Gophers need to generate more offense without injured star Jamison Battle; hopeful Battle could be ready to play before Big Ten play

[BleedGopher]

per Marcus:

Battle, who is now out of a boot after foot surgery last month, is the only member of the 11-man preseason All-Big Ten team who hasn't played yet this season.

The talented 6-7 junior will be out Thursday against Central Michigan, but Johnson, the Gophers coach, is hopeful Battle could be ready to play before Big Ten play.

The Gophers, who shot just 33% from the field while suffering their first loss of the season Monday — falling 69-53 against DePaul at home — are not close to what they could be offensively if they had one of the league's best scorers.

"Obviously when you have an all-league player, it just gives confidence to everybody," Johnson said. "That's so important, especially earlier in the year when you've got three or four freshmen out there at the same time. Those guys probably need somebody to lean on to give them confidence."

Gophers need to generate more offense without injured star Jamison Battle

Dawson Garcia leads the team in scoring, but the second-most reliable option could be freshman Pharrel Payne off the bench.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Wasn't able to read the article because not a subscriber, but besides more offense, certainly need more defense, more rebounding, etc. Damn, more butt slaps.

 

[A-Town Owl]

We're #349 in KenPom in Off.Reb.% Defense. Yikes. I'd prioritize that over offense.

 

[Holy Man]

We're #349 in KenPom in Off.Reb.% Defense. Yikes. I'd prioritize that over offense.

We were a bad rebounding team last year and worse this year. We don’t need Ken to tell us that.

 

[Holy Man]

We're #349 in KenPom in Off.Reb.% Defense. Yikes. I'd prioritize that over offense.

We were a bad rebounding team last year and worse this year. We don’t need Ken to tell us that.

 

[bga1]

We were a bad rebounding team last year and worse this year. We don’t need Ken to tell us that.

The talent to hit the boards is here. By the end of the year we should be a good rebounding team or its on the coaching staff. I think we will get it done.

I think there is going to be a whole lot of the season where the lineup is Payne, Garcia, Battle, Henley and Cooper. That's a lot of length. Just block out and hustle and there is no reason they can't win the boards.

 

[Holy Man]

The talent to hit the boards is here. By the end of the year we should be a good rebounding team or its on the coaching staff. I think we will get it done.

I think there is going to be a whole lot of the season where the lineup is Payne, Garcia, Battle, Henley and Cooper. That's a lot of length. Just block out and hustle and there is no reason they can't win the boards.

You’re a whole lot more optimistic than I am. I see the raw materials but have not seen the effort. That’s the scary part.

 

[PhiloVance]

The talent to hit the boards is here. By the end of the year we should be a good rebounding team or its on the coaching staff. I think we will get it done.

I think there is going to be a whole lot of the season where the lineup is Payne, Garcia, Battle, Henley and Cooper. That's a lot of length. Just block out and hustle and there is no reason they can't win the boards.

Have you watched any other Big 10 basketball? From what I saw they have more than rebounding issues.