March 30, 2006 at 8:46 a.m.
Has Dan Monson coached his last game at Minnesota?
Has Dan Monson coached his last game at Minnesota?
The new Gopher coach suspended Monticello native Joel Pryzbilla for academic shortcomings in his first coaching season. The seven-footer withdrew from school and went to the NBA.
Monson was generally supported. After all, someone needed to clean up the program. At the time, most Minnesotans seemed to feel that restoring dignity to the program was the most important issue.
The suspension took place in February, 2000. In 2005, Monson’s team finally made it back to the “Big Dance.” But, the Gophers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and Minnesotans were starting to doubt. His team started the Big 10 season 0-6 this year and finished 5-11, despite fielding a senior-laden team that filled many Gopher fans with optimism.
Perhaps Monson would regain some support if his team did well in the NIT. It started well. A victory over Wake Forest at Williams Arena was a start. The Gophers earned at least one more game.
Every year, a few teams that should have been included in the 65 team NCAA Tournament are excluded for one reason or another. By many accounts, Cincinnati’s Bearcats fit into that category this year. Maybe the despicable graduation rates of players in past years and alcohol related traffic violations of former coach Bob Huggins were in the minds of the selection committee when the ‘Cats were omitted.
Whatever the cause, Cincinnati was left out and that meant the Gophers would face a tough second round NIT opponent. Tuesday, March 21, the Gophers traveled to Ohio to face the Bearcats. And, despite a a fast start that gave them an 8-2 lead four minutes into the contest, Cincinnati was too fast, too athletic and too good for the Gophers. The result was a 76-62 loss and an end to the Minnesota basketball season.
After the early 8-2 Minnesota advantage, the Bearcats scored 20 points in the next eight minutes. In that span the Gophers could manage only two three pointers, one by Jamal Abu-Shamala and one by Adam Boone.
The combination of the all-around play of senior Erik Hicks, a 6’6” player who broke Kenyon Martin’s single-season block record during the game and led his team with 23 points, and the athletic ability of his teammates frequently left the Gophers wondering “what happened.”
Cincinnati did not have a player taller than Hicks, yet they got many second chance baskets with tenacious offensive rebounding. Meanwhile, the Gophers were beaten on so many fast breaks that they often shot and retreated to the defensive end without seriously challenging for the offensive rebound.
Despite that technique, 5’10” guard Devan Downey shredded the Gopher defense for a series of layups, scored among the bigger Minnesota players. Downey and Hicks led the assault. Only matching six-point bursts by Vincent Grier and Spencer Tollackson kept the Gophers within striking distance. The score was 39-29 at halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, the Gophers had trimmed the margin to 44-38. But, the lightning quick Jihad Muhammad attacked the Gopher defensive perimeter repeatedly. His probing wore the slower Minnesotans out and created scoring opportunities for the Bearcats.
James White was frequently the beneficiary. With the Gophers’ defensive attention focused on Downey and Muhammad, White was often left free for perimeter baskets With eight minutes left, Cincy had built its lead to 61-46 and the Gophers were never able to challenge again.
The final margin of 14 points reflected the domination enjoyed by the Bearcats. Coach Monson didn’t seem to have anything in his playbook to help his players compete. At the same time, the players didn’t appear to have the physical skills to stop the Cincinnati onslaught. Despite a decided size advantage, the Gophers were clearly outclassed.
The Bearcats may be better than most other NIT teams. However, unless a significant change takes place, the empty seats in Williams Arena are likely to be just as vacant next year.
It seems that little went well for the Gophers this year. Thursday, less than two days after beating Minnesota and only hours before they played South Carolina, Cincinnati suspended two starters, White and Muhammad for unspecified reasons. The two combined for 26 points against the Gophers. Neither played against South Carolina’s Gamecocks, who ousted the Bearcats from the NIT by a score of 65-62.
Timing is everything!
Such is the life of a big time coach. Monson was brought here at a time when disorder was the order. Fans and the school administration wanted order restored. Off the court, order has been restored. But, we also want the team to win. We want to have a University team to follow in March. We’d love to have a team in the final four. Our priorities have evolved. We want a clean program that wins. Time will tell whether Dan Monson will lead us there, or be given the time to do so.
A postscript....Can anyone imagine, in today’s post- 9/11 America, going through life being named Jihad Muhammad?
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