***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA VS MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON EXHIBITION OPENER***

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Mulligan said:
Probably a long year when we get into league play but some hope for the future. King and Morris are the same although Joey actually went and got several rebounds. Mason will be tough. Buggs has put on some muscle and looks better but Pitino yelled at him once to get back and pressure like everyone else as he headed up the floor. Also, with his size it would be nice if he had a desire to get inside and do stuff from there--not 20 feet away. Enjoyed watching Gaston. Still raw but improving and by next year might really be a factor. Took a guy off the dribble and threw down a hell of a dunk. Few minutes later--air ball that was about a foot over the basket from about 5 feet. Definitely doesn't look as lost.

Of the freshmen, Murphy was the most impressive. Battled inside and got some pts. there and rebounded. McBrayer also looked fine with a good all around skill set. Dorsey is quick but had some foul trouble. Don't think Gilbert will be much of a factor.

We turned them over a lot but didn't get as much out of it. The press should be noticeably better. We're going to get dominated inside in some games. It won't be pretty if we're not hitting from the outside.
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Similar to my impressions. Joey and Carlos were pretty quiet but Pitino seemed to prefer giving the newcomers more minutes. Murphy was a physical presence but it's hard to predict how well he'll fare against bigger and stronger opponents. Still, he clearly looks like the best of the freshmen. McBrayer was pretty good. Dorsey was fast but couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. I agree that Gilbert may not be much of a factor but he is bigger than I expected and his defense was OK. He'll be good enough for spot minutes at the small forward.

Buggs did look like one of the most physically advanced and athletic players on the floor. He's going to have to play a bigger role this year and he looks like he may be ready to do it. Gaston was better than I expected him to be but I hope Bakary is back and playing at close to capacity by at least the fourth game of the season. Between the two of them, we may be decent enough at center. Mason was his usual self.

Free throw shooting was terrible (shooting in general wasn't very good). Practice, practice, practice.
 

Swaggerson said:
Murphy should be good. Plays a big 6"6
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That is because he's not 6'-6".

SelectionSunday said:
We really need Konate. Gaston still raw, though he has 4 points and 3 boards.
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Raw is an overused phrase, the guy had 8 rebounds and 9 pts (only 2 fouls) in 23 minutes. Could be a decent backup to Big Konate.

cjbfbp said:
Buggs did look like one of the most physically advanced and athletic players on the floor.
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Buggs is extremely long, more like 6'-10" despite what the roster lists and yet 1 rebound? Not very physically advanced or athletic to pull down one f'n board vs. Crookston.
 

Murphy didn't look good at all in the first half and then turned it on in the second. I was pleasantly surprised in the second half even though it was Crookston we're playing against.


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Winasota Gopher said:
Gonna be an ugly year. Like real ugly I think.
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I hate to say it - I agree. I really like all 4 of the new guys though. All show great potential, Dorsey, McBrayer and Murphy will al be guys that can make their own shots and have great quickness. Gilbert has a great looking shot- even though he missed a couple FTs. Maybe with Konate back they will get into an offense that includes going inside at least a little- tonight was street ball all the way.
 

Buggs is an extremely frustrating player, I've commented on this in the past, but I'll say it again. Its likely drives coach wild to watch a kid with so much athleticism and ability and just waste it by being passive and lack confidence. Since the first midnight madness, Buggs has been one of the most athletic kids on the team if not the most athletic and may have the smallest impact of any 4 year scholarship athlete in my memory /hyperbole.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
Buggs is an extremely frustrating player, I've commented on this in the past, but I'll say it again. Its likely drives coach wild to watch a kid with so much athleticism and ability and just waste it by being passive and lack confidence. Since the first midnight madness, Buggs has been one of the most athletic kids on the team if not the most athletic and may have the smallest impact of any 4 year scholarship athlete in my memory /hyperbole.
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Sigh - I have to agree with you. What Brett Lawson would have given to have a fraction of his ability. Heck, give it to Joey King. I really don't know if I can handle 2 more years.
 

Moonlight said:
Sigh - I have to agree with you. What Brett Lawson would have given to have a fraction of his ability. Heck, give it to Joey King. I really don't know if I can handle 2 more years.
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Me2
 

bga1 said:
I hate to say it - I agree. I really like all 4 of the new guys though. All show great potential, Dorsey, McBrayer and Murphy will al be guys that can make their own shots and have great quickness. Gilbert has a great looking shot- even though he missed a couple FTs. Maybe with Konate back they will get into an offense that includes going inside at least a little- tonight was street ball all the way.
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I agree that it will be a long year, but I don't agree with the street ball comment. I just hope our new guys can get through this year without getting their confidence destroyed, because there's a lot to like! I liked seeing Murphy get better throughout the game. Both he and Dupree looked more solid than they did in the scrimmage. Squirrel disappeared as he is prone to do. Dorsey had a good defensive second half.

I liked that Pitino really expected the new kids to play major minutes.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Buggs is an extremely frustrating player, I've commented on this in the past, but I'll say it again. Its likely drives coach wild to watch a kid with so much athleticism and ability and just waste it by being passive and lack confidence. Since the first midnight madness, Buggs has been one of the most athletic kids on the team if not the most athletic and may have the smallest impact of any 4 year scholarship athlete in my memory /hyperbole.
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Didn't watch the game - but I got the impression he had a big impact on today's game based on the Twitter feed. 5 blocks, steal(s), hit a couple 3's. It sucks he doesn't do the little things, or fundamental things like rebound, but this is a surprising post following the first exhibition. We should know that he is a boom or bust kind of guy by now.

He's also got half of those 4 years left to make an impact...


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This is not news to many on this board, but Crookston is an awful Division II program. First exhibition or not, this was bad.
 

I'm not as down on Buggs as some of you are. Would like to see more work on the boards, yes, but he did quite a few good things. My main thing was I like McBrayer and Murphy. Yes, aware of the competition, but they're players. Like thought of McBrayer playing some PG with his size.

We're tiny without Konate. Need him soon.

There will be lots of growing pains this year, hopefully they grow.
 

SelectionSunday said:
I'm not as down on Buggs as some of you are. Would like to see more work on the boards, yes, but he did quite a few good things. My main thing was I like McBrayer and Murphy. Yes, aware of the competition, but they're players. Like thought of McBrayer playing some PG with his size.

We're tiny without Konate. Need him soon.
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What about Dorsey and Gilbert?
 

station19 said:
What about Dorsey and Gilbert?
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Dorsey played a little out of control, but he's quick. Gilbert was mostly nondescript. Gilbert's a lefty, and his gait and body type reminds me of Jayson Walton. Same number, too. Hopefully he has better knees than Jayson did.
 



bc2211 said:
Didn't watch the game - but I got the impression he had a big impact on today's game based on the Twitter feed. 5 blocks, steal(s), hit a couple 3's. It sucks he doesn't do the little things, or fundamental things like rebound, but this is a surprising post following the first exhibition. We should know that he is a boom or bust kind of guy by now.

He's also got half of those 4 years left to make an impact...


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I must add I did not watch either. I was following up a post about few rebounds in a game against a d3(?) school and my observations from the past.
 

Thanks SS

Hadn't thought about Walton for awhile. I really liked him.....could have been great with better health.
 

Mcbryer had a good game, he looked like he will be very competent at the point.

Gaston is raw but he showed a bit of athleticism that I didn't think he had, he needs time to develop but he has a ton of potential.

Buggs played a good game, he hit a few, some nice passes, and played good defense, what he doesn't do is crash the offensive board, for someone that big he is always floating back to play defense when a shot is taken or somebody drives the lane. Just changing that would make him a pretty good player.

Murphy is pretty consistent, played pretty much like he did in the scrimmage.

King and Morris didn't even show up on the offensive end of the floor, being the two seniors they have to come ready to play every night, they should have dominated, pretty disappointing.
 

Thanks for all the recaps. I guess the bright side is that we only had 9 scholarship kids available for this game and 4 of those 9 were playing their first college "game". Hopefully we see a lot of improvement (both individually and as a team) as the weeks and months go by.

On Buggs, I think at this point he probably "is what he is". This is his 5th year removed from high school (Prep School, then redshirt, 3rd year playing for the Gophers), so its tough to see how improvement in things like feel for the game and general aggressiveness/assertiveness will occur.

In the highlights posted by Gopher Sports on YouTube, it was nice to see Dupree drive all the way in an finish with a two hand dunk (not exactly a powerful one, but a dunk nontheless). It's pretty easy to imagine him turning in to a very good player as he gains strength and hopefully some weight.
 

Watched the Vikings game and then just completely forgot about this scrimmage until right when it ended. So mad at myself. Even without watching, I think people are really overreacting to this. Remember the 49ers game? First games, especially with a super young team that is expected to be bad this year, can get really ugly. It's tough to not overreact when that's all we've seen. Remember, King and Morris are going to be 2 of our top 3 players. They clearly played horribly but we know they're much better than that. The team will look much better with them playing even close to normal and with the freshmen having gotten some real game experience.

Looking at box score, I'm surprised that so many people were that negative about Buggs. In only 21 minutes, he was 4-8 from the field, including 2-3 from three, and he had 5 blocks (how has this not been mentioned??), 2 steals, 1 assist, no TO, and only 1 foul. I get that he didn't rebound and it's annoying considering his size and athletic ability, but besides that, his numbers were fantastic, especially compared to everyone else besides Murphy. Was his defense horrendous besides the blocks, steals, and only 1 foul? I know it can be, but nobody has actually mentioned his defense. I'm honestly confused as to why so many people suddenly gave up on him when based on the boxscore, it looks like he had a very nice and efficient all around night other than in rebounding. Can someone explain this?

I'm also surprised people didn't talk up Murphy's game a little more based on the boxscore. 7-11, hit a three, 19 points and 9 rebounds in 28 min. That's an extremely impressive freshman stat line, regardless of opponent. Sounds like Dorsey had a bad game, but we know he's a great defender with blazing speed and isn't normally that terrible on offense.
 

FIRST TV GAME:


Gophers vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Day: Sunday
Date: Nov. 15, 2015
Location: Williams Arena
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT

Coverage

TV: BTN
 

underground629 said:
Looking at box score, I'm surprised that so many people were that negative about Buggs. In only 21 minutes, he was 4-8 from the field, including 2-3 from three, and he had 5 blocks (how has this not been mentioned??), 2 steals, 1 assist, no TO, and only 1 foul. I get that he didn't rebound and it's annoying considering his size and athletic ability, but besides that, his numbers were fantastic, especially compared to everyone else besides Murphy. Was his defense horrendous besides the blocks, steals, and only 1 foul? I know it can be, but nobody has actually mentioned his defense. I'm honestly confused as to why so many people suddenly gave up on him when based on the boxscore, it looks like he had a very nice and efficient all around night other than in rebounding. Can someone explain this?
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I don't think "so many people were negative about Buggs", you read a chain of comments based on me wanting to hate on him again based off of a comment about him not getting rebounds.

Obviously we will get a different opinion of these guys as they progress, and one game against Crookston is not a season/nor a career for anyone.

I take every opportunity to point out that Buggs is an extremely frustrating player to watch simply because I'm extremely frustrated when I watch him. I feel like if he gave a bit more on the defensive end his game would flourish, I've coached many a kid like that.
 

jovs said:
Mcbryer had a good game, he looked like he will be very competent at the point.

Gaston is raw but he showed a bit of athleticism that I didn't think he had, he needs time to develop but he has a ton of potential.

Buggs played a good game, he hit a few, some nice passes, and played good defense, what he doesn't do is crash the offensive board, for someone that big he is always floating back to play defense when a shot is taken or somebody drives the lane. Just changing that would make him a pretty good player.

Murphy is pretty consistent, played pretty much like he did in the scrimmage.

King and Morris didn't even show up on the offensive end of the floor, being the two seniors they have to come ready to play every night, they should have dominated, pretty disappointing.
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I wouldn't worry too much about King and Morris. They've been through the battles, tough for upperclassmen get up for a game like Crookston. Why I don't really put much stock in these games. Since the Power 6 teams typically half ass it and D2 teams usually give it their best shot. We won by 17, lot of guys got the first game jitters out of the way. I am sure will win by 20ish Friday and then Next Friday will see what were about.
 

underground629 said:
Watched the Vikings game and then just completely forgot about this scrimmage until right when it ended. So mad at myself. Even without watching, I think people are really overreacting to this. Remember the 49ers game? First games, especially with a super young team that is expected to be bad this year, can get really ugly. It's tough to not overreact when that's all we've seen. Remember, King and Morris are going to be 2 of our top 3 players. They clearly played horribly but we know they're much better than that. The team will look much better with them playing even close to normal and with the freshmen having gotten some real game experience.

Looking at box score, I'm surprised that so many people were that negative about Buggs. In only 21 minutes, he was 4-8 from the field, including 2-3 from three, and he had 5 blocks (how has this not been mentioned??), 2 steals, 1 assist, no TO, and only 1 foul. I get that he didn't rebound and it's annoying considering his size and athletic ability, but besides that, his numbers were fantastic, especially compared to everyone else besides Murphy. Was his defense horrendous besides the blocks, steals, and only 1 foul? I know it can be, but nobody has actually mentioned his defense. I'm honestly confused as to why so many people suddenly gave up on him when based on the boxscore, it looks like he had a very nice and efficient all around night other than in rebounding. Can someone explain this?

I'm also surprised people didn't talk up Murphy's game a little more based on the boxscore. 7-11, hit a three, 19 points and 9 rebounds in 28 min. That's an extremely impressive freshman stat line, regardless of opponent. Sounds like Dorsey had a bad game, but we know he's a great defender with blazing speed and isn't normally that terrible on offense.
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I was actually fairly pleased with Buggs. He did a lot of things well, and he was generally active. Recalling that he had some nice rebounding nights last year, I'm hopeful/confident that he can be better at that than he was last night.

Gaston was better than he was last year, but he's still nowhere near Bakary or where we need him to be to serve as a suitable sub. To paraphrase Han Solo, I have a bad feeling about the center position.

McBrayer's drive and stuff was an eye-popping play. He exhibited efficiency of motion. You want players who can do things other players can't do, and that was an example. I like this kid. He's going to get plenty of minutes this year.

Dorsey is indeed fast, and he seems to have a decent handle. He got to the basket with ease, but he could not finish to save his life. Seems like a work in progress, but I like the potential.

If Murphy can make his free throws, he'll be a solid contributor this year.

Carlos pulled one Carlos last night (driving into a crowd along the baseline when he should have passed and essentially just dribbled himself out of bounds) but made good decisions otherwise.

The guys got beat to loose balls and often seemed to be disinterested in grabbing even easy rebounds. That has to change. We just watched the Lynx win a championship largely by getting to loose balls and generally wanting it more than the other team. The Gophers need to get hungrier.

Crookston had a few players that could do some things, so I hesitate to panic about what last night's game portends for the season. Our team will improve greatly as time goes by. The Gophs looked like a bunch of newcomers who were playing together for the first time with real bullets flying. No need to panic...yet.
 



Buggs also appears to have put on some good weight, while also maintaining his athleticism. That is a good sign that he has completely bought in and put in the effort to improve. It wasn't all that long ago when Pitino would continually rip him for not following his prescribed diet and work out regimen.
 

I'm glad they were able to get a Joey King pump fake into the highlight video.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
Gas with the flying dunks... Nice to see.

As mentioned, 5 blocks from Buggs is a good stat to take note of. Guy has extremely long arms, hope he can keep it up against better competition.
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That's just under a half mile away.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Buggs also appears to have put on some good weight, while also maintaining his athleticism. That is a good sign that he has completely bought in and put in the effort to improve. It wasn't all that long ago when Pitino would continually rip him for not following his prescribed diet and work out regimen.
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The Buggs dreamers are out. lol I don't think he can play but hope he proves me wrong. He will get the chance..
 


I'm excited for the day when mad town can tell me I was wrong on buggs.
 

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