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This is Amelia Rayno's second season on the Gophers' basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina (Go Tar Heels!), where fanhood is not an option. In 2010, she joined the Star Tribune after graduating from Boston's Emerson College, which sadly had no exciting D-I college hoops to latch onto. Amelia has also worked on the sports desk at the Boston Globe and interned at the Detroit News.
Follow Rayno on Twitter @AmeliaRayno
Posts about Gophers postgame
Ellenson makes most of second-half minutes
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: December 23, 2012 - 10:48 AM
I’ll admit, when an entire half passed on Saturday against Lafayette and Gophers freshman Wally Ellenson didn’t play a minute, I thought things were looking pretty dim for him.
Coach Tubby Smith had said the day before that he was concerned about how many minutes the wing would get, frankly remarking that Ellenson was “way behind” in knowing the plays and that practices had been tough for the freshman.
And let’s be honest – Smith typically plays a LOT of guys in the first half. Generally, if you’re in the rotation, you’re getting time in the first half. Meanwhile, Oto Osenieks – a guy tabbed as possibly the player who would lose minutes with Ellenson’s redshirt getting pulled – was playing his heart out and having his best game of the season.
But after the break, with 15:14 remaining in the game, in trotted Ellenson, playing the rest of the game and giving us a few “Hmm” moments.
In retrospect, it was a great opportunity for Ellenson, who entered after the game was clearly a blowout, but who made the most of his chance and inspired praise from Smith afterward.
Ellenson was on the court for 10 minutes before he scored, but when he did, it was an impressive reverse dunk off a ball Osenieks had popped up in the air near the basket as he tried to gain control of it. Then, less than two minutes later, Ellenson followed with a 3-point shot. Just as encouraging were the four boards that Ellenson pulled down.
I’m a big believer in the way confidence can affect performance, and so I think last night’s game was big for Ellenson – playing extended minutes like that, and most of all, succeeding in them – will allow him to not play scared anymore. He’s achieved something.
“I thought Wally did some spectacular offensive rebounding and the dunk over his head and he knocked down a three, so he’s starting to get comfortable and do the things we know he’s capable of doing,” Smith said. “As he improves, as he continues to get confidence, he’ll see more playing time.”
If Smith wanted Ellenson to justify his decision to take away the redshirt this year, he hinted at that Saturday. The Gophers are still a deep team with many other weapons in tow, but as last night showed, the depth and very, very, very long bench can be a strength as long as everyone contributes. Ellenson won’t consistently get 15 minutes in Big Ten play, but he showed Saturday that he is capable of being in the mix.
Andre Hollins still learning on the job for Gophers
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: November 16, 2012 - 11:32 AM
At the end of last season, Andre Hollins was one of the Gophers' statistical leaders and perhaps the biggest spark plug in the postseason.
So it’s understandable why fans – given the sophomore's modest offensive stats so far this season (he had a total of 10 points coming into the Tennessee St. game) – might wonder what’s “wrong.”
But the truth is, there is still a lot more for the young point guard to learn. It’s only his second college season, and his third in a position that otherwise has been pretty foreign to him his whole life (Hollins played a range from small forward to center as a youth player, so some patience is called for.
Still, a performance like last night’s -- 13 points, five assists and four rebounds -- as the Gophers head into a tough five-game stretch, is highly encouraging. Minnesota has won easily in three games now, and by all appearances has been doing fine without much offensive effort from the sophomore. But make no mistake – this team needs strong performances from Hollins.
“It means a lot,” teammate, junior Austin Hollins said. “He didn’t look to score all the time (on Thursday), but we all know that he’s capable of scoring, and when he scores, it really takes the pressure off of everyone else. I mean it really helps.”
Turnovers were the biggest problem for Hollins last season, when he led the team. This year he’s been very vocal on his desire to cut down on them, and while he certainly hasn’t been perfect, he hasn’t been awful either, averaging 2.6 a game (three on Thursday) compared with 4.3 assists.
“He was better tonight than the other night, and I like to see him taking care of the ball,” coach Tubby Smith said. “I was pleased with him tonight, distributing the ball. … I think he’s understanding more of what a point guard role should be and that’s helped.”
That part will come as he gets more confident in the offense and in his role. But as a “scoring” point guard, the success from the field last night was particularly encouraging. Hollins hit two of three 3-pointers (both in the first half) and converted five of his seven shots overall. Hollins was shooting just 13 percent from the field coming in.
He wasn’t shooting the ball particularly great the first two games and I just told him ‘Keep shooting’” Austin Hollins said. “That doesn’t mean that he can’t shoot because he wasn’t hitting any shots. And he did, and he started knocking them down tonight. You could tell he was playing with a lot more confidence. It’s nice to see all that hard work pay off.”
Tubby Smith: Illinois loss was "a real bad missed opportunity"
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: December 28, 2011 - 3:22 PM
Last night’s double-overtime loss to Illinois can be boiled down to two things:
- If the Gophers continue what they’ve done so far, they can hang in the Big Ten. They might even be an NCAA tournament team.
- If the Gophers are a tournament-caliber team, last night’s loss will haunt them.
My first reaction to last night’s performance was a positive -- “Wow, this team is playing right with Illinois – a top 25 team until a week ago.” But the afterthought is more complicated. If they are for real, how damaging will this missed chance ultimately be in the long run?
“It was a real bad missed opportunity,” coach Tubby Smith said. “Very, very bad. It’s hard to win in the Big Ten on the road. It’s been hard for us to win anywhere in the Big Ten over the last 12-13 games. We’ve just got to find a way to win another Big Ten game.”
It’s an interesting phenomenon. Two days ago, if you had told a swarm of Gopher fans that the team would go on the road and take Illinois to double overtime, there might have been celebrations in Minneapolis. But mid-game, when the reality sets in that they were, indeed, hanging with the Illini, the expectations changed.
The game in Illinois was Minnesota’s for the taking. The Gophers were up by two points with 15 seconds left and had Julian Welch, who made 25 consecutive free throws at one point this season, on the line with a chance to extend the lead to four points. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Illinois the life it needed to reach overtime. In the first extra session, the Gophers rallied but again couldn’t convert when it mattered most as Welch missed from close-range. An early turnover in the second overtime by Ralph Sampson – who otherwise played well with a game-high 22 points – sent Illinois on its way to the victory.
The Gophers have proven they have the makings of a good team – now they need to act like it. With visions of a tournament bid materializing, “playing close” is not what matters. Winning, converting, stealing the road victory – that is what matters.
The journey doesn’t get any easier for the Gophers, who are facing Michigan on the road on New Year’s Day. What a different situation it would have been, for the Gophers to stride into Crisler Arena a 1-0 team in conference play. As it is, they will still be fighting for that first win, fighting to prove they have the stuff to not just hang, but to conquer.
Dayton 86, Gophers 70: Tubby Smith quotes, Trevor Mbakwe status and other notes
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: November 27, 2011 - 10:13 PMORLANDO -- Well, the optimism of a little over 4 hours ago has been replaced by a combination of bad luck and harsh reality when it comes to the Gophers men's basketball team. Once again, Minnesota gave up a barrage of perimeter shots in the first half here in Orlando, and once again it led to a halftime deficit -- this time 37-28 against Dayton in the Old Spice Classic title game. On Thursday, the Gophers trailed DePaul by 10 thanks to poor three-point defense. It was the same story Friday against Indiana State. Both times, though, Minnesota adjusted and made big plays down the stretch to pull out comeback victories.
Against Dayton, however, there was no such luck. The Flyers kept coming in waves. And to compound things, senior forward Trevor Mbakwe went down with a knee injury early in the second half and did not return. He will have an MRI -- scheduled for Monday, per a Gophers spokesman -- to determine the extent of the damage. And while we should all be cautioned to avoid jumping to conclusions, Mbakwe's body language showed obvious pain and his in-game tweet after leaving the bench with a huge ice pack on his knee also spoke volumes: "Lord please get me through this." As Tubby Smith said, "It didn't look good."
But Smith also said, "We'll have to see. Hopefully, it's nothing serious." Mbakwe also tweeted: "Thanks everyone for your prayers. I really appreciate it the support. Tough times don't last but tough ppl do” and “Minor setback for a MAJOR comeback.” Knees are tricky things. So again, let's not assume the worst until the results of the MRI are in.
Even if the Mbakwe news is good, however, Sunday's game exposed Minnesota's defensive flaws over a full 40 minutes. The Gophers hadn't seen a guard like Kevin Dillard yet, and he gave them a taste of what they'll get in the Big Ten. It wasn't pleasant to swallow, as Dillard -- the tournament MVP -- carved them up for 19 points, 10 assists and seven steals. When he wasn't driving and scoring, Dillard was almost flawlessly setting up teammates on the perimeter. Dayton made 12 of 27 three-pointers. Afterward, Smith acknowledged, "We haven't defended the three very well all year long." Indeed. The Gophers were decent at shooting them (7 of 18 Sunday) but have now allowed 50 made threes on the season.
In any event, we'll see how fast Minnesota can regroup and what the news is on Mbakwe. The Gophers are home against Virginia Tech on Wednesday and USC on Saturday. For now, the difference between 6-0 and 6-1 feels pretty significant.
Gophers postgame: A lot went right on Monday night
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: November 21, 2011 - 11:36 PMRegardless of the opponent Monday night -- and yes, Mount St. Mary's is plenty depleted from what it hoped to be at the start of the season for various reasons -- it was hard not to find encouraging signs for the Gophers as they improved to 4-0 with an 85-56 victory. Among the highlights:
*Austin Hollins led five players in double-figures with 14 points and added six assists, both of which were career highs. He made two three-pointers -- though both came in the first 90 seconds, after which he sent 0-for-4 from long-distance -- and generally helped the Gophers set a tone that led to a 51-18 halftime lead against an inferior opponent.
*Rodney Williams had five dunks (accounting for all his made field goals), many of the crowd-pleasing variety. Yes, we've seen that from Williams before, and no his game is not perfect. But there's no denying the Williams Arena crowd and Williams' teammates feed of his energy when he delivers a high-flying play.
*Andre Hollins set a career high in points (13) for the second consecutive game. More importantly, he only had two turnovers after coughing up five his last time out against Fairfield. One of his turnovers came on the first possession of the game; he cleaned it up from there, and the Gophers as a team had just nine turnovers, a season-best.
*Freshman Joe Coleman had a career-best 10 points and added four points in 18 minutes. After looking lost at times on the court against Fairfield on Thursday, Coleman looked much more confident and sure of himself Monday.
*Elliott Eliason, starting in place of Ralph Sampson (ankle), contributed four points and four rebounds in 14 energetic minutes. "I thought Elliott was just what we needed," head coach Tubby Smith said. Smith added that he hopes to have Sampson for Thursday's Old Spice Classic opener against DePaul. It seems likely Sampson, who turned his ankle against Fairfield and did not practice before missing Monday's game, will be back soon. Regardless, Monday had to be a nice confidence-booster for Eliason.
*Kudos, too, for Chris Halvorsen's first career point as a Gopher -- which came on a late free throw and drew a nice cheer from the crowd.
Any negatives? Well, Smith thought the team got a little sloppy with shot selection at times and wasn't wild about Minnesota's 20-for-31 performance at the free-throw line (64.5 percent) after its sterling 27-for-31 effort Thursday. But there wasn't much to complain about after a 29-point victory -- a win that involved a little breathing room for the first time all season. It will be a confident bunch that boards the plane Tuesday for Orlando; how much of a factor that will be against better competition in the next handful of games remains to be seen.
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