STrib: Gophers' senior big man Eric Curry is cleared to play in season opener

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BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

Richard Pitino said on Tuesday’s conference call that redshirt senior Eric Curry will be available to play in the season opener after recovering from a season-ending knee injury last year.

“If we had a game today he’d play,” Pitino said. “He’s always been a good leader, but the challenging part has been staying on the court. We look better when he’s out there. He makes me look like a better coach. He does the right things. He just understands how to play.”

www.startribune.com

Gophers senior big man Eric Curry is cleared to play in season opener

The Gophers lost their top big man Daniel Oturu to the NBA Draft this year, but they are expecting to get back their most experienced frontcourt player this season.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 



Good news. Need depth (as past injury-riddled seasons have shown). Hope he can stay on the court and enjoy the game.
 

die hard gopher said:
I wonder if he’ll get the bulk of the backup center minutes initially or Pitino will opt to play someone like Ihnen or Omersa or Mitchell and ease Curry in.
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I would think Curry, although listed as a forward will get the backup minutes at center to Robbins. If he is telling the truth and he is healthy, there is no reason not to play him. There aren't that many non conference games.
I think Freeman may get some backup minutes at the 5. Omersa could, Mitchell could too. Haven't seen Johnson, but he may be another possibility to move to the 5 for a couple minutes.
But Ihnen is not a 5.
Unless he's going to play 10 plus guys, it would seem Mitchell, Freeman and Omersa (in descending order) are going to have a tough time seeing the floor if everyone is healthy and eligible.
 


60's Guy said:
I would think Curry, although listed as a forward will get the backup minutes at center to Robbins. If he is telling the truth and he is healthy, there is no reason not to play him. There aren't that many non conference games.
I think Freeman may get some backup minutes at the 5. Omersa could, Mitchell could too. Haven't seen Johnson, but he may be another possibility to move to the 5 for a couple minutes.
But Ihnen is not a 5.
Unless he's going to play 10 plus guys, it would seem Mitchell, Freeman and Omersa (in descending order) are going to have a tough time seeing the floor if everyone is healthy and eligible.
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Ihnen was much better than Omersa as a 5 last year due to his length on the defensive end. Omersa is the one who shouldn’t be playing the 5.

IMO Ihnen right now is closer to a 5 then he is a 3 although of course most of his minutes will be at the 4.
 
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builtbadgers said:
Some of my favorite stories are the student athletes who overcome injuries, stick with it make it back to contribute in any way. What a example to his fellow players who have seen what he has been through.
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I hope he has an amazing season - he has earned it and deserves it!!!
 

I'll be honest, im real nervous to watch Curry play again. It would be so sad if anything else were to happen. Certainly will be pulling for him. 🙏
 





builtbadgers said:
Some of my favorite stories are the student athletes who overcome injuries, stick with it make it back to contribute in any way. What a example to his fellow players who have seen what he has been through.
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I hope for the best for this young man. I have never met him, but hold out hope. He was my kind of player, mobile, slightly under-sized PF that had big potential all around.

His Memphis roots originated or me with an Uncle married into the DC based family I am forever part of through Iowa, TN, MN and VA, and DC, I hold out hope for the future. Thanks Corey, some day I'll get to Memphis.
 
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die hard gopher said:
Ihnen was much better than Omersa as a 5 last year due to his length on the defensive end. Omersa is the one who shouldn’t be playing the 5.

IMO Ihnen right now is closer to a 5 then he is a 3 although of course most of his minutes will be at the 4.
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We disagree. Omersa has no where else to play. Why would anybody guard him outside the lane? Basically, everybody gets double teamed if you don’t have to guard him near the rim.
Ihnen is our best three point shooter. He is versatile. Yes, he is talented and can also play near the basket but it’s a waste of ability and also NOT where he is happy, nor where Pitino told him he’d play. He has the most potential of our 14 roster players, by far. (Not best on performance yet but on potential. For the 100th time: criminal he didn’t immediately get minutes last year)
 



60's Guy said:
We disagree. Omersa has no where else to play. Why would anybody guard him outside the lane? Basically, everybody gets double teamed if you don’t have to guard him near the rim.
Ihnen is our best three point shooter. He is versatile. Yes, he is talented and can also play near the basket but it’s a waste of ability and also NOT where he is happy, nor where Pitino told him he’d play. He has the most potential of our 14 roster players, by far. (Not best on performance yet but on potential. For the 100th time: criminal he didn’t immediately get minutes last year)
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I’m not saying that Omersa has anywhere else to play or that the 5 is Ihnen’s best position, I’m just saying Ihnen is better at the 5 than Omersa is due to his rim protection being better. Is also more of a mismatch on O with opposing 5’s guarding him.

I actually expect Mitchell to get minutes before Omersa, or Freeman for that matter, at the 5 if Curry isn’t ready to go but Ihnen or Johnson could also be options if Pitino opts for a smaller lineup.
 



SixBySix said:
He was nursing a wrist injury, wasn't he?
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Yes, that’s the excuse. He was also practicing and he was also in uniform for games. The wrist injury magically healed when Mom came to visit from Germany.
 

If Curry can provide 10 minutes per game that will be helpful. He is big enough to be effective as a backup 5 and skilled enough to help out. Obviously we need Robbins to be healthy and good or else we will really struggle inside. Curry is likely a better option right now than Freeman (unless Sam improved a great deal or Curry is very bad now)

As for Omersa, he is an energy guy. I like him at the 4 with a more versatile 5. Not sure we have that 5 on the roster (I don't know Robbins game that well) but he can provide sparks. He is not skilled though.

Ihnen is our highest ceiling guy. Long, athletic, can shoot the 3, needs to improve his handles but I have no doubt he will. Big adjustment year for him last year but he can be great in the right spots. We need him to be good as well. I don't see him as a 5, but I think he can play the 3/4 really well and if the opponent doesn't have a strong/thick/heavy big man, he could slot in at the 5.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
If Curry can provide 10 minutes per game that will be helpful. He is big enough to be effective as a backup 5 and skilled enough to help out. Obviously we need Robbins to be healthy and good or else we will really struggle inside. Curry is likely a better option right now than Freeman (unless Sam improved a great deal or Curry is very bad now)

As for Omersa, he is an energy guy. I like him at the 4 with a more versatile 5. Not sure we have that 5 on the roster (I don't know Robbins game that well) but he can provide sparks. He is not skilled though.

Ihnen is our highest ceiling guy. Long, athletic, can shoot the 3, needs to improve his handles but I have no doubt he will. Big adjustment year for him last year but he can be great in the right spots. We need him to be good as well. I don't see him as a 5, but I think he can play the 3/4 really well and if the opponent doesn't have a strong/thick/heavy big man, he could slot in at the 5.
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If Curry isn’t I'm ok playing Ihnen at the 5 if he plays good D there. Would allow us to stretch the floor on offense and draw a defender out of the lane opening that up.
 

CentralGopher said:
If Curry isn’t I'm ok playing Ihnen at the 5 if he plays good D there. Would allow us to stretch the floor on offense and draw a defender out of the lane opening that up.
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If he can defend the opposing 5. I'm thinking that a dude like Caleb Swanigan would destroy Ihnen at the 5. Curry's bulk could hold up a little. Same with Omersa/Freeman (who provide nothing offensively at all)
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
If he can defend the opposing 5. I'm thinking that a dude like Caleb Swanigan would destroy Ihnen at the 5. Curry's bulk could hold up a little. Same with Omersa/Freeman (who provide nothing offensively at all)
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We're not talking starting at the 5 spot. This would be as the backup to Robbins. Someone like Swanigan likely destroys any of our center options not Curry or Robbins. Ihnen can at least provide a positive on the offensive side other teams would have difficulty defending.
 

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