University of Minnesota Athletics
Goldy's Mailbag - Feb. 17, 2011
2/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Welcome to this week's Goldy's Mailbag. This is your chance to get your questions answered about anything and everything related to Golden Gopher Athletics! Submit your question for next week's Mailbag!
I saw a Wisconsin player record a triple double a few weeks ago. Has a Golden Gopher ever had a triple double? - Paul, Hopkins, MN.
Absolutely. Wisconsin's Josh Gasser recorded the Badgers' first triple double in the history of the program in late January against Northwestern. The Golden Gophers' last triple double came courtesy of two-time All-American Mychal Thompson on Jan. 26, 1976. Against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Williams Arena, Thompson scored 34 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 12 shots. Thompson was just a sophomore at the time.
Thompson would later become the number pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers and finished a 13-year professional career in 1991. Thompson is currently an analyst on Los Angeles Lakers radio broadcasts.
Here's a clip of Thompson having a little fun with legendary broadcaster Chick Hearn.
The Golden Gopher women's basketball team has had a trio of players accomplish the feat. Janel McCarville recorded the first triple double in Big Ten Tournament history when she had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals against Ohio State on March 5, 2004. Carol Peterka collected 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Michigan on March 4, 1984. Debbie Hunter was the first to earn the honor with her 21 point, 11 assist and 12 steal performance against Northwestern on Jan. 31, 1981. Hunter still leads the Gophers in career assists and steals.
With 12 teams in the WCHA, has the Final Five been changed? - Stu, Thief River Falls, MN.
Now that Nebraska-Omaha and Bemidji State are members of the WCHA, the always entertaining Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul has undergone a makeover. There will now be six first-round playoff series with No. 1 playing No. 12, No. 2 playing No. 11, etc. The six winners will then advance to the Final Five tournament. While the Final Five no longer refers to five teams advancing, it does stand for the five games that will be played during the three days.
The two quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, March 17, with the top two seeds receiving byes. The semifinals will be held on the following day with the championship played on Saturday at 7 p.m. There will no longer be a third-place game.
The old format was pretty favorable for the Golden Gophers as they reached the title game nine times in 16 years, taking home six championships.
Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
Who can forget the 5-4 win over North Dakota at the 2004 Final Five?
How does the Gopher pitching staff look? Will they be affected by the loss of the dome? - Matt, Rochester
I tracked down pitching coach Todd Oakes before they hit the road for Miami. They certainly lost an advantage without the ability to practice at the Metrodome. They now have temporary pitching mounds in the Gopher football practice complex and there is a difference in pitching in an enclosed space, but he's confident it will have minimal impact as the season gets underway. The fact they have a veteran staff with six senior pitchers and just two freshmen certainly bodes well. Minnesota opens the season on Friday at Noon against St. John's. Should be a fun year!
Here's a preview from Coach Oakes.
Some follow up from a couple of questions from the past few weeks...
In regards to the recovery of Zach Budish, Don Lucia says his sophomore forward is doing well and should start skating in a month. His rehab is on schedule and should be back at 100 percent next year.
We also had a question about football camps. Coach Kill has finalized all details and they can be found by clicking this link.
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