“Secret” Scrimmage


I certainly haven't heard this but will be anxious to hear any leak about it next weekend.
 

According to Jeff Goodman we play a secret scrimmage at Oklahoma on 10/23. Not sure if this has been posted yet or not, I apologize if it has.
Thanks for the info. Didn’t know about it.
 

According to Jeff Goodman we play a secret scrimmage at Oklahoma on 10/23. Not sure if this has been posted yet or not, I apologize if it has.

Thanks for posting. Always interesting to see the box scores when they get tweeted out later that day.

Go Gophers!!
 

Pretty frustrating that the "secret" scrimmage is a better opponent than anyone on the non-conference schedule.
 









Good way to find out who is going to compete in game type situations without worrying about the score, I like it.
 






Per Marcus:
When the Gophers men's basketball team travels on the road next week to play its first opponent under new coach Ben Johnson, it won't be an official game.

Closed scrimmages, also called "secret scrimmages" are back this college basketball season. The Gophers are scheduled to play Oct. 23 at Oklahoma in front of no fans. The Sooners and new coach Porter Moser, formerly at Loyola-Chicago, will be the first true test for Johnson's newcomer-laden squad.


With last year's start to the season delayed due to COVID-19 concerns, the closed scrimmages were part of the many lost opportunities to get teams ready for their opener. The U played Iowa State, Creighton, and DePaul in secret scrimmages in recent years, respectively.

Welcoming 10 newcomers to the team this season, the Gophers need as much time as they've been allowed to learn a new system and build chemistry. Following the Oklahoma scrimmage, Minnesota will host Concordia-St. Paul in an exhibition game Nov. 1 at Williams Arena. The two teams were scheduled to play last year, but that preseason warmup was also canceled.

So far, the only scrimmages being played have been within the team.

One of the early surprises for the Gophers in practices has been the emergence of walk-on sophomore Will Ramberg as a potential rotation player.

The 6-5 native of Grand Marais, Minn. played in 10 games at McGill University in Montreal last season before transferring back to his home state this summer. Having scored 49 points in a high school game, Ramberg's confident offensively. But his basketball IQ and toughness has allowed him to make a smooth transition into holding his own in fall practices for the Gophers.

"Will has been great for us," Johnson said recently. "I honestly didn't know much about him because he had very little tape. But what I saw I liked because he had good size. He was hungry to be here. He wanted to be here. It means something to him."

The Gophers are thin in the frontcourt, so Ramberg could even potentially slide in to provide depth at forward this year. Johnson said he's making a strong case to play him.

"I don't know how much. I don't know if it's going to be every game," Johnson said. "But you're going to put yourself in the position. … He competes every day. He works at it every day. He's in the gym. He's a great teammate. Guys have trust in him, which is huge. Our staff is building trust with him. I'm building trust with him. I just want him to continue to grow."https://t.co/EG8v6o4vCm
 




Every time the Gophers played a closed scrimmage game against Creighton when Pitino was the coach, there were stats and post game stories. This game feels way out of wack and uncomfortably quiet. Did we lose by 50?
 

Every time the Gophers played a closed scrimmage game against Creighton when Pitino was the coach, there were stats and post game stories. This game feels way out of wack and uncomfortably quiet. Did we lose by 50?
It’s on 10/23
 


Lol. OK. Maybe frustrating is overstating it. Just it would be a fun game to watch, and more interesting that UMKC, Corpus Christi, etc. Nothing more. I think the "secret" part is dumb. Call it an exhibition and let people watch.
Agreed.
 

I grew up on the north shore from the 60s thru the early 80s. I can't remember any division 1 basketball player coming out of the area Two Harbors and north to Grand Marais. There is just very little population there. Ramberg is the first that I am aware of. The only thing of note I remember was that Lute Olsen coached the Two harbors basketball team for a short time while I was there
 



Gotta have these kind of players on your bench. If he is the next Dusty Rychart, wonderful. Mostly though when you need to give your starters a break or foul trouble, need to have someone who can come into the game and play hard and not be the guy that the opponent can exploit and score quick points. Totally into these kind of story lines.
 


I grew up on the north shore from the 60s thru the early 80s. I can't remember any division 1 basketball player coming out of the area Two Harbors and north to Grand Marais. There is just very little population there. Ramberg is the first that I am aware of. The only thing of note I remember was that Lute Olsen coached the Two harbors basketball team for a short time while I was there
Scott MacDonald played for WVU from 1972-1975.
 




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