PiPress: Should Richard Pitino make a starting lineup change?

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

Murphy was Minnesota’s go-to guy for a stretch at the end of the 85-81 double-overtime loss to South Dakota on Saturday, finishing with 19 points and 17 rebounds. The momentum swayed when Murphy fouled out early in the second overtime.

The fact that he still hasn’t started a game the way he’s played seems strange.

Sure, King is the team’s leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. But he averages just 4.4 rebounds, which isn’t good enough for a Big Ten starting power forward. At 6-9 and 240 pounds, King’s not quick and athletic enough to play small forward and not enough of an inside presence to play center. But he does need to be on the floor to stretch the defense as the team’s top three-point shooter. He’s also a team captain and probably the most vocal player on the floor.

Murphy can play three positions, though. King and Murphy are on the floor a lot to finish games, so why not start them? The Gophers are having problems getting off to a good start in games. They’ve trailed at halftime in five of the last six games.

My starting lineup right now would be Nate Mason, Carlos Morris, Jordan Murphy, Joey King and Bakary Konate. That would mean Charles Buggs coming off the bench. He would be great in that role, because Buggs is an instant energy guy.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...richard-pitino-make-a-starting-lineup-change/

Go Gophers!!
 

I don't care who starts, but Morris should not play more than 15 min./game. We're only going to win 4 or 5 B10 games; may as well give more minutes to the younger guys.
 

Hard to argue with this. Murphy can play 3 positions - unfortunately not all at the same time.
The conundrum is Konate. They brought him in for the tipoff in OT and he sent the ball out of bounds (ouch). But we need some time at center from him. I agree Buggs is great to bring in for energy (and comic relief), but when we can get away with it size-wise I prefer him over Konate.
 

Murphy appears to be our best and most productive player, so yes, I would put him in the starting lineup. For either Konate or Buggs, and not because those guys don't have potential. ... they do. Biggest weakness is Gophers don't rebound and they don't have a go-to guy. Seems to me Murphy has the ability to provide those things more so than Konate and/or Buggsy?
 

Our best lineup so far has been Dorsey, Mason, Murphy, Buggs and King.

You have to work Konate in there to keep developing the project, but we've been better without him than with him.
 


linueps

If Joey weighs 240 I am 10 feet tall! Murphy could start, especially if they are playing zone. Who is guarding the sf in this lineup. Buggs can, joey cannot, can Murphy?
Big ten SF's: Layman 6-9 220, LeVert 6-7 205, Valentine 6-5 220, R Davis 6-5 215, Jok 6-6 200, all upper classman on the better teams and all perimeter people. Not saying it wont work but it looks like a tough matchup for someone in Murphy who excels from 15' and in.


BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

At 6-9 and 240 pounds, King’s not quick and athletic enough to play small forward and not enough of an inside presence to play center. But he does need to be on the floor to stretch the defense as the team’s top three-point shooter. He’s also a team captain and probably the most vocal player on the floor. on Saturday, finishing with 19 points and 17 rebounds. The momentum swayed when Murphy fouled out early in the second overtime.

Murphy can play three positions, though. King and Murphy are on the floor a lot to finish games, so why not start them? The Gophers are having problems getting off to a good start in games. They’ve trailed at halftime in five of the last six games.

My starting lineup right now would be Nate Mason, Carlos Morris, Jordan Murphy, Joey King and Bakary Konate. That would mean Charles Buggs coming off the bench. He would be great in that role, because Buggs is an instant energy guy.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...richard-pitino-make-a-starting-lineup-change/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
 

BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

Murphy was Minnesota’s go-to guy for a stretch at the end of the 85-81 double-overtime loss to South Dakota on Saturday, finishing with 19 points and 17 rebounds. The momentum swayed when Murphy fouled out early in the second overtime.

The fact that he still hasn’t started a game the way he’s played seems strange.

Sure, King is the team’s leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. But he averages just 4.4 rebounds, which isn’t good enough for a Big Ten starting power forward. At 6-9 and 240 pounds, King’s not quick and athletic enough to play small forward and not enough of an inside presence to play center. But he does need to be on the floor to stretch the defense as the team’s top three-point shooter. He’s also a team captain and probably the most vocal player on the floor.

Murphy can play three positions, though. King and Murphy are on the floor a lot to finish games, so why not start them? The Gophers are having problems getting off to a good start in games. They’ve trailed at halftime in five of the last six games.

My starting lineup right now would be Nate Mason, Carlos Morris, Jordan Murphy, Joey King and Bakary Konate. That would mean Charles Buggs coming off the bench. He would be great in that role, because Buggs is an instant energy guy.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...richard-pitino-make-a-starting-lineup-change/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
Bakary 20 minutes off of the bench. Buggs starts with Murphy. Morris off the bench too. Dorsey starts at point with Mason at the two. Joey starts. I guess we are small here but that should get us off to a better start
 

Bad Gopher said:
Our best lineup so far has been Dorsey, Mason, Murphy, Buggs and King.

You have to work Konate in there to keep developing the project, but we've been better without him than with him.
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Agreed. Unfortunately, as another poster noted a couple of weeks ago, the problem is that the game runs 40 minutes and there doesn't appear to be enough talent on this team to fill all of those minutes very well. Obviously, Pitino felt comfortable enough with the former AD to make this a reset year and short the roster. I can see taking Lynch but I think finding a player who could have played this year might have been a better use of a roster spot than Fitzgerald.
 

cjbfbp said:
Agreed. Unfortunately, as another poster noted a couple of weeks ago, the problem is that the game runs 40 minutes and there doesn't appear to be enough talent on this team to fill all of those minutes very well. Obviously, Pitino felt comfortable enough with the former AD to make this a reset year and short the roster. I can see taking Lynch but I think finding a player who could have played this year might have been a better use of a roster spot than Fitzgerald.
Click to expand...

If Pitino was honest in his assessment that Fitzgerald is the best one on the court in practice then it wasn't a mistake. I don't think taking a player who won a SEC freshmen of the week award is a bad idea it's probably a better option than nearly any spring recruit.
 



Fitzgerald is in a lock-jam at pf and he didn't have that impressive of numbers. I hope he really improves in the year off.

In just under 10 min at A&M: 3.5 pts, 32% FG, 1.6 reb, 30% on 3's. He doesn't appear to be a 3pt shooter or a rebounder. Can he defend?

If he cannot shoot it well from 3, I am not sure you can play him at the three, especially with Dorsey not being a good outside shooter.

Murphy starts at pf next year, next to Coffey at sf. Dorsey at pg, mason at sg, lynch and bk splitting the center. Buggs would be a scorer off the bench, McBrayer main guard backup.

I see fitzgerald battling Curry for backup pf minutes, unless Curry redshirts?? Coffey will be the most versatile player the gophers have had, with the ability to play the 1-3 spots with ease.
 

Konate had a really rough outing against South Dakota. The problem with Fuller's proposed lineup is that neither King or Murphy has shown any ability to guard out on the perimeter. The glaring issue in the South Dakota game late was how everyone (including Dorsey) was getting beat off the dribble. As strange as it sounds, I think Buggs needs to stay in the lineup and if you make a change it is Murphy for Konate.
 

Not trying to bash you here and I think others have pointed out that was a year after having knee surgery and was not health the whole season his freshman numbers are a lot better.
15.7 2.6-6.8 .383 0.8-2.6 .286 1.3-2.3 .593 2.3 0.1 0.7 0.2 1.8 0.6 7.3
That being said I would have prefered getting a guy that could of helped this year, I think Pitino was a little too comfortable with the former ad and allowed this year to get away from him.
march madness said:
Fitzgerald is in a lock-jam at pf and he didn't have that impressive of numbers. I hope he really improves in the year off.

In just under 10 min at A&M: 3.5 pts, 32% FG, 1.6 reb, 30% on 3's. He doesn't appear to be a 3pt shooter or a rebounder. Can he defend?

If he cannot shoot it well from 3, I am not sure you can play him at the three, especially with Dorsey not being a good outside shooter.

Murphy starts at pf next year, next to Coffey at sf. Dorsey at pg, mason at sg, lynch and bk splitting the center. Buggs would be a scorer off the bench, McBrayer main guard backup.

I see fitzgerald battling Curry for backup pf minutes, unless Curry redshirts?? Coffey will be the most versatile player the gophers have had, with the ability to play the 1-3 spots with ease.
Click to expand...
 

Tim1406 said:
I don't think taking a player who won a SEC freshmen of the week award is a bad idea it's probably a better option than nearly any spring recruit.
Click to expand...

Spring recruit? Oh, you mean like Jordan Murphy or Chris Boucher?
 



rivergopher said:
Not trying to bash you here and I think others have pointed out that was a year after having knee surgery and was not health the whole season his freshman numbers are a lot better.
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How do you know that he'll return to his freshman level of athleticism? Some guys never return completely to their former selves after injuries.
 

LesBolstad said:
I don't care who starts, but Morris should not play more than 15 min./game. We're only going to win 4 or 5 B10 games; may as well give more minutes to the younger guys.
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You sir, are an optimist. I'm thinking 2 or 3.
Thank god we did not have to pay for the tickets tonight.
 

beavergopher said:
You sir, are an optimist. I'm thinking 2 or 3.
Thank god we did not have to pay for the tickets tonight.
Click to expand...

I got $5 for my unused extra, and was as happy as a pig in slop. There's just so little interest in this program from the general public and can't say I blame them.
 

The challenge is you can't play Morris & Buggs at the same time. They are the two worst team defense players to ever don the Maroon & Gold. They both lack the desire to play good team defense & I suspect they may also lack the intelligence to understand it.

I don't care about wins this year. All I want it to develop the youngsters. Mason-Dorsey-McBrayer-Gilbert-Murphy-Bakary-Gaston. Play them all extensively. This is a throw away season and Morris is a throw away Senior. Sit him down. Buggs is a 4th year Junior who still has the court awareness of a 7th grade girl. Like Morris, he can provide some talent offensively, but the trade off in terms of team defense & sacrificing the future is not worth it. Sit him down too. King & the young guys, that's who I'd play.
 

cjbfbp said:
How do you know that he'll return to his freshman level of athleticism? Some guys never return completely to their former selves after injuries.
Click to expand...

No reason to think Fitzgerald won't return to the level he played at as a Freshman or higher. In the year 2015, knee surgeries aren't the dark cloud they used to be. Om top of that, I'm certain the doctors have performed full testing on his knee to see if he's good to go. I don't think Fitz is a savior, but no reason to think he can't fight for a starting spot or at least be a solid rotation guy, imo.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
The challenge is you can't play Morris & Buggs at the same time. They are the two worst team defense players to ever don the Maroon & Gold. They both lack the desire to play good team defense & I suspect they may also lack the intelligence to understand it.

I don't care about wins this year. All I want it to develop the youngsters. Mason-Dorsey-McBrayer-Gilbert-Murphy-Bakary-Gaston. Play them all extensively. This is a throw away season and Morris is a throw away Senior. Sit him down. Buggs is a 4th year Junior who still has the court awareness of a 7th grade girl. Like Morris, he can provide some talent offensively, but the trade off in terms of team defense & sacrificing the future is not worth it. Sit him down too. King & the young guys, that's who I'd play.
Click to expand...
Brutal, but honest. Except I would say the awareness of a 7th grade boy. But then i would.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
The challenge is you can't play Morris & Buggs at the same time. They are the two worst team defense players to ever don the Maroon & Gold. They both lack the desire to play good team defense & I suspect they may also lack the intelligence to understand it.

I don't care about wins this year. All I want it to develop the youngsters. Mason-Dorsey-McBrayer-Gilbert-Murphy-Bakary-Gaston. Play them all extensively. This is a throw away season and Morris is a throw away Senior. Sit him down. Buggs is a 4th year Junior who still has the court awareness of a 7th grade girl. Like Morris, he can provide some talent offensively, but the trade off in terms of team defense & sacrificing the future is not worth it. Sit him down too. King & the young guys, that's who I'd play.
Click to expand...

+1
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
No reason to think Fitzgerald won't return to the level he played at as a Freshman or higher. In the year 2015, knee surgeries aren't the dark cloud they used to be. Om top of that, I'm certain the doctors have performed full testing on his knee to see if he's good to go. I don't think Fitz is a savior, but no reason to think he can't fight for a starting spot or at least be a solid rotation guy, imo.
Click to expand...

+1
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
The challenge is you can't play Morris & Buggs at the same time. They are the two worst team defense players to ever don the Maroon & Gold. They both lack the desire to play good team defense & I suspect they may also lack the intelligence to understand it. I don't care about wins this year. All I want it to develop the youngsters. Mason-Dorsey-McBrayer-Gilbert-Murphy-Bakary-Gaston. Play them all extensively. This is a throw away season and Morris is a throw away Senior. Sit him down. Buggs is a 4th year Junior who still has the court awareness of a 7th grade girl. Like Morris, he can provide some talent offensively, but the trade off in terms of team defense & sacrificing the future is not worth it. Sit him down too. King & the young guys, that's who I'd play.
Click to expand...

A little blunt for my taste :)

but overall agreed.
 

march madness said:
Fitzgerald is in a lock-jam at pf and he didn't have that impressive of numbers. I hope he really improves in the year off.

In just under 10 min at A&M: 3.5 pts, 32% FG, 1.6 reb, 30% on 3's. He doesn't appear to be a 3pt shooter or a rebounder. Can he defend?

If he cannot shoot it well from 3, I am not sure you can play him at the three, especially with Dorsey not being a good outside shooter.

Murphy starts at pf next year, next to Coffey at sf. Dorsey at pg, mason at sg, lynch and bk splitting the center. Buggs would be a scorer off the bench, McBrayer main guard backup.

I see fitzgerald battling Curry for backup pf minutes, unless Curry redshirts?? Coffey will be the most versatile player the gophers have had, with the ability to play the 1-3 spots with ease.
Click to expand...
Curry will not redshirt. No way.
 

The youngsters are getting plenty of playing time--chill. Their minutes will increase as the season goes on. More minutes isn't always better and there are many consequences to benching those guys. It's not like we have much depth anyway.
 

So far, it looks like a no brainer to me:

PG: Dorsey
SG: Mason
SF: Buggs
PF: King
PF: Murphy

Bobby Knight always said, "Put your best 5 out there!" Those are our best 5, should embrace it and try to go small with lots of ball movement and defensive pressure.
 

I see Fitz more as a SF than a PF. I also don't think it's a lock he starts over Buggs next year
 



underground629 said:
The youngsters are getting plenty of playing time--chill. Their minutes will increase as the season goes on. More minutes isn't always better and there are many consequences to benching those guys. It's not like we have much depth anyway.
Click to expand...

What consequences?
 


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