Lineup Discussion Thread

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DeathClutch

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What do you guys think the starting lineup and rotation looks like this season. I'll give it a shot.

Starting Lineup

PG: Nate Mason
SG: Dupree McBrayer
SF: Amir Coffey
PF: Jordan Murphy
C: Reggie Lynch

Key Bench Players

SG: Akeem Springs
SF/PF: Davonte Fitzgerald
PF/C?: Eric Curry
C: Bakary Konate

Limited Minutes

SF: Michael Hurt
SF: Ahmad Gilbert
PF/C: Gaston Diedhiou
PG/SG: Stephon Sharp
 

I think yours is pretty close. Maybe McBrayer comes off the bench because of his hiccup at the end of last season. It's also possible Coffey starts on the bench until he earns his way into the starting lineup. I'll go with:

Starting Lineup

PG: Nate Mason
SG: Amir Coffey
SF: Davonte Fitzgerald
PF: Jordan Murphy
C: Reggie Lynch

Key Bench Players

PG/SG: Dupree McBrayer
SG: Akeem Springs
SF/PF: Ahmad Gilbert
PF/C?: Eric Curry
C: Bakary Konate

Limited Minutes

SF: Michael Hurt
PF/C: Gaston Diedhiou
PG/SG: Stephon Sharp
 

PG: Mason/McBrayer/Springs/Sharp
SG: McBrayer/Springs/Coffey/Hurt
SF: Coffey/Fitzgerald/Gilbert/Hurt
PF: Murphy/Curry
C: Lynch/Konate/Murphy or Curry

Diedhiou should never ever see the floor unless he is going in specifically to foul.

Could see a small ball lineup of:
Mason
McBrayer
Coffey/Fitzgerald
Murphy
Curry

And if you need a three pointer:
Mason
McBrayer
Springs
Hurt
Fitzgerald

A hell of a lot more options than last year!!!

Pitino said he likes the athletism, I wonder if he may punish Reggie/McBrayer for a few games and start the non-conference season like this:

PG: Mason
SG: Springs
SF: Coffey
PF: Fitzgerald
C: Murphy

That lineup might be fun to watch.
 

Forty Minutes at each spot
PG Mason 25-30 Min Dupree 10-15 min.
SG Dupree 15-20 min. Springs 15-20 min. Coffey 5-10 min.
SF/Wing Coffey 15-20 Min. Fitz 10-15 Min. Gilbert/ Hurt 5-10 min.
PF Murphy 25-30 Min Fitz 5-10 Min Curry 5-10 Min
C Lynch 20-25 Min Konate 10-15 min Curry 5-10 Min
Mop duty Gaston, Hugh, Sharp, Gilbert/Hurt
Starting Five Game one
Mason
McBreyer
Fitz
Murphy
Lynch
I think Coffey moves in by Big Ten play, and I think Hurt will work himself into the rotation as well, but Gilbert will start off getting the bulk of those minutes. Competition's a good thing to have. Since Fitz seems like he can play both on the wing and be a stretch four. I think will see Curry play both the four and five spots. I think Lynch has the talent to be a 30 minute guy, however I believe he was a foul machine at Illinois State, so I think he will be a 20-25 guy most nights, meaning Konate will have to step up in a back up roll and Curry could be used in a small ball type line up. I am also concerned about Murphy and his foul issues, he's a 30 minute guy easy if we keep him out of foul trouble. The non conference should be fun as Pitino tinkers with the lineups.
 

Otis said:
PG: Mason/McBrayer/Springs/Sharp
SG: McBrayer/Springs/Coffey/Hurt
SF: Coffey/Fitzgerald/Gilbert/Hurt
PF: Murphy/Curry
C: Lynch/Konate/Murphy or Curry

Diedhiou should never ever see the floor unless he is going in specifically to foul.

Could see a small ball lineup of:
Mason
McBrayer
Coffey/Fitzgerald
Murphy
Curry

And if you need a three pointer:
Mason
McBrayer
Springs
Hurt
Fitzgerald

A hell of a lot more options than last year!!!

Pitino said he likes the athletism, I wonder if he may punish Reggie/McBrayer for a few games and start the non-conference season like this:

PG: Mason
SG: Springs
SF: Coffey
PF: Fitzgerald
C: Murphy

That lineup might be fun to watch.
Click to expand...

If you punish Dupree you have to punish Mason
 


How do you punish McBrayer and or Reggie but not Mason?

We know who's going to play the 4 positions, and it'll likely be a mixed bag of lineups for the first 10 games. My biggest source of intrigue will be the rotation in the 5 spot. My personal preference is starting Lynch (if he's as good as we think), and then have a mix of lineups that include a combination of Curry, Fitz and Murphy at the 4 and 5. The lineups that get Murphy in the 5 and really space out the floor have potential to be lethal with how much blow by speed we have on the perimeter, could be a matchup nightmare.
 

bemidjigopher said:
If you punish Dupree you have to punish Mason
Click to expand...

It's not that you're specifically punishing McBrayer, it just may take longer for him to earn his playing time back. Mason is the best or second best player on the roster. McBrayer is not.
 

I'd like to see the Illinois type lineup of:

PG: McBrayer 6'4"
SG: Coffey 6'7"
SF: Fitzgerald 6'8"
PF: Murphy 6'7"
C: Curry 6' 8"

That's a lot of length and athleticism for the other team to deal with!

I could see this giving teams trouble with a 1-2-2 match-up zone.
 

1 - Mason (32), McBrayer (4), Coffey (4)
2 - McBrayer (24), Springs (16)
3 - Coffey (20), Fitzgerald (10), Hurt (10)
4 - Murphy (26), Fitzgerald (8), Curry (6)
5 - Lynch (18), Curry (10), Konate (8), Murphy (4)

That gives you:
Mason - 32 min
Murphy - 30 min
McBrayer - 28 min
Coffey - 24 min
Fitzgerald - 18 min
Lynch - 18 min
Springs - 16 min
Curry - 16 min
Hurt - 10 min
Konate - 8 min

With the rest playing a negligible role.
 



Not a lineup that I would use as a starting five, but I'd love to see them experiment with a Mason-Springs-Coffey-Fitz-Murphy lineup. Think if you are going against a team without a good center, Murphy could destroy opposing centers with his mobility. You'd have a nice mix of shooters and shot creators and you have guys who can rebound out of their area. Let that Golden State Warriors "death lineup" trickle down to college basketball and use Murphy in spot minutes at the 5.

Otherwise I think a typical rotation looks like:

Lynch (24) - Konate (11) - Murphy (5)
Murphy (25) - Curry (10) - Fitzgerald (5)
Coffey (27) - Fitzgerald (13) - Gilbert (mop up)
Springs (23) - Dupree (12) - Hurt (5)
Mason (32) - Dupree (8) - Sharp (Mop up)

So minutes look like: Mason (32), Murphy (30), Coffey (27), Lynch (24), Springs (23), Dupree (20), Fitz (18), Konate (11), Curry (10), Hurt (5) with guys like Gilbert and Sharp getting mop up time or PT in exhibition games.

Coffey minutes might be aggressive and I might make adjustments on Curry and Hurt depending on how they look.
 

Lynch
Murphy
Coffey
Springs
Mason

Would switch Springs and Fitzgerald in the starting lineup depending on who looks better. Hope Dupree doesn't start think he would be a liability as a shooting guard because he cant shoot.
 

PlayRoyce said:
Lynch Murphy Coffey Springs Mason Would switch Springs and Fitzgerald in the starting lineup depending on who looks better. Hope Dupree doesn't start think he would be a liability as a shooting guard because he cant shoot.
Click to expand...

I thought I heard Ryan James say McBrayer was our best three point shooter percentage wise second half of season. May have heard wrong.
 

PlayRoyce said:
Lynch
Murphy
Coffey
Springs
Mason

Would switch Springs and Fitzgerald in the starting lineup depending on who looks better. Hope Dupree doesn't start think he would be a liability as a shooting guard because he cant shoot.
Click to expand...

Dupree got off to a horrid shooting start in non-conference play, but he was 10/26 (38.5%), from 3, during conference play. Small sample size, but I don't believe he is as bad of a shooter as you think he is.
 



I see Springs starting over Mcbrayer

PG: Mason
SG: Springs-Mcbrayer
SF: Amir-Fitzgerald
PF: Murphy-Curry
C: Reggie-Konate

With Gilbert getting some minutes as well. Not sure who backs up Mason, not a huge fan of Mcbrayer or Sharp getting regular PG minutes. Thats where it would have been nice to keep Dorsey. Diedhou will get some minutes as well but not regularly. Don't see any minutes for Hurt.
 

die hard gopher said:
I see Springs starting over Mcbrayer

PG: Mason
SG: Springs-Mcbrayer
SF: Amir-Fitzgerald
PF: Murphy-Curry
C: Reggie-Konate

With Gilbert getting some minutes as well. Not sure who backs up Mason, not a huge fan of Mcbrayer or Sharp getting regular PG minutes. Thats where it would have been nice to keep Dorsey. Diedhou will get some minutes as well but not regularly. Don't see any minutes for Hurt.
Click to expand...

With Pitino's comments this summer about McBrayer and the fact that Akeem won't be on campus for another month, I think Dupree has the upper hand for the starting spot right now.
 

lol I am amazed by all the folks on here who think that Amir is going to pass up Fitzgerald for the starting spot. Fitzgerald is a full grown man body wise, has already played 2 years in the SEC, and one of those years showed a good amount of promise, and has already been with the team a full year learning the style and play. (Plus he didn't get in the news for sexual reasons, quite impressive to say the least). I am a big gopher fan as many of you are, and have much respect for MN talent, but come on now, lets settle down before we say Amir will be starting. (Next year yes, this year hold the breaks)

These are my two lineups for expected starters

Mason, Mcbry, Fitz, Murph, and Lynch

or

Mason, New guy from Milwaukee, Mcbryer, Murph, and Lynch

No way Amir jumps either of these two new upper classman with much experience and yes talent too.
 

victor04 said:
lol I am amazed by all the folks on here who think that Amir is going to pass up Fitzgerald for the starting spot. Fitzgerald is a full grown man body wise, has already played 2 years in the SEC, and one of those years showed a good amount of promise, and has already been with the team a full year learning the style and play. (Plus he didn't get in the news for sexual reasons, quite impressive to say the least). I am a big gopher fan as many of you are, and have much respect for MN talent, but come on now, lets settle down before we say Amir will be starting. (Next year yes, this year hold the breaks)

These are my two lineups for expected starters

Mason, Mcbry, Fitz, Murph, and Lynch

or

Mason, New guy from Milwaukee, Mcbryer, Murph, and Lynch

No way Amir jumps either of these two new upper classman with much experience and yes talent too.
Click to expand...

Richard did an interview recently, with Amelia, and said he expects Amir to play major minutes right away.

http://www.startribune.com/pitino-has-high-praise-for-the-gophers-four-newcomers/388663951/
 

He may play solid minutes here and there, but he is not starting. Thats mainly what im saying.
 

victor04 said:
He may play solid minutes here and there, but he is not starting. Thats mainly what im saying.
Click to expand...

I've sort of been trying to temper my Coffey hype and assumed Fitzgerald would start over him because he's probably stronger and obviously more experienced, but Ryan James also expressed that he believes Coffey will win a starting spot early on.
 

Mason
McBrayer
Fitz
Murphy
Lynch

Makes sense to me

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

Starters
PG-Mason(27), McBrayer(12), Sharp(1)
SG-McBrayer(13), Springs(17), Coffey(7), Sharp(3)
SF-Coffey(18), Fitzgerald(9), Hurt(9), Gilbert(4)
PF-Murphy(25), Fitzgerald(8), Curry(7)
C-Lynch(21), Curry(10), Konate(9)

Equals out to:
Mason-27
Murphy-25
McBrayer-25
Coffey-25
Lynch-21
Curry-17
Fitzgerald-17
Springs-17
Konate-9
Hurt-9
Gilbert-4
Sharp-4
 

victor04 said:
lol I am amazed by all the folks on here who think that Amir is going to pass up Fitzgerald for the starting spot. Fitzgerald is a full grown man body wise, has already played 2 years in the SEC, and one of those years showed a good amount of promise, and has already been with the team a full year learning the style and play. (Plus he didn't get in the news for sexual reasons, quite impressive to say the least). I am a big gopher fan as many of you are, and have much respect for MN talent, but come on now, lets settle down before we say Amir will be starting. (Next year yes, this year hold the breaks)

These are my two lineups for expected starters

Mason, Mcbry, Fitz, Murph, and Lynch

or

Mason, New guy from Milwaukee, Mcbryer, Murph, and Lynch

No way Amir jumps either of these two new upper classman with much experience and yes talent too.
Click to expand...

On Doogie's podcast today, he said according to people who have seen a lot of the workouts, Amir is really standing out and is absolutely the starting SF.
 

victor04 said:
He may play solid minutes here and there, but he is not starting. Thats mainly what im saying.
Click to expand...

Ryan James has basically said if there was a game today, Amir would be starting. We'll see what happens when Springs gets on campus. Also, Fitzgerald might be more of a PF, so comparing him to Amir probably doesn't make a lot of sense. Amir is a wing and it sounds like Fitz is a combo forward.
 

victor04 said:
He may play solid minutes here and there, but he is not starting. Thats mainly what im saying.
Click to expand...

Don't underestimate the importance of another impact freshmen, especially a local one, and one that was very highly recruited. Given that, there are many benefits to the program (local recruiting, increasing interest in the fan base, etc.) in Amir starting from day one (assuming he's earned it) and having a significant role out of the gates.

I expect the Day 1 starting lineup to be:

Mason
McBrayer
Coffey
Murphy
Lynch

Go Gophers!!
 

I'll take a stab at it...

Mason
Springs
Coffey
Murphy
Lynch

IMO those 5 are unquestionably our best players so I think it's pretty easy. (Curry is the only current Gopher I have never seen play so for all I know he could be top 5, but there is no way he unseats Murphy so I think he comes off the bench.) Konate, McBrayer, and Curry all with significant minutes off the bench. Fitz getting lots of PT some games, but also spending long stretches on the bench in others. Think Hurt and Gilbert get their chances as well, but not on a regular basis. The rest in mop-up duty.
 

I think Coffey ends up being our 2nd point guard. Pitino has hinted he's a willing passer, "passive" I think was used, or maybe it was he needs to be more aggressive. There is also the fact that Amir and Richard Coffey wanted him to play point when he was a junior in hs.

If he CAN play point, that adds a ton of length.
 

bizzle22 said:
I'll take a stab at it...

Mason
Springs
Coffey
Murphy
Lynch

IMO those 5 are unquestionably our best players so I think it's pretty easy. (Curry is the only current Gopher I have never seen play so for all I know he could be top 5, but there is no way he unseats Murphy so I think he comes off the bench.) Konate, McBrayer, and Curry all with significant minutes off the bench. Fitz getting lots of PT some games, but also spending long stretches on the bench in others. Think Hurt and Gilbert get their chances as well, but not on a regular basis. The rest in mop-up duty.
Click to expand...

How many games have you seen of Springs to be certain that he's "unquestionably" better than McBrayer who himself is solid and improving.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
How many games have you seen of Springs to be certain that he's "unquestionably" better than McBrayer who himself is solid and improving.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Saw about 8-10 UWM games last year. (One of the many benefits of having a girlfriend who is still in college four hours away is that you get to watch a lot of basketball.) Springs is a good player. Solid shooter, above-average rebounder for a SG, average defender. I'd bet he finishes in the top 3 on the team in scoring. He's never afraid to shoot so if he is having an off night then he will hurt us, but when he's on he can keep us in the game against anyone. Many of his best games last year came against high major opponents. Springs would be my first guess as to who will be taking the deciding shot in a close game. I am more excited to watch him than every new Gopher not named Coffey. It's just my opinion, but unless McBrayer has drastically improved his jumper I think you have to start Springs. I'm not a McBrayer fan at all. I just don't think he does enough other things well to deserve starter minutes at a position where you have to be able to shoot from the outside...which is his main weakness. Again, just my opinion.
 

bizzle22 said:
Saw about 8-10 UWM games last year. (One of the many benefits of having a girlfriend who is still in college four hours away is that you get to watch a lot of basketball.) Springs is a good player. Solid shooter, above-average rebounder for a SG, average defender. I'd bet he finishes in the top 3 on the team in scoring. He's never afraid to shoot so if he is having an off night then he will hurt us, but when he's on he can keep us in the game against anyone. Many of his best games last year came against high major opponents. Springs would be my first guess as to who will be taking the deciding shot in a close game. I am more excited to watch him than every new Gopher not named Coffey. It's just my opinion, but unless McBrayer has drastically improved his jumper I think you have to start Springs. I'm not a McBrayer fan at all. I just don't think he does enough other things well to deserve starter minutes at a position where you have to be able to shoot from the outside...which is his main weakness. Again, just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Good to hear. If Springs is able to earn a starting spot, that's a very good sign IMO. Either way, I hope he provides us some much needed outside shooting.

Go Gophers!!
 

As someone else pointed out, McBrayer hit 38.5% of his threes in conference play in an admittedly small sample size. I recall him developing a knack for driving and getting fouled in conference last year too. Pitino seems to think he's improved in the offseason. Wouldn't surprise me to see his 3 point shooting percentage go up to at least the mid 30's.

I appreciate your observations on Springs though. He doesn't seem to be talked about much. I was just kinda expecting he'd be an above average reserve guard, but if he's actually one of our top scorers I won't complain.
 

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