2019-2020 lineup

bga1

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Barring an impact late signing- what do you all see as the lineup? This team can still be excellent if Carr and Oturu become stars. Gabe is terrific.

I have:

Oturu
Demir
Ihnen
Gabe
Carr

Bench
Willis 1/2
Curry 4/5
Williams 2/3
Omersa 4

Deeper
Freeman 5
Hurt 3/4

I actually look for Freeman to surprise and play more as the year goes on. Curry is a wild card because of the injury issue but he would battle Demir if he gets back to 100%.

Would have loved to have Coffey back, but this is going to be a fun squad to watch! This is a totally different type of team than last year's squad.
 

I don't think Ihnen will be ready to start at the beginning of the season. Pitino could have a three guard starting lineup:

Carr
Willis
Gabe
Demir
Oturu

Hopefully Pitino can add a freshman or grad-transfer PG (though that well is really drying up at this point), now that minutes are freed up with Coffey's departure. There have been a number of reports that Willis has played well in practice and continues to impress the coaching staff. So I think he could potentially start if we land another PG that can come off the bench.
 

I see the starting five as

Carr 30+ minutes

Willis 25-30 min player

Gabe 30+

Demir 18-23 minutes

Oturu 30+ if not in foul trouble

Bench

Curry 15-20 minutes, battle Demir to start if healthy

Hurt 10-15 minutes steady hand, but if freshman are ready could see him losing minutes

Ilhan 10-15 minutes could play his way into starting five

Tre Williams 5-10 minutes, could cut into Hurt or some if Willis minutes potentially

Omersa, they'll be 5-10 minutes a night for his energy off the bench.

Freeman I don't have much expectation for this year, any production is a bonus

Think we have more depth this year, but without Coffey who will step up and stir the drink. Carr? Oturu?, even when he was a 10th grader always thought Gabe was destined for greatness

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I think it will be a 3 guard lineup. Carr and Gabe plus either Williams or Willis. Obviously Demir and Oturu starting in the front court. As Ihnen gains more experience it is possible he may see an increased role with starter minutes at the wing but he appears to be very raw so would be surprising to see him in the starting lineup early on.

I think we will be seeing a lot of space and pace offensive sets from the Gophers this season. Carr is very crafty. Surrounding a Carr + Oturu pick and roll with shooters should be quite effective.


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PG: Carr, Mika Adams Woods or Willis
SG: Willis, Williams
SF: Gabe, Ihnen, Hurt
PF: Demir, Omersa
C: Oturu, Curry, Freeman
 


I think either Willis or Williams will start at the 3. I don't see Hurt starting and it seems like Ihnen will be a bit raw? I suspect whoever starts at the beginning it will be Williams there by the end.
 

Projected depth chart based on current roster

PG: Carr/Williams
SG: Willis/Williams
SF: Kalscheur/Ihnen/Hurt
PF: Demir/Omerssa/Hurt
C: Oturu/Curry/Freeman

Looking at this makes me want Mika Adams even more for those backup point minutes. With so many new faces though, pretty tough to project until later in the summer.
 

I know Hurt is not a fan favorite - but like it or not, with Coffey leaving, Hurt is going to be a regular part of the rotation. He probably will not start, but he will be the 6th or 7th man and play 15-20 minutes a game.

Why - the coach likes him, and he will not (excuse the pun) hurt the team. He may not make any great plays, but he moves the ball on offense - a skill that this offense needs most nights.
 

My guess at the starting line up:

PG Carr-25 / Willis-10 / Williams-5
SG Gabe-25/ Willis-10 / Williams-5
SF Ihnen-20 / Hurt-15 / Williams-5
PF Demir-20 / Curry-10 / Omersa-5
C Oturu-25 / Curry-10 / Freeman-5
 



I know Hurt is not a fan favorite - but like it or not, with Coffey leaving, Hurt is going to be a regular part of the rotation. He probably will not start, but he will be the 6th or 7th man and play 15-20 minutes a game.

Why - the coach likes him, and he will not (excuse the pun) hurt the team. He may not make any great plays, but he moves the ball on offense - a skill that this offense needs most nights.

If Hurt plays it is for one of two reasons- he got better and more confident or we recruited badly. The same Hurt as last year will not play if our recruits are as solid as they appear to be. I'd rather tough out the rough moments with a frosh than play a non-assertive senior.
 

I know Hurt is not a fan favorite - but like it or not, with Coffey leaving, Hurt is going to be a regular part of the rotation. He probably will not start, but he will be the 6th or 7th man and play 15-20 minutes a game.

Why - the coach likes him, and he will not (excuse the pun) hurt the team. He may not make any great plays, but he moves the ball on offense - a skill that this offense needs most nights.

If Ihnen and Williams are truly top 110 players then I would expect them to get PT over Hurt at the 3. And Gabe and Willis. And would expect Omersa to get PT ahead of him at the 4.
 


Abrams I agree with your starters. Curry first big off the bench. Willis first small off the bench. Omersa second big and Williams next big.

Might surprise us and start Omersa as Demir is only here for 1 year. If Omersa improves his Free Throws he has a chance. No chance to play big minutes until that issue is fixed.


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I’m all in on Ihnen. Size and skill means he starts by the start of conference play.
 

From what I've heard about Willis, wouldn't be surprised if we ran a 3 guard lineup of Kalscheur at the 3, Willis at the 2 and Carr bringing the ball up. Really hoping that Carr and Willis can be game changers for us.
 

If Hurt plays it is for one of two reasons- he got better and more confident or we recruited badly. The same Hurt as last year will not play if our recruits are as solid as they appear to be. I'd rather tough out the rough moments with a frosh than play a non-assertive senior.

My point is - you are not making out the lineup. if you were, Hurt would not play. but, you are not making out the lineup. Richard Pitino is making out the lineup. And, if you take Pitino at his word, he likes Hurt. Hurt is a senior, with experience in the program.

Now, maybe as the season goes on, if some of the younger players emerge, or Curry's situation becomes more favorable, Hurt might lose playing time. but, I stand by my prediction/feeling that Hurt will be part of the regular rotation - at least for the first half of the season.
 

My point is - you are not making out the lineup. if you were, Hurt would not play. but, you are not making out the lineup. Richard Pitino is making out the lineup. And, if you take Pitino at his word, he likes Hurt. Hurt is a senior, with experience in the program.

Now, maybe as the season goes on, if some of the younger players emerge, or Curry's situation becomes more favorable, Hurt might lose playing time. but, I stand by my prediction/feeling that Hurt will be part of the regular rotation - at least for the first half of the season.

Hurt will get a shot at minutes. If he is better than last year- he will get more. If he is not, then his minutes will go to younger guys. I wish the best for him, he seems like a great kid. He knows how to play the game, he moves without the ball. He has to shoot a lot better, be more aggressive and show more than he has up to now.
 

I have:

Carr
Willis
Kalscheur
Demur
Oturu

Curry first big off of the bench...I am going to say that Williams and Hurt play more than Ihnen unless we add another guard. I only say this because Jarvis and Curry can eat the minutes for Demir and Oturu even though we will probably want to go with a 3 guard look with ihnen as well at some point. Hope I’m wrong and Ihnen plays more though. I really hope we can add a grad transfer for depth at this point.
 

I don't know who the fifth starter is -- I am thinking it will be Willis assuming the Gophers still add another guy who can handle the ball. They really need to look at what's left in the grad transfer market and just take a body (or two). At this point, I would take Rudrud as the 13th scholarship if it means holding 4 open for the 2020 class (WHICH PITINO NEEDS TO OFFER STEVEN CROWL FROM EASTVIEW NOW!). If they don't land another ball handler in this class, I think Hurt or Tre get that last starting spot.
 

I don't know who the fifth starter is -- I am thinking it will be Willis assuming the Gophers still add another guy who can handle the ball. They really need to look at what's left in the grad transfer market and just take a body (or two). At this point, I would take Rudrud as the 13th scholarship if it means holding 4 open for the 2020 class (WHICH PITINO NEEDS TO OFFER STEVEN CROWL FROM EASTVIEW NOW!). If they don't land another ball handler in this class, I think Hurt or Tre get that last starting spot.

I don't know about NEEDS to offer him. Just saw his highlight tape and the kid doesn't look particularly special- he mostly just got fed the ball or lobbed for dunks. Depending on how good Freeman is I wouldn't mine using 1/4 scholies next year on him though.
 

What are people's expectations for the season with this line-up/roster?
 


What are people's expectations for the season with this line-up/roster?

Without Woolridge I think this is a tier below bubble team. I think we'll be in the conversation for a tourney bid for much of the year but ultimately I don't think we'll get it. If we land Woolridge who I think could be a potential starter alongside Carr then I think that would put us right on the bubble or maybe the last 4 in.
 

What are people's expectations for the season with this line-up/roster?

Who the bleep knows? Basically, you've got two major contributors returning from last year in Gabe and Oturu. After that, the rotation is going to be made up of role players like Hurt, Omersa, who saw limited minutes last year - and players who are new to the program - either transfers who sat out last year, grad transfers or true Freshmen.

Unless you're at practice every day, I don't see how anyone can have any real idea what this team is going to look like or how they're going to play. Shoot, it's June 2nd, and there could very well be a player in the rotation who isn't even on campus yet, if they make a late signing.

It will make the non-conference schedule really interesting, and must-see for fans. Hopefully, we'll have some idea by Christmas. But if I had to bet my own money today, I wouldn't have a clue. for all I know, this team could win 10 games or 25 games, and neither outcome would shock me. I suspect the final number will be somewhere in between.
 

What are people's expectations for the season with this line-up/roster?

Expectations? This is Gopher basketball, meaning expecting nothing of them is much better than the alternative. This program/coaching staff almost never responds well to expectations of success.

They lose a ton and bring in some promising players. Really like Gabe and Oturu, but after that everything is a crap shoot. Young and inexperienced with a bunch of pieces to replace doesn't exactly equal success in a program like this one.

Could they be good? Yeah. Could they absolutely stink? Yeah.

If I had to bet, I think they'll continue to look incoherent on offense for long stretches while at other times appear to have some things figured out. Defensively having Daniel in the middle will help some, although they'll need to fully commit to rebounding on that end. From an overall perspective, outside shooting is going to have to improve as well as depth.

All and all, I figure this is a lower-half Big 10 team with an NIT on the horizon.
 

My best guess at the starting lineup:

Carr
Kalesheur
Ihnen
Demir
Oturu

6th man will be Willis or Williams in backcourt and Curry or Hurt in the frontcourt.

If they can defend and hit shots they will be mid level in the B1G.

Hard to predict, without Murphy this offense will be completely different with 4 shooters out there.

So many questions. Who is our new Alpha dog to pick us up when we need a play? Gabe? Carr?

LaMelo Ball is still out there! Lol, what a train wreck that would be!
 
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My best guess at the starting lineup:

Carr
Kalesheur
Ihnen
Demir
Oturu

6th man will be Willis or Williams in backcourt and Curry or Hurt in the frontcourt.

If they can defend and hit shots they will be mid level in the B1G.

Hard to predict, without Murphy this offense will be completely different with 4 shooters out there.

So many questions. Who is our new Alpha dog to pick us up when we need a play? Gabe? Carr?

LaMelo Ball is still out there! Lol, what a train wreck that would be!

Yep- love it! If we are going to surprise, I think that needs to be the group. That's betting on the come on Ihnen but I think his upside is likely our best bet. Alpha dog(s)- I think Carr but it could be Gabe or Oturu as well. If that is the lineup- all 5 players will have to be respected for their ability to drain a shot from anywhere they catch it. That wasn't always the case last year when they dared some of our guys to shoot. I am betting that Oturu becomes dangerous from 15 feet and on in.
 

The Alpha has to be able to get their own shots, so I think Carr is the most likely (in terms of skill set). Whether he has the personality to do so is unknown. Gotta like Pitino’s comparison to Carson Edwards, though.
 

My best guess at the starting lineup:

Carr
Kalesheur
Ihnen
Demir
Oturu

6th man will be Willis or Williams in backcourt and Curry or Hurt in the frontcourt.

If they can defend and hit shots they will be mid level in the B1G.

Hard to predict, without Murphy this offense will be completely different with 4 shooters out there.

So many questions. Who is our new Alpha dog to pick us up when we need a play? Gabe? Carr?

LaMelo Ball is still out there! Lol, what a train wreck that would be!

Very nice team. I believe Omersa shocks most Gopher fans this year. That has us 10 quality deep. We are as good or better next year. We are getting close (finally) to the team Pitino wants to coach.
 

Why does everyone have Demir penciled in as a starter? I understand he put up decent numbers last year but that was a Drexel. Much like almost all of our recent small school grad transfers he may not be ready for big boy ball. The way I see it all four of Curry (healthy or not) Omersa, Demir, and Ihnen will have about the same odds of starting at the four game one for us.
 




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