Hargrow Sits Out Gopher Win:
Monson Uses Selective Discipline to Punish Hargrow, Grier
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Facing an opponent boasting an athletic pedigree gained through football exploits, the Minnesota Gophers started a lineup (Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman, J’son Stamper, Vincent Grier, and Adam Boone) appropriate for gridiron use and out muscled the Grambling State Tigers, 88-64.
Resplendent in white jerseys that served to create the illusion, if not quite the reality, of speed, the Gophers raced to a 38-21 lead and never looked back. The burly 6-9, 267-pound Tollackson bulled his way to seven field goals, all in the paint, and four rebounds in the first half.
Coached by former NBA stalwart Larry Wright, the undisciplined Tigers committed a dozen fouls in the first half along, resulting in 13 Minnesota free-throw points. Grier converted 10 of 12 free-throw attempts in the half, and the Gophers took a 53-36 lead into the locker room.
The second half produced little in the way of artistic merit. The Gophers, despite the absence of Maurice Hargrow and the loss of Stamper to injury, maintained mastery over the inept Tigers. Stamper went down with an knee injury after playing for only nine minutes in the first half.
As for Hargrow, his absence was traced to “a violation of team policy,” according to Minnesota coach Dan Monson. “We’ve got to get everybody together to get this team to the level we want to play.” Because that objective wasn’t reached, “it was a hard game for me to evaluate.”
Nor will togetherness be achieved in the next game, against South Dakota State, as Monson revealed that Grier won’t participant in that event. Grier, according to Monson, was also guilty of “violating team policy,” although the coach failed to reveal the nature of the offense.
Presumably, Hargrow and Grier acted in concert, which makes the penalties hard to understand. It’s as if Butch and Sundance are convicted of bank robbery, yet the judge sets Cassidy free until the Kid serves his time, and, upon conclusion of that, Butch enters prison to serve his sentence.
Monson’s selective system of discipline does him no credit and exposes a coach not willing to risk losing a game as the result of simultaneous punishment of his two star players.
Piling up wins in the nonconference portion of the schedule has long been accepted as the formula for NCAA tournament entrance. Monson apparently is subscribing to a victory-at-any-cost philosophy and should be embarrassed.
That noted, Grambling State, a football factory, shows no signs of ever becoming a basketball powerhouse and could have been subdued with a lineup missing Hargrow, Grier, and Stamper.
In fact, defense lapses by Grier allowed Grambling guard Brion Rush to shake free for seven three pointers. Rush provided the Tigers’ only offense and finished with 25 points.
“Grier struggled against Rush,” Monson said, while noting, “I’m glad he [Rush] is not in the Big Ten.”