2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Preview

2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Predictions

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (16- 15 overall; 5- 11 Big 10) have been inconsistent for the past seven years. There have been flashes of achievement under coach Dan Monson (116- 101 over 7 years), like when the club went to the NCAA Tournament two years ago. But the team has not sustained its success.

Lawrence McKenzie, a junior transfer from Oklahoma, is central to the success of this team’s backcourt. At Oklahoma, he made 43.6% of his 3-pointers and averaged 9.5 PPG. He has the stuff to play point and shooting guard and with his significant NCAA Division I experience could be the leader. Junior college transfer Limar Wilson passes well and is a sharp ball handler.

At forward junior Dan Coleman (7.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, 40.8 FG%, 76.1 FT%) and at center junior Spencer Tollackson (8.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 APG, 57.0 FG%, 54.3 FT%) have the experience and potential to provide key minutes. Both need to build up their stamina from last season when they seemed to fade in the stretch. Forward/center Jonathan Williams (1.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 57.7 FG%, 35.3 FT%) will see more floor time and must contribute.

Monson came on board when this team was reeling in the wake of academic scandal. The coach righted the ship but has been unable to create momentum from year to year. Two years ago, the Golden Gophers defied everyone’s predictions, ending up in the tournament. For Monson to keep his job, there will have to be a repeat of that season. The big problem for the coach and his team is that they lack the go-to guys at guard and forward that emerged in their Cinderella season.

It’s true that many teams in the Big 10 are in flux due to a lessening of talent across the board. But this only helps Minnesota marginally, since they too lack important players who might make a difference. There are many question marks on this team. If some of those questions can be answered in a positive way, then these Gophers could be golden.

If you want more info on the 2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers College basketball team check out the NCAA's official basketball team page of the program or check out some rival previews from Maddux Sports of schools like the Iowa Hawkeyes and Northwestern Wildcats.