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Pitino Blog: Summer Check-In
7/30/2019 10:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Good morning Gopher fans,
Alright, it's that time of year. Summer is winding down and basketball is around the corner. Below I will give you a breakdown of our new team and where I think we are headed. Seven new guys! They have been a really fun group to coach this summer. They live in the gym. Hope it stays that way the whole season.Â
A couple of days from now, we embark on a summer tour to Italy with the team. Thank you to everyone who supported us to put this once in a lifetime trip together. We have had six practices and this team feels totally different. The goal from an offensive stand point is to have at least four if not five players who can shoot the 3 on the court all the time. I think this roster has that. Our three point shooting will be substantially improved. I have really tinkered with the offense and think it's been looking good. It will be fun to see how it all evolves.Â
Roster Thoughts
Michael Hurt - Senior. Time flies! Terrific leader. Been a great influence on the guys in the locker room. Playing his best basketball.
Payton Willis - Has been so solid across the board this summer. Multi-positional. Can really shoot! Lives in the gym. Love his work ethic.Â
Tre' Williams - Very impressive summer so far. Makes tough shots! Can't believe how underrated he was in high school. Plays with great confidence. Good size and skill.Â
Marcus Carr - Tough! Has terrific leadership qualities for a sophomore. Should be a major factor on our roster this year. Doesn't care where he plays. Just wants to win!
Bryan Greenlee - Very good on-ball defender. Can be a pest on the ball. Has done a great job of cutting down turnovers. Him and Marcus battle in practice. Fun to see.
Brady Rudrud - Senior year! Going to be sad to see Brady go. Should have a very good job waiting for him in the Twin Cities the day he graduates. Trust me!
Hunt Conroy - Has been all over the country working basketball camps. Think he's going to go down the crazy road of coaching one day. His dad should know better!
Jarvis Omersa - Needs to make a huge jump this summer and fall. Got a lot out of that Michigan State game at the end of the year. Sky's the limit if he lives in the gym.
Gabe Kalscheur - Continues to move forward. Jumper is looking pure. Defense on the ball is always great. Extremely underrated player in our league.
Isaiah Ihnen - Talented! 6'8, long. Can shoot the three. Just got here so still figuring it all out. Needs to put on 15 pounds of muscle.Â
Eric Curry - Slowly getting back into the fold. Won't play in Italy but getting close.Â
Daniel Oturu - Extremely productive when he gets the ball. Trying to expand his game a little bit and allow him to shoot some threes but he can't fall in love with it too much. Huge summer and fall.
Alihan Demir - Has been terrific this summer. Perfect in our offensive system. So fundamental. Great pickup for us by our staff.
Sam Freeman - Has shown great improvement over a few practices. Has a very big frame that will fill in well for sure. Very good rebounder.Â
Other Thoughts
3-point shooting!
Want to get queasy for a second? We ranked 300 out of 353 in 3-point shooting percentage last season. Ranked 64 of the 68 teams in the tournament. Pretty remarkable. That has to improve moving forward and it will. As I said before, we are making some big changes to the offense. Feel free to tweet me your thoughts during the season. Especially after losses!
Consistency
If we want to take the next step as a program we need to be more consistent. We had a solid year last season. We have to follow it up with an even better one. No excuses about having a bunch of new guys. If we stay healthy we can be right there!
Schedule
Still working on getting a few contracts back from some opposing teams then it will be released. So far we have Clemson (home), Butler (away), Utah (away), Oklahoma (neutral), Oklahoma State (neutral), and going to add one more high major home game for our fans. Just because I love you Gopher fans. You're welcome.Â
Â
Go Gophers,
Â
Richard Pitino
Â
Alright, it's that time of year. Summer is winding down and basketball is around the corner. Below I will give you a breakdown of our new team and where I think we are headed. Seven new guys! They have been a really fun group to coach this summer. They live in the gym. Hope it stays that way the whole season.Â
A couple of days from now, we embark on a summer tour to Italy with the team. Thank you to everyone who supported us to put this once in a lifetime trip together. We have had six practices and this team feels totally different. The goal from an offensive stand point is to have at least four if not five players who can shoot the 3 on the court all the time. I think this roster has that. Our three point shooting will be substantially improved. I have really tinkered with the offense and think it's been looking good. It will be fun to see how it all evolves.Â
Roster Thoughts
Michael Hurt - Senior. Time flies! Terrific leader. Been a great influence on the guys in the locker room. Playing his best basketball.
Payton Willis - Has been so solid across the board this summer. Multi-positional. Can really shoot! Lives in the gym. Love his work ethic.Â
Tre' Williams - Very impressive summer so far. Makes tough shots! Can't believe how underrated he was in high school. Plays with great confidence. Good size and skill.Â
Marcus Carr - Tough! Has terrific leadership qualities for a sophomore. Should be a major factor on our roster this year. Doesn't care where he plays. Just wants to win!
Bryan Greenlee - Very good on-ball defender. Can be a pest on the ball. Has done a great job of cutting down turnovers. Him and Marcus battle in practice. Fun to see.
Brady Rudrud - Senior year! Going to be sad to see Brady go. Should have a very good job waiting for him in the Twin Cities the day he graduates. Trust me!
Hunt Conroy - Has been all over the country working basketball camps. Think he's going to go down the crazy road of coaching one day. His dad should know better!
Jarvis Omersa - Needs to make a huge jump this summer and fall. Got a lot out of that Michigan State game at the end of the year. Sky's the limit if he lives in the gym.
Gabe Kalscheur - Continues to move forward. Jumper is looking pure. Defense on the ball is always great. Extremely underrated player in our league.
Isaiah Ihnen - Talented! 6'8, long. Can shoot the three. Just got here so still figuring it all out. Needs to put on 15 pounds of muscle.Â
Eric Curry - Slowly getting back into the fold. Won't play in Italy but getting close.Â
Daniel Oturu - Extremely productive when he gets the ball. Trying to expand his game a little bit and allow him to shoot some threes but he can't fall in love with it too much. Huge summer and fall.
Alihan Demir - Has been terrific this summer. Perfect in our offensive system. So fundamental. Great pickup for us by our staff.
Sam Freeman - Has shown great improvement over a few practices. Has a very big frame that will fill in well for sure. Very good rebounder.Â
Other Thoughts
3-point shooting!
Want to get queasy for a second? We ranked 300 out of 353 in 3-point shooting percentage last season. Ranked 64 of the 68 teams in the tournament. Pretty remarkable. That has to improve moving forward and it will. As I said before, we are making some big changes to the offense. Feel free to tweet me your thoughts during the season. Especially after losses!
Consistency
If we want to take the next step as a program we need to be more consistent. We had a solid year last season. We have to follow it up with an even better one. No excuses about having a bunch of new guys. If we stay healthy we can be right there!
Schedule
Still working on getting a few contracts back from some opposing teams then it will be released. So far we have Clemson (home), Butler (away), Utah (away), Oklahoma (neutral), Oklahoma State (neutral), and going to add one more high major home game for our fans. Just because I love you Gopher fans. You're welcome.Â
Â
Go Gophers,
Â
Richard Pitino
Â
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