5 Observations From Gophers’ 72-56 Win Over Arkansas State

BleedGopher

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per Ekstrom:

Although it lacked the drama of Wednesday’s thriller, here were the major takeaways from Saturday’s win.

The 3-point shooting returned. Minnesota hit just three combined 3-pointers in their two Big Ten games. Within four minutes of play against the Red Wolves, they’d matched it. Gabe Kalscheur hit two and Amir Coffey made another as part of Minnesota’s 21-2 run. The Gophers had been a respectable 37 percent from 3 in their first seven games before the recent slump, though they shot 5 of 43 (12 percent) in their two losses. The Gophers were 6 of 10 from 3 at one point against Arkansas State and finished 8 of 17. “I think we’re getting smarter about which ones to take,” said Pitino.

Isaiah Washington is still forcing it. After an 0-for-4 shooting start in six minutes of play in the first half, head coach Richard Pitino pulled Washington from the game and didn’t reinsert him for the duration, instead giving his minutes to grad transfer Brock Stull. Pitino has wanted to see better shot selection from the sophomore, and a greater focus on passing and defense. “It’s affecting himself and his play that matters,” said Pitino, “and that’s something he needs to work on. He’s clearly not had great body language, and I don’t think a lot of it is intentional. I really don’t. We talked about it all the time. … All eyes are on him, and he needs to understand that.” Washington is now shooting 24 percent from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range on the season.

Oturu had a block party … and a great offensive game. After losing Reggie Lynch last year, the Gophers lacked an inside rim protector that deterred touches in the paint. Daniel Oturu may have the tools to be that player in the future, and he showed flashes of his defensive prowess on Saturday, recording three blocks, two of which wound up in the stands. The next step? Finding a way to keep those blocks in bounds, as Lynch was so adept at doing. Oturu also scored a season-high 19 points to go with 12 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. “When you play these these mid-major teams they’re not gonna have the size that you have, so you’ve got to be able to physically beat them up down low and inside,” said Pitino. “I thought Dan definitely did that.” Oturu suffered a sprained ankle late in the second half and will be reevaluated on Monday.

What can be expected from Jarvis Omersa? It’s unclear if the Orono product will be part of the rotation when Big Ten play restarts. His athleticism and length make him a ready defender, but offensively he’s made just three baskets since the season opener while getting over 10 minutes per game.

Jordan Murphy is a much better passer. In his first three seasons, Murphy notched more than three assists twice. His career high in assists coming into the year was four. The senior has now matched or exceeded that three times in the first 10 games after dishing four assists on Saturday. Murphy’s impact was reduced last season as he routinely faced double teams in the Big Ten. His ability to pass out of those spots will make him tougher to double as the team plays bigger games in January and February. Against Arkansas State, Murphy had a dismal afternoon shooting (2 for 10) but found a way to stay involved offensively with his passing.

https://zonecoverage.com/2018/gophers/5-observations-from-gophers-72-56-win-over-arkansas-state/

Go Gophers!!
 

What can be expected from Jarvis Omersa? It’s unclear if the Orono product will be part of the rotation when Big Ten play restarts. His athleticism and length make him a ready defender, but offensively he’s made just three baskets since the season opener while getting over 10 minutes per game.

Perspective...7, 9, 2 and 8 minutes played in the past 4 wins. 15 minutes in the loss to tOSU because of foul trouble.

Still think he will be a valuable contributor this season, and has been better moving his feet on D. Really hope he can show his potential before the 2nd half of the B10 season starts.
 

Omersa is a poor man's Curry. Undersized for a big with not much offensive skill. Just a bruiser that gets rebounds. Got to learn how to evolve like Draymond did/what Murphy is working on.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk
 

Omersa is a poor man's Curry. Undersized for a big with not much offensive skill. Just a bruiser that gets rebounds. Got to learn how to evolve like Draymond did/what Murphy is working on.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk

Some guy by the name of Dennis Rodman made a great career with little offensive skill. He could focus on his strengths. A team always needs a staunch defender/rebounder.
 

Some guy by the name of Dennis Rodman made a great career with little offensive skill. He could focus on his strengths. A team always needs a staunch defender/rebounder.

If he would actually do those things, then yeah they could use it. But he doesn't do them. He's a liability every time he steps on the court
 


On a good team with depth Omersa wouldn't play much. He doesn't need the strength of a red shirt type season as much as he needs the mental learning of "what, where, when, and why". He has the athleticism, strength, and work ethic for the physical side.
 

On a good team with depth Omersa wouldn't play much. He doesn't need the strength of a red shirt type season as much as he needs the mental learning of "what, where, when, and why". He has the athleticism, strength, and work ethic for the physical side.

I am not sure Omersa''s physical tools are quite as remarkable as we all thought. He has trouble getting off the ground in traffic to grab rebounds and does not have the bear trap hands that good rebounders like Murphy have.

Omersa's skills are underdeveloped at this time so his poor rebounding percentage is highly problematic.
 

I am not sure Omersa''s physical tools are quite as remarkable as we all thought. He has trouble getting off the ground in traffic to grab rebounds and does not have the bear trap hands that good rebounders like Murphy have.

Omersa's skills are underdeveloped at this time so his poor rebounding percentage is highly problematic.

Omersa's biggest problem is, he's in the wrong place. He hasn't learned proper positioning. He constantly is caught out of position, especially for rebounding. The reason we are not seeing his athleticism is because he's so far out of position that he's not even in the play for rebounds. Contrast that with Murphy who, when the shot goes up, starts way out of position, but then gets himself into position from across the court; whereas Omersa, starts out of position, then doesn't move when the shot goes up, and hopes the ball will come in his direction. We will see a huge jump from him when the game slows down for him. . . hopefully that will be soon.
 

Bleed, from my vantage point the whole team looked listless. Lacked hustle on offensive boards and too often stared down passes like rookie QBs. Maybe due to early big lead, but Ark State is the type of team on which BIG10 teams should put the peddle to the metal. Any word of a flu bug?

Coffey wasn't at point much the second half - should have been an opportunity for Washington to get some nice time, but he was hanging is head on the bench.
Nice to see the Big O grabbing the "frees," he'll win some games from the stripe over the next few years.
 






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