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Posted: Friday October 25, 2002 1:47 PM Updated: Thursday October 31, 2002 4:12 PM Minnesota Golden Gophers
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither was it rebuilt overnight. It's a lesson Dan Monson knows all too well. Monson came to Minnesota when Clem Haskins took his Nero act -- and a massive contract buyout -- and fiddled his way out of town in the wake of one of the worst academic scandals in college basketball history. The Golden Gophers have been hampered by the resulting loss of scholarships, but Monson is leading them back to respectability, step by step. "I think we're on the right track," said Monson, who left Gonzaga to join the Gophers in 1999. "We're improving every year; we've got a good foundation of players. Academically, we've made some strides, and I think we're headed in the right direction. But at the same time I think we're very vulnerable both on and off the court, so we can take some steps back pretty easily if we're not careful." On the court, the vulnerability comes from a lack of depth, thanks to the scholarship restrictions. As a result, many Gophers have been forced to play out of position to fill holes in the lineup.
Off the court, Minnesota players are still under scrutiny, living every day with a reputation tarnished by their predecessors. "The problem is that one kid making one mistake now is a big deal," Monson said. "We all know that 18-year-old kids make mistakes, and our kids are not afforded to make mistakes, academically or socially. They're under a microscope right now, but that's as it should be. We talk as a team about the responsibility they have." Another year like last year will help restore their image on campus. Not only did the Gophers post 18 wins, the most in Monson's three years, but they also stayed out of trouble off the court as well. The only negative to last year was that the Gophers finished 9-7 in the Big Ten and 1-1 in the postseason tournament but were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. "I'm not sure our disappointment about not getting a bid to the tournament was nearly as tough as the disappointment we had in ourselves," Monson said. "We controlled our destiny in the last eight to 10 days of the season, and we didn't get the job done. As a staff and as a team, we've accepted that responsibility. " Indeed, in mid-February, the Gophers were 7-3 in conference play and riding a four-game winning streak, but they dropped a two-point decision at Northwestern, blew a nine-point lead in the final five minutes in a home loss to Wisconsin, then were blown out at Michigan State. Still, the Gophers persevered and beat Penn State and Northwestern, giving themselves a shot at their 10th Big Ten win in their last game of the regular season. But they again blew a late lead, allowing Illinois to score the final 10 points of the game and escape Williams Arena with a 67-66 win. A sound thrashing of Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament wasn't enough to convince the NCAA committee, because after the Gophers lost a quarterfinal game by 16 to Illinois, the phone did not ring on Selection Sunday. This year the Gophers will have to replace a pair of forwards who provided the gritty backbone of the team last season. Dusty Rychart was a former walk-on who became a three-year starter, last year averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game while scoring 13.1 points a game, second best on the squad. "We'll miss Dusty's experience and his knack for the game of basketball a ton," Monson said. "I think we all know he was not the best Big Ten athlete to come through the system -- he probably wasn't the best anything -- but he was one of the most productive players ever to put on a Minnesota uniform, and that's saying a lot." Travarus Bennett (9.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) was the Gophers' defensive stopper and also shot a team-best 47 percent from behind the 3-point arc. "He's the best defender I've ever coached," Monson said. "He gave us somebody on any given night who could go out there and, from the point guard to the power forward, could guard the other team's best player." Also gone is Kerwin Fleming (7.1 ppg), who made 16 starts as a senior and provided depth in the backcourt. The top dog in the program this year will be 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Rick Rickert (14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg), a preseason Playboy All-American whose outstanding all-around skills earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors last season. The second-team all-conference selection led the Gophers in scoring and had the best freshman scoring average in school history. Rickert came on strong in the Big Ten season, finishing fourth in scoring (15.5), sixth in field-goal percentage (.556), eighth in blocked shots (1.25) and 20th in rebounding (5.0) in conference games. The Duluth native was one of the most highly recruited players in Minnesota prep history and showed incredible versatility immediately, playing effectively in the low post, on the perimeter or driving to the hoop. "Everybody had high expectations for Rick around the state -- he was one of the most celebrated freshmen ever to come into the program, and he didn't disappoint," Monson said. "That's hard to do, because he had a lot of adjustments to make. When he was in high school, he never had to worry about his defense, he never had to be accountable for his rebounds, he never had to worry about anything but his scoring to make his high school team successful. "Last year he had to play defense and rebound; he had to run through the offense and set screens. To his credit, he probably improved as much as anybody on our team as the year went on. But that said, he's still a work in progress -- he needs to get stronger and keep working on his defense." Joining Rickert on the front line will be 6-foot-8 junior forward Michael Bauer (9.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and 6-foot-10 senior center/forward Jerry Holman (8.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 blocks per game). Bauer has had a hard time staying healthy at Minnesota but has shown flashes of brilliance with his long-range shooting and toughness. And Bauer seems to be a key cog in the Minnesota offense, because when he scored in double figures, the Golden Gophers were 13-4 last year. "This is the first season since I've been here that he's been healthy during the offseason, something that's vital to see what kind of improvements he can make," Monson said. "He's one of those kids who has had to play out of position because of our scholarship restrictions, and he suffered as much as anybody because of it. We had to use him a lot at small forward last year, and I don't know if his skills were ready for that. This year, with Dusty gone, he'll play a lot more at power forward." Holman led the squad with 43 blocked shots and a .554 field-goal percentage in his first year at the Division I level. The junior college transfer has a chance to become one of the better centers in the conference. "Jerry is an extremely talented player who needs to play with a passion night in and night out. When he plays with a fire, he can dominate a game. We saw it at times last season. He needs to learn how to bring it every game." Sophomore Jeff Hagen, a 6-foot-11 center who red-shirted last year, is back in the lineup after working on his strength and conditioning last year. "I think he'll play a lot and will be very valuable to us," Monson said of the former walk-on who earned a scholarship during his red-shirt season. "He can score with his back to the basket, he's got a big body, he's long and will be a good compliment to Jerry." The most experienced player on the roster is 6-foot-3 guard Kevin Burleson (6.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.7 apg). The fifth-year senior has played both guard spots over his three years in the lineup, handling most of the point guard duties last year. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.52 was second best in the Big Ten as a junior, though he'll likely play more shooting guard as a senior. "We're counting on KB to be a leader this season," Monson said. "He's been here for five years and has been through the wars. He adjusted pretty well to playing the point last season, and that should only help him coming into this year." Burleson should get some relief at the point from 6-foot-3 junior guard Ben Johnson, a transfer from Northwestern who is eligible to play after sitting out last year. The Minneapolis native returns home after playing more than 32 minutes a game and averaging in double figures in scoring during his two years in Evanston. Johnson is expected to stretch defenses with his 3-point range and drive to the hoop to tangle with the big men. He averaged seven points and 2.6 rebounds on the Big Ten all-star team's European tour this summer. "He brings us toughness, competitiveness and experience," Monson said. "He's started for two years in the Big Ten, and he knows what it takes to play at this level. He's a team-oriented player and he can shoot the ball, which I like my guards to do. He's not a true point guard, but he'll see his share of minutes there this year." Johnson should man the point for only a season, because another native son, point guard Adam Boone, has transferred back home from North Carolina and will be eligible for the 2003-04 season. Although Monson has received some heat locally for not landing a few of Minnesota's top prep recruits, he sees the glass as half-full. "We feel good about what we're doing locally," Monson said. "There are a lot of kids coming out of this state, and they're not all going to play together. I think with guys like Adam Boone and Ben Johnson coming back to Minnesota, people don't think about that, but I consider that even more of a compliment to what we're doing." Sharing the backcourt minutes with Burleson and Johnson will be a pair of swingmen -- 6-foot-4 sophomore Maurice Hargrow (3.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg) and 6-foot-6 junior Steve Esselink (2.3 ppg. 0.8 rpg). Hargrow gave the Gophers solid minutes last year as a true freshman, using his quickness to his advantage on both offense and defense, and he added 12 pounds in the offseason. Esselink is a gunner with the best range on the team, and has earned a scholarship after beginning his career as a walk-on transfer from Division II Augustana College. "Hargrow's going to be counted on as much as anybody to help improve us this year," Monson said. "We're going to challenge him to take over Travarus Bennett's role as our defensive stopper. Esselink's role will also increase. He and Bauer are our two best perimeter shooters and we need that to soften the defenses. With Steve, his confidence will come as he gets a longer leash from me to be able to utilize his strengths. He's worked hard to play at this level." The only other player on the roster with experience is 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Aaron Robinson (0.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.7 apg), who was expected to help at the point last year but had a difficult adjustment to the college game. The Gophers' recruits will all have a chance to contribute immediately. Kris Collins, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from San Antonio, is a combination guard who played one year at Collin County (Texas) Community College. Freshman Stan Gaines is a 6-foot-7 small forward who won Illinois Class A Player of the Year honors last year after averaging 27 points and nine boards as a senior, while 6-foot-9 freshman forward/center Aliou Kane comes to Minneapolis from Mauritania, Africa, by way of Dallas. Kane's an active post player who has played the game only three years and has impressed with his potential. The pieces are starting to fall into place for Monson. Rickert has All-America potential with his array of low post moves, 3-point shooting and improving defensive presence. Hargrow and Bauer are healthy and ready to carry their share of the load, and while the backcourt is still rather thin, the addition of Johnson will be a big help. The rehabilitation of the program's reputation has continued under Monson, and the local players transferring back home is a sign of a brighter future in Minneapolis. This should be the year that Minnesota returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the Haskins era, and with a few breaks, the team could even contend for the Big Ten title.
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