Gophers freshman Pharrel Payne wows coach Ben Johnson with his physical readiness

[BleedGopher]

Per Marcus:

When Ben Johnson saw Pharrel Payne at the start of Gophers basketball summer workouts, his first impression was that he had never coached a more physically imposing freshman.

And that's before the 6-9, 235-pound Payne really had the chance to engulf himself in a college weight room. Once that happened, the strength numbers were off the charts.

"If you just look at him physically, he could play in a Big Ten game right now," Johnson said about the former Park Cottage Grove big man. "He's probably one of the top developed freshmen that I've been around."

"He can go toe to toe with anybody," Johnson said. "Now it's just him day by day following the process and worrying out the little details and getting better. But the biggest thing is the physicality piece and the maturity. He's going to be ready. Now we got to do our job to get him fundamentally ready."

Guest Commentary - Minnesota Star Tribune

Guest commentary from outside contributors to the Minnesota Star Tribune Opinion section, offering diverse perspectives and insights.

m.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[MennoSota]

Great snippet here, Bleed. Thanks. My chili is getting hot to see Payne inflict 4 years of pain on the B1G!!!

 

[howeda7]

Great snippet here, Bleed. Thanks. My chili is getting hot to see Payne inflict 4 years of pain on the B1G!!!

Or at least one year until Miami offers him $47 million for an NIL.

 

[Spottedmuskie]

He was ready last year sitting behind the bench

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Well, he's going to have to be ready. With Fox out, Payne has to play major minutes.

Hopefully the coaches can use the non-conference games as teaching tools so that Payne is better prepared by the time the B1G schedule starts.

I'm not worried about scoring. just play defense and rebound. pick up a couple of dunks and put-backs, and that's gravy.

 

[topos]

Well, he's going to have to be ready. With Fox out, Payne has to play major minutes.

Hopefully the coaches can use the non-conference games as teaching tools so that Payne is better prepared by the time the B1G schedule starts.

I'm not worried about scoring. just play defense and rebound. pick up a couple of dunks and put-backs, and that's gravy.

Assuming he can do that, we'll already be lightyears ahead of last year in the post.

 

[Formerswish]

Well, he's going to have to be ready. With Fox out, Payne has to play major minutes.

Hopefully the coaches can use the non-conference games as teaching tools so that Payne is better prepared by the time the B1G schedule starts.

I'm not worried about scoring. just play defense and rebound. pick up a couple of dunks and put-backs, and that's gravy.

I agree he'll have to be ready to play. But I've seen him enough times to believe he'll be doing more than a few dunks and put-backs. This kid has a lot of talent. He'll play defense and rebound, but he'll surprise people with his offense. And he's going to get better in a hurry. There just aren't that many guys with his size and strength who have the skills he has. I think we're in for a nice surprise with this guy.

 

[stocker08]

Sweet. Good news on the other side of the Parker injury.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Well, he's going to have to be ready. With Fox out, Payne has to play major minutes.

Hopefully the coaches can use the non-conference games as teaching tools so that Payne is better prepared by the time the B1G schedule starts.

I'm not worried about scoring. just play defense and rebound. pick up a couple of dunks and put-backs, and that's gravy.

Even before Fox’s injury he was going to play 20 mins a game. He’s a big strong kid who works really hard.