Gophers have smoothed things out

The Gophers men's basketball team is looking more like it has a clue offensively than any team that Tubby Smith has coached since he arrived at Minnesota in 2007.

The reason is simple. Instead of going "big" as Tubby has so often in his short tenure here, Tubby is going "small" this year.

That is, instead of having three virtual power forwards on the floor at one time, the Gophers are going with three guards and a small forward playing power forward.

And it looks good. Instead of the painfully plodding game that we watched last year — the one that had zero flow to it, and had one panicked shot-clock beating attempt after another being hoisted — there is rhythm to this year's offense, with smooth ball handlers and passers.

College basketball is a guard's game. Thankfully, Tubby is going with that flow this year.

— Pat Ruff