Good morning Gopher fans,
Yesterday was a terrific experience for our basketball team as we were able to scrimmage Creighton at Williams Arena. We certainly got a lot out of it! You will read on Twitter and online that we won 91-79. We did but that score is irrelevant. Both Coach McDermott and I didn't care too much about the outcome of the game. Below I will break down where we were good and where we can improve as well as give you an individual assessment of each one of our players' performances.
It felt really good to be back at the Barn and I can't wait for the season to start. Season ticket sales are through the roof and student season tickets are already sold out. The buzz for Gopher basketball is off the charts these days! It is so much fun to see. Hope to see everyone Sunday at 5:00 pm, at Williams Arena for our first Maroon/ Gold scrimmage. It's always good for our guys to play in front of our fans as much as possible before we officially kick it off.
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Overall Thoughts
91 points, 51 percent from the field is certainly a positive. Plus-six on the glass was good but we still can improve there, especially on the offensive glass. Our top-six guys were very good. The only problem is Reggie and Jordan probably wouldn't have played those minutes due to foul trouble. Our guys off the bench will have to provide more of a spark. Davonte was understandably rusty but rebounded well. Michael and Jamir were solid. Bakary, as a senior, fouling out in 11 minutes just can't happen. Losing Eric Curry unfortunately really hurt us. Injuries are a part of the game. The good teams can overcome them. The bench stepping up in his absence will be huge! 4-for-20 from the three doesn't concern me. We have been shooting the ball really well in practice and took good shots in the scrimmage. Our offensive rebounding was poor. We need to do a better job there.
Individual Performances
Jordan Murphy - 28 points, 8 rebounds was extremely impressive. Shot four threes. Probably should have only shot two. Four turnovers was no good. He has worked very hard this offseason and it shows. Wouldn't have played that much in a real game because of foul trouble.
Reggie Lynch - 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks is a very impressive stat line. Much like Jordan those stats are misleading because he would have been on the bench in a normal game due to foul trouble. Has to continue to improve his conditioning. It is understandable though because he just got fully cleared by our team doctor.
Amir Coffey - 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals is very good! Still would like to see him be more assertive on the offensive end. Has to shoot more than two times. Underrated scorer!
Dupree McBrayer - Still rusty because he has been out for a while due to injury in his foot. Was fully cleared this week but it is going to take some time for him to get back in shape. Played very good defense.
Nate Mason - Solid performance by Nate. Has had a terrific offseason. 1-for-6 from the 3 doesn't concern me too much. His jumper looks really good.
Isaiah Washington - First attempt at a jelly finger roll was blocked. That brought me great joy on the sidelines! Lol. Overall a very good performance by Isaiah off the bench. He is very hard to guard in high pick and roll.
Bakary Konate - Not a great day for BK. Five fouls in 11 minutes can't happen. Has to improve his balance on defense. Rebounded the ball well and had a nice catch that led to a dunk in traffic. I know he will come back this week and work extremely hard.
Davonte Fitzgerald - 6 rebounds in 12 minutes was very good but offensively it's going to take some time to get back into a rhythm. I am fully confident he will get there!
Jamir Harris - Solid first performance for Jamir. Knocked down a three but still needs to understand how to let the game come to him. He's a willing learner and works his butt off. It will come in time.
Michael Hurt - Another extremely hard worker! Gave us solid minutes off the bench. Got a little tired in the second half on the defensive end but overall gave us good minutes.
Gaston Diedhiou - DNP
Brady Rudrud - DNP
Hunt Conroy - DNP
Go Gophers,
Richard Pitino
