Adam Boone and Maurice Hargrow return
after sitting out a year and will look around and wonder who
everybody is. Boone and Hargrow have not played a meaningful
game with anybody on the Minnesota roster, from just missing one
season. That’s a lot of turnover, but all those newcomers last
year made it the NCAA Tournament. Expectations will be high, and
they should be, but a tough Big Ten prevents the Gophers from
earning the respect they really do deserve.
Who’s Out:
Jeff Hagen, Brent Lawson and Aaron Robinson were the surprising
leaders of a surprising team. Hagen, the big man, averaged 11.2
points and a team high 6.1 rebounds. Lawson, the wing, averaged
7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals. Aaron
Robinson, the point guard, averaged 8.4 points and 2.9 assists.
While that sounds bad, there are plenty of newcomers ready to
fill in at every spot. Little used Miles Webb and Kerry
Wooldridge are transferring.
Who’s In:
The wings will receive plenty of depth with Brandon Smith, Kevin
Payton and Damian Johnson. Smith, a 6-5 Minneapolis native, is a
great athlete who can hit the outside shot and handle the ball.
Payton is a smart player with decent range and has the ability
to create his own shot. Johnson is the tallest of the bunch at
6-7. The Thibodaux, Louisiana product is extremely quick and can
beat just about anybody to the basket with his tremendous first
step. Jonathan Williams was granted a medical redshirt two games
into his freshman campaign. The 6-9, 275 pound power forward is
solid on the defensive end, which should get him a few minutes
off the bench. But the key players that are in this year are
Adam Boone and Maurice Hargrow. Boone sat out last year due to a
torn bicep. The point guard is a great long range shooter and
sees the floor extremely well. Two years ago the former North
Carolina Tarheel averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 assists for the
Gophers. Hargrow had to sit out last year after transferring to
Arkansas and then returning back to Minneapolis. The 6-5 wing
averaged 11.4 points and 2.8 assists in 16 games during the
2003-2004 campaign. He’s a solid outside shooter and a great
perimeter defender. Jamal Abu-Shamala, a 6-5 guard, will walk-on
to the Gophers.
Who to Watch:
Vincent Grier took the Big Ten by storm last
year after transferring from Dixie State Junior College via
Charlotte. The All-America candidate led the Gophers with 17.9
points per game. Grier tacked on 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and
2.0 steals per contest. The 6-5 senior is an amazing finisher
around the basket, arguably the best in the conference. His
scoring numbers won’t need to be as high this year with more
scoring options around him, but Grier will still fill it up day
in and day out.
Projected Conference Rank:
This team will battle for an NCAA spot. And
heading into the conference schedule it will be looking very
promising, but there are tons of quality teams in the
conference. Sophomores Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson are
solid under the basket, but J’son Stamper is the only other
experienced big man on the roster. Redshirt freshman Jonathan
Williams will have to be able to add some quality minutes. The
backcourt is amazing, but in the end Minnesota will have trouble
with bigger, deeper frontcourts. Ten teams from the Big 10 have
a legitimate shot at the NCAAs and the Gophers are in the middle
of that pack. An 8th place finish will have the
Gophers thinking NCAA down the stretch, but will end with a trip
to the NIT.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Adam Boone, Senior, Guard, DNP last season
Maurice Hargrow, Senior, Guard, DNP last
season
Vincent Grier, Senior, Guard, 17.9 points
per game
Dan Coleman, Sophomore, Forward, 8.2
points per game
Spencer Tollackson, Sophomore, Center, 3.2
points per game
