The Daily Gopher

Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena to Get New Scoreboards

2012-05-24T19:41:45Z

Williams and Mariucci Arenas will have new scoreboards and sound systems for next season. This is going to be a huge upgrade as the previous Williams Arena scoreboard was 20 years old.

This should be a nice enhancement to the experience. The increased replay capabilities (in HD) and updated sound systems should be outstanding.

Golden Nugz - 05.22.12

2012-05-22T14:54:39Z

As you probably know by now the Big Ten football schedules for 2015 and 2016 have been announced. From the Leaders Division we will now face Ohio State, Wisconsin and Purdue (missing Penn State, Illinois and Indiana).

The Big Ten schedule is always going to be challenging.

There is NO WAY that Sid is managing his own Twitter account. Unfathomable.
Deadspin took a look at the readability and reading level of a number of sports writers from around the country. Interesting read. If you are scoring at home, my last couple posts have a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 9.8 and 11.5, both well above the sports page average. Jeffrick scores an 11.4 and 8.6 on his last couple posts. JDMill gives a great effort and we really appreciate his contributions :). I used "unfathomable" twice now in this post, solely for the explicit purpose of boosting my readability score (syllables count). If this were an Iowa blog I would clearly need to lower the readability level for the sake of my audience.
Big Ten Powerhouse looks at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and gives the Big Ten a decisive win.
Interesting human interest story about a chunk of the USC football team taking a mission trip to Haiti.
Gopher athletes also excel at giving back to the community. It is all part of being a Gopher.
ESPN1500 takes a very high level view of the Gopher football roster post-spring, pre-fall.

Minnesota Gopher Hockey: Will Nick Bjugstad Turn Pro with the Florida Panthers?

2012-05-21T15:50:00Z

So is this the week? Roman told us back in April that Gopher sophomore center Nick Bjugstad would make his decision to turn pro in mid May after the semester was finished:

A source close to Bjugstad said he remains undecided on what he will do, leaning one way one day, the other way the next day, so he is giving himself more time to be sure.

The Florida Panthers, who took him in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft, have told him the decision is his. He could have already signed with them and been playing for the Panther's AHL affiliate, San Antonio...

...It seems like it is 50-50 whether Bjugstad will return or sign with the Panthers. I thought it was 60-40 that he would stay from talking to him and those close to him during the season, but now I think the odds are not that good of him coming back.

Well the semester is finished, and it's now late May, but nothing yet from Bjugstad, the U, or the Panthers. I don't believe there's any real deadline approaching, as rookie camp won't be until August, yet you would think all parties involved would want to know how they're moving forward, right?

I have no idea what Nick is thinking, but as a Gopher fan I hope he comes back and leads them on a national title run in their last season in the WCHA. With Bjugstad they likely start the year no worse than the preseason #2 or #3- not in the WCHA, in the country. BC lost some key pieces (have you see what Chris Kreider is doing with the Rangers?) but because they were SO dominant last year they likely start the season at #1, but after that Minnesota with Bjugy has as good an argument as anybody for being #2.

Losing goalie Kent Patterson obviously hurts, as he was not only otherworldly in his two seasons in which he started every game, but their goaltending without him is entirely unproven and could go to a freshman (hello Adam Wilcox!). However, when you not only return your ENTIRE defense, but also add a couple of really good recruits that could jump into your top 4 right away, well, it softens the blow. And while the leadership of departing captain Taylor Mattson and wingers Jake Hansen and Nick Larson will be missed, if Bjugstad returns that means so does six of their top seven scoring forwards from last year. Basically their top two lines would return pretty much intact, and then you'd be adding more skilled freshman to the group (including, to Don Lucia's credit, the kind of "freshman" they need to add. Like, say, a 20 year old named Connor Reilly who has destroyed a very good junior league up in BC last season? That'll help. Oh and not to worry all of you who insist on an all-Minnesota roster- he's from Minnesota)

So Bjugstad would be returning to an absolutely loaded squad. Obviously he knows this, knows he'd be a pre-season favorite for the Hobey Baker, and I would imagine the leading candidate to take the "C" from Mattson (while the player named captain is often a senior, keep in mind the Gophs will have a whopping one senior next year, defensemen Seth Helgeson. And no offense to Helgeson, but he'll be lucky to play in the team's top 2 pairings). Again, I have no idea what he's thinking or feeling, yet you have to believe an unexpected run to the Frozen Four bonded him with his teammates and with just about everybody coming back, you know they've been talking about getting revenge on BC and finishing the job. And that has to matter to a kid who's not only as competitive as Bjugy, but someone who seems to love the school and his teammates as much as he does.

The fact he's waited this long to make up his mind makes me believe- makes me WANT to believe- that he's staying. After all, the kids who leave school early, like Denver's Jason Zucker or Drew Shore or the aforementioned BC's Kreider, leave immediately following the season. Like, I'm not sure Zucker and Shore even had their skates off yet after their season-ending loss to Ferris State before they were signing their pro contracts. And yet here's Bjugstad two weeks after school's out still trying to make up his mind?

Seems like a no-brainer then right? If you're a Gopher fan sure. If you're not, well...

...in that case, the no-brainer would be turning pro. Gopher puck fans may not want to hear this, but at this point, Bjugstad has little-to-nothing left to prove at the collegiate level. Before the season, the 15th overall pick in the 2010 draft he was highly-regarded with a lot of potential, but wasn't making anybody's top 50 prospects list. The big knock on him before last season was his skating. Now at 6'4 with the hands and hockey IQ he possesses, nobody's expecting him to be Pavel Bure out there, but his skating needed to improve. And that's what he did last offseason. The result was an explosive first step and an ability to better gain separation and speed on his first couple of strides. That, with the combination of off-season conditioning and a year of maturity, led to the explosion we saw as a sophomore. The same guy who started the season off the scout's prospects list was all over them by season's end: Hockey's Future, as good a site as any for hockey prospects, currently has him ranked 33rd with a glowing review:

The 2011-12 season will likely be seen as the year in which Nick Bjugstad truly came of age as a hockey player. Already highly touted and respected as a prospect, the former Mr. Hockey lifted his game to another level. Bjugstad hit the ice with a quicker step, additional power in his long stride, and even more strength along the boards...Simply stated, Bjugstad is a commanding presence whenever he is on the ice.

Sure, returning to Minnesota for another season certainly wouldn't hurt his pro potential, but there's no way it helps as much as playing against pros either in the AHL, or perhaps even given a shot with the big club this fall. Last season at Minnesota showed he's ready for the next step if he's willing to take it.

But that's the thing- it's only if he wants to take it. Per that Roman article, sounds like Florida is going to leave it up to him, which is great considering how some past Gopher prospects have been handled by their parent clubs. It seemed guys like Kyle Okposo, Jordan Schroeder and Nick Leddy were pulled form the U like they were being saved from a burning building, yet the Panthers are showing no such concerns. Hopefully that's a sign that whatever perceived issues NHL clubs had with Lucia's player development at the time aren't there any longer (which was ridiculous to begin with when you look at how many guys he recruited and coached at the U are playing in the NHL and playing well), and that not just Bjugstad but the many other current and future Gopher draft picks will get plenty of development time in Maroon and Gold.

But this hands-off Florida philosophy also speaks to their situation, which is simply that right now they can afford to wait. They just made the playoffs for the first time since last century, and they have the undisputed #1 farm system in hockey, one this is so ridiculously loaded that Bjugstad is only their third best prospect, and second best center. No really. The Panthers are likely to have six of their top seven prospects (not including Bjugstad obviously) in training camp this fall, and at least three of them are likely to make the team: center Jonathan Huberdeau, who has scored in the neighborhood of 9 million points in junior with the QMJHL power Saint John Seadogs (a team that includes Wild prospects Charlie Coyle and Zach Phillips), the world's top goalie prospect Jacob Markstrom, and one of forward Quinton Howden, who's considered the faster skater not playing in the NHL right now, or defensemen Colby Robak and Alex Petrovic.

While this is an enviable situation to be in having this many incredibly talented young players ready to go, it will also create a salary cap headache in a few years if ALL of these guys' contracts come due at the same time. Because of that, the Panthers are probably just fine if Bjugstad stays at Minnesota for one more season to delay his pro contract clock from starting, and get a bit of separation between he and Huberdeau and Markstrom.

So the decision, whenever he decides to make it, is up to Nick Bjugstad. As a Gopher fan I selfishly hope he comes back to Dinkytown for one more season, but the realist in me would be surprised to see it happen. Here's hoping I'm surprised.

B1G Conference FB schedules for 2015 and 2016 released

2012-05-21T15:47:15Z

(Editor's Note: Bumped because I was just going to write something about this, but GoAUpher beat me to it... so I don't have to. -- JDMill)

The B1G has released the conference schedules for 2015 and 2016. Here is how things look for Minnesota:

2015:
10/3 Nebraska
10/10 at Northwestern
10/17 at Michigan
10/24 Iowa
10/31 Ohio State
11/7 at Purdue
11/14 BYE
11/21 Wisconsin
11/28 at Michigan State

2016:
10/1 at Iowa
10/8 Michigan
10/15 BYE
10/22 at Nebraska
10/29 Northwestern
11/5 at Ohio State
11/12 Purdue
11/19 at Wisconsin
11/26 Michigan State

More details and thoughts below the jump...

Initial thoughts:

1) Boo! The issue with seeing Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa at home (or on the road) all in the same season continues. As someone who enjoys road trips this annoys me greatly. I also know it can have a drastic effect on how ticket sales look for the U. I was hoping the release of this schedule might come after Joel was gone to see if Teague was able to clean up this error, but I guess not. From a competitive perspective, this could be very good or very bad. It all depends on how the Gophers look. Since that is impossible to predict this far out I'll just shrug and go "meh" when it comes to that part of it.

2) Ohio State is finally back on the schedule after a 4 year hiatus. Hopefully Urban has quit or something by then or (more ideally) Kill has the Gophers playing at a high level and ready to welcome them to TCF for a beatdown. =)

3) That is one heck of a home schedule in 2015. Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. If the Gophers are playing well by then tickets will be coming at a premium on the secondary market.

4) Indiana drops back off the schedule for 2 more years. Lame.

5) Looks like Michigan State is officially our end of season game now.

Some additional details via Rittenberg over at the ESPN B1G Blog:

- Illinois will be off the Gopher's schedule from 2013-2016

- Northwestern misses OSU, PSU, and Wisky in 2015 and 2016 (that's by far the best draw)

- The 2015 Big Ten championship game will take place Dec. 5 at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium. The site for the 2016 title game has not been selected (the game will take place Dec. 3).

Target Field to Host 2013 Big Ten Baseball Tournament

2012-05-18T21:10:12Z

Target Field to Host 2013 Big Ten Baseball Tournament

Should be fun to have the Big Ten Tournament here next spring. Hopefully the Gophers will get things back on track next season to win their 10th tournament title.

The 2014 & 2015 Basketball Recruiting Classes and How They Will Affect the Future of Gopher Basketball

2012-05-17T23:04:16Z

The 2014 and 2015 classes of kids from the state of Minnesota (or near) is looking like they are extremely talented classes. This 2014 class should rival, if not exceed, the talented 2009 class of Rodney Williams, Royce White, Trent Lockett, Mike Bruesewitz, Mike Broghammer, Sam Dower and others. And the 2015 class will two or three (or four) kids who are all going to be in the conversation for 4-stars and top 100 consideration.

This crop of soon to be sophomores and juniors and their decisions about where to play their college basketball is going to have a dramatic and lasting effect on Gopher basketball. I'm certain you will hear more about them in the next couple months as they begin to show their athleticism and skills in AAU tournaments around the country. There are several names that you need to keep a close eye on and all of them are basically in our backyard. There are very likely going to be offers made to kids from all over the country in these two classes but there is significant talent here and they are worth talking about because as mentioned, I believe that they can have a lasting impact on the program.

The Class of 2014

This current group of sophomores collectively has already received scholarship offers from Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, Baylor, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Marquette Minnesota and many others. A number of big-time coaches have already made their presence felt within our borders and you can expect that we will continue to see them in gyms around the metro in the coming years.

As things currently stand we only have 2 scholarships available for this class. Available scholarships, particularly ones that are a couple years out, are very fluid. Transfers are always a possibility which would free up an additional scholly. And the staff could hold on to one of their 2013 scholarships (we have four available) and carry that one over to 2014. This would not only balance out our allotment but also to put the needed scholarships towards a year of outstanding talent. My guess is that we will probably have 3, maybe 4, to use in 2014.

So who is available? I'm glad you asked. (after the jump)

Tyus Jones - Apple Valley - PG - there is no sense beating around the bush, Jones is the cream of the crop in either of these classes. This is a kid who for the last year has been talked about as not just a top 100 type kid but one of the 10 best sophomores in the country and possibly the best point guard in his class. Landing Jones would be transformational for the program. Getting a kid to choose Minnesota over Duke or Kansas or North Carolina would not only give us a phenomenal player who would presumably lead us to wins. But perhaps more importantly he would get others to follow. If Jones is willing to stay home and build this program, why wouldn't the other guys on the list follow his lead? I believe they would.

But of all the guys in this post it is pretty clear that Jones is the one who will be the most difficult to land. He publicly states that Minnesota is just as viable an option as Duke but picking the Gophers over a blue-chip program is rare. Final Four opportunities usually trumps the prospect of turning your hometown program around. I feel pretty strongly that Tubby having a very successful season this year (2012-13) and seeing further development of Andre Hollins will certainly make Jones' decision at least a little bit more difficult.

Rashad Vaughn - Robbinsdale-Cooper - SG - Jones is clearly #1 on the list but were this any other year Gopher fans would be going gaga over Vaughn. Instead he feels like he'd be a nice consolation prize. This is crap, Vaughn would be an outstanding get for Tubby and staff. According to Rivals he is already a four-star recruit and is ranked #26 in their early top 100 for the class of 2014. His offer list is full of major programs like Kansas, Baylor, Georgetown, Texas, Wisconsin and several others. Vaughn is a 6-4 shooting guard and he is a very talented scorer both getting into the paint and from behind the arc. His game is continuing to grow as according to reports he is becoming a better rebounder and ball handler.

Vaughn is a dynamic scorer who is being sought after by many other prestigious programs so really he is a "must get." As a true freshman Vaughn would likely be coming off the bench as some instant offense but then with the graduation of Joe Coleman and Andre Hollins he would be thrust not only into a starting role but also as potentially our primary scoring option. It would seem to be a good situation to come into. He will be very difficult to land but our chances are better here than they are with Jones.

Reid Travis - DeLaSalle - SF - Travis is a physical and explosive forward who currently measures out at 6-7. He'll be a few years behind Mbakwe but Travis will be our next double-double machine. So far he does not have a Gopher scholarship offer but he is just a sophomore and it is no surprise that we only have a couple offers on the table in this class. Northwestern is his only major offer with Nebraska coming hard at him without an actual offer yet. I'd love to see us land one or both of the guards listed above and then a physical presence like Travis to man the paint. He has a mature and savvy game (according to ESPN eval) and even if he is a bit undersized for a PF, he will be a major contributor.

Ian Theisen - Osseo - PF/C - Another big man who should not be forgotten is Theisen, almost certainly the #4 prospect in the state's class of sophomores. Theisen is 6-9 and listed as a PF who may eventually be a center. You remember him from the recent state tournament when he nailed the game-winner for Osseo. But it should be noted that as a sophomore he led the team in scoring and rebounding while shooting a very high percentage.

Currently no offers. I would imagine that if his game continues to grow he will easily be a Big Ten caliber recruit.

There are plenty of other talented kids in this class both from Minnesota and others who we are pursuing. Andre Wallace from Eden Prairie is an explosive SG and then a handful of kids from outside of our borders are also getting some Gopher love. But the names listed above, particularly the top three are guys who can really be program changers.

I am desperately longing for a successful season in 2012-13. Maybe some luck falling our way, finishing top 4 of the Big Ten and making a run to the Sweet 16. This current squad is capable of that and winning will only help to convince the class of 2014 studs to stick around and help the program to take more steps forward. Then the success continues and recruiting success continues on to 2015.

2015

This class has a trio of Minnesota kids and then the one Wisconsin native that I'm including in this post. He is being included because the Gophers have an in with him. It helps that his brother is a Golden Gopher and while he isn't exactly "from here" one would think we are in the driver's seat to land him.

This class should have a ton of available sholarships. Assuming nothing changes over the next three years (which it will) we will have five available to offer as we lose Dre Hollins, Coleman, Oto, Elliott and Mo Walker. I doubt we'll be bringing five new freshmen in with this class but that is what projects to be available.

Henry Ellenson - Rice Lake, WI - PF - possibly the class of the 2015 class, at least in terms of kids the Gophers have a shot at landing. Ellenson is obviously the brother of Wally who will be a JR when Henry walks on campus as a true freshman. Rivals recently released their super-duper early top 50 for the 2015 class and Ellenson was not listed, but he is almost certain to be in the top 100 and I'll bet you lunch he'll be a four-star. He is on ESPN's top 100 watch list where he is described as a "power forward with elite shooting skill, very good athletic ability and strength."

A high school freshman and he has offers from Georgetown, Minnesota, Marquette and Iowa State. At 6-9 and 200 lbs he has a body and skill set that is beyond other freshmen, further growth and development will make him a national prospect. I would imagine that our chances are pretty good at landing Henry as long as Tubby's relationship with Wally doesn't turn "Devoe" on him. This one is a few years away but we will all be celebrating this commitment when it happens.

Alex Illikainen - Grand Rapids - C - Illikainen will be our future Gopher center. Can you think of the last time an out-state big man was offered as a high school freshman? It is a very uncommon occurrence. Illikainen has more than just the requisite Gopher offer. Iowa State, Nebraska and a couple Missouri Valley schools have all offered. Ryan James of Gopher Illustrated described his dominance over the U14 teams as "video-game like!" He is going to be another big-time product that Minnesota should have a legit shot at landing.

Personally I don't want Illikainen to commit here or anywhere in the Big Ten so I don't have to type his name, it is even worse than Osenieks (which I get wrong every time and have to look it up). But if I put my selfish desires aside I would love to see ~~Illik~~ Alex grow and be a dominating Big Ten center to go along with a couple of dominating guards that we land the year prior.

Marshawn Wilson - Tartan - SG - A very athletic guard who scores well and is a very good defender. It is early and there are not a lot of evaluations available for high school freshmen but Wilson will be an outstanding recruit.

Jarvis Johnson - DeLeSalle - PG -Started at point for DeLeSalle's state tournament winning team as a freshman. Currently has offers from Wyoming, Buffalo and New Mexico St but it is REALLY early. ESPN is very complimentary of the young Johnson saying that he "has the speed, quickness, athleticism, motor and ability to change gears to be a special lead guard. Johnson has excellent court vision and does a great job using the advance pass on the break and finding the open man down the sideline or rim running." He will move up the list to become a must-get. Even if we land Tyus Jones in the 2014 class, we will need Johnson for when Tyus leaves early.

In Conclusion

The point of this post is less about dreaming of Final Fours and predicting lineups four years from now. But there are some very high-end, program changing caliber players that are within our grasp. Five of the eight names listed above are strong candidates to be four-star recruits or higher. The rest are potentially top 150 caliber guys. Landing the majority of the names listed above will give the Gophers back to back ranked recruiting classes. I don't believe I'm dramatically overstating anything here.

We all want to see Gopher teams that are consistently making the NCAA Tournament and even occasionally competing for a Big Ten title. It begins this year with having a successful season and then that has to translate into some recruiting success with kids who are in our backyard.

Dream Scenario

OK, now I get obnoxious and make ridiculous line-up predictions. We land everyone listed above or at least the ones we absolutely want the most. This is our starting lineup in 2016 after they've all had a year or two under their belt. The 2017 Final Four has not yet been decided but when it is announced, book your hotel rooms! Maybe it will be in the Vikings new stadium! :)

PG - Tyus Jones

SG - Rashas Vaughn

SF - Henry Ellenson

PF - Reid Travis

C - Alex Illikainen

Gopher Basketball to Face Florida State in Big Ten / ACC Challenge

2012-05-16T20:33:52Z

Gopher hoops is scheduled to play Florida State in next year's Big Ten / ACC Challenge. The game will be at Tallahassee and it is the second time the Gophers have made the trip to FSU in Tubby Smith's tenure as head coach.

Last season the Seminoles were a 25 win team, 12-4 in the ACC finishing just behind Duke and North Carolina, they were ACC Tournament Champs and earned a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota was not nearly that good and finished runner-up in the NIT. But 2012-13 will be different seasons for both squads.

The good news for Seminole fans is that they return their top scorer, the bad news is they are also graduating six seniors who contributed and accounted for 55.7% of their total points. It is much too early to be previewing the match-up as there are so many unanswered questions for both teams. Like how will Trevor Mbakwe fit back in with the Gopher squad we saw run through the NIT Tournament? How will Michael Snaer fare without the core of last year's seniors and his entire frontcourt. Florida State is bringing in a five-man recruiting class that included two 4-star kids and a couple of international players. How long will it take for these guys to contribute?

Both of these squads are in or very near most of the way too early top 25s for next year. This really should be an excellent match-up. For the Gophers if they can win this game I believe it will be a huge boost to their RPI. The guys at Tomahawk Nation are lamenting the opposite that this might kind of be a lose-lose for the Seminoles.

I have high expectations for next year's club and this should be a good test that hopefully translates into an RPI building win. Beat Florida State early while they are figuring things out then we root for the Seminoles to do well in the ACC. This will all come shortly after we take care of Duke in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in November!

Maize n Brew Big Ten Preview: Minnesota

2012-05-15T14:01:05Z

Maize n Brew Big Ten Preview: Minnesota

Hey Minnesota fans, this is Zach from Maize n Brew, SBN's Michigan blog, and I just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing a weekly preview of Big Ten teams this summer, and this week is Minnesota's turn.

Stop by Maize n Brew and let us know what you think. We will post one to two articles a day on the Golden Gophers for the rest of the week. Hope you enjoy it.