Crafty Tubby
November 2008

An analysis of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team’s first six regular season games this year reveals a work in progress, one that has been carefully engineered to allow player development.

The latest steps in the progression involved a 88–67 victory over Eastern Washington and an impressive 90-76 win over neighboring North Dakota State University. The uninformed, especially sports columnists at Minnesota’s largest daily newspaper, have derided the apparent weakness of the Gopher pre-conference schedule. Those unwilling or unable to see what is happening with college basketball in general and the Gophers in particular are liable to look foolish come February or March.

“The schedule,” said head basketball coach Tubby Smith, “has been built so that we learn things about ourselves. Games get tougher, and now guys have to play better—that’s as simple as that. We have to get better.”

Those with only a casual interest in college basketball fail to fully comprehend the fact that Minnesota lost its three top starters to graduation last Spring. The resourceful Smith has replaced Lawrence Mackenzie, Spencer Tollackson, and Dan Coleman with freshmen Ralph Sampson III, Colton Iverson, and Devoe Joseph as well as junior college transfers Devron Bostick and Paul Carter. Getting those five players to blend with eight returnees is not an easy task, and, indeed, Smith has used a wide variety of lineups in games to date (including the exhibition season).

As for the 2008-2009 regular schedule, those who live in the past refuse to acknowledge the parity that dominates NCAA Division I basketball. Today’s super stars depart after a single season, damaging continuity at even the top 10 programs. Others who old-timers fail to acknowledge as competitive have quietly built teams whose players stay together for the long haul.

Then, too, there is the fact that this is not your father’s Big Ten Conference. Over the past five years, the Big Ten has declined in prominence while the Big East, ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Pac 10 have continued to improve. There are no guarantees anymore that every Big Ten team will emerge victorious in pre-conference matches with members of the Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, WAC, or Summit conferences.

As for scheduling, most Division I teams outside Minnesota are reluctant to journey to Williams Arena without guarantees of one or two games on their home court in return. Throughout the country, college basketball schedules are not firmed up until a few weeks before the season begins. It’s apparent, however, that North Dakota State will be penciled in no matter what the rest of future schedules look like. The Gophers and Bison have established a rivalry that includes campus sports other than basketball, most notably football.

North Dakota State has officially been granted Division I status by the NCAA, ending a five-year reclassification period from Division II. That means the Bison are eligible for postseason play. In preparation for this, NDSU red-shirted its freshman class five years ago. While going through the reclassification process, the Bison posted road victories over both Wisconsin and Marquette. Last year, NDSU posted a 10-8 record in the Summit Conference and drew the attention of Sports Illustrated. Accordingly, the Bison were picked by the magazine to join the 2009 NCAA tournament field.

Eastern Washington, however, did not arrive at Williams Arena with the pedigree possessed by North Dakota State. The Eagles have fallen on bad times since qualifying for the NIT Tournament in 2003. Last season, Eastern Washington finished next to last in the Big Sky Conference but arrived in Minneapolis with a 4-1 record. The lone loss came at the hands of Illinois by 66-50.

The Gophers, missing injured starter Lawrence Westbrook got off to a slow start against the Eagles and fell behind 8-7 on a field goal by Eastern Washington center Brandon Moore. Minnesota then began pounding the paint and scoring at will against Moore and forward Mark Dunn. By halftime, Gophers center Iverson had 14 points, and Minnesota had a 47-29 lead. In the first half, all of Minnesota’s field goals came from within the paint (28) or from beyond the three-point line (15). Bostick had a pair of three-pointers.

The only meaningful offense Eastern Washington was able to muster all night came from transfer student Benny Valentine, a five-foot, six-inch waterbug of a player previously recruited by Bobby Knight at Texas Tech. Valentine penetrated Minnesota defenses with ease and wound up with 29 points. Iverson, meanwhile, had a break-out game for the Gophers, scoring 20 points. The game did take an alarming turn when Carter hit the floor in a scramble and apparently sprained his ankle. He had to be removed from the game clinging to the shoulders of teammates.

The injuries to Carter and Westbrook bedeviled coach Smith. “It’s been crazy,” he said after the game. “We’ve have had more player injuries and illnesses than I have ever experienced before in such a short period.”

The coach received good news the following Saturday when Westbrook was pronounced fit to play against North Dakota State. However, he did not start and didn’t enter the game until nearly five minutes of the first half had passed. By then, however, the Gophers had built a 14-3 lead over the ice-cold Bison. Led by senior captain Jamal Abu-Shamala, Minnesota increased its lead to 30-16 before NDSU’s Ben Woodside hit on a three-pointer to reduce the deficit to 11 points. The Gophers finished the half with a 38-28 lead, shooting 58 percent from the floor. At times, Minnesota displayed a trapping zone defense that completely befuddled the Bison.

The crowd total was announced at 13,161, its numbers increased by local NDSU alumni as well as a contingent bused in from Fargo. The result was a game-time ambience that resembled Big Ten contests in the Barn. In the second half, Abu-Shamala continued his scoring pace (he finished with 20 points) and delivered four key free throws in a row after being fouled. The second two were awarded him by referee Sid Rodeheffer who objected to NDSU coach Saul Phillips’ reaction to the foul call. “It was the second technical foul of my career,” said Phillips after the game. “I was silent this time.” Apparently, the coach stamped his foot, and Rodeheffer took umbrage. At any rate, the four charity tosses gave Minnesota a 59-42 lead. The Gophers were never seriously challenged after that.

Iverson, whose star had twinkled so brightly against Eastern Washington, got into foul trouble and was a non-factor in the game. His replacement, Sampson, showed flashes of brilliance and finished with 12 points. Another key contributor in the victory was junior forward Damian Johnson, now apparently at full strength after recovering from a hand injury. Johnson made several impressive moves in the paint and finished with 11 points. Meanwhile North Dakota State’s veteran front line players Lucas Moorman and Michael Tveidt were stymied on both ends of the floor. Mike Nelson of the Bison led all scorers in the game with 22 points, 15 of which came from behind the three-point line.

Once again, coach Smith substituted liberally, allowing his new players equal playing time. “I’m trying to get the young guys to know that we have to hold these teams off,” he said. “When you get into the Big Ten season, you can’t let up. You have to keep going the whole game, or they’re going to hit you in the mouth and take the lead.”

Tubby was pleased by the team effort. “We put together a complete game,” he said. “We pushed the ball in transition and challenged every pass. We tried to speed up the game.” However, he wasn’t pleased that, in the process, the young Gophers experienced 17 turnovers. “But,” he said, “we are maturing.”