Maybe the ugliness in Iowa City on Thursday was worth it after all, because the Gophers appear to have gotten all the bad offense out of their system. Led by a pair of junior college transfers, the Gophers did not miss a three pointer and shot 62.5% from the floor including 9-9 three pointers to beat Penn State 79-59.
Devron Bostick and Paul Carter, both junior college players though Carter is only a sophomore, came to Minnesota surrounded by a cloud of high hopes, had seemingly choked on all those expectations. Bostick, the junior college player of the year was supposed to be an unstoppable scorer able to single-handedly push the Gophers to the next level. Paul Carter was supposed to be able to do everything at both ends of the court, a guard trapped in a power forward's body. Until today, Tubby Smith, and just about everyone else, couldn't tell what he had. Bostick had trouble picking up Tubby Smith's defensive schemes, which is a great way to guarantee he'd be sitting very close to his coach on the bench, but not a great way to earn playing time. Paul Carter showed flashes early in the season, but an ankle injury threatened to derail his season like his recovery from hernia surgery cut down his playing time last year. The clouds are gone now for both players leaving nothing but a ray of sunshine and some irrational exuberance as the Gophers head towards a huge game in Madison on Thursday.
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