Which Gopher player are you most excited to watch this year?

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UpAndUnder43

UpAndUnder43

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For me, its the same as last year--Isaiah Washington.

I know, I know, I know. Murphy and Coffey are both poised for monster years. But I love me some Jelly. Most guards get better and I think he'll be really solid this year. He can take over games (Michigan last year) and drive you crazy by taking dumb shots but his work ethic is undeniable. I honestly think he'll have a great year. This team looks more like his type of team on paper. More athletic, more shooters and most importantly he'll have the ball in his hands more. He was one of the few guys last year who could consistently break down defenders and get his shot.
 


Curry.

Curious to see if he can pick up where he left off two seasons ago.
 

Carr, because it beats not watching him play.
 

Oturu.

However, I am excited to see a lot of this year's team. IW and Curry are both key guys. How does McBrayer bounce back? Same with Coffey. Does Murph come up with something more than that rocking chair set shot? What does Stull bring? Can Kalsheuer be an all around player in addition to the shooting. And then there's Omearsa with the crazy hops. Does Carr get to play? Can Stockman contribute? Can Hurt be more assertive?

Then as a team, how does Pitino put the combos together?

Whereas last year's team had the possibility of greatness it seemed set at the start of the year. This team has as much potential but the uncertainty is far greater. It should be a lot of fun to watch.
 


I'm excited to see if Dupree has made a leap. He's been our best player in various games over the past few years. If he steps up his game a little bit I think he can be a real leader for this team.
 


Pitino has talked about the different look and focus Amir Coffey has to his game. The look that he is ready to take the next jump and I'm very excited to see it.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Oturu
 

IW-Hopefully he can build off what he did in the 2nd half last year
Oturu-We are going to need him to be a difference maker in the post. Can he do it as a freshman? We need somebody to take the pressure off Murphy
Stull-We need him to be a guy we can count on with the 2's

Honorable Mention
Gabe-im sure he isn't going to get a lot of run this year. But im looking forward to him being the 3 & D type player for us. And maybe he can come in and be a spark plug with his shooting with the chances he gets
 




I'm most excited to see Oturu. It was a perfect storm last year between Curry's knee, Amir's shoulder and Dupree's leg, then you throw in Reggie's suspension.

Lynch and Curry being out put Jordan Murphy on an island defensively. Without Lynch, opposing teams had no fear driving the lane for lay-ups or kicking out for open shots. I'm curious to see how much of an interior defender Oturu can be right away. Murphy said at Big Ten media day in Chicago Oturu is a better shot-blocker than he thought.
 

Oturu or coffey. I’ve heard talk of people who know Amir that say he is playing by far his best basketball ever. I predicted murph would be leading scorer last year correctly. I actually think Coffey will be leading scorer this year. His original plan was to stay 2 years and go pro. Def think he will be hungry
 

Oturu because he’s probably the best prep player I’ve seen.
 



I don't care, just please give me college basketball.
 

mplarson7 said:
I don't care, just please give me college basketball.
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This. And Curry. I think he has been a little ‘the forgotten man’ but his freshman year he already showed signs of greatness.
 

I’m almost always most excited to see the new guys each fall. Of course, their abilities are way overblown in my mind, and eventually come crashing down to earth once it it is apparent they are actually human. But that’s the fun of it all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

WanderingGopher said:
Stockman
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Good for you! Stockman is the mystery man. We don't know how good (or bad) he will be, but he probably will have to play a fair amount, at least initially, because of injury recoveries. Plus, we had to wait a year to see him.

Having said that, my list is more pedestrian.

1) Washington: we saw big glimpses of raw talent last year. Now we hope he's learned something about being the starting pg, has learned how to harness that talent in his role within a team framework, and, almost as importantly, that he has improved his shooting.

2) Murphy: because he's been our best player throughout his career and we hope he saves his best for last

3) Stockman: for the reasons stated above
 

Gophs24 said:
Honorable Mention
Gabe-im sure he isn't going to get a lot of run this year.
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I think he might surprise people. The difference between him and someone like Jamir Harris is that Gabe is significantly longer, appears to be fairly athletic, and appears to play hard.
 


Oturu!

He has the most potential of any recruit coming into Minnesota since Humphries in my opinion. With his physical skill set he could blow up and be a first round draft pick. It will all be up to how the staff develops him and improves on his weaknesses.

Omersa - Sleeper pick - Is there a ceiling on this guy? I'd love to see him come out strong.
 

Otis said:
Oturu!

He has the most potential of any recruit coming into Minnesota since Humphries in my opinion. With his physical skill set he could blow up and be a first round draft pick. It will all be up to how the staff develops him and improves on his weaknesses.

Omersa - Sleeper pick - Is there a ceiling on this guy? I'd love to see him come out strong.
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Two VERY high potential guys. I see Omersa being a Murphy type of player, with more bounce. Oturu will dominate defensively Day 1. That is hard to do.
 

I want to see if Murphy has improved his perimeter shooting.
I want to see if Coffey has improved his handles and attacking using the right hand.
I want to see if the light bulb has turned on for Washington and he plays smarter.
I want to see if McBrayer is healthy and also has improved his handles.
I want to know if Hurt can confidently shoot and make a three point shot.
I want to know if Curry is able to show burst and attack or if he's lost a step and has to modify his game.
I want the new pups to just compete.
 


Tough decision, but if I had to pick one, it would be Curry. After his freshman year, I seriously thought he had the chance to be an excellent player for us. He singlehandedly beat Purdue in OT that year. He's coming off of a very significant knee injury. It's not a for-sure thing that he bounces back, especially this season. Will he be rusty all year long? Will the athleticism and confidence we saw when he was a freshman come back this year? If he plays big minutes at the 5, can he play good enough defense?
 


Gophs24 said:
IW-Hopefully he can build off what he did in the 2nd half last year
Oturu-We are going to need him to be a difference maker in the post. Can he do it as a freshman? We need somebody to take the pressure off Murphy
Stull-We need him to be a guy we can count on with the 2's

Honorable Mention
Gabe-im sure he isn't going to get a lot of run this year. But im looking forward to him being the 3 & D type player for us. And maybe he can come in and be a spark plug with his shooting with the chances he gets
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I think Gabe's minutes will depend partly on whether Carr is eligible or not. If Carr can play then Gabe will probably see a reduced role but if there is no Carr I think Gabe is line for a pretty solid more. I actually think he will have a bigger role than Stull right now.
 

gopherguy15 said:
Tough decision, but if I had to pick one, it would be Curry. After his freshman year, I seriously thought he had the chance to be an excellent player for us. He singlehandedly beat Purdue in OT that year. He's coming off of a very significant knee injury. It's not a for-sure thing that he bounces back, especially this season. Will he be rusty all year long? Will the athleticism and confidence we saw when he was a freshman come back this year? If he plays big minutes at the 5, can he play good enough defense?
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That Purdue game defines him. Let’s hope there are more defining games this year. I expect with good health there will be more.
 

Goldy Gopher said:
I think Gabe's minutes will depend partly on whether Carr is eligible or not. If Carr can play then Gabe will probably see a reduced role but if there is no Carr I think Gabe is line for a pretty solid more. I actually think he will have a bigger role than Stull right now.
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Gabe ran with the starters at yesterday's practice- it was open to the Golden Dunkers and some Gopher Loyalty people. Amir and Dupree shared the "point guard" role, Murph and Oturu were the other 2 "starters"

my biggest takeaway was that this could be a great year for Amir- he looked happy-intense and working hard on the court and then afterwards was smiling and joking with teammates that I didn't see in the previous years. Hopefully that translates into a good vibe that carries the team
 


Angrygopher1 said:
What about Curry? I heard his knee is still bothering him.
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not his knee, his calf on the other leg.

he went through the stationary dribbling drills and then they did some across court dribbling and he grimaced a little bit and then they got into another drill and he did one rep and took himself out. The trainer talked to him and they didn't do any therapy type things right then. I asked him about it afterwards and he said it was mostly precautionary. He wants to be 100% so he doesn't have any set-backs once the games start. He didn't seem very concerned about it.
 

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