Ekstrom: Once Again, the Gophers are Lacking a Useful Bench

[BleedGopher]

per Ekstrom:

Minnesota has the lowest-scoring bench in the Big Ten at under 10 points per game. Williams is their leading reserve scorer at just 2.8 points per game in 16 appearances off the bench. Sophomore Jarvis Omersa is averaging 2.4 points per game in 19 reserve appearances.

In 10 conference games, the Gophers bench has been outscored 180-43, 18 points per game to 4.3. Omersa and Williams have been the only reserves to score in eight of those games. The bench was outscored 29-0 at Purdue, 35-7 vs. Ohio State and 19-2 vs. Penn State. The only conference game where their bench outscored the opponents’ was versus Northwestern, when ordinary starter Payton Willis came off the bench while returning from injury and scored seven points as part of a 14-5 bench advantage. It’s the only Big Ten game where the Gophers have double-digit bench points.

This is the continuation of a trend that has plagued Pitino’s teams for years: an often-strong starting five that is one injury away from collapse, prone to fatigue and dependent on a small handful of scorers.

Once Again, the Gophers are Lacking a Useful Bench - Zone Coverage

After his team shot 28 percent in a 70-52 loss to Michigan State last Sunday, Richard Pitino confessed he should've given freshman Tre' Williams a bigger

zonecoverage.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Lady Gopher]

Might this just be an ongoing Pitino recruiting challenge?

per Ekstrom:

Minnesota has the lowest-scoring bench in the Big Ten at under 10 points per game. Williams is their leading reserve scorer at just 2.8 points per game in 16 appearances off the bench. Sophomore Jarvis Omersa is averaging 2.4 points per game in 19 reserve appearances.

In 10 conference games, the Gophers bench has been outscored 180-43, 18 points per game to 4.3. Omersa and Williams have been the only reserves to score in eight of those games. The bench was outscored 29-0 at Purdue, 35-7 vs. Ohio State and 19-2 vs. Penn State. The only conference game where their bench outscored the opponents’ was versus Northwestern, when ordinary starter Payton Willis came off the bench while returning from injury and scored seven points as part of a 14-5 bench advantage. It’s the only Big Ten game where the Gophers have double-digit bench points.

This is the continuation of a trend that has plagued Pitino’s teams for years: an often-strong starting five that is one injury away from collapse, prone to fatigue and dependent on a small handful of scorers.

Once Again, the Gophers are Lacking a Useful Bench - Zone Coverage

After his team shot 28 percent in a 70-52 loss to Michigan State last Sunday, Richard Pitino confessed he should've given freshman Tre' Williams a bigger

zonecoverage.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[short ornery norwegian]

the numbers don't lie.

People can - and will - argue that the Gophers have some promising FR on the bench who may very well become major contributors in future seasons.

But, for this season, the Gophs are getting virtually nothing from the bench. And that, in turn, puts more pressure on the starters to produce.

In short, if either Carr or Oturu has an off-game, gets in foul trouble, or the other team comes up with a scheme that takes them out of the game, that makes it VERY difficult for the Gophers to win a conference game.

and that, my friends, is called roster management. IMHO, Pitino's biggest drawback as a coach.

 

[golfing18now]

the numbers don't lie.

People can - and will - argue that the Gophers have some promising FR on the bench who may very well become major contributors in future seasons.

But, for this season, the Gophs are getting virtually nothing from the bench. And that, in turn, puts more pressure on the starters to produce.

In short, if either Carr or Oturu has an off-game, gets in foul trouble, or the other team comes up with a scheme that takes them out of the game, that makes it VERY difficult for the Gophers to win a conference game.

and that, my friends, is called roster management. IMHO, Pitino's biggest drawback as a coach.

Serious question here, not disagreeing with your comments, per se.

Which roster spot is being "mismanaged" this year? While I certainly agree we haven't gotten as much production as other teams from the bench this year, I don't think other teams have ten ready made starters either. When you lose 7 guys off your team from last year -- 4 to graduation, 1 to the pros, 1 to transfer, and 1 to injury.....how does the board propose those roster spots get filled? Is the issue that we are replacing too many players at once this year? If so, who do you blame on Pitino -- IW's spot, perhaps? Or is the issue you don't like the production from the end of the bench freshman? Or you don't like sit-out transfers? Who on this team are you annoyed about?

 

[cjbfbp]

Serious question here, not disagreeing with your comments, per se.

Which roster spot is being "mismanaged" this year? While I certainly agree we haven't gotten as much production as other teams from the bench this year, I don't think other teams have ten ready made starters either. When you lose 7 guys off your team from last year -- 4 to graduation, 1 to the pros, 1 to transfer, and 1 to injury.....how does the board propose those roster spots get filled? Is the issue that we are replacing too many players at once this year? If so, who do you blame on Pitino -- IW's spot, perhaps? Or is the issue you don't like the production from the end of the bench freshman? Or you don't like sit-out transfers? Who on this team are you annoyed about?

As usual, you employ specious reasoning to come to a conclusion that no direct fault can be attributed to Pitino. Perhaps you don't understand the difference between decision making in a civil or criminal trial and an evaluation of coaching. When evaluating a multi-million dollar coach, the standard is "the results speak for themselves."

No one is asking these questions about Fran McCaffrey, who lost one player from last year's team to the NBA, two more to transfer (one to Kansas), his best long-range shooter to injury, his highest rated freshman to sickness, and another player to injury who was one of only 3 scholarship big men on the roster. McCaffey has 8 active scholarship players on his roster and only two of them are taller than 6'6". Nevertheless, his team has a 15-6 record, with 6-4 in conference, and is ranked.

Pitino doesn't have to be "guilty" of any particular wrongdoing to lose this job. His teams just have to perform fairly consistently below their peers, which they have done throughout most of his tenure.

 

[scools12]

As usual, you employ specious reasoning to come to a conclusion that no direct fault can be attributed to Pitino. Perhaps you don't understand the difference between decision making in a civil or criminal trial and an evaluation of coaching. When evaluating a multi-million dollar coach, the standard is "the results speak for themselves."

No one is asking these questions about Fran McCaffrey, who lost one player from last year's team to the NBA, two more to transfer (one to Kansas), his best long-range shooter to injury, his highest rated freshman to sickness, and another player to injury who was one of only 3 scholarship big men on the roster. McCaffey has 8 active scholarship players on his roster and only two of them are taller than 6'6". Nevertheless, his team has a 15-6 record, with 6-4 in conference, and is ranked.

Pitino doesn't have to be "guilty" of any particular wrongdoing to lose this job. His teams just have to perform fairly consistently below their peers, which they have done throughout most of his tenure.

A reoccurring theme amongst his biggest supporters.

 

[golfing18now]

As usual, you employ specious reasoning to come to a conclusion that no direct fault can be attributed to Pitino. Perhaps you don't understand the difference between decision making in a civil or criminal trial and an evaluation of coaching. When evaluating a multi-million dollar coach, the standard is "the results speak for themselves."

No one is asking these questions about Fran McCaffrey, who lost one player from last year's team to the NBA, two more to transfer (one to Kansas), his best long-range shooter to injury, his highest rated freshman to sickness, and another player to injury who was one of only 3 scholarship big men on the roster. McCaffey has 8 active scholarship players on his roster and only two of them are taller than 6'6". Nevertheless, his team has a 15-6 record, with 6-4 in conference, and is ranked.

Pitino doesn't have to be "guilty" of any particular wrongdoing to lose this job. His teams just have to perform fairly consistently below their peers, which they have done throughout most of his tenure.

Thanks for clarifying your position about Pitino. i hadn't figured that out in your previous condescending posts on this topic or on me.

I wasn't trying to defend Pitino in this particular post. I was asking a serious question. We have had enough posts, enough threads, and enough idiotic game day posts calling for his job. For the record, I don't think it would be the biggest travesty if he was not brought back at the end of the year. I do think it would be stupid to view any particular game's performance (like shooting 3-26 at Iowa) and fire him mid-season when he is middle of the pack this year, absent any scandal or the team quitting on him.

For the record, if we do move on, I hope we can do better than a guy that is 6-5 in the Mountain West. Do you have anything further to add?

 

[leib0039]

I hate Iowa, I mean I want them to lose every game, but just watch one of these games and you can see despite injuries/tranfers they are just WAY better than us 3-8 on the depth chart. When people say "managed the roster" thats my point. McCaffery seems to find role players that are useful in 10-20 minute spurts. Pitino has routinely filled out his bench with guys who have no business on a Big 10 roster. Whether thats identifying the wrong kids or trying to hit too many homeruns and being stuck with whatever is left I can't say for sure but we absolutely need better talent. You can certainly have a guy like Omersa who isnt a scoring threat but plays hard, plays defense etc. What you can't have is Omersa with 5 other guys who look like they are terrified to even touch the ball.

 

[cjbfbp]

Thanks for clarifying your position about Pitino. i hadn't figured that out in your previous condescending posts on this topic or on me.

I wasn't trying to defend Pitino in this particular post. I was asking a serious question. We have had enough posts, enough threads, and enough idiotic game day posts calling for his job. For the record, I don't think it would be the biggest travesty if he was not brought back at the end of the year. I do think it would be stupid to view any particular game's performance (like shooting 3-26 at Iowa) and fire him mid-season when he is middle of the pack this year, absent any scandal or the team quitting on him.

For the record, if we do move on, I hope we can do better than a guy that is 6-5 in the Mountain West. Do you have anything further to add?

Not much to add. Personally, I have never suggested that he should be fired in mid-season. I don't see the point in that. Also, if he is fired, I don't have a favorite to replace him. That's not my decision so I don't see the point in getting invested in a particular candidate just to be disappointed when he isn't hired. Finally, I have no clue who would end up doing well here as a coach. He could be a big name (someone with the stature of Fred Hoiberg) or someone who few, if any, of us ever considered. Bo Ryan came to Wisconsin after two so-so years at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to that he was an extremely successful coach but that was at the DIII level.

 

[theczar]

he brought in a couple low rated lightly recruited guys plus Ihnen top 100ish kid who turned out to a project and williams who has not done much yet .... needs to look more at jucos as well as transfers. Parker Fox A local kid playing for Northern State will graduate in 2021 with one year left....Would be a solid Big Ten player who Pitino could bring in as a grad transfer for the 21/22 season

 

[washgopher]

if losing a number of players is the excuse, why is Gonzaga, who lost a bunch, still winning?

 

[USAF]

Serious question here, not disagreeing with your comments, per se.

Which roster spot is being "mismanaged" this year? While I certainly agree we haven't gotten as much production as other teams from the bench this year, I don't think other teams have ten ready made starters either. When you lose 7 guys off your team from last year -- 4 to graduation, 1 to the pros, 1 to transfer, and 1 to injury.....how does the board propose those roster spots get filled? Is the issue that we are replacing too many players at once this year? If so, who do you blame on Pitino -- IW's spot, perhaps? Or is the issue you don't like the production from the end of the bench freshman? Or you don't like sit-out transfers? Who on this team are you annoyed about?

The mismanagement is not being able to recruit enough quality B1G players.

He has 2 on the floor this season.

 

[Parcival]

A reoccurring theme amongst his biggest supporters.

In contrast to a small group of posters calling for his job after every loss.

 

[golfing18now]

if losing a number of players is the excuse, why is Gonzaga, who lost a bunch, still winning?

Gonzaga has a better coach, better players, and plays in a worse conference.

But back to my question. I wasn't making an excuse in this thread. He lost 7 players. That shouldn't be up for debate. How would you have liked him to fill those slots?

 

[golfing18now]

The mismanagement is not being able to recruit enough quality B1G players.

He has 2 on the floor this season.

OK. That is an answer. In your evaluation, how many B1G quality players do teams like Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois have on their roster?

 

[EG#9]

Serious question here, not disagreeing with your comments, per se.

Which roster spot is being "mismanaged" this year? While I certainly agree we haven't gotten as much production as other teams from the bench this year, I don't think other teams have ten ready made starters either. When you lose 7 guys off your team from last year -- 4 to graduation, 1 to the pros, 1 to transfer, and 1 to injury.....how does the board propose those roster spots get filled? Is the issue that we are replacing too many players at once this year? If so, who do you blame on Pitino -- IW's spot, perhaps? Or is the issue you don't like the production from the end of the bench freshman? Or you don't like sit-out transfers? Who on this team are you annoyed about?

I wanted to respond to this because I think it's important. The roster management has been poor as has the recruiting as has either the evaluation or development part of the program.

I am writing this off the top of my head, but I am not sure if Pitino has ever used all 13 scholarships though I think he might have last year which was a season in which two of those scholarships were taken up by sit out transfers. So the decision to take Matz Stockman as a sit one/play one transfer 2 seasons ago is still an issue. That was a decision I was critical of at the time and it ended up with Pitino getting one year of average at best backup center minutes out of 2 years of a scholarship. If that scholarship was used on an incoming freshman, he'd theoretically be an upperclassman on this roster. I also didn't care for using 3 years of a scholarship for 2 years of Payton Willis who was ineffective at Vanderbilt. Payton's stats are very similar this year to his stats at Vanderbilt: He's a shooter who doesn't shoot the 3 well enough to carry that designation and doesn't stand out in any other areas. Going further, Pitino never showed the door to players like Gaston Diedhiou or Michael Hurt. These guys never developed and instead of trying to start the development cycle over again, he's kept them on the roster for 4 years. That's walk on level production from a team that often has had to give an open scholarship to a walk on (like they did this year) and/or had sit out transfers taking scholarships up. Some years, like this year, we've started with 10 or fewer realistic players to contribute in a role, much less be a threat.

So on to recruiting. Pitino knew that that the 2019 class was going to be huge for him losing both his best player in Jordan Murphy and long time starter Dupree McBrayer. He also was losing at least Stockman and Stull for a minimum of 4 open scholarships. He had two great options to play the four in state in Hurt and Nnajii and didn't come close to landing either. Most teams land kids, at least a prospect or two, in the Spring/Summer during the circuit events, but the Gophers landed nobody. They finally had multiple middling prospects visit in the Fall of 2019 and landed none of them. Eventually, on the last weekend before the Fall signing period, they got a commitment from Tre Williams who had no other power 5 offers. That left 3 scholarships open for the Spring with a dwindling amount of talent available. Despite going to the tournament and saving his job, Pitino couldn't find anyone to take his scholarships in the Spring. He ended up taking two more kids that may not have had any committable power 5 offers (Greenlee had none for sure, can't remember if anyone would have taken Freeman after Buzz left Virginia Tech) and another in Ihnen who was allegedly a top 100 kid who decided between Minnesota and TCU. If you just look at the offers of this 4 Freshman class, it's not surprising that there's no production there.

Finally evaluation and development. You know the one scholarship offer Greenlee had before it was pulled? It was Iowa. They had a group of pg's they were looking at and a kid named Joe Toussaint visited the week before Greenlee was scheduled to and took the spot. He's was ranked low like Greenlee but has started for Iowa most of the season. During the Pitino era, all the guys he's taken that have been outside the top 200 on 247 have failed to make an impact: Martin/Diedhiou/Gilbert/Hurt (I think)/Harris, etc. The absolute best of the bunch that meets that criteria has been Bakary Konate who gave acceptable back up center minutes for 2 of the 4 years he was here if you'd like to be generous. It's hard to know if this is an evaluation issue or a development issue, but it's been very consistent during his tenure that these kids don't work out. Now we have two more kids who fit that very same profile in Greenlee and Freeman who can't get off the bench.

TL;DR : I think it's more than fair to be annoyed by Pitino not using all 13 scholarships, by the recruiting profiles of the current freshman on the bench, using scholarships on sit out transfers who don't project to be impact guys, and his inability to land local impact kids who'd be strong contributors to this roster.

 

[Thymanst]

Pitino played the guys he thought should start a lot at the beginning of the season to get them to jell. Our classes are not balanced also (losing Coffey and curry messed that up) going forward our bench will be much improved And lots of competition for spots with the freshman coming in next year - pitino really should have played more guys this year and they might be contributing more now. With 7 new hard to do, especially with the styl he chooses to play.

 

[scools12]

In contrast to a small group of posters calling for his job after every loss.

At least those posters aren’t delusional about where the program is at and the reasons why.

 

[cjbfbp]

OK. That is an answer. In your evaluation, how many B1G quality players do teams like Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois have on their roster?

More than us, at least judged by their current performance. Are you satisfied now? Quit prodding people answer your pointless questions. You aren't the leader of some addiction recovery group and you're not Socrates either.

 

[golfing18now]

I wanted to respond to this because I think it's important. The roster management has been poor as has the recruiting as has either the evaluation or development part of the program.

I am writing this off the top of my head, but I am not sure if Pitino has ever used all 13 scholarships though I think he might have last year which was a season in which two of those scholarships were taken up by sit out transfers. So the decision to take Matz Stockman as a sit one/play one transfer 2 seasons ago is still an issue. That was a decision I was critical of at the time and it ended up with Pitino getting one year of average at best backup center minutes out of 2 years of a scholarship. If that scholarship was used on an incoming freshman, he'd theoretically be an upperclassman on this roster. I also didn't care for using 3 years of a scholarship for 2 years of Payton Willis who was ineffective at Vanderbilt. Payton's stats are very similar this year to his stats at Vanderbilt: He's a shooter who doesn't shoot the 3 well enough to carry that designation and doesn't stand out in any other areas. Going further, Pitino never showed the door to players like Gaston Diedhiou or Michael Hurt. These guys never developed and instead of trying to start the development cycle over again, he's kept them on the roster for 4 years. That's walk on level production from a team that often has had to give an open scholarship to a walk on (like they did this year) and/or had sit out transfers taking scholarships up. Some years, like this year, we've started with 10 or fewer realistic players to contribute in a role, much less be a threat.

So on to recruiting. Pitino knew that that the 2019 class was going to be huge for him losing both his best player in Jordan Murphy and long time starter Dupree McBrayer. He also was losing at least Stockman and Stull for a minimum of 4 open scholarships. He had two great options to play the four in state in Hurt and Nnajii and didn't come close to landing either. Most teams land kids, at least a prospect or two, in the Spring/Summer during the circuit events, but the Gophers landed nobody. They finally had multiple middling prospects visit in the Fall of 2019 and landed none of them. Eventually, on the last weekend before the Fall signing period, they got a commitment from Tre Williams who had no other power 5 offers. That left 3 scholarships open for the Spring with a dwindling amount of talent available. Despite going to the tournament and saving his job, Pitino couldn't find anyone to take his scholarships in the Spring. He ended up taking two more kids that may not have had any committable power 5 offers (Greenlee had none for sure, can't remember if anyone would have taken Freeman after Buzz left Virginia Tech) and another in Ihnen who was allegedly a top 100 kid who decided between Minnesota and TCU. If you just look at the offers of this 4 Freshman class, it's not surprising that there's no production there.

Finally evaluation and development. You know the one scholarship offer Greenlee had before it was pulled? It was Iowa. They had a group of pg's they were looking at and a kid named Joe Toussaint visited the week before Greenlee was scheduled to and took the spot. He's was ranked low like Greenlee but has started for Iowa most of the season. During the Pitino era, all the guys he's taken that have been outside the top 200 on 247 have failed to make an impact: Martin/Diedhiou/Gilbert/Hurt (I think)/Harris, etc. The absolute best of the bunch that meets that criteria has been Bakary Konate who gave acceptable back up center minutes for 2 of the 4 years he was here if you'd like to be generous. It's hard to know if this is an evaluation issue or a development issue, but it's been very consistent during his tenure that these kids don't work out. Now we have two more kids who fit that very same profile in Greenlee and Freeman who can't get off the bench.

TL;DR : I think it's more than fair to be annoyed by Pitino not using all 13 scholarships, by the recruiting profiles of the current freshman on the bench, using scholarships on sit out transfers who don't project to be impact guys, and his inability to land local impact kids who'd be strong contributors to this roster.

This is a very good response EG#9 and was exactly what I was hoping to receive when I asked the question. I had a couple thoughts but will respond later when I have some time.

Thanks!

 

[golfing18now]

More than us, at least judged by their current performance. Are you satisfied now? Quit prodding people answer your pointless questions. You aren't the leader of some addiction recovery group and you're not Socrates either.

Why do you have to be such an ass on this boatd? Look to EG#9's response to see how a mature adult can answer a question. This place is more and more like the OTB every day. It should be a place to discuss Gopher basketball with other fans but disagreements over a coach have seriously brought this place down. Maybe grow up and act like the 63 year old you profess to be,

Time for a break from this place. Just sad.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Ok, since it was addressed to me:

As I used the term, "Roster Management" means having a balanced roster, with a mix of veterans and newcomers, starters and bench players who can contribute. If you want to use a couple of scholarships on projects, fine. But the majority of roster spots should go to people who can make a contribution to helping the team win games.

Granted, the Curry Injury is not something you can plan for.

But, in general, as EG spelled out in detail, it seems to me as if Pitino invests too many scholarships on projects. If that is the best he can find, that makes a statement about his recruiting.

Ideally, I would have preferred to see at least one Scholarship go to a JUCO or a higher-level FR who would be capable of providing at least some production this year.

Freeman may turn into a player, but for this year, that is a roster spot providing no production. Likewise with Greenlee. Ihnen was someone I thought was supposed to be good enough to contribute - but he's not ready either.

I am NOT saying that Pitino has to bring in 5-star, one-and-done players. But, I don't think its asking too much to bring in one FR who can contribute. A lot of other schools seem to be able to do that.

So, in essence, Roster Management and recruiting are linked. they go hand-in-hand. You recruit to fill holes in your roster as you plan for future seasons.

Case in point - does Pitino have a plan if Oturu goes pro? If he doesn't, get ready for the "Carr or Bust" game plan for next year.

 

[Parcival]

At least those posters aren’t delusional about where the program is at and the reasons why.

We're in agreement that the program isn't where we want it to be. Just because other posters ideas of how to improve the program don't coincide with yours doesn't mean they are delusional.

 

[Parcival]

Ok, since it was addressed to me:

As I used the term, "Roster Management" means having a balanced roster, with a mix of veterans and newcomers, starters and bench players who can contribute. If you want to use a couple of scholarships on projects, fine. But the majority of roster spots should go to people who can make a contribution to helping the team win games.

Granted, the Curry Injury is not something you can plan for.

But, in general, as EG spelled out in detail, it seems to me as if Pitino invests too many scholarships on projects. If that is the best he can find, that makes a statement about his recruiting.

Ideally, I would have preferred to see at least one Scholarship go to a JUCO or a higher-level FR who would be capable of providing at least some production this year.

Freeman may turn into a player, but for this year, that is a roster spot providing no production. Likewise with Greenlee. Ihnen was someone I thought was supposed to be good enough to contribute - but he's not ready either.

I am NOT saying that Pitino has to bring in 5-star, one-and-done players. But, I don't think its asking too much to bring in one FR who can contribute. A lot of other schools seem to be able to do that.

So, in essence, Roster Management and recruiting are linked. they go hand-in-hand. You recruit to fill holes in your roster as you plan for future seasons.

Case in point - does Pitino have a plan if Oturu goes pro? If he doesn't, get ready for the "Carr or Bust" game plan for next year.

Have you ever heard of a JUCO/Grad transfer? Big minutes on a decent B1G team is very appealing.

 

[scools12]

We're in agreement that the program isn't where we want it to be. Just because other posters ideas of how to improve the program don't coincide with yours doesn't mean they are delusional.

You claim the Gophers will be the favorites to win the B1G next year. You are delusional.

 

[Parcival]

You claim the Gophers will be the favorites to win the B1G next year. You are delusional.

Way to take what I said out of context as far as you could. I said we would be front runners if THREE things happened: Oturu comes back, we land a decent transfer at the 4, and Kerwin Walton signs with us. Next time use the full quote instead of trying to misinform people.

And stop calling every pro Pitino poster delusional. It's getting real old real fast.

 

[scools12]

Way to take what I said out of context as far as you could. I said we would be front runners if THREE things happened: Oturu comes back, we land a decent transfer at the 4, and Kerwin Walton signs with us. Next time use the full quote instead of trying to misinform people.

And stop calling every pro Pitino poster delusional. It's getting real old real fast.

And as you were told by another poster play all the if games you want and the Gophers still won’t be favorites.
To think otherwise is delusional.

 

[GopherVotary]

Just gotta give Little Richard a few more years.

 

[USAF]

OK. That is an answer. In your evaluation, how many B1G quality players do teams like Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois have on their roster?

I don't give a rat's ***. I'm not a fan of those teams. I care how many games the Gophers win.

But since you asked, it can only be one of three things...either they have more B1G quality players, or their coaching staff is better, or both.

Any of those three things points towards the Gophers being in need of a new head coach. Stat.

 

[Parcival]

And as your were told by another poster play all the if games you want and the Gophers still won’t be favorites.
To think otherwise is delusional.

You're a clown. I wish intentionally misleading people and taking posts completely out of context was a bannable offense but sadly it's not.