MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Regarding the 6th man question:  

I still would consider Anderson, Keeley, Healy, Brumm & Palmer as viable 6th man of the year candidates.  I've not done the research, but I don't believe Anderson or Palmer have even started a conference game. As others have pointed out, Healy did start the SJU game & I woudn't be surprised to see him stay in the starting lineup.  The challenge will be finding someone off the bench who can come in & provide a defensive or offensive spark for UST.

For the most part, Palmer & Anderson have been providing a huge lift to their respective teams. If Brumm keeps up his recent play in the 2nd half of the season, he could warrant serious consideration.  Right now I'd give the nod to Anderson & or Palmer.

Palmer has started at least the last 3 conference game and most certainly will start the next 11.  or should.  Ditto Keeley-- you dont put your best & most athletic player in the 6th man role when you desparately need him in the starting lineup.

Anderson, blank, Brumm & Healy-- 4 viable candidates at this point, all with 11 games to make or break their candidacy.

Drake-- how was the orchestra?  WIll you be at the Opera tonight or can you be counted on to show up in person at Leonard Center?  My guess is the opera or watching the wife wash her hair wins out over live hoops 

[columbianmaffia]

Blake Hoffarber is the most over-rated player I've ever seen

i understand the frusteration of him not having the ability to create his own shot but i dont understand how he is overrated?  he isnt known as a player who can take guys off the dribble, play lock down defense, or fill up the stats sheet with rebounds (WW's fav), steals and assists....he doesnt do anything but shoot the 3 ball (if any announcers or media members tell you differently they arent doing their job or shouldnt have a job because they clearly dont know anything) and when he does get open and shoot it i cant think of too many other players in all of college basketball i would rather have launch it up.

very one dimensional player (WW's favorite type of player  )...yes...overrated...i disagree with

So much to respond to...CMob is spot on with his analysis...if screens and not held or this shot is not on, then Hoffarber will struggle....Tubby did not bring him in to be block around which his program his built, he has special skills, he is a zone buster and provides scoring from the perimeter...let's not forget he has hit his share of big shots in his Gopher career...you guys might need to face facts about Minnesota, they might be the 5th best team in the Big 10, around .500 in conference play, good enough to beat the lower rung teams but not good enough to take down anyone who could do anything in the NCAA's.  By the way tomorrow night's Badger-Buckeye game in C-bus should be awesome with a capital A...Badgers beat them earlier this year like a drum but that was with Evan Turner sidelined.

I'm still feeling good about the gophs.  The big ten is up this year, so 5th should get you a tourney berth no problem.  They just played their 2 toughest road tests of their year without a healthy sampson and they still looked like they could win both games.  If Hoffarber has an off-night, it's usually not a very big deal as depth is probably the squad's real strength.  The depth will also get a big boost when Royce gets cleared to play in a couple weeks.

just got word from a very reliable source that Williams and Nolen may be out for a while because they didnt complete their school work or did not pass...the loss of nolen would hurt them defensively especially with MSU coming to town this weekend

[Nites]

Nites - are you exercising your tri- citizenship today, & reclaiming the lineage from the land of your ancestors - MN/ND?      

Pleeeeeezz,  have some respect, Drake, I'm in mourning.      I didn't necessarily expect a win, but I never expected a blow out.  They had not been blown out all year. 

Should I/could I exercise my tri-citizenship?  Perhaps, although I can't stand Favre.  He's perhaps the most egotistical, prima donna in all of sports.

[Willy Wonka]

Nites - are you exercising your tri- citizenship today, & reclaiming the lineage from the land of your ancestors - MN/ND?      

Pleeeeeezz,  have some respect, Drake, I'm in mourning.      I didn't necessarily expect a win, but I never expected a blow out.  They had not been blown out all year. 

Should I/could I exercise my tri-citizenship?  Perhaps, although I can't stand Favre.  He's perhaps the most egotistical, prima donna in all of sports.

Agreed! I'm glad there's at least one other logical person in this world who hasn't completely sold out in the pursuit of a title...

As for the 6th man...I'd currently rank them Palmer, Anderson (based on his destruction of Healy et al), Healy and Blank with the understanding that Palmer and Healy may soon be eliminated from consideration. Palmer is currently 7th in scoring and 5th in rebounding. As I said roughly 12 months ago, the kid can play. Were he on a better team, he might even be in the MVP discussion. My Faribault people actually telling me he wanted to be a Gustie...but wasn't recruited by them

Anderson's impact on the game isn't necessarily reflected in a box score. He defends very, very well and controls the pace of the entire game. He literally rendered the UST press useless with his ballhandling and decisionmaking. But then he laid an egg against Bethel, which shows why he's still coming off the bench.

Blank's numbers are solid and I haven't seen him play...but I can't help but wonder if he's cut from the same mold as Tyler Grey? That is to say, does he impact the game much outside of scoring?

I really like Healy's game. He might be the most well-rounded offensive player the Tommies have this year. I expect him to start the rest of the way.

[VOJ]

Blake Hoffarber is the most over-rated player I've ever seen

i understand the frusteration of him not having the ability to create his own shot but i dont understand how he is overrated?  he isnt known as a player who can take guys off the dribble, play lock down defense, or fill up the stats sheet with rebounds (WW's fav), steals and assists....he doesnt do anything but shoot the 3 ball (if any announcers or media members tell you differently they arent doing their job or shouldnt have a job because they clearly dont know anything) and when he does get open and shoot it i cant think of too many other players in all of college basketball i would rather have launch it up.

very one dimensional player (WW's favorite type of player  )...yes...overrated...i disagree with

So much to respond to...CMob is spot on with his analysis...if screens and not held or this shot is not on, then Hoffarber will struggle....Tubby did not bring him in to be block around which his program his built, he has special skills, he is a zone buster and provides scoring from the perimeter...let's not forget he has hit his share of big shots in his Gopher career...you guys might need to face facts about Minnesota, they might be the 5th best team in the Big 10, around .500 in conference play, good enough to beat the lower rung teams but not good enough to take down anyone who could do anything in the NCAA's.  By the way tomorrow night's Badger-Buckeye game in C-bus should be awesome with a capital A...Badgers beat them earlier this year like a drum but that was with Evan Turner sidelined.

I'm still feeling good about the gophs.  The big ten is up this year, so 5th should get you a tourney berth no problem.  They just played their 2 toughest road tests of their year without a healthy sampson and they still looked like they could win both games.  If Hoffarber has an off-night, it's usually not a very big deal as depth is probably the squad's real strength.  The depth will also get a big boost when Royce gets cleared to play in a couple weeks.

just got word from a very reliable source that Williams and Nolen may be out for a while because they didnt complete their school work or did not pass...the loss of nolen would hurt them defensively especially with MSU coming to town this weekend

IF,  and I say again IF that is going to happen where those two guys will miss time, you can stick an NIT label on the Gophers and declare this year of the Tubby regime a waste of time.  This team was talked about as a darkhorse pick for a top 2 position in the Big 10, and they could and probably will be playing on the first day of the Big 10 tourney. 

Nites - are you exercising your tri- citizenship today, & reclaiming the lineage from the land of your ancestors - MN/ND?     

Pleeeeeezz,  have some respect, Drake, I'm in mourning.      I didn't necessarily expect a win, but I never expected a blow out.  They had not been blown out all year. 

Should I/could I exercise my tri-citizenship?  Perhaps, although I can't stand Favre.  He's perhaps the most egotistical, prima donna in all of sports.

Agreed! I'm glad there's at least one other logical person in this world who hasn't completely sold out in the pursuit of a title...

As for the 6th man...I'd currently rank them Palmer, Anderson (based on his destruction of Healy et al), Healy and Blank with the understanding that Palmer and Healy may soon be eliminated from consideration. Palmer is currently 7th in scoring and 5th in rebounding. As I said roughly 12 months ago, the kid can play. Were he on a better team, he might even be in the MVP discussion. My Faribault people actually telling me he wanted to be a Gustie...but wasn't recruited by them

Anderson's impact on the game isn't necessarily reflected in a box score. He defends very, very well and controls the pace of the entire game. He literally rendered the UST press useless with his ballhandling and decisionmaking. But then he laid an egg against Bethel, which shows why he's still coming off the bench.

Blank's numbers are solid and I haven't seen him play...but I can't help but wonder if he's cut from the same mold as Tyler Grey? That is to say, does he impact the game much outside of scoring?

I really like Healy's game. He might be the most well-rounded offensive player the Tommies have this year. I expect him to start the rest of the way.

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

[Gacman]

Soon to be a Viking Legend.

[AO]

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

Brett Favre played for the Packers?  I thought we picked him up down in Mississippi ?  When we signed him I can remember thinking that I wasn't going to root for a former Jet, but he quickly converted us all.    Now that I think about it, a few years ago the packers did have an interception-prone qb who played terrible in the metrodome, but that can't be the same guy as our Favre.

[VOJ]

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

Brett Favre played for the Packers?  I thought we picked him up down in Mississippi ?  When we signed him I can remember thinking that I wasn't going to root for a former Jet, but he quickly converted us all.    Now that I think about it, a few years ago the packers did have an interception-prone qb who played terrible in the metrodome, but that can't be the same guy as our Favre.

Soon to be a Viking Legend.

I love the revisionist history...so how do you guys see the Gopher Men's basketball team's run to the Final Four, since by NCAA standards it really never happened? 

I can hear you now well they cheated but really it was for the good of the program 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

Brett Favre played for the Packers?  I thought we picked him up down in Mississippi ?  When we signed him I can remember thinking that I wasn't going to root for a former Jet, but he quickly converted us all.    Now that I think about it, a few years ago the packers did have an interception-prone qb who played terrible in the metrodome, but that can't be the same guy as our Favre.

Soon to be a Viking Legend.

I love the revisionist history...so how do you guys see the Gopher Men's basketball team's run to the Final Four, since by NCAA standards it really never happened? 

I can hear you now well they cheated but really it was for the good of the program 

Isnt cheating ALWAYS for the good of a  D-I program?

[Buddo]

Nites - are you exercising your tri- citizenship today, & reclaiming the lineage from the land of your ancestors - MN/ND?      

Pleeeeeezz,  have some respect, Drake, I'm in mourning.      I didn't necessarily expect a win, but I never expected a blow out.  They had not been blown out all year. 

Should I/could I exercise my tri-citizenship?  Perhaps, although I can't stand Favre.  He's perhaps the most egotistical, prima donna in all of sports.

Agreed! I'm glad there's at least one other logical person in this world who hasn't completely sold out in the pursuit of a title...

As for the 6th man...I'd currently rank them Palmer, Anderson (based on his destruction of Healy et al), Healy and Blank with the understanding that Palmer and Healy may soon be eliminated from consideration. Palmer is currently 7th in scoring and 5th in rebounding. As I said roughly 12 months ago, the kid can play. Were he on a better team, he might even be in the MVP discussion. My Faribault people actually telling me he wanted to be a Gustie...but wasn't recruited by them

Anderson's impact on the game isn't necessarily reflected in a box score. He defends very, very well and controls the pace of the entire game. He literally rendered the UST press useless with his ballhandling and decisionmaking. But then he laid an egg against Bethel, which shows why he's still coming off the bench.

Blank's numbers are solid and I haven't seen him play...but I can't help but wonder if he's cut from the same mold as Tyler Grey? That is to say, does he impact the game much outside of scoring?

I really like Healy's game. He might be the most well-rounded offensive player the Tommies have this year. I expect him to start the rest of the way.

Palmer is a great talent, but I believe he is mostly untapped. He has yet to show his true athleticism and game-breaking potential. I'd say MVP talk is a bit premature,  even with him being on a good team, but it's definitely feasible in the next few years should SMU continue to improve.

Blank is a spot-up 3-point shooter that... well... can REALLY shoot. He has rounded his game a bit more in that he can slash and cut now and is effective in other ways.

[AO]

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

Brett Favre played for the Packers?  I thought we picked him up down in Mississippi ?  When we signed him I can remember thinking that I wasn't going to root for a former Jet, but he quickly converted us all.    Now that I think about it, a few years ago the packers did have an interception-prone qb who played terrible in the metrodome, but that can't be the same guy as our Favre.

Soon to be a Viking Legend.

I love the revisionist history...so how do you guys see the Gopher Men's basketball team's run to the Final Four, since by NCAA standards it really never happened? 

I can hear you now well they cheated but really it was for the good of the program 

I love how you respond to a packers jab by bringing up a gopher basketball scandal.......but as usual, I'll bite.  It certainly wasn't a good idea to try to cover it up as Clem did, but I don't think the success of the team had much to do with gangelhoff writing papers for some of the kids.  They didn't get caught taking roids or bribing referees.   In all likelihood this was one woman who took the initiative to help some of the marginal kids cheat.  
Besides, Minnesota is a little more "what have you done for me lately" than Greenbay's self-proclaimed "titletown", though the majority of the success came in the 60s.  Gopher fans aren't satisfied with a final four a decade ago, much less a national championship in football in the 60s.

as a side note, I grew up watching a couple of the cheaters play in gyms around central minnesota.  Russ Archambeault and Sartell gave Long Prairie some great games back in the old West Central Conference.  We'd also go see Kevin Loge and Morris take on Jamie Swenson and New London-Spicer at the P.E. Center on the UMM campus as the high school gym couldn't contain the 5000 fans paying to go to a regular-season high school game.

[VOJ]

Well we will see if Brett plays another NFC Championship game like he played the last one...bringing the Packers in sight of the brass ring only to throw it away, literally.  I know Viking fan is giddy thinking their first Super Bowl title is only two wins away...but in the back of your mind you have be thinking we had to bring a Packer Legend in to get it done...irony can be cruel.

Brett Favre played for the Packers?  I thought we picked him up down in Mississippi ?  When we signed him I can remember thinking that I wasn't going to root for a former Jet, but he quickly converted us all.    Now that I think about it, a few years ago the packers did have an interception-prone qb who played terrible in the metrodome, but that can't be the same guy as our Favre.

Soon to be a Viking Legend.

I love the revisionist history...so how do you guys see the Gopher Men's basketball team's run to the Final Four, since by NCAA standards it really never happened? 

I can hear you now well they cheated but really it was for the good of the program 

I love how you respond to a packers jab by bringing up a gopher basketball scandal.......but as usual, I'll bite.  It certainly wasn't a good idea to try to cover it up as Clem did, but I don't think the success of the team had much to do with gangelhoff writing papers for some of the kids.  They didn't get caught taking roids or bribing referees.   In all likelihood this was one woman who took the initiative to help some of the marginal kids cheat. 
Besides, Minnesota is a little more "what have you done for me lately" than Greenbay's self-proclaimed "titletown", though the majority of the success came in the 60s.  Gopher fans aren't satisfied with a final four a decade ago, much less a national championship in football in the 60s.

as a side note, I grew up watching a couple of the cheaters play in gyms around central minnesota.  Russ Archambeault and Sartell gave Long Prairie some great games back in the old West Central Conference.  We'd also go see Kevin Loge and Morris take on Jamie Swenson and New London-Spicer at the P.E. Center on the UMM campus as the high school gym couldn't contain the 5000 fans paying to go to a regular-season high school game.

You guys started the revisionist history...when Favre goes into Canton it will be as a Packer, not a Viking and since you bring up recent success, the Vikings and Packers have exactly the same number of appearances in the NFC championship games in the past 4 years and the Packers have two Super Bowl appearances in the last 20 years, how many do the Vikings?  Facts are facts AO

By the way I knew one of the cheaters as well, in fact he was probably the guy who was at the central part of the scandal...Bobby Jackson.  I heard an interesting story after he finished out at the U...it dated back to his recruitment by the U and Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma...Sampson offered Jackon's JUCO coach a player that was not ready to go to OU and needed to go the JUCO route if Bobby could be swayed into going to OU...coach replied that the deal was already done with Clem and he was not talking about just signing the letter of intent, the JUCO coaches son became Clem's assistant and who knows what else took place...

[Drake Palmer]

What was it that Colonel Kilgore once said in the movie "Apocalypse Now"?  "I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it smells of victory."  Well, to paraphrase, I love to see Mose & VOJ sniping & backbiting with each other, it must mean the MIAC race is starting to heat up.  

Blank's numbers are solid and I haven't seen him play...but I can't help but wonder if he's cut from the same mold as Tyler Grey? That is to say, does he impact the game much outside of scoring?

I really like Healy's game. He might be the most well-rounded offensive player the Tommies have this year. I expect him to start the rest of the way.

Regarding Sam Blank.  He could get some consideration talk for 6th man of the year as well. He's putting up some real solid numbers.  3rd for the Johnnies in scoring at 10.1 ppg, 5th in assists at 1.9 apg, & averages 39% on his triples. IMO, Blank is a little better rounded player than the Gusties' Tyler Grey.  In fact, one could call him instant offense, as well as instant defense.  

Let's just say you don't want to be on a breakaway layup with Blank anywhere in the general vicinity.  He got into another interesting altercation the other night, but this time he got teed up when he fouled the Tommie on the layup.   In a similar situation against Hamline on Wednesday night he was only called for a foul.  You know how football coaches say a running back is so much faster with a ball in his hand.  Blank is lot faster when he's chasing after a breakaway layup.. He can book.  

**I ran into a couple of MIAC players over the weekend & they both basically said, SMU's Chris Palmer is a beast, & is playing with a huge chip on his shoulder.  I think we'll be hearing a lot more about this young man in the next couple of years.

**Mose I think I earned enough brownie points for a reprieve, so yes I might be able to make it out tonight.  

**Awesome slate of games scheduled today!  Every single game holds some appeal. Watching the boxscores & game summaries could get real interesting at the end of the night.

*The game behind the Pine Curtain could be mega nasty.  Talks about two angry teams.  Yowz!

*I think the fellas in purple have got enough numbers to slow down Hamline's Carl Hipp, so controlling Ray-Ray is absolutely critical.  If Joe Scott is gimping, & Brown can get the Pipers into the flow like he did against the Johnnies, the Tomcats could be staring down the barrel of a 2nd loss.

*The trip to Winona will definitely not be a walk in the park for the Dawgs & the now dangerous Birds of Prey.

*The playoff relevance bowl between Cord & the Oles

*And can the Carleton Knights or Bethel sneak back it the playoff hunt?

[Buddo]

*The trip to Winona will definitely not be a walk in the park for the Dawgs & the now dangerous Birds of Prey.

I definitely agree, should be a good one.

[papahoops]

Regarding the 6th man question:  

I still would consider Anderson, Keeley, Healy, Brumm & Palmer as viable 6th man of the year candidates.  I've not done the research, but I don't believe Anderson or Palmer have even started a conference game. As others have pointed out, Healy did start the SJU game & I woudn't be surprised to see him stay in the starting lineup.  The challenge will be finding someone off the bench who can come in & provide a defensive or offensive spark for UST.

For the most part, Palmer & Anderson have been providing a huge lift to their respective teams. If Brumm keeps up his recent play in the 2nd half of the season, he could warrant serious consideration.  Right now I'd give the nod to Anderson & or Palmer.

Palmer has started at least the last 3 conference game and most certainly will start the next 11.  or should.  Ditto Keeley-- you dont put your best & most athletic player in the 6th man role when you desparately need him in the starting lineup.

Anderson, blank, Brumm & Healy-- 4 viable candidates at this point, all with 11 games to make or break their candidacy.

Drake-- how was the orchestra?  WIll you be at the Opera tonight or can you be counted on to show up in person at Leonard Center?  My guess is the opera or watching the wife wash her hair wins out over live hoops 

I think both Palmer and Healy should clearly be considered starters at this point. Palmer has really emerged (yes you were correct WW in praising Palmer as best FY player) and Healy rwas ecently moved to deserving spot in the starting UST rotation. If their coaches aren't starting them for the balance of the season, they should be. I don't know how UST could bring Healy off the bench anymore with starters throwing up goose eggs on the box score on a regular basis I've only seen Blank live once, but I would be more inclined to pick him for my rugby squad than give him a 6th man award. I was obviously impressed with Anderson against UST, so he is my favorite right now, but Brumm has also been coming on. These two would be my top 2 picks for 6th man right now.