University of Minnesota Athletics
Pitino Blog: 11 Days Away
10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Happy Halloween Gopher Fans,
It is an exciting time for our basketball program as our first game is just around the corner. Below I will break down my evaluation of our scrimmage vs. DePaul at Williams Arena. These scrimmages are always a decent indicator of where we are at and what we need to work on. Keep in mind, coaches often experiment and tinker with things differently than they would during a normal game. With that being said we took a lot of positives out of it.
Nate Mason - 12 assists, 1 turnover! I have consistently told Nate this offseason that I want him approaching every game like he's the best point guard in the Big Ten. He certainly looked that way. He was aggressive and showed great leadership.
Dupree McBrayer - Played Dupree at the 1 and the 2 primarily. Love his versatility. Had a team high 7 deflections. He is extremely active defensively. He is playing with supreme confidence.
Reggie Lynch - Played limited minutes due to just getting back from an injury. It's going to take some time to get Reggie in shape and adjusted. 6 fouls in 15 minutes obviously isn't ideal. He will get there. Just has to consistently practice.
Jordan Murphy - Got to the foul line 11 times was a positive. Was a little frustrated with foul trouble. Started passing the ball out of the post very well in the second half.
Amir Coffey - 13 points and 7 rebounds was terrific. Has to cut down on turnovers. 5 deflections. Very active on the defensive end. A lot of positives!
Akeem Springs - 7 for 13 from 3! The best part about it was he took very good shots. Akeem does a lot of little things. Played extremely hard on both ends.
Eric Curry - Outstanding performance for Eric. Only negative was 5 fouls. Really good passer out of the post.
Ahmad Gilbert - Played solid defense in the first half. Didn't play a whole lot. Love his competitive spirit.
Michael Hurt - Smart player, underrated toughness. Needs to shoot the 3 when open. Ultimate green light.
Gaston Diedhiou - Has to cut down on defensive mistakes when he gets in there.
Bakary Konaté - Bakary was very productive. Rebounded the ball well. Always plays hard.
Darin Haugh & Brady Rudrud - DNP
Stephon Sharp - DNP, is day-to-day with a knee injury.
Overall, we aren't where we need to be but I am really excited about this team's potential. We will play much more inside to out this year than last year. Guys played very hard and with a great spirit. My message to them before the game was to celebrate each other's success. They certainly did that. 22 assists was great, 19 turnovers not so much.
We have to be ready. Louisiana Lafayette and UT Arlington will be very good tests. UT Arlington has the preseason player of the year in the conference and return everybody from a team that won at Ohio State and Memphis last year.
I'm really excited to host the second annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tipoff Dinner this Sunday night at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis. Last year we raised close to $60,000 towards the fight against cancer and we hope to have an even bigger total this year. Those interested in taking part can register at http://www.coachesvscancerminnesota.org
Congratulations are in order for Coach Stefanie Golan and the Gopher soccer team on their Big Ten regular season championship. Looking forward to seeing how far they can go in the postseason!
Another round of congratulations to our radio analyst and former Gopher Spencer Tollackson and his wife Brie, who welcomed a baby boy over the weekend.
Hope we see our fans Thursday night for our exhibition game vs. Bemidji State and of course at our home opener on November 11th. Make sure you sign up for our 5:30 p.m. pre-game pep rally before the Louisiana Lafayette game by visiting http://www.goldendunkers.com/gopher-pep-rally-registration. It's free to register (must have a game ticket) and I'll be speaking to the crowd.
Let's get the Barn rocking again. I can't tell you how many people tell me how much fun it is when that place is full and loud. We will do our part. This will be a fun year!
Go Gophers!
