boast about playing "positionless basketball." At the college level there seems to be a trend that a player has to be play a certain position in order to get to the NBA. That's simply not true. As Kevin Durant said after last season, "I can play any style, with any player, anywhere in the world."
Let's dive into the injured reserve players and the newcomers because we all know what the guys who have been in the program for a few years will do by now. Jordan Murphy will get a double-double and be unhappy with the refs. Dupree will shoot a lot of long contested two-pointers and probably step out of bounds several times during the season. Just kidding fellas! It's sad to think they are seniors. Both are terrific, loyal kids who are both going to be great this season.
Brock Stull - Has a long way to go as it pertains to his conditioning. He knows that and has already made great progress. Looking forward to seeing him go when he is in great shape. Brock is a very good passer with a high basketball IQ.
Matz Stockman - Also has some work to do in the strength and conditioning department. Both Brock and Matz weren't with us for eight weeks this summer so this is to be expected. Matz has had some very good moments in practice. Has the size and skill. Needs to continue to push through fatigue.
Eric Curry - Looks really good! Played 24 minutes per game as a freshman on an NCAA tournament team that won 24 games. Clearly he was a big loss to our team. Primed for a big season. Has terrific leadership qualities when he wants.
Amir Coffey - Has that look in his eye like he wants to take the next step. Has had a lot of wow moments during practice. Love the direction he is headed.
Dupree McBrayer - Showed unbelievable heart playing through a difficult, nagging injury last year. The rest he got over the spring really helped and he currently looks 100%.
Jarvis Omersa - Infectious personality and a great pride for his home state. Clearly a great athlete who never gets tired. Doesn't care where he plays on the court. If he keeps up the junkyard dog mentality then he will be a force in the future.
Daniel Oturu - Has started doing non-contact drills in practice and has looked very impressive. The next step is seeing how he can do vs. contact. Was terrific in high school and AAU. I am happy we got his surgery over with in the spring so that he can be healthy for the season.
Gabe Kalscheur - Has had a very productive summer and fall. That's Gabe, productive. Not just a shooter. He takes pride in doing the little things. Always comes early to practice and stays late. Terrific defender!
Marcus Carr - Steady and solid. Very good at getting to the basket going right. Has great substance to his game. Competes! Played over 30 minutes per game as a freshman in the ACC.
Payton Willis - Skilled and multi positional. Love his ability to knock down shots. Gym rat who loves to compete!
Currently I am writing this blog 43,000 feet above ground. This is a fun time of year because we are able to get in front of our top targets and develop face-to-face relationships. Texting and FaceTime each day can only get you so far. For the most part these meetings consist of small talk, questions from the recruit and their families, then I give my presentation. Our new facilities have that 'wow' factor that I wasn't able to sell my first five years. Without talking specifics I can say that recruiting is going as good as it's ever been. We are bringing in top talent from all over the country. Rob Jeter and Kyle Lindsted have been terrific additions to our staff, and along with Ed Conroy, they are pounding the pavement on the recruiting trail.
I have harped on two main things this preseason that our guys need to do in order to attain our goals. Respond and Embrace the Uncomfortable. What do these mean? Every year we go into every season with personal and team expectations about what the future will hold. It's almost always not going to go the way we think it will. We have to be able to RESPOND appropriately to whatever is thrown our way. Embrace the Uncomfortable centers around being able to excel under the most adverse conditions. You are going to be fatigued, mentally and physically. Rarely are you not going to be under some duress. It's going to get very uncomfortable. That's what high level sports is all about. It's going to be a fun ride. Thank you so much to our fans for your continued support!
November 4th is an exciting date to circle on your calendars this year. Our annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tipoff Dinner has raised over $400,000 in the time I have been here. We all unfortunately have been impacted at some level by cancer. Please click on the link below to attend or donate. It's a fun evening and for a terrific cause. 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to the fight against cancer!
*his dig at McBrayer and Murphy are classic!
*Sounds like we have a few guys who need to get in shape still
*Our schedule is legit... we may not have the big names coming to town, but the overall schedule from top to bottom could get us in line for NCAA's if we can capitalize on it
Good Afternoon Gopher fans,
It's been a while since I have done a blog because, quite frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about this summer. That's not to say the summer wasn't productive; it's just that six of our players weren't able to practice due to injuries and academics. Eric, Daniel, and Amir were all fully held out physically. Dupree was also limited in his on-court practice time. Dupree and Amir have been fully cleared. Eric and Daniel are getting close! Brock and Matz were both busy fulfilling their academic requirements as well. With that being said, after a few practices, I am starting to get a good feel for the potential of this team.
Academically our guys are continuing to get it done in the classroom. The freshmen killed it this summer with a 3.8 GPA. Our team cumulative GPA is the highest it has been in over a decade! Shoutout to Kyle Quagliana and Ryan Livingston for all their hard work in putting our players in a position to succeed in the classroom.
This fall we will continue to build our Gopher Pride program that has been so vital in the success and growth of our basketball program. We are excited to bring in Brenda Tracy and The Program next week. We will also continue to bring in more speakers to educate our guys in all aspects of life this year.
Let's talk scheduling. Last year, the NCAA tournament selection committee made a point to teams who didn't make the tournament that they didn't schedule hard enough in the non-conference. For the first time since I can remember teams towards the bottom of their conference made the tournament over teams towards the top. Why? It's more important to beat "good" teams on your schedule as oppose to lose to a "bad" team. Quite simply, that means put yourself in a position to play as many good teams as possible on your 32-game schedule. We start with a brutal stretch of Utah, Texas A&M, Santa Clara, Washington, at Boston College, Oklahoma State, at Ohio State, and Nebraska. All these games will be played before December 5th! Seven of those eight teams all played in either the NCAA tournament or the NIT last year. Couple that with our 20-game league schedule and our guys will certainly be put to the test!
The first couple of fall practices have been very impressive. We have made a few minor changes to our offensive and defensive playbooks that I have really liked. I am really trying to have all of our guys play multiple positions. One of the biggest differences in college and pro basketball is the definition of positions. In college people seem to want to focus on what position everyone is playing. In the pros they boast about playing "positionless basketball." At the college level there seems to be a trend that a player has to be play a certain position in order to get to the NBA. That's simply not true. As Kevin Durant said after last season, "I can play any style, with any player, anywhere in the world."
Let's dive into the injured reserve players and the newcomers because we all know what the guys who have been in the program for a few years will do by now. Jordan Murphy will get a double-double and be unhappy with the refs. Dupree will shoot a lot of long contested two-pointers and probably step out of bounds several times during the season. Just kidding fellas! It's sad to think they are seniors. Both are terrific, loyal kids who are both going to be great this season.
Brock Stull - Has a long way to go as it pertains to his conditioning. He knows that and has already made great progress. Looking forward to seeing him go when he is in great shape. Brock is a very good passer with a high basketball IQ.
Matz Stockman - Also has some work to do in the strength and conditioning department. Both Brock and Matz weren't with us for eight weeks this summer so this is to be expected. Matz has had some very good moments in practice. Has the size and skill. Needs to continue to push through fatigue.
Eric Curry - Looks really good! Played 24 minutes per game as a freshman on an NCAA tournament team that won 24 games. Clearly he was a big loss to our team. Primed for a big season. Has terrific leadership qualities when he wants.
Amir Coffey - Has that look in his eye like he wants to take the next step. Has had a lot of wow moments during practice. Love the direction he is headed.
Dupree McBrayer - Showed unbelievable heart playing through a difficult, nagging injury last year. The rest he got over the spring really helped and he currently looks 100%.
Jarvis Omersa - Infectious personality and a great pride for his home state. Clearly a great athlete who never gets tired. Doesn't care where he plays on the court. If he keeps up the junkyard dog mentality then he will be a force in the future.
Daniel Oturu - Has started doing non-contact drills in practice and has looked very impressive. The next step is seeing how he can do vs. contact. Was terrific in high school and AAU. I am happy we got his surgery over with in the spring so that he can be healthy for the season.
Gabe Kalscheur - Has had a very productive summer and fall. That's Gabe, productive. Not just a shooter. He takes pride in doing the little things. Always comes early to practice and stays late. Terrific defender!
Marcus Carr - Steady and solid. Very good at getting to the basket going right. Has great substance to his game. Competes! Played over 30 minutes per game as a freshman in the ACC.
Payton Willis - Skilled and multi positional. Love his ability to knock down shots. Gym rat who loves to compete!
Currently I am writing this blog 43,000 feet above ground. This is a fun time of year because we are able to get in front of our top targets and develop face-to-face relationships. Texting and FaceTime each day can only get you so far. For the most part these meetings consist of small talk, questions from the recruit and their families, then I give my presentation. Our new facilities have that 'wow' factor that I wasn't able to sell my first five years. Without talking specifics I can say that recruiting is going as good as it's ever been. We are bringing in top talent from all over the country. Rob Jeter and Kyle Lindsted have been terrific additions to our staff, and along with Ed Conroy, they are pounding the pavement on the recruiting trail.
I have harped on two main things this preseason that our guys need to do in order to attain our goals. Respond and Embrace the Uncomfortable. What do these mean? Every year we go into every season with personal and team expectations about what the future will hold. It's almost always not going to go the way we think it will. We have to be able to RESPOND appropriately to whatever is thrown our way. Embrace the Uncomfortable centers around being able to excel under the most adverse conditions. You are going to be fatigued, mentally and physically. Rarely are you not going to be under some duress. It's going to get very uncomfortable. That's what high level sports is all about. It's going to be a fun ride. Thank you so much to our fans for your continued support!
November 4th is an exciting date to circle on your calendars this year. Our annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tipoff Dinner has raised over $400,000 in the time I have been here. We all unfortunately have been impacted at some level by cancer. Please click on the link below to attend or donate. It's a fun evening and for a terrific cause. 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to the fight against cancer!
