University of Minnesota Athletics
MBB: Minnesota Basketball Summer Prospectus
7/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Monson's Milestones
With 100 victories in his six seasons at Minnesota, Dan Monson ranks second all-time at the “U” behind Jim Dutcher (1975-85) in wins during his first six years as head coach. Monson led the Gophers to their first 20-win season (not including vacated games) since 1992-93 when they went 22-10.
Coach First Six Yrs Wins Wins/Yr Jim Dutcher 1975-1981 108 18.0 Dan Monson 1999-2005 100 16.7 O.B. Cowles 1948-1954 90 15.0 Clem Haskins 1986-1992 89 14.8 John Kundla 1959-1965 80 13.3
Vincent Grier- All-America Candidate < br> Senior guard Vincent Grier burst onto the Big Ten scene last season with hallmark performances in the biggest games and at the most opportune times. In addition to his back-to-back 30-point performances against Wisconsin and Northwestern, Grier stepped up multiple times for the Maroon and Gold. At Ohio State on Jan. 19. With the Gophers down six with under 5:00 to go, Grier scored the next eight points of the game, along with two steals to force overtime. Grier recorded the first double-double of his career with 22 points, 19 in the second half and overtime, 12 rebounds and five steals to lead the Gophers to the overtime win. At Nebraska on Dec. 7, the Charlotte, N.C., native, hit two enormous threes with under 2:30 left to secure the Gophers’ first non-conference regular season victory since 2001. Grier scored in double figures in all but one game iin 2004-05, had nine 20-plus point efforts, and two 30-point outbursts. Grier, a junior college transfer from Dixie State Junior College, finished third overall in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.9 points per game, 13th in rebounding (5.6 rpg), 14th in free throw percentage at .739 (161-218), and first in steals (1.97 spg). In conference games, Grier finished third in scoring (18.0), 14th in rebounding (5.6), made and attempted the most free throws in the Big Ten (90-121/.744) good for a tie for 13th and he led the league in steals at 2.19 per game.
Boone Awarded Sixth Year
The University of Minnesota received oral notification from the NCAA on Feb. 17 that Adam Boone had been awarded a sixth year of eligibility. The senior from Minneapolis, Minn., sat out all season after undergoing surgery on October 7 to repair a torn biceps tendon in his right arm. He was the Gophers’ only returning starter coming into this season before being injured during preseason practice.
“We are very excited for Adam,” head coach Dan Monson said. “We are grateful to the many people who put in a lot of time and effort to make this happen for him. The NCAA made an important decision and one that was right for the welfare of the student-athlete. Obviously, this helps our team for this season, but more importantly, it helps Adam receive his degree and finish playing the way every student-athlete deserves to – on the floor with his teammates instead of on the sidelines with an injury.”
Boone, who played his first two seasons of collegiate basketball at North Carolina, started 27 games in 2003-04 for the Gophers, averaging 8.4 points and recording 123 assists, the 10th-most in school history. He shared the team lead in steals with 31 and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.86 was the seventh-best in the Big Ten in 2003-04. Boone redshirted the 2002-03 season after transferring from UNC.
Total Eclipse of the Hoop
Dan Monson engineered one of the best turnarounds in the history of Gopher Basketball last season, improving nine games from 2003-04. That nine-game improvement is the largest in school history, excluding vacated games. The Gophers improved seven games in the Big Ten from ’03-04, the second-best mark among conference teams in the last 20 years and the school’s biggest improvement since the 1975-76 to the 1976-77 seasons.
Top Big Ten Turnarounds In Last 20 Years School Years Wins 1st yr. 2nd yr. Illinois 1998-99/1999-2000 +8 3-13 11-5 Minnesota 2003-04/2004-05 +7 3-13 10-6 Indiana 1989-90/1990-91 +7 8-10 15-3 Wisconsin 1997-98/1998-99 +6 3-13 9-7
Minnesota Top Big Ten Turnarounds Years Wins 1st yr. 2nd yr. 2003-04/2004-05 +7 3-13 10-6 1975-76/1976-77 +7 8-10 15-3 1935-36/1936-37 +7 3-9 10-2 1995-96/1996-97 +6 10-8 16-2* 1970-71/1971-72 +6 5-9 11-3 1987-88/1988-89 +5 4-14 9-9 1980-81/1981-8 +5 9-9 14-4 1973-74/1974-75 +5 6-8 11-7 1929-30/1930-31 +5 3-9 8-4
Top Overall Turnarounds In School History Years Wins 1st yr. 2nd yr. 1995-96/1997-98 +11 20 31* 2003-04/2004-05 +9 12 21 1975-76/1976-77 +8 16 24 1947-48/1948-49 +8 10 18 1970-71/1971-7 +7 11 18 1935-36/1936-37 +7 7 14 1922-23/1923-24 +7 2 9 1913-14/1914-15 +7 4 11 * indicates games were later vacated Taking the Fight to Them
Minnesota shattered its season record for steals against Illinois in the Big Ten semifinals. The Gophers averaged 9.1 steals per game and a total of 292 steals last season. The old school record for steals was 276 in 1989-90, led by Melvin Newbern’s 72 (3rd place on the all-time individual list). The most interesting competition on the team was which player would lead the team in steals. The Gophers were the only team with four players in the top 10 in steals in league stats. With four steals in the NCAA Tournament First Round game vs. Iowa State, Vincent Grier took the steal title with 63 for the season, one more than Brent Lawson. Grier was first overall averaging 1.97 steals per game. Lawson was second at 1.94. Aaron Robinson finished fourth with 55 steals an average of 1.72 spg and Rico Tucker was 10th at 1.44 spg. Grier led the Big Ten in conference games averaging 2.19 per game. Lawson tied for second at 1.94 and Robinson was sixth with 1.69 spg. Grier became the third Gopher to win the conference steals title (Melvin Newbern, 1989 and Travarus Bennett, 2002.)
The Gophers’ 8.56 steals per game in conference play is the best since Illinois averaged 9.00 in 2000. The Gophers led the league in steals for the third time and the first since 1990.
Getting it Done With D
After defeating Indiana in the Big Ten quarterfinals on March 11, Minnesota improved to 21-5 on the year when holding opponents under 70 points. The Gophers held opponents under 70 points in all but two Big Ten games (Illinois scored 89 on 1/29; Indiana scored 71 on 2/12). Minnesota held opponents under 60 points for seven of the last 11 games. It held Wisconsin to just 50 on Feb. 5 and Ohio State to 50 on Feb. 19.
Minnesota finished third in the conference in scoring defense at 62.7 points per game in Big Ten play, just a half-point behind Michigan State and two points behind Illinois. The Gophers led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.424) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.274) in conference play. The Gophers have held their last 10 opponents to 45 percent shooting or below, including four below 40 percent. Overall, Minnesota allowed 62.9 points per game, the fewest since the 1981- 82 season when the Gophers’ stingy defense surrendered 59.3 points per contest.
MINNESOTA SCORING DEFENSE (SINCE 1952)
Season Scoring Def. 1968-69 51.8 1970-71 51.8 1971-72 58.0 1981-82 59.3 1974-75 60.6 2004-05 62.9 1983-84 63.6
