Amelia Rayno blog: Gophers: notes heading into first exhibition

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Andre Hollins is shooting 50 percent from three-point range in practice, Smith said. He’s also very pleased with the shooting of Welch and Austin Hollins, who he said are his three best long shooters right now
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Usually he addes Oto in that list too, I really hope we have four guys that can be threats from deep this year.
 

Clem's Gophers said:
Andre Hollins is shooting 50 percent from three-point range in practice, Smith said. He’s also very pleased with the shooting of Welch and Austin Hollins, who he said are his three best long shooters right now
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Usually he addes Oto in that list too, I really hope we have four guys that can be threats from deep this year.
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Not unusual for a guy to lose his legs and his shot around week 2 of training camp...so Oto may just be a little behind in that regard...I expect we will see all the guys go through a little growing pains in preseason...and then again late in the B1G season...the young guys get tired legs. Hopefully Tubby doesn't run the guys to death this year so we can have it for the games.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Not unusual for a guy to lose his legs and his shot around week 2 of training camp...so Oto may just be a little behind in that regard...I expect we will see all the guys go through a little growing pains in preseason...and then again late in the B1G season...the young guys get tired legs. Hopefully Tubby doesn't run the guys to death this year so we can have it for the games.
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Oct. 24th-

"We've got four shooters that we didn't have last year, period," Smith said.

One of them is Oto Osenieks, a 6-foot-8 forward who redshirted last year. Osenieks, originally from Riga, Latvia, graduated from Brehm Prep in Carbondale, Ill. While he didn't play last year during his redshirt season, he has shown Smith that he has range for a big man.

"We've got a lot of 3-point shooters that can help this year," said sophomore guard Maverick Ahanmisi. "The past couple practices, Oto's been knocking them down."

"That's a big part of my game. I like shooting," Osenieks said. "I like helping my teammates get open, so I can stretch the floor and give me an open shot or my teammate."

Osenieks said he's comfortable play a number of positions, from shooting guard to small forward to power forward. His size and shooting ability make him versatile and presents challenges for opposing defenses.

"It'll help because he can set pick and rolls and he can pop, so that's going to be confusion for the other teams," Ahanmisi said.

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http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/132503828.html

But a week into practice, coach Tubby Smith seems confident that his new collection of talent can more than adequately fill Hoffarber's shoes. With improvement from Austin Hollins and the addition of Oto Osenieks, Joe Coleman, Andre Hollins and Julian Welch, Smith is outwardly optimistic.

"I think it's the best shooting group I've had in a long time," Smith said buoyantly before Monday's practice. "I don't see any issues with the outside shooting at all."

Which shooting guard will be picked to start is still unknown. But the reason is probably not the one Gophers fans would have identified in April; Smith said he simply has too many intriguing options to choose just yet.

Andre Hollins is leading the team in three-pointers in team scrimmages. Fellow freshman Coleman is 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Osenieks is shooting 46 percent. Among sophomores, Austin Hollins is at about 40 percent, and Smith said he has watched Chip Armelin and Maverick Ahanmisi improve substantially.

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Sounds like Oto, Austin, Andre and Welch are our core shooters. If Joe can join that group, sprinkle in Chip or Mav getting hot a few games we should be in for a much improved team from outside.
 

I sure don't like seeing that Welch turned his ankle. Seems like those ankle and foot injuries are tough to get over. Hopefully it's no big deal.
 


If Oto is so feisty that he gets to see some time at the 4, with Ralph improving from behind the arc, our wings will have plenty of oppotunities to attack the rim. Better half court game? Well, hopefully....
 

Don't forget Ralph as one of the 3pt threats. I think he is going to get some wide open looks in the high-low when Trevor is on the block and Ralph is at the top of the key. Plus it's almost impossible to defend a 6'11 guy's jumper.
 

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