Classic Student Section

So, here's is the video/audio of the 'classless' F*** Bo Ryan chant Gopher Bandana Guy referenced. It really gets audible at about the 0:15 mark...

The aggressive student section was great, so glad to see them really trying to do all they could to aid the win. It was also really cool we had a bunch of in-state recruits there to witness an impressive win.

I personally LOVED it. I wish we displayed this sort of winning attitude toward the badgers in football. Oh well, sticking to Becky on the court will have to suffice. Enjoy.

'BO' YAAAA! Gophs dispatch Badgers at the Barn!

Hey? Wha' Happened Bo?  Whining and grimacing won't work every night.  The spring is back in my step tonight.  Just wanted to share my elation from the 16 point takedown of the Badgers.  And here's a fun pic of Bo doing his best impersonation of Fred Willard's "Mike LaFontaine" character from the underrated 'A Mighty Wind'... (hence the opening line of this post).  I imagine this must have been what he did for a halftime speech, seeing as the Badgers made virtually no adjustments in the 2nd half.

It was nice to see Bo Ryan get outcoached by Tubby down the stretch (again).  The zone defense the Gophs dropped into forced the Badgers to chuck 3's all 2nd half, and they weren't falling.  The Gophers beat the Badgers at their own game, surprisingly beating them in a slow down match, with long possessions frequently ending in quality buckets.  I would have expected the Gophs to go uptempo as we have in wins against Wisconsin in the past, but Tubby went with his bigs and a reduced bench rotation.  Maybe this vexed the Badgers because they scouted them to go uptempo.  Maybe not.  Either way, I'm pleased with the results.

The fans were loud, if not a little tasteless (with the 'F*ck Bo Ryan' chant). But hey, what do you expect when he's making incredulous scowls and shouting at refs for calls on the opposite end of the court, with a student section desperate to do anything to help give the Gophs an advantage.  Steve Lavin did his usual Badger ass-kissing all game, which he transparently tries to balance with his love of Williams Arena.  And Larry Westbrook capped it off with a ridiculous and unnecessary dunk attempt with the shot clock winding down and the game all but over.

No time to rest now though, IU coming in on Saturday.  Time for some revenge on them for stealing that game from us in Bloomington.  Verdell Jones needs that smirk wiped off his face. Gotta keep any momentum generated from this game rolling at least until Purdue rolls into town.

In the meantime, celebrate with a classic Goldy spinning of his head (and a Grain Belt Premium or Surly Furious)

GO GOPHERS!

Minnesota's "Greatest Games" - Big Ten Network On-Demand

On the recommendation of a friend, I sat down tonight to take a look at what the On Demand offerings of the BTN were, and I was pleased to see that each team in the conference had their own 'Greatest Games' offered.  Much to my dismay, the current offering was the March 8th, 1997 basketball game between the Gophs and the Badgers.  We all know how that one ended - Ty Calderwood tearing his jersey off, and the Badgers squeeking out a win to put them in the NCAA tourney.  Hardly a 'greatest game' for the Gophs.  Especially since there were at least 4 other games from that season alone that would have qualified, and been Minnesota wins. And yet loving the '96-97 team as much as I do, I couldn't help but watch the whole game anyways, despite knowing the outcome.  I originally watched this game on a 19" color TV with poor over-the-air reception in my dorm in Comstock Hall, so it was nice to see the game with a little more clarity.

Some other random observations from the game:
- the general dickish-ness of Sam Okey
- Paul Grant is probably my 2nd favorite Badger player to watch (Patrick Tompkins forever being my #1)
- how much more character and volume the UW Fieldhouse had compared to the Kohl Center today
- Court-Dawg James is, and always will be my favorite player from the Clem Haskins era.  If only he had not thrown that phonebook...
- I loved that 1-3-1 zone we ran under Clem, especially with Bobby Jackson on the baseline
- The Miles Tarver/Sam Okey stare down at midcourt was fantastic theatre - this moment was worth the watch alone.
- Trevor Winter's clubbing of Paul Grant was truly thuggish, yet I couldn't help but appreciate his willingness to send a message.
- David Burkemper might have been the most useless player on offense in the history of the Big Ten.
- Jacobson's three to take back the lead with under a minute to go was about as cold-blooded a basket as you'll ever see.
- Where the hell was Bucky Badger?  I don't think I saw him once on the broadcast.

Anyways, despite the loss in the end, a fun watch. Especially since it becomes very evident early in the game that Minnesota is clearly the more talented team from top to bottom, but just didn't scrap the way the Badgers did.  A classic Big Ten game, with bodies on the floor almost every possession.  Check it out if you have BTN On Demand, and have an hour with nothing better to do.

Signing Day's Eve - and the rumors abound...

Big day tomorrow Gopher fans - Signing Day for Coach Brewster's latest class.  We've had a fair share of decommits since the departure of Jed Fisch, but of late a curious rumor has arisen that, if true, could breathe new life into the program.  CAUTION - this is ALL hearsay at the moment.

So what's the deal.  Well a day or so ago, someone noticed on James Louis' Facebook page that he intends to play at Minnesota with his friend and former teammate, Donnell Kirkwood (a Gopher RB recruit from Delray Atlantic HS in Florida).  What's interesting about that?  Well, James Louis just happens to be a 4-star Ohio State Buckeye recruit, with a 'soft verbal' committment to Mr. Sweater-vest.  The Gophs had recruited him as well, so this is the kind of rumor that could become a reality.  Of course some one with access to Louis' Facebook account (or Louis himself) could just be messing with everyone too.

Perhaps even more interesting than stealing a 4-star recruit from the Buckeyes though, is the potential that this may help land Seantrel Henderson.  Supposedly, Henderson and Louis were planning on rooming together at OSU - if a friendship has developed here and the aforementioned rumor is truth, then perhaps this is the final push Seantrel needed to decide to stay home and become a Gopher.

The probability of any of this being truth though seems unlikely. I certainly don't expect us to pull in either Louis or Henderson this Wednesday - but all this speculation and jockeying for high-end recruits is entertaining at least.  Personally, I'm just crossing my fingers that we don't have any 11th hour defections tomorrow.