Sid Hartman: Three changes fuel Gophers basketball's turnaround

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per Sid:

So how in the world did Pitino so drastically turn things around? It’s all because of young players getting better, a freshman sensation and two key transfers playing big roles this season.

Assembling roster

The Gophers are basically going with eight players in most games: Nate Mason, Amir Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Dupree McBrayer, Akeem Springs, Reggie Lynch, Eric Curry and Bakary Konate.

Half of those eight — Mason, Murphy, McBrayer and Konate — saw meaningful minutes last season.

Mason has increased his points per game from 13.8 to 15.1 this season, his rebounds from 2.8 to 3.4, and his assists from 4.5 to 5.3 per game.

Murphy has seen his points go down from 11.6 to 10.8, but his field-goal percentage has jumped from 46.1 to 48.7 and his rebounds are up from 8.0 to 8.5.

McBrayer — who came off the bench Wednesday and dominated with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-4 on three three-pointers — has had the biggest scoring increase, climbing from 5.9 points per game last season to 10.7 this season.

Transfers contribute

While the Gophers have gotten great contributions from those returning players, there’s no doubt that a big part of the team’s drastic improvement comes from two tremendous transfers in Lynch and Springs.

Springs’ play this season has been huge, especially in conference play, where he has averaged 10.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while logging 26.6 minutes first as a reserve, now as a starter.

Springs came from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he averaged 13.2 points and 5.3 rebounds his redshirt junior season. As a redshirt senior this season, Springs didn’t have to sit out a transfer year and could play right away.

He also was a quarterback in high school football, and has said that role gave him confidence to be a leader. The Gophers noticed, naming him a captain for his one and only year on the squad.

The 6-10 Lynch, the Edina native and Illinois State transfer, has proved to be the big difference-maker inside, something the Gophers desperately needed.

He is second on the team in rebounds at 6.4 per game but has truly dominated as a shot blocker with 84, over three per contest. He’s tied for third in the nation in blocks per game and is another first-year player to be named a captain.

Against Maryland he showed his versatility with four points on 2-for-2 shooting, five rebounds, four blocks and one steal. He did have four fouls, which has been his big Achilles’ heel.

Impressive freshmen

And lastly there is the play of Coffey, who not only has elevated the Gophers to another level but has also influenced the recruiting of local players with his decision to commit to the U.

Coffey hasn’t disappointed, averaging 12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He has only gotten better in conference play, averaging 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Curry, meanwhile, also continues to be a solid contributor as a freshman, with 5.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

The big reason for optimism not only this season but in the future is that Pitino continues to recruit standout players and the current squad is still young. Of the primary eight contributors, only Springs will be gone next season.

That’s all it took to turn one of the worst teams in Gophers history into one of their best: four young players all getting better, two transfers making immediate impacts and two freshmen playing like veterans. What an amazing turnaround.

http://www.startribune.com/three-areas-of-change-fuel-gophers-basketball-s-big-turnaround/414678264/

Go Gophers!!
 



per Sid:

So how in the world did Pitino so drastically turn things around? It’s all because of young players getting better, a freshman sensation and two key transfers playing big roles this season.

Assembling roster

The Gophers are basically going with eight players in most games: Nate Mason, Amir Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Dupree McBrayer, Akeem Springs, Reggie Lynch, Eric Curry and Bakary Konate.

Half of those eight — Mason, Murphy, McBrayer and Konate — saw meaningful minutes last season.

Mason has increased his points per game from 13.8 to 15.1 this season, his rebounds from 2.8 to 3.4, and his assists from 4.5 to 5.3 per game.

Murphy has seen his points go down from 11.6 to 10.8, but his field-goal percentage has jumped from 46.1 to 48.7 and his rebounds are up from 8.0 to 8.5.

McBrayer — who came off the bench Wednesday and dominated with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-4 on three three-pointers — has had the biggest scoring increase, climbing from 5.9 points per game last season to 10.7 this season.

Transfers contribute

While the Gophers have gotten great contributions from those returning players, there’s no doubt that a big part of the team’s drastic improvement comes from two tremendous transfers in Lynch and Springs.

Springs’ play this season has been huge, especially in conference play, where he has averaged 10.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while logging 26.6 minutes first as a reserve, now as a starter.

Springs came from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he averaged 13.2 points and 5.3 rebounds his redshirt junior season. As a redshirt senior this season, Springs didn’t have to sit out a transfer year and could play right away.

He also was a quarterback in high school football, and has said that role gave him confidence to be a leader. The Gophers noticed, naming him a captain for his one and only year on the squad.

The 6-10 Lynch, the Edina native and Illinois State transfer, has proved to be the big difference-maker inside, something the Gophers desperately needed.

He is second on the team in rebounds at 6.4 per game but has truly dominated as a shot blocker with 84, over three per contest. He’s tied for third in the nation in blocks per game and is another first-year player to be named a captain.

Against Maryland he showed his versatility with four points on 2-for-2 shooting, five rebounds, four blocks and one steal. He did have four fouls, which has been his big Achilles’ heel.

Impressive freshmen

And lastly there is the play of Coffey, who not only has elevated the Gophers to another level but has also influenced the recruiting of local players with his decision to commit to the U.

Coffey hasn’t disappointed, averaging 12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He has only gotten better in conference play, averaging 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Curry, meanwhile, also continues to be a solid contributor as a freshman, with 5.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

The big reason for optimism not only this season but in the future is that Pitino continues to recruit standout players and the current squad is still young. Of the primary eight contributors, only Springs will be gone next season.

That’s all it took to turn one of the worst teams in Gophers history into one of their best: four young players all getting better, two transfers making immediate impacts and two freshmen playing like veterans. What an amazing turnaround.

http://www.startribune.com/three-areas-of-change-fuel-gophers-basketball-s-big-turnaround/414678264/

Go Gophers!!

Mostly bumping this to get something other then the stupid made up Pitino rumor threads off the top but thought the Murphy line was funny because his overall numbers this year are nearly identical to last year. A better point on Murphy would be his averages over the recent stretch of games where he has been dominant.
 

per Sid:


Murphy has seen his points go down from 11.6 to 10.8, but his field-goal percentage has jumped from 46.1 to 48.7 and his rebounds are up from 8.0 to 8.5.
http://www.startribune.com/three-areas-of-change-fuel-gophers-basketball-s-big-turnaround/414678264/

Go Gophers!!
. I am probably making a big thing about nothing but Sid mentions his is scoring down like that is a setback? Perhaps I am reading to much into it. How could his scoring not go down with the newer arrivals of Springs, Curry and especially Coffey?
 







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