Bobby Durkin Commits

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Blitzkrieg said:
I love the enthusiasm and Pollyanna responses, but before we get too crazy let’s take a wait and see approach. I recognize through the BJ era anything positive at all was warranted, but I want to see how he can handle the B1G before getting too excited. People on here saying Huge get and Very good get need to take a breath. It’s encouraging but let’s be realistic. Patience my friends. We can say encouraging…
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Oh give me a friggin break. Being happy about what looks like a really nice portal pickup is not something anyone should feel bad about. Even calling it a "huge get" doesn't mean that poster is out buying tickets for next year's final 4 and figuring out where the best spots to be during the parade route will be. smh.
 

Blitzkrieg said:
I love the enthusiasm and Pollyanna responses, but before we get too crazy let’s take a wait and see approach. I recognize through the BJ era anything positive at all was warranted, but I want to see how he can handle the B1G before getting too excited. People on here saying Huge get and Very good get need to take a breath. It’s encouraging but let’s be realistic. Patience my friends. We can say encouraging…
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This is reasonable, but it sounds a bit like, Niko did well with a future NBA first-round draft pick on his roster; let's wait and see whether he can ever get back to the NCAAs without that kind of star power. Which sounds an awful lot like, as soon as _______ graduates, Bo Ryan and Wisconsin will be shit out of luck, and the Gophers will finally finish ahead of them in the standings!

Good coaches and program builders find a way.
 








Blitzkrieg said:
I love the enthusiasm and Pollyanna responses, but before we get too crazy let’s take a wait and see approach. I recognize through the BJ era anything positive at all was warranted, but I want to see how he can handle the B1G before getting too excited. People on here saying Huge get and Very good get need to take a breath. It’s encouraging but let’s be realistic. Patience my friends. We can say encouraging…
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Fair but we can extrapolate a little based on his splits versus top teams.

Loss against Arizona: 15/6 boards/5 assists, 5/10 from 3.
Loss against Gonzaga 7/3/3 struggled shooting, 3/10, 0/6 from 3
Win against Providence 20/4/1 7/12 shooting, 4/8 from 3
Loss against Temple 14/6/0, 5/12 shooting, 4/8 from 3

Pretty solid performances aside from Gonzaga.
 


We need 5 Guys Humphries for some swag as honorary GM.
Obviously, working well for Davidson...Screen Shot 2025-04-07 at 5.32.16 PM.png
 





Official press release from the U of MN:

MINNEAPOLIS - Head men’s basketball coach Niko Medved has announced the addition of Bobby Durkin (Darien, Ill.) to the Golden Gopher program. Durkin comes to Minnesota after playing two years at Davidson.

“Bobby is a phenomenal shooter with great size and length,” Medved said. “He’s a versatile player who can create space and has good floor vision. In addition, his defensive play and rebounding ability really stands out. We’re excited to have Bobby as a Golden Gopher.”

Durkin, a 6-foot, 7-inch guard/wing, was Davidson's best three-point shooter the past two seasons. As a sophomore, Durkin averaged 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds as well as 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals and started in 32 of 33 games. From the arc, Durkin scored 91 three-pointers in 256 attempts, which was a team-best and fourth-most among Atlantic 10 athletes. His 2.8 threes per game ranked fifth in the league. He also shot 40.6 from the field and 85.0 from the free-throw line averaging 33.7 minutes. Durkin had 23 double-digit scoring games, including six with 20-plus performances, and four double-figure rebounding games.

In his 2023-24 freshman year with the Wildcats, Durkin started in 17 of 32 games and averaged 8.5 points and 37.3 percent from the floor. As a rookie, Durkin scored a team-best 59 three-pointers and had 15 double-digit scoring performances when he averaged 28.1 minutes.

2025 Spring Signees (Hometown)
BJ Omot (Mankato, Minn.)
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (San Antonio, Texas)
Bobby Durkin (Darien, Ill.)
 

Blitzkrieg said:
I love the enthusiasm and Pollyanna responses, but before we get too crazy let’s take a wait and see approach. I recognize through the BJ era anything positive at all was warranted, but I want to see how he can handle the B1G before getting too excited. People on here saying Huge get and Very good get need to take a breath. It’s encouraging but let’s be realistic. Patience my friends. We can say encouraging…
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Hey, I understand as a Gopher sports fan that you're inclined to be more pragmatic and take the wait and see approach. However, I say let people have some hope and excitement around the program and Niko, since there hasn't been much for a while. I have nothing against Ben, but my first thought when I heard he was hired and had no HC experience, I was like Ahhh...... shit there is no commitment to this program and how many more years are we going to have to put up with this. However, I think Niko's background and success have injected some hope into this fanbase and with a little early season success next year I think we might see a few more fans at Williams Arena.
 

85% from the free-throw line. I'm looking forward to next season simply to watch us make some free throws at crunch time instead of putting up bricks.
 


MNVCGUY said:
I didn't get a Jimmy Chitwood.....but he looks like somebody famous.....I am sure one of the better photo shop people here will figure out who it is....not coming to me at the moment
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Young Kevin Bacon with dark hair.
 



The more important question out of this and the BJ signing is what is Niko’s go to meme?
 
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Married@SiebertField said:
At the risk of a mild topic deviation—who was a dead-eye Gopher free throw shooter? I recall Bobby Jackson as clutch down the stretch in games.
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Free Throw Percentage (min. 200 atts.)
PlayerPct.FG-FGA
1.Joey King (2013-16).839182-217
3.Andre Hollins (2011-15).828413-499
3.Voshon Lenard (1992-93).810192-237
4.Flip Saunders (1974-77).809170-210
5.Lawrence Westbrook (2006-10).807243-301
 



atsgopher said:
when I hear his name, I can't get this 50s rock vibe out of my head

I could hear it, blaring out of a transistor radio.

Here's Bobby Durkin and the Defenders with their smash hit - Ball Movement!
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Or the old Irish ballad called "Good-Bye, Mrs. Durkin". The Pogues version is quite good.
 

Word said:
Free Throw Percentage (min. 200 atts.)
PlayerPct.FG-FGA
1.Joey King (2013-16).839182-217
3.Andre Hollins (2011-15).828413-499
3.Voshon Lenard (1992-93).810192-237
4.Flip Saunders (1974-77).809170-210
5.Lawrence Westbrook (2006-10).807243-301
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Ironically, if you include the vacated games, Lenard falls to fourth.
 


Some things I really liked about Durkin after doing some research. In their 3 games against high major opposition he lead the team in minutes (close with a couple other guys). He also lead the team in steals for the year at 1.3 a game. Second leading rebounder on the team at 5.9 and the leader was only at 6.1. His YouTube highlights show some really nice passes and you could certainly see that skill being a plus in Niko's Princeton based offense. He's a volume 3 point shooter and kind of reminds me of some of those less than athletic Purdue shooters that have given us fits in past years.

My two concerns are he ended the season in an awful shooting slump his last 8 games of the year (starting with an 0-9 against Loyola Chicago, he went 11-60 from 3 to finish the year) and he looks really heavy legged/footed in his YouTube video so he might need to be protected on defense.

The analytics sites love this guy for his efficiency. I think, Durkin, Omot, Crocker-Johnson is a really interesting forward rotation. 3 guys who seemingly have very different skill sets that could be mixed and matched based on need. I love that all 3 have 2 years of eligibility as well.

I really love that apparently Durkin took visits to Clemson and Ohio State and he's going to be a Gopher. Need to win some recruiting battles to get this thing going.
 

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