STrib: Richard Pitino has starting lineup in mind after two Gophers scrimmages

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

"If I had to play a game (Monday) and we're not, my guess would be I'd go Nate Mason, Dupree McBrayer, Amir (Coffey), Jordan Murphy and probably Bakary Konate," Pitino said Sunday on the radio. "That would be the lineup. Again, I think when Reggie (Lynch) gets back we can pretty much plan on him being that starting center."

The Gophers have a secret scrimmage at DePaul on Saturday, so that starting lineup should get a chance to play together before the Nov. 3 exhibition game against Bemidji State. The starting center spot appears to be the only potential change before the Nov. 11 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Lynch is expected to be cleared for full contact in practice by the end of this week. That means the Gophers' projected starting lineup going into the season is Mason, McBrayer, Coffey, Murphy and Lynch. The two new starters are Coffey and Lynch, who is recovering from meniscus surgery last month.

"He just hasn't played in a while," Pitino said Sunday about Lynch. "He had to sit out all summer. He did have (shoulder) surgery at the end of last (season). We just have to get him back healthy. He'll be a major part of what we do."

http://www.startribune.com/richard-...-mind-after-two-gophers-scrimmages/398204461/

Go Gophers!!
 

Here lies the likely reason for Springs' tweet. Ego bruised. Probably assumed he'd just walk right in and start.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Here lies the likely reason for Springs' tweet. Ego bruised. Probably assumed he'd just walk right in and start.
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Yep, I would have to agree. Hopefully he and Pitino can hash it out. Akeem would be making a serious mistake if he quit over that. He is still going to play plenty.
 

DeathClutch said:
Yep, I would have to agree. Hopefully he and Pitino can hash it out. Akeem would be making a serious mistake if he quit over that. He is still going to play plenty.
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He would throw away his last year of college eligibility on a whim if he left. Makes absolutely no sense. But I am a long way from my 22 yer old ego days, too. When I first saw the tweet, I thought maybe he would bolt for a pro gig or do a Kevin Nathaniel on us and decide to go be a non-basketball grown up instead of using his final year of eligibility. No such luck. Hopefully, he gets over the slight and contributes to the restoration of the program.
 

Probably remembers coming to Williams Arena with Milwaukee last year, winning, and beating up on the guys starting in front of him
 


Hey Springs! You are now in the Twin Cities and not Milwaukee. The TC media and fans are in a different league and fully ready to critique and criticize any opportunity they have. Something that you may want to be aware of. Get used to it.
 

They are not doing a very good job keeping the secret scrimmage a secret. Hmmfff...
 





McBrayer starting over Springs is the only question mark. Not that McBrayer might be as good or even a better all round player than Springs. More so that McBrayer is the backup pg. Springs on paper the better 3pt shooter. I wonder if this means Coffey will be playing more pt guard?


BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

"If I had to play a game (Monday) and we're not, my guess would be I'd go Nate Mason, Dupree McBrayer, Amir (Coffey), Jordan Murphy and probably Bakary Konate," Pitino said Sunday on the radio. "That would be the lineup. Again, I think when Reggie (Lynch) gets back we can pretty much plan on him being that starting center."

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
 

We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
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Disagree on Konate. He has value as a back-up big. If he's getting major minutes, yes, then this season probably isn't going as we had hoped.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
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Konate would be a beast of a d3 player.

He's an average low major starter, average mid-major rotation player and a bench warmer on most major programs, at worst.
 



march madness said:
McBrayer starting over Springs is the only question mark. Not that McBrayer might be as good or even a better all round player than Springs. More so that McBrayer is the backup pg. Springs on paper the better 3pt shooter. I wonder if this means Coffey will be playing more pt guard?
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No, they'll just run a 3 man rotation with Mason starting at PG. Springs will come in at SG to give either Mason or McBrayer a rest, and who ever doesn't sit down between those two will play PG.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
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That's crazy talk. Big guys often improve late. As good as John Thomas was for the Gophers, he average 9+ points and 6+ rebounds as a senior for the Gophers. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Konate could improve to that level.
 

And here's how it really works imo. Most all our guys are decent but nobody is head and shoulders superior...maybe Mason and Murphy have proven to be a notch ahead. In intrasquad scrimmages... some guys don't care as much, some guys are comfortable & relaxed and they play in a flow but you turn the game lights on and put people in the seats and now you have a whole different dynamic and different guys emerge and submerge themselves. (Who was Joey King's roommate who wet his pant on the court and went home?) You just don't know how they'll react. You go on the road and now you have another layer that determines the pecking order of playing time and combinations. Until that happens..no coach of new players knows who he can count on. It's a work in progress...all talk right now...nobody knows.
 

bga1 said:
That's crazy talk. Big guys often improve late. As good as John Thomas was for the Gophers, he average 9+ points and 6+ rebounds as a senior for the Gophers. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Konate could improve to that level.
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Except Thomas turned 21 shortly before his senior season. Konate will be 23 in December.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
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Division 3, eh? So just skip past the 200+ non-major DI schools and 300ish DII schools right to DIII, huh? Great take! Never stop leading with the chin, ruppie!
 

Thomas also had a lot more material around him, including 3 other future NBA players (Bobby J, Sam, Quincy), 4 if you count Trevor's cup of coffee with the T-Wolves.
 


Plinnius said:
Except Thomas turned 21 shortly before his senior season. Konate will be 23 in December.
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I'm not sure I care how old they are- I just care if they become good enough to help win games. I still think that Konate can do that. Can he become as good as Thomas got while a Gopher? I don't know but I don't think Konate is D3 material.
 

60's Guy said:
And here's how it really works imo. Most all our guys are decent but nobody is head and shoulders superior...maybe Mason and Murphy have proven to be a notch ahead. In intrasquad scrimmages... some guys don't care as much, some guys are comfortable & relaxed and they play in a flow but you turn the game lights on and put people in the seats and now you have a whole different dynamic and different guys emerge and submerge themselves. (Who was Joey King's roommate who wet his pant on the court and went home?) You just don't know how they'll react. You go on the road and now you have another layer that determines the pecking order of playing time and combinations. Until that happens..no coach of new players knows who he can count on. It's a work in progress...all talk right now...nobody knows.
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Josh Martin - now with Cal Poly- 6 pts 4 boards last year for them
 


bga1 said:
That's crazy talk. Big guys often improve late. As good as John Thomas was for the Gophers, he average 9+ points and 6+ rebounds as a senior for the Gophers. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Konate could improve to that level.
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"Improve to that level" I'm laughing at that. Beeg, your basketball hindsight mirrors you political
misgivings. He has bad hands, no post moves except for going to his left with a jump hookshot
horrible footwork on defense that crates stupid fouls,and his positioning on rebounds. He has no idea on the angle of the ball after the person shoots, and he gets himself to far under the boards at times to rebound. He was a project when he was recruited, and he will still be a project when he leaves. He and Gaston are great kids, but they belong at D3.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We're in bad shape if Konate gets 15-20 minuets a game subbing for Lynch. I said from day one. He and Gaston are Division 3 players. Period, end of story.
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Classic GopherHole hyperbole. Konate is nothing special at this point, but D1 is absolutely the appropriate level for him.
 

bga1 said:
I'm not sure I care how old they are- I just care if they become good enough to help win games. I still think that Konate can do that. Can he become as good as Thomas got while a Gopher? I don't know but I don't think Konate is D3 material.
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Konate is a solid, though not dominant, DIII player. Richard purchased two tall players on that European travel business partnership arrangement. One can do a few things in the preseason and is worthless in the B1G and the other can't do anything at all.
 

jamiche said:
Konate is a solid, though not dominant, DIII player. Richard purchased two tall players on that European travel business partnership arrangement. One can do a few things in the preseason and is worthless in the B1G and the other can't do anything at all.
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Let me guess, you thought Colton Iverson was a D3 player as well?
 

ruppertflywheel said:
"Improve to that level" I'm laughing at that. Beeg, your basketball hindsight mirrors you political
misgivings. He has bad hands, no post moves except for going to his left with a jump hookshot
horrible footwork on defense that crates stupid fouls,and his positioning on rebounds. He has no idea on the angle of the ball after the person shoots, and he gets himself to far under the boards at times to rebound. He was a project when he was recruited, and he will still be a project when he leaves. He and Gaston are great kids, but they belong at D3.
Click to expand...

Again, you really think that they can't play at any of the 500+ schools between the Big Ten and DIII? I mean, stop and think for a second before you spout ridiculous hyperbole.
 

I would think that if you play in Division I, then you would be a Division I player.
 


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