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UpAndUnder43 said:
What sucks is the two injuries caused the depth issue. Or a lot of it. Hopefully guys grow and develop from it and long term its better
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3.5 contributors out: Willis, Vaihola, Omot, Stephens?

Not sure if Stephens would have contributed or his current status but 3 for sure.

Does the team come together and play this well without the injuries? Would have been nice to find out.
 

Cmich Gopher said:
3.5 contributors out: Willis, Vaihola, Omot, Stephens?

Not sure if Stephens would have contributed or his current status but 3 for sure.

Does the team come together and play this well without the injuries? Would have been nice to find out.
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I forgot about Omot. Tough to overcome several big injuries. And agreed it would have been nice to find out!
 




The last 4 years were so bad and even a lot of the Pitino era was the same. The weave at the top with little other movement, it was so easy to guard. It went on for so long, I started doubting if a new coach could even come in and make a big difference in style of play and scheme. It is so refreshing to see them playing this new offense.
 

TruthSeeker said:
Is there hope of getting anyone back?
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Willis and Viahola are out for the year. Omot is the big mystery.

To anyone who was at the game last night - is Omot taking part in any pre-game activities? He is there on the bench in a warmup suit but I don't think there has been an update on his status in a long time. Would be a huge boost to the team to get another usable piece.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Willis and Viahola are out for the year. Omot is the big mystery.

To anyone who was at the game last night - is Omot taking part in any pre-game activities? He is there on the bench in a warmup suit but I don't think there has been an update on his status in a long time. Would be a huge boost to the team to get another usable piece.
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Right. I seem to recall it was some sort of dress fracture or hairline fracture? As a fan, the new era of saying virtually nothing about injuries is a bummer. I recall some sort of “insider” information at one point hinting he might come back by year-end. But here we are in 2026 with pretty much zero updates.
 

Bordergopher said:
Right. I seem to recall it was some sort of dress fracture or hairline fracture? As a fan, the new era of saying virtually nothing about injuries is a bummer. I recall some sort of “insider” information at one point hinting he might come back by year-end. But here we are in 2026 with pretty much zero updates.
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It is definitely frustrating as a fan that teams are not required to provide injury updates for college players the same way they do in the pros but it is what it is.

Omot hasn't been officially ruled out for the year so hopefully that means we get him back at some point still this season.
 

Gopher-in-Keno said:
The last 4 years were so bad and even a lot of the Pitino era was the same. The weave at the top with little other movement, it was so easy to guard. It went on for so long, I started doubting if a new coach could even come in and make a big difference in style of play and scheme. It is so refreshing to see them playing this new offense.
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It’s amazing to watch a functioning offense. Pretty remarkable Ben won 9 big ten games with how bad it was to watch.
 

MNVCGUY said:
It is definitely frustrating as a fan that teams are not required to provide injury updates for college players the same way they do in the pros but it is what it is.

Omot hasn't been officially ruled out for the year so hopefully that means we get him back at some point still this season.
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Unless he’s very close it may not help much. Wouldn’t be in game shape, etc.

Maybe he redshirts? I don’t know his eligibility status at this point.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Unless he’s very close it may not help much. Wouldn’t be in game shape, etc.

Maybe he redshirts? I don’t know his eligibility status at this point.
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True, but with a slim bench even something along the lines of 10 minutes a game seems like it would be really helpful just to take some wear and tear off of other guys.
 

MNVCGUY said:
True, but with a slim bench even something along the lines of 10 minutes a game seems like it would be really helpful just to take some wear and tear off of other guys.
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No doubt. If Omot could be a solid 10-15 minutes the team would be better.

My fear is that late game issues with pop up in part due to fatigue. Defenses lapses, mental mistakes, etc. can all be caused by fatigue. Not to mention shooting woes or free throw issues. All this assuming no minor injuries or foul trouble.

They survived Iowa so I’m happy.
 

Yes, we can say that we have a decent coach. Two wins this season against ranked teams.
And this is with two starters being out for the year with injury.
We have no bench or depth.
This season is already better than expected.
Look at Grayson Grove even...... he was a bench warmer last year. Now he contributes and has a lot of upside.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
No doubt. If Omot could be a solid 10-15 minutes the team would be better.

My fear is that late game issues with pop up in part due to fatigue. Defenses lapses, mental mistakes, etc. can all be caused by fatigue. Not to mention shooting woes or free throw issues. All this assuming no minor injuries or foul trouble.

They survived Iowa so I’m happy.
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Agreed. I was at the game last night and with about 5 minutes left I could tell the Gophers looked tired, especially Tyson and Crocker-Johnson. Now Iowa hit some big shots down the stretch, but that late run coincided with the fatigue. They could really use one more body to give them 10 min a game. Unfortunately at this point it’s looking doubtful.
 

rwbPhilly said:
Yes, we can say that we have a decent coach. Two wins this season against ranked teams.
And this is with two starters being out for the year with injury.
We have no bench or depth.
This season is already better than expected.
Look at Grayson Grove even...... he was a bench warmer last year. Now he contributes and has a lot of upside.
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Grove was a true freshman last year so probably wasn't ready to compete. But he has been a nice surprise this year and seems to be getting better as the season progresses. Not a huge threat on offensive end (outside of his dunk fest against Northwestern) but plays hard and gives the team quality minutes off the bench.

Shinholster and Grove won't give you a ton on offense off the bench but they are playing hard and playing well considering how young they both are.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Unless he’s very close it may not help much. Wouldn’t be in game shape, etc.

Maybe he redshirts? I don’t know his eligibility status at this point.
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I also think that with this system, a lot of the success is due to players knowing where they are supposed to be and who is making what cut. Bringing in a new body at this point, it may be tough to maintain the flow of the system. Nonetheless, I hope he can return and give us some minutes. If he misses more than a few more games, it's probably over for this year for him. Omot is a junior.

Right now we can bring back Vaihola (assuming med red shirt) Asuma, Durkin, JCJ, Shinholster, Grove, Stephens, Willis and Omot (9 guys). I'd guess Stephens will be gone- making it 8. Then the 3 frosh and bring in perhaps 3 key portal guys. It would be a dream if Tyson could get another year on a 5 for 5 rule!
 

GophersInIowa said:
A reminder Colorado St started 5-5 last year and nearly went to the S16.
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Absolutely, and I’m excited for the future. We hired the right coach. But I will say it is going to be interesting to see, with such a short bench, if they are going to be able to keep up the same level of play all the way to the end. Hopefully so. This sure is fun right now.
 

U2Gopher said:
Absolutely, and I’m excited for the future. We hired the right coach. But I will say it is going to be interesting to see, with such a short bench, if they are going to be able to keep up the same level of play all the way to the end. Hopefully so. This sure is fun right now.
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Last night was a good test of endurance. Iowa despite not being upper tier athletic, play super hard with a ton of movement (like us) and runs 8-9 guys at you. Last night their bench played 67 minutes to our 31 minutes from the bench.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Grove was a true freshman last year so probably wasn't ready to compete. But he has been a nice surprise this year and seems to be getting better as the season progresses. Not a huge threat on offensive end (outside of his dunk fest against Northwestern) but plays hard and gives the team quality minutes off the bench.

Shinholster and Grove won't give you a ton on offense off the bench but they are playing hard and playing well considering how young they both are.
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I don't expect much from Shinholster or Grove. They are young and developing. The Grove comment goes back to Johnson not using his bench players. If Grove was not ready, he should have been red-shirted instead of riding the bench with zero minutes.
Ultimately, Medved is coaching players up to contribute one way or another. He may be the best coach we have had since Clemens.
 



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