Through all of last season, the Gophers were struck in major turmoil that only produced eights wins in a rough year.
As the loyal fan-base felt the negative effects of constant losing, the team vowed new changes to develop a winning environment.
Four games into this season, the Gophers are starting to show progress of winning.
On Friday night, the Gophers overcame an early 22-9 deficit in the first half to defeat St. John’s, 92-86, in an exciting game that helped sparked fan optimism in Williams Arena.
After the game, a team celebration took over the locker room, and as coach Richard Pitino entered, his players dumped with a tub of water on him.
“If they want to do that, I’m fine with it” Pitino said. “If it comes with a win, we got to celebrate them…..We haven’t celebrate in a while.”
The Gophers were led by freshman guard Amir Coffey, who scored 30 points, and made 11 out of 12 free throws. Amir became the first Gopher freshman since Kris Humphries to score 30.
When sophomore guard Jordan Murphy picked up two early fouls in the first half, Coffey began attacking the basket, picked up his game at both ends, and showed some emotion than usual.
“I tried to give us a spark.” Coffey said. “We were down 9 to 10 points, so we went on a run and it’s the first time I showed emotion.
Amir’s emotionless demeanor is an understatement. Teammates give him a hard time and coach Pitino would call him to his office, only to watch him become uncomfortable talking about anything other than basketball.
“He’s so uncomfortable, he’s like “please stop asking me questions.” Pitino said “So he really grounded like that. I don’t think he’s into the nonsense, he just likes basketball.”
The freshman guard’s play speaks volumes of how the Gophers are slowing moving into the right direction.
Friday night, the team’s success came in spite of a bad start. However, they erased an in 13 point deficit by using ball pressure and defense.
While there were some hiccups throughout, they never trailed the final 24 minutes.
The Gophers are only five weeks away from meeting Michigan State, and the players are gaining confidence in all areas.
In their first game against a team from a major conference, the Gophers showed their new resolve and toughness.
As the Gophers look to climb the Big Ten ladder, all of the potential would have been nonexistent without the efforts of Coffey.
The Gophers host Arkansas at Williams Arena on Tuesday.