1. Tubby Smith’s Minnesota Gophers can’t avoid trouble nowadays. After Trevor Mbakwe avoided jail time over assault charges on Friday, assistant coach Saul Smith was the next in line to make headlines. Tubby Smith’s son was pulled over on Saturday for driving under the influence in Minneapolis. His court hearing is scheduled for December 3 and he will be on unpaid leave until further notification by the university. Minnesota received a few votes in the USA Today Coaches poll last week but did not make the Top 25. Nevertheless, there are high expectations for the Gophers to contend in the Big Ten but all of this extra noise off the court could cause some distractions.
2. Indiana hosted Hoosier Hysteria over the weekend and the event was a huge success in Assembly Hall. Fans lined up as early as Friday morning and head coach Tom Crean said that the event “exceeded expectations.” ESPN anchor Sage Steel emceed the event which featured a scrimmage between the red and white teams where Cody Zeller scored 11 points. Two players, Will Sheehey and Hanner Mosquera-Perea, did not participate due to injuries. Zeller surprised the fans with his three-point stroke as he won the long-range shooting competition. Zeller’s shooting form is smooth and even though he may not be taking many shots this season from beyond the arc, his improved shooting form could help him in pick-and-pop situations.
3. After several decades in the business, Tom Izzo still works on implementing new techniques into his practice regiment. After a recent trip to the football facility at Oregon, Izzo has been trying to hold his practices similar to the no-huddle, high tempo practice that Chip Kelly runs at Eugene. The Spartans have been practicing at a “frantic pace” as Izzo is hoping to implement a faster offense this season. The Spartans averaged 62.5 possessions per game in 2011-12, which ranked in the middle of the Big Ten, but they might be a somewhat quicker team this season as a result of improved conditioning. Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne have been working on improving their wind and they will be key if the Spartans look to push the ball more often rather than settling for halfcourt sets.
4. Speaking of up-tempo offensive schemes, Illinois head coach John Groce is also trying to push the tempo in Champaign. The Illini averaged 63.6 possessions per game last season and plan to increase the tempo, especially because they lack depth in the frontcourt after the NBA departure of Meyers Leonard. Other than senior Sam McLaurin (7.5 RPG last season), who transferred from Coastal Carolina, the Illini don’t have an experienced forward on the roster. Thus, Groce may have to be creative with the “power forward” position and potentially use Joseph Bertrand or even Myke Henry to fill in at that slot during certain portions of the game. Illini columnist Loren Tate writes about the Illini’s potential lineups this season that may involve multiple guards.
5. Ohio State‘s ranking at #4 in the USA Today Coaches Poll last week raised some eyebrows among many college basketball fans. How could a team that lost Jared Sullinger and William Buford be ranked as a top five team in the nation? Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis is buying Ohio State and explains his reasons for being so high on them. Even though the offense might not rely on a bona fide superstar like Sullinger, Thad Matta has great depth at the wing position with Lenzelle Smith, Jr. (6.8 PPG) in addition to rising sophomores Shannon Scott and Sam Thompson. Scott and LaQuinton Ross were highly recruited high school players but were not a key part of the Buckeyes’ Final Four run last season. Nonetheless, they have enough talent to contribute immediately off the bench as Matta’s team will be more diverse offensively when compared to last season.

Deepak Jayanti (270 Posts)

This entry was posted on Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at 7:01 am by Deepak Jayanti and is filed under big ten, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: john groce, saul smith DUI, shannon scott, thad matta, tom izzo, trevor mbakwe, tubby smith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.