2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2008–2009. The team's head coach was Tubby Smith. This was Smith's second year as Minnesota's head coach. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Big Ten Network included the team in a two-and-a-half-hour special that featured Midnight Madness events from several Big Ten campuses on October 17, 2008; the Minnesota event to kick off the season was called "Tubby's Tipoff".[1] The Gophers started the season on a twelve-game winning streak for the first time since the 1948–49 season.[2] The team became ranked on December 22, the first time the team had been ranked since the 2002–03 season.[3]

2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
2008–09 record22–11 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No.  8 Michigan State153 .833  317  .816
No. 17 Purdue117 .611  2710  .730
Illinois117 .611  2410  .706
Penn State108 .556  2711  .711
Ohio State108 .556  2211  .667
Wisconsin108 .556  2013  .606
Minnesota99 .500  2211  .667
Michigan99 .500  2114  .600
Northwestern810 .444  1714  .548
Iowa513 .278  1517  .469
Indiana117 .056  625  .194
2009 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Recruit Royce White signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but did not play due to shoplifting and trespassing charges. He transferred to Iowa State in July 2010.[4]

Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
0 Al Nolen 6'1" 180 G So. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
1 Paul Carter 6'8" 195 F So. Little Rock, AR, U.S. Little Rock Mills HS
Missouri State-West Plains
3 Kevin Payton 6'5" 215 G/F RJr. Camden, NJ, U.S. Camden HS
4 Travis Busch 6'4" 220 G/F Jr. Mounds View, MN, U.S. Mounds View HS
5 Devoe Joseph 6'3" 170 G Fr. Ajax, ON, Canada Pickering HS
11 Jonathan Williams 6'9" 250 G Sr. St. Cloud, MN, U.S. Notre Dame Prep
St. Cloud Apollo HS
20 Lawrence Westbrook 6'0" 195 G Jr. Chandler, AZ, U.S. Winchendon Prep
22 Devron Bostick 6'5" 210 G Jr. Racine, WI, U.S. St. Catharine's HS
SW Illinois
24 Blake Hoffarber 6'4" 200 G So. Minnetonka, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
33 Jamal Abu-Shamala 6'5" 210 G/F Sr. Shakopee, MN, U.S. Shakopee HS
34 Damian Johnson 6'7" 195 F RJr. Thibodaux, LA, U.S. Thibodaux HS
45 Colton Iverson 6'10" 235 F/C Fr. Yankton, SD, U.S. Yankton HS
50 Ralph Sampson III 6'11" 220 F/C Fr. Duluth, GA, U.S. Northview HS

Incoming signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ralph Sampson III
C
Duluth, Georgia Northview HS 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 25, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Devoe Joseph
SG
Ajax, Ontario Picking HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Nov 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Colton Iverson
PF/C
Yankton, South Dakota Yankton HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Sep 19, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 88
Paul Carter
F
West Plains, Missouri Missouri State – West Plains 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Aug 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Devron Bostick
SF
Belleville, Illinois Southwestern Illinois 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Oct 11, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 27   Rivals: 23
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Minnesota Commit List for 2008". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  • "ESPN – Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Recruiting 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2008-11-20.

    2008–09 Schedule and Results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
    city, state
    Exhibition
    November 3, 2008*
    7:00 pm
    St. Cloud State W 88–80 
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    November 6, 2008*
    7:00 pm
    Northern State W 92–62 
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    Regular Season
    November 14, 2008*
    7:00 pm
    Concordia, St. Paul
    NABC Classic
    W 76–51  1–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    November 15, 2008*
    7:00 pm
    Bowling Green
    NABC Classic
    W 68–61  2–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    November 16, 2008*
    7:00
    Georgia State
    NABC Classic
    W 60–52  3–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    November 22, 2008*
    9:00, The Mtn.
    at Colorado State W 72–71  4–0
    Moby Arena 
    Fort Collins, CO
    November 26, 2008*
    7:30, BTN
    Eastern Washington W 88–67  5–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    November 29, 2008*
    1:00, BTN
    North Dakota State W 90–76  6–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    December 2, 2008*
    8:30, ESPN2
    Virginia
    ACC–Big Ten Challenge
    W 66–56  7–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    December 6, 2008*
    1:00
    Cornell W 71–54  8–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    December 10, 2008*
    8:00, BTN
    South Dakota State W 74–60  9–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    December 20, 2008*
    1:00, FSN North
    vs. No. 9 Louisville
    Stadium Shootout
    W 70–64  10–0
    University of Phoenix Stadium 
    Glendale, AZ
    December 23, 2008*
    8:00, ESPNU
    No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana W 80–71  11–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    December 28, 2008*
    7:00, ESPNU
    No. 23 High Point W 82–56  12–0
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    Big Ten Regular Season
    December 31, 2008
    11:00am[5], BTN
    No. 21 No. 10 Michigan State L 58–70  12–1
    (0–1)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    January 3, 2009
    11:00am, BTN
    No. 21 No. 24 Ohio State W 68–59  13–1
    (1–1)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    January 8, 2009
    6:00, ESPN2
    No. 22 at Iowa W 52–49  14–1
    (2–1)
    Carver-Hawkeye Arena 
    Iowa City, IA
    January 11, 2009
    2:30, BTN
    No. 22 Penn State W 79–59  15–1
    (3–1)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    January 15, 2009
    8:00, BTN
    No. 18 at Wisconsin W 78–74 (OT) 16–1
    (4–1)
    Kohl Center 
    Madison, WI
    January 18, 2009
    1:00, BTN
    No. 18 at Northwestern L 65–74  16–2
    (4–2)
    Welsh-Ryan Arena 
    Evanston, IL
    January 22, 2009
    6:00, ESPN2
    No. 21 No. 18 Purdue L 62–70  16–3
    (4–3)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    January 25, 2009
    11:00am, BTN
    No. 21 at Indiana W 67–63  17–3
    (5–3)
    Assembly Hall 
    Bloomington, IN
    January 29, 2009
    8:00, BTN
    No. 19 Illinois W 59–36  18–3
    (6–3)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    February 4, 2009
    7:30, BTN
    No. 19 at No. 13 Michigan State L 47–76  18–4
    (6–4)
    Breslin Center 
    East Lansing, MI
    February 7, 2009
    7:00, BTN
    No. 19 at Ohio State L 58–64  18–5
    (6–5)
    Schottenstein Center 
    Columbus, OH
    February 10, 2009
    8:00, BTN
    Indiana W 62–54  19–5
    (7–5)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    February 14, 2009
    12:30, BTN
    at Penn State L 63–68  19–6
    (7–6)
    Bryce Jordan Center 
    State College, PA
    February 19, 2009
    6:00, BTN
    at Michigan W 74–62  19–7
    (7–7)
    Crisler Arena 
    Ann Arbor, MI
    February 22, 2009
    6:00, BTN
    Northwestern W 72–45  20–7
    (8–7)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    February 26, 2009
    6:00, BTN
    at No. 20 Illinois L 41–52  20–8
    (8–8)
    Assembly Hall 
    Champaign, IL
    March 4, 2009
    7:30, BTN
    Wisconsin W 51–46  21–8
    (9–8)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    March 7, 2009
    11:00am, ESPN
    Michigan L 64–67  21–9
    (9–9)
    Williams Arena 
    Minneapolis, MN
    2009 Big Ten Tournament
    March 12, 2009*
    11:00am, BTN
    vs. Northwestern
    First Round
    W 66–53  22–9
    Conseco Fieldhouse 
    Indianapolis, IN
    March 13, 2009*
    11:00am, ESPN
    vs. No. 7 Michigan State
    Quarterfinal
    L 56–64  22–10
    Conseco Fieldhouse 
    Indianapolis, IN
    2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
    March 19, 2009*
    6:10, CBS
    vs. Texas
    First Round
    L 62–76  22–11
    Greensboro Coliseum 
    Greensboro, NC
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    Rankings

    PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18Final
    AP 23 21 22 18 21 NR 19 NR
    Coaches 23 21 19 17 20 24 19 NR

    References

    1. Pucin, Diane (2008-10-17). "No 'Midnight Madness' for UCLA, USC basketball teams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
    2. "Gophers Finish Non-Conference Slate Undefeated". 2008-12-28. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
    3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2008-12-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    4. "Minnesota standout Royce White signs with Iowa St". Associated Press. CBS Sports. July 12, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
    5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2008-12-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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