A Fan In Press Row: Trevor Mbakwe Out = Golden Gophers Better?

I know it sounds stupid to think the Minnesota Golden Gophers are better without Trevor Mbakwe, but it just might be true.

The Gophers are 3-0 (VTech, USC, Appalachian St) since Trevor suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Dayton in the Old Spice Classic Championship game—something, as a diehard Gopher fan, I didn’t see coming.

Not because I didn’t think the team had the capable players, more so because the shock of losing a leader could have destroyed such a young team.

However, it seems like this team has another leader to follow.

Rodney Williams.

That’s right, the kid that has been playing out of position his whole career at The U has stepped up in a big way. Maybe some good can come from the bad for once for the Gophers.

Rodney has been playing at the 3 pretty much his whole career at The University of Minnesota after predominantly playing at the 4 in high school. His game suffered from it. He thrives close to the basket, not out beyond the arc.

Williams is averaging 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds (his best as a Gopher) a game since moving into Trevor’s old spot. Far better numbers than the 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds he was averaging playing out of position.

Now, I know fans will be quick to say Tubby should have made the move sooner, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t going to take either Ralph Sampson III or Trevor out of position. He wanted Rodney to adapt to playing at the 3 because Rodney is a starter and had to be on the court. There was no other place for him.

His game now is more than numbers, it is his confidence.

He is active out there teaching the young guys, hitting the big shots and playing great defense. Everything he wasn’t doing in the first part of the season—hell, the first part of his career—he is doing now.

I can honestly say this is the best stretch of basketball Rodney has played in his two-plus years as a Gopher.

Will this be the year we finally see the potential all of those NBA scouts were talking about?

It’s early, but I say yes.

Now Rodney isn’t the only guy that has stepped up. There is another junior that is helping to carry this team right along with him: Julian Welch.

Welch has been outstanding pretty much this whole year, averaging 9.8 points and 2.3 assists, but he has stepped up even more since being inserted into the starting lineup. Welch, since being a starter, has seen his numbers jump to 15.6 points and 3.3 assists a game. Not only that, he is shooting 93 percent from the charity stripe.

The only two free throws he didn’t make (back-to-back against DePaul), his fellow leader Rodney was there for the put-back.

Fitting, isn’t it?

He needs to cut down on his turnovers (2.6 a game), but that is pretty much it. The JuCo transfer has the makeup to lead this team in a backcourt that is very young, and he might be the best scoring guard the Gophers have had in a while.

Combine that with great inside play from Rodney, and we just might have something special.

I know it’s only been three games, and the games haven’t been against the toughest competition and have been at home, but still, this is a good sign. This team could have easily climbed into its hole and stayed there for the winter.

But it didn’t.

It has done the exact opposite.

I know it’s hard to get your hopes up when it comes to Gopher basketball. But maybe, just maybe, this is the year to do it. It’s always a roller coaster ride with this team, and that accounts for half the fun.

Check back with me in December, and I could be singing a different tune. After all, this does have the makings of a few sports tears in my beer.