Are we better off with Curry starting?

[Otis]

Living here in East coast hell I get to see very few Gopher games. Does Curry look anywhere near as good as he did as a freshman?

Is he better than Oturu for the starting 5?

I've only seen the Maryland and Illinois games and I thought he looked a little labored on the court.

 

[Gophs24]

he is getting closer to his freshman year. but you can tell he still isn't 100% comfortable on the floor. and you can tell watching last night with extended minutes he looked gassed.

but man he sure does a lot on the court for us!

 

[Otis]

he is getting closer to his freshman year. but you can tell he still isn't 100% comfortable on the floor. and you can tell watching last night with extended minutes he looked gassed.

but man he sure does a lot on the court for us!

That's awesome to hear! He really knows how to play and play hard.

 

[Gophs24]

on whether he should be starting....that's a really good question. I do like him coming off the bench for now. but I wouldn't mind to change up the starting lineup to maybe light a fire on this team

 

[UpAndUnder43]

on whether he should be starting....that's a really good question. I do like him coming off the bench for now. but I wouldn't mind to change up the starting lineup to maybe light a fire on this team

If last night is an indication, changing the starting lineup helped. We didn’t lose by 27 to a 4-10 team.

 

[Gophs24]

If last night is an indication, changing the starting lineup helped. We didn’t lose by 27 to a 4-10 team.

 

[jovs]

Curry looked good last night, I didn't think michigan could handle the combination of Murphy and Curry, Gophers rarely feed it inside even though it seems to be turning into their strength this year.

 

[GO41FAN]

Yes we are!

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Curry did some great things. I’m not sure if he’ll start Sunday. I think it depends on the matchup honestly.

 

[macgopher]

Yes we are!

Absoutly! Something about him says ‘ above average court sense and presence.’ What I really like is that we have three bigs who are all good enough to start and this makes managing early foul trouble a lot easier.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Absoutly! Something about him says ‘ above average court sense and presence.’ What I really like is that we have three bigs who are all good enough to start and this makes managing early foul trouble a lot easier.

Starting or coming off the bench, the return of Curry to close to 100% was always going to be key for this team. He is a really good player, and before he got hurt he looked like he could be on the verge of becoming a star player for us. If he can stay healthy and can continue to contribute at a high level he makes this team very dangerous down the stretch because there are not a lot of teams that will be able to easily match up with a trio of Murphy, Curry, and Oturu.

Talent wise this Gopher team can hang with pretty much anyone in the country when they are playing their best. They just have to figure out a way to find some level of consistency and avoid those off nights where they struggle against bad teams.

 

[big10guy]

Curry looked good last night, I didn't think michigan could handle the combination of Murphy and Curry, Gophers rarely feed it inside even though it seems to be turning into their strength this year.

Excellent point. The Gopher bigs (Murphy, Curry, and Oturu) need to DEMAND the ball when they get someone on their backs. They don't do that nearly enough, and the wings don't feed it to them. If the defense collapses, kick it back out or to a cutter down the lane. But again, this relates back to the main question -- what is our offensive game plan?

 

[bga1]

Oturu and Curry are going to be a great duo together next year. The problem with Oturu and Murphy together is that they both need the same space and neither offers an outside threat. So my guess is that Pitino thinks that Curry and Murphy are the better pairing right now because of the complimentary skills. Oturu is our highest potential player and is going to be a great one before he leaves here. Over time he will extend his game to 15 feet and make drives to the hoop from the free throw line making him impossible to guard

 

[bga1]

Excellent point. The Gopher bigs (Murphy, Curry, and Oturu) need to DEMAND the ball when they get someone on their backs. They don't do that nearly enough, and the wings don't feed it to them. If the defense collapses, kick it back out or to a cutter down the lane. But again, this relates back to the main question -- what is our offensive game plan?

They don't have to respect our outside shooting so they pack it in on Oturu. Murphy is short for a big so he tends to like to get the ball 10-15 feet out rather than post up. When he drives they sag three guys and he rarely passes back out (perhaps because he himself doesn't trust our shooters). Guard play is our biggest issue....guards that can shoot are lacking. IW can drive, anytime he wants, but he can't get up in the air so he can't finish. Kalscheur finding his outside shot last night was a big difference maker in for the Gophers.

 

[Bordergopher]

So bummed we lost last night. We missed a golden opportunity, as Michigan had a really rare, really bad shooting night at home. We played reasonably well, except the turnovers killed us. Our guards just are not good with the ball, and our only good ball handler, IW, had an awful night. I’m proud of their effort and great come-back at the end of the game. It sucks how the last sequence played out with the blocked shot (great Gopher defense) going right to Mathews who makes a nice game-winning shot. That should have been a shot-clock violation if the Michigan clock guy hadn’t done his “magic” to change the differential between the shot and game clock at the time-out.

Anyway, though it seems like we just don’t get the breaks, we would have stolen a huge road win with better guard play. Man, do we miss Marcus Carr.


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[JimmyJamesMD]

They don't have to respect our outside shooting so they pack it in on Oturu. Murphy is short for a big so he tends to like to get the ball 10-15 feet out rather than post up. When he drives they sag three guys and he rarely passes back out (perhaps because he himself doesn't trust our shooters). Guard play is our biggest issue....guards that can shoot are lacking. IW can drive, anytime he wants, but he can't get up in the air so he can't finish. Kalscheur finding his outside shot last night was a big difference maker in for the Gophers.

He has to, especially when players taller than him are guarding him. He really struggles.

 

[Atl Gopher]

So bummed we lost last night. We missed a golden opportunity, as Michigan had a really rare, really bad shooting night at home. We played reasonably well, except the turnovers killed us. Our guards just are not good with the ball, and our only good ball handler, IW, had an awful night. I’m proud of their effort and great come-back at the end of the game. It sucks how the last sequence played out with the blocked shot (great Gopher defense) going right to Mathews who makes a nice game-winning shot. That should have been a shot-clock violation if the Michigan clock guy hadn’t done his “magic” to change the differential between the shot and game clock at the time-out.

Anyway, though it seems like we just don’t get the breaks, we would have stolen a huge road win with better guard play. Man, do we miss Marcus Carr.


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I turned the game off when the shot went in at the buzzer. I turned it back on maybe 10 minutes later to see the post game stuff. I was surprised to see the officials still looking at the shot. My guess is that they were trying to figure out how the shot clock could not expire when it appeared that 30 seconds had gone by. I bet one of the officials felt that the shot clock had expired before the shot and that is why they were looking at so long, but of course we will never know. They always huddle up, post-decision, to ensure that they all come across with the same information when talking to coaches and TV media. Not that I trust Big Ten officials, but at least it appeared that they were trying to get it right.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I don't think it matters that much. Pitino usually puts the other guy in 3 minutes or so into the game. I like that. Getting all 3 big men into the game early.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

I don't think it matters that much. Pitino usually puts the other guy in 3 minutes or so into the game. I like that. Getting all 3 big men into the game early.

Oturu and Murphy usually have a foul or two each by that point

 

[Some guy]

The way I see it the gophers always need at least one of Oturu and Murphy on the floor. So if having one come off the bench makes it easier to do, then that’s fine.

 

[Some guy]

Oturu and Murphy usually have a foul or two each by that point

I think this is exactly why he is doing it.
Always need one on the floor. Oturu cant get in foul trouble as soon if he comes off the bench.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

One look I liked last night and thought was effective (I could be wrong) was Oturu, Curry, Coffee, Dupree and Gabe. Gives Oturu and Coffey more room to work inside since Curry is an adept mid-range shooter and a better passer than I remember.

If he is playing like it isn't his first career game as a 9 year old, I think you could put IW with this lineup for Dupree and thrive (AGAIN, if he is playing well)

Or add Carr next year and thats your starting 5, but replace Curry with the Hurt we actually want.

 

[tjgopher]

One look I liked last night and thought was effective (I could be wrong) was Oturu, Curry, Coffee, Dupree and Gabe. Gives Oturu and Coffey more room to work inside since Curry is an adept mid-range shooter and a better passer than I remember.

If he is playing like it isn't his first career game as a 9 year old, I think you could put IW with this lineup for Dupree and thrive (AGAIN, if he is playing well)

Or add Carr next year and thats your starting 5, but replace Curry with the Hurt we actually want.

Honestly, I don't like any lineup that doesn't include Murphy. I would play Murphy every minute he isn't in foul trouble. Despite everyone wanting to get creative and proclaim others our best player, Murphy is still our best player and we aren't that good when he's on the bench. Michigan began making its 2nd half run when Murphy was on the bench. Pitino probably waited too long to put him back in. Murphy needs to play more than 28 minutes against the #5 team in the country.

 

[GringaGopher]

Agreed. The rebounding , double - double machine should play unless he is in foul trouble which is sadly too often. I really liked the hi- low action with Curry n Murph and wish we would stay with it more consistently.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Murphy can’t play 40 minutes, foul trouble or not. To completely dismiss other lineup possibilities is stupid. Much better and more productive players than Murphy play less than he does

 

[tjgopher]

Murphy can’t play 40 minutes, foul trouble or not.

He could play 34-35+ minutes when he is out of foul trouble. In fact, he has done that 31 times in his career. He has played over 40 minutes twice.

To completely dismiss other lineup possibilities is stupid.

It is more stupid to sit the team's best player for no reason.

Much better and more productive players than Murphy play less than he does

Can you name a few from the Big Ten this season??

 

[Unregistered User]

I don't think it matters that much. Pitino usually puts the other guy in 3 minutes or so into the game. I like that. Getting all 3 big men into the game early.

I’m probably wrong, but last night was the first obvious time that Pitino pulled Murphy to get both Oruru and Curry on the floor at the same time. Don’t recall the results, but floor spacing looked good.

Also, earlier in the year, Murphy and Oturu seemed to really have a connection, Murph hitting Daniel with some really great passes near the hoop. The competition may have had something to do with that, but it seemed clear they had a connection.

 

[die hard gopher]

I don't think he's worse than he was freshman year at all. Maybe the first two games but besides that he has been great.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

He could play 34-35+ minutes when he is out of foul trouble. In fact, he has done that 31 times in his career. He has played over 40 minutes twice.



It is more stupid to sit the team's best player for no reason.



Can you name a few from the Big Ten this season??

So he "could" but only has ~26.7% of the time. Also, I never said he couldn't. I said I like this lineup. Didn't say I'd bench Murphy. Or that he shouldn't play a ton of minutes. But for the 73.7% of the time he doesn't play 34-35+ minutes, or for those 5-6 minutes he isn't on the floor, we should play 4 on 5? I think its smart to have 5 on the floor.

Murphy plays less than guys because of his choices. Pitino rarely takes him out when he doesn't have foul trouble. I bet Murphy would average 35+ MPG if he would stop fouling constantly. I should have been more clear in all I said.

tl;dr Murphy should play as many minutes as possible. When he is off the floor, I think Oturu, Curry, Coffee, Dupree and Gabe provides a nice look. If Murphy is able to play 40 minutes then this lineup doesn't need to happen. It looks like in 116 games Murphy has played every minute 1 time. So for the 115/116 games, I think this lineup makes sense.