A Tale of Two Teams

Love to use Dickens...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities - 1859

Life, or in this case, Sport, imitates Art. We're witnessing two teams--the Gopher men's basketball team and our Timberwolves--trying to rebound from previous performances judged to be anywhere between mediocre to rock-bottom awful. In both cases, there is controversy; with the Gophers, a team who's coach walked out on them last year (Dan Monson) hires another coach (Tubby Smith) from a basketball program increasingly dissatisfied with his performance. With the Wolves, after trading KG, they are in rebuilding mode, and presently at 4-22, they are increasingly sensitive to criticism about said performance. Once again last night, they open their broadcast with Friday's Star Tribune front page article about potentially being the worst professional team ever. It was--using the overused metaphor used by the club this season--a punch in the mouth.

The verdict so far: for the Gophers, it well may be the best of times. For the Wolves, the worst.

Truth be told, as I've mentioned before, it's an apples to oranges comparison. In the college game, a coach can have much more of an immediate impact on a team. Witness the Gophs now 8-1, with predominately the same personnel as last year's 9 win squad. A lot of cupcake teams to be sure, but last year mid-major Marist put a whuppin' on our club. I don't think that would happen this year. Looking past the wins and losses however you see a team with an entirely different philosophy, and I might add intensity, from previous years. On defense: constant pressure, often times full court. On offense: sharing the basketball, using ball movement to exploit the weak points in the defense. Truly, it is the game being played the right way, regardless of talent or league level. Recruiting has been promising; it seems with an icon at the helm, players may actually want to come to the frozen tundra. Playing out the actual Big Ten schedule may temper fans' enthusiasm, but given where the Gophers were at this time last year, hope is alive and well on the U of M campus.

The Wolves? The most charitable thing that can be offered is no one said rebuilding was going to be easy. All along, it's been advertised that smash mouth ball is in, but this group is still primarily a jump shooting team that plays poor defense and doesn't share the ball much. Thus the point differential, foul shot disparity, fourth quarter shooting percentage, assist totals and resulting final scores are all generally NOT in the Wolves favor. The biggest gap in logic here is the "youth" angle. Yeah, the majority of core players on this team are chronologically young, but they're not rookies. In fact, many of them are in their make or break third or fourth year, where you find out whether or not they are interchangeable parts on an NBA team's bench, or important parts of a winning rotation. These aren't the new Baby Bulls; a lot of players come directly from a squad that lost 18 straight last year.

The fact Randy Foye hasn't played yet has mitigated some of the cynicism, but again, watching Brandon Roy as current lead stud on the Blazers offers room for doubt about the front office acumen. And, while Randy Wittman has proven himself to be a loyal member of Taylor.org's golfing buddy challenge, his overall record has to date suggests his value as an assistant coach.

In the end, folks will be true to their own nature. Those who see a glass half full will preach patience; they are the Wolves best friends. Others who have seen a load of BS and missed opportunities come from the club will--with each resulting loss--have fodder for increasing derision. The important results --regardless of any spin you might hear--will be on the court. Where do they show improvement? Are they more consistent? Can you see an identity emerge?

Right now, it's easy to see that in the Gophers, harder to see in the Wolves.

And that is our tale so far.