I was in the middle of writing this when news of the Louisville-Minnesota matchup broke. That’s a big game for the Gophers, who need quality nonconference wins next season.

-With some assistance from Tubby Smith, former Gophers Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie will probably get an invitation from the Portsmouth Invitational, an NBA predraft camp for college seniors in Portsmouth, Va., April 9-12. I think McKenzie’s scoring ability and Coleman’s athleticism will help both players earn a decent living overseas.

-It’s no secret that the Gophers need some scholarships, especially if Tubby Smith brings in the seven-man recruiting class he desires for next season. Jamal Abu-Shamala and Travis Busch have one-year scholarships. And the three seniors give up three more free rides. Brandon Smith’s early exit gives them another one to use. But I’m hearing that other players might be in danger of losing their scholarships. It would seem that Kevin Payton, who started the season as the team’s starting point guard before spending most of the year on the bench, is vulnerable. And remember, the Gophers aren’t only thinking about next season. They’ll need at least two scholarships to give to local recruits Royce White and Rodney Williams in 2009. (More on them later.)

-Speaking of Abu-Shamala, the forward was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team earlier this week. Kudos.

-I watched Rodney Williams play in the state tournament earlier this week. His athleticism is amazing. And he can create shots whenever he wants them. He’s also a great shot blocker. He’s a very raw talent that has the ability to excel at the Division I level with the proper coaching. I’ve watched a lot of “athletic” guys fail to make the transition from high school to college. But Williams is young and seems like someone who is willing to learn.

-I’ve talked to Gophers insiders recently about Royce White. After the former De La Salle stud was expelled from school due to academic issues, a number of sources told me that it would be hard to offer him an opportunity to play at the University of Minnesota, a school that’s still recovering from an academic scandal in the late 1990s. But, talent often overcomes youthful errors. Just ask Caron Butler.

-Krys Faber, a 6-11 kid out of Cali, is leaning toward Minnesota, according to his high school coach Willie Middlebrooks. Faber was a late bloomer, but he has the size and talent that Tubby Smith covets. Imagine a lineup that features 6-11 Ralph Sampson III, 6-11 Krys Faber, 6-8 Paul Carter, 6-5 Devron Bostick and 6-3 Devoe Joseph?

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Minnesota will face Louisville in the first-ever basketball game at University of Phoenix Stadium in December, according to a Friday announcement from stadium officials. The Gophers will be one of four teams (Minnesota, Louisville, BYU and Arizona State) that will play two basketball games at the University of Phoenix, where the most recent Super Bowl was held.

The date and time have not yet been announced. But the buzz has already started, on this blog at least, because Tubby Smith will face off against former mentor Rick Pitino, who might lead Louisville to next weekend’s Final Four.

In case you didn’t know, the Gophers ended their NIT loss against Maryland Tuesday with a bunch of injuries, some of which will be addressed as early as today. Here’s the list:

Lawrence Westbrook-Tubby Smith said Westbrook tore a ligament in his thumb. He’ll get x-rays today and Smith expects Westbrook to have surgery sometime during the offseason.

Blake Hoffarber-The freshman broke a bone in his shooting hand in recent weeks, according to Smith.

Lawrence McKenzie-A foot injury kept him out of two practices and most of Tuesday’s game.

Dan Coleman-He injured a finger on a block attempt Tuesday night.  From press row, it looked like a U of M trainer popped Coleman’s dislocated finger back into place before he went to the locker room in the first half.

Spencer Tollackson-He hobbled around Tuesday on a bad right ankle.

Jon Williams-He didn’t play in the second half after suffering an ankle injury in the first half of the Maryland game.

-Spencer Tollackson warmed up with the team a few minutes ago. He moved better than I expected on his left ankle, so it looks like he might play.

-I just talked to Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy. He’s a very personable guy. He predicted a win against Illinois. I also learned that Dungy gave the Gophers a nice pep talk before their win over Indiana Friday at the team’s hotel.

“I told them to just go out and play,” he said. “No one expected the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl.”

Tollackson practiced with the team this morning. Tubby Smith put the Gophers through an intense session, according to observers. When asked about Tollackson’s availability, Smith said he probably wouldn’t be ready against Illinois.

Tollackson is an asset to the program. But the Gophers are winning without him. Based on Smith’s history of superstition (if it works, stick with it) and Tollackson’s suspect left ankle, I think Smith will keep him out against Illinois. With Tollackson in the game, the Gophers were outrebounded 45 to 19 last week against the Illini. With Jon Williams in the lineup, Minnesota outrebounded the league’s best rebounding team, Indiana, 42 to 36 Friday night. Why change anything?

Indianapolis-I’m a part of Minnesota basketball history.

I was sitting right there when there were only 1.5 seconds left on the clock Friday night. Indiana fans figured they had the game won. So much had gone the Hoosiers’ way. Five free throws in the final 3.5 seconds of the game. They only hit one, but it was enough to give them the 58-57 lead.

With 1.5 seconds to go, I was finishing my story. And then, it happened. Travis Busch, who wanted to play quarterback at Mounds View High School before a broken hand sidelined him as a freshman, threw a 75-foot pass to Blake Hoffarber who won the game with a jump shot.

You’ve seen the highlight. But to sit there and watch the play unfold about 10 feet in front of me was a crazy experience. It’s amazing that he even got the shot off. It’s more amazing that he had the basketball awareness to turn and find the basket. But the toughest part of that play was Busch’s successful throw. Both D.J. White and Jamarcus Ellis were behind Hoffarber when he caught the pass.

I think Minnesota has the edge going into the Illinois game today. They’ve lost 19 times to the Illini, but they’ve never taken this kind of momentum into a game against Illinois.

But back to Hoffarber’s shot. What was the toughest part of the play in your opinion?

1. Travis Busch’s pass

2. Hoffarber’s catch

3. Hoffarber’s shot.

Indianapolis-Spencer Tollackson came out of Minnesota’s locker room wearing a boot on his left foot. He won’t play today. Tollackson thought he’d be ready to go after last night’s win over Northwestern, but Gophers insiders said his sprained left ankle was in bad shape last night at the team’s hotel.

Indianapolis-Hello all. I’m here at the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. It’s a great facility.

Let’s get right to it. The Gophers played horribly for most of their first round win over Northwestern Thursday. I was told by a number of sources that Tubby Smith was very tense heading into that game, and now we all know why.

The Wildcats played the way he feared they would. They hit threes early, while Minnesota struggled. Without a huge home crowd backing them, the Gophers didn’t react well to the 16-point hole they found themselves in late in the first half. But Lawrence Westbrook really kept them in the game.  And Dan Coleman (yeah, that Dan Coleman) played extremely well down the stretch.

But Indiana will be a different story. A million Hoosiers fans will drive to Indianapolis for a Friday night game. (That’s an exaggeration. Save the criticism for the next line.)

At this point, Indiana would have to play its worst game of the season to lose to a Minnesota squad that struggled against lowly Northwestern, got beat up by Illinois and couldn’t finish last week against the Hoosiers. That said, Indiana is not a very stable bunch right now. Jamarcus Ellis returns from a one-game suspension tonight, and interim head coach has had to field questions about the team’s chemistry, or lack thereof, entering the BigTen Tournament.

Here are a few other notes:

-A source told me that Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, a University of Minnesota grad and former Vikings player, might attend tonight’s game.

-I talked to Champaign, Ill., recruit Verdell Jones last week at the Illinois game. He told me that he really likes Tubby Smith, although he watched a sloppy Gophers game.  He’s drawn a lot of interest from Tennessee and Kentucky, so he’s not ready to make a decision about where he wants to play yet. If he decides to play for the Gophers, they’ll have to feed him well. He could use the additional weight.

-According to another source, Gophers players received a digital camera and printer for their attendance at the Big Ten Tournament. Is than an NCAA violation? Guess not.
-Tubby Smith wasn’t in the best of moods prior to the Northwestern game, according to a couple of insiders. As a film crew documented his team’s trip to a local movie theater, he told players not to talk on camera. But today, he’s much happier, after last night’s win.

-More on Spencer Tollackson’s left ankle injury later …

Champaign, Ill. - Tubby Smith gave me exclusive access to practice at Assembly Hall tonight. Here are a few observations:

-Smith has used so many rotations this season, it’s hard to predict whom he will use from game to game. But Kevin Payton worked extensively with the first team tonight. Blake Hoffarber and Jamal Abu-Shamala also worked in with normal starters Lawrence McKenzie, Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence Westbrook.

-Tollackson showed up at practice with extensive taping on his right hand. He hurt the hand in practice last week, and it continues to bother him. On top of that injury, Tollackson hurt his back in drills today. He played through the pain, but it clearly frustrated him.

-Smith doesn’t hold back when guys mess up. When 6-6 Abu-Shamala snatched a rebound over 6-0 Westbrook, Smith yelled, “You’ve got to box out; you’re too short to do anything else.” When the team threw the ball away during drills, he said, “You didn’t throw the ball away enough the other night?”Some players just shook their heads after he said that.

-Hoffarber worked with the first and second teams tonight. But for a while, he sat on the sidelines as a spectator. At one point, he leaned forward and put his head down. He seemed frustrated because he didn’t get more time on the court. When he was in, he matched up against Al Nolen. It’s clear that Hoffarber needs to spend time this summer working on his lateral quickness. He has trouble adjusting when his opponents make cuts. But he’s young. He’ll grow.

-Jon Williams has been recognized as a better practice player than game performer. Now, I understand why. Play after play, he looked like the team’s best center tonight. He moved quickly to the glass, hit his hook shots and played great defense against Tollackson. He worked with the second unit, but I expect him to play a lot against Illinois.

-The team spent a lot of time in man-to-man defense. I’m sure Smith will try whatever defensive scheme works against Illinois.

Other notes:

-I talked to Indiana’s Eric Gordon today. He’s a humble guy. Gordon said he’s happy that he played for Indiana this year. The Big Ten’s physical style has helped him prepare for the next level, he said. He also said it’s been tough to live up to all of the expectations placed on him at this stage in his career. It’s nice to know a soon-to-be NBA lottery pick has maintained a sense of humility.

-D.J. White hit the first three-pointer of his career against Minnesota Wednesday. After the game, the senior said he knew the long range shot that went in at the very end of the first half was going to go in. “Ya’ll might not believe me, but I knew it was going in.”

-During today’s practice, senior Lawrence McKenzie re-injured the bruised finger on his shooting hand that’s bothered him for most of the season. Tubby Smith held him out for most of the practice session as a result. He’s expected to play Saturday. While taking shots after practice, McKenzie looked like he was ready to play.

-Senior Spencer Tollackson said he wants to play pro baseball after his career ends at the U of M. But he also wants to play professional basketball, if he gets the chance. The former Chaska High School standout pitcher said he’s always wanted to play baseball at the U of M, but he couldn’t get away from basketball long enough to do it. He hopes to pitch for the Chaska Cubs amateur baseball squad this summer and go from there.