Prior to the Minnesota Gophers’ first basketball practice of the season, fourth-year head coach Richard Pitino called a two-part team meeting. It was not held in the comfort of the locker room or at center court of Williams Arena where the coach’s talks are often given. This was more intense – a closed-door meeting in Pitino’s office.
“It was eye-opening, really,” said junior guard Nate Mason, arguably the top returning player on this year’s team.
The 34-year-old head coach first spoke to his returning players, a group that included Mason, last year’s standout freshman Jordan Murphy and sophomore guard Dupree McBrayer – a relatively raw trio that will nonetheless serve as the bedrock for the rebuilding program. “We really got into it during that meeting,” Mason remembered. “He told us exactly what he wanted from his returners and how we were going to accomplish it. It was a mindset that was set right there, right before practice.”
Part two of Pitino’s powwow consisted of the newcomers. Not all were freshmen. There was senior Akeem Springs, a recently-elected captain who has stepped in as the team elder. There was junior transfer Reggie Lynch, who has emerged from criminal allegations and two offseason injuries to be the team’s top big. And of course, a gaggle of first-year players featuring Hopkins High School star Amir Coffey, fresh off hoisting a State Championship trophy at Target Center in March.
“’Where do you want to put your imprint on this team?’” Pitino recalled asking the newcomers. “’How are you going to do that? Where are you going to change certain things that we may have been missing last year?’
“Then we said we’re moving on. It’s got nothing to do with this year. We’ve closed the book on that.”
Minnesota endured an 8-23 campaign in 2015-16 that was an infested with as much controversy off the court as it was with sloppy basketball on it. Pitino was connected to illegal recruiting practices overseas and reportedly overspent on private jet travel. Senior Carlos Morris was dismissed from the team midseason. Kevin Dorsey Jr., Mason and McBrayer were suspended for their part in an explicit video posted to Twitter that showed Dorsey having sex. Dorsey, the once-prized recruit, transferred after the season.
New athletic director Mark Coyle – hired in May – has a lot on his plate.
New athletic director Mark Coyle – hired in May – has a lot on his plate. He surely will be evaluating the state of the football team with first-year coach Tracy Claeys, a wrestling program reeling from the throes of a drug scandal and a hockey team that is no longer Minnesota’s premier location to play college puck. But the basketball team may be on the forefront. The pressing goal for Pitino must be to resuscitate, then to gain the respect of the new sheriff.
“You hope that you’re always getting better,” Pitino said Thursday of his personal growth. “You’re striving to be better as a coach. Obviously, this is year four for me. When you first come in … and you go to the Big Ten, you have to grow and evolve, I think I’ve done that. Hopefully, I’m better today than I was last year because you continue to get better.”
While blind offseason optimism can be as contagious as Scarlet Fever, it’s tough to look objectively at the Gophers this season and not believe they’ll be vastly improved. Just glance at their new inside presence(s).
Junior Bakary Konate played the fourth-most minutes on the team last year but averaged just five points and five rebounds. His backup was often Murphy, less comfortable as a 5 and more at ease as a power forward. The third option was Gaston Diedhiou, who rarely contributed in a meaningful way. It’s possible this season that Konate and Diedhiou see a significant role reduction due to the emergence of not only Lynch but freshman Eric Curry.
In the team’s exhibition win over Bemidji State, Lynch started and played 14 minutes – a number that will double once he gets more reps on his recovering knee. Curry backed him up, playing 27 minutes and pouring in 17 points along with 14 boards. Against the smaller Bemidji State Beavers, the freshman looked like the best player on the floor.
With Lynch, the Gophers have a rim-protector on the defensive end and a high percentage finisher around the rim who can catch virtually any post entry feed. Curry is an uber-athlete with shooting touch and superior length who says he models his versatile game after the likes of Draymond Green and Joakim Noah.
Finally, the Gophers can compete in the Big Ten with some bona fide bigs on the court. As you might expect, practices have ratcheted up in physicality. “Reggie’s a load down there, 260 pounds,” said Murphy. “[Lynch] and B.K. [Konate] go at it, me and Reggie, me and B.K. go at it, me and Eric go at it. It’s good to see all of us getting better at the same time, just competing.”
The Gophers should also be worlds better at running the floor. In place of last year’s seniors Morris and Joey King, the Gophers should be able to pick up the pace with Springs and freshman Amir Coffey on the court. Coffey, the son of former Gopher Richard Coffey, will contribute immediately as a combo guard that can feasibly play the 1, 2 or 3 position.
With the aforementioned new faces inside and a guard rotation of Mason, Coffey, McBrayer and Springs, the Gophers are, if nothing else, athletic at each position.
Granted, with so many sophomores and freshmen being relied upon, there are bound to be chemistry and communication issues in the front end of the season, where St. John’s, Arkansas, Florida State and Vanderbilt await in non-conference play. But coming off a year where the Gophers only deteriorated as the season progressed, it’s reasonable to assume a reverse trajectory with the current group.
The head coach will be treating this like a contract year as Coyle quietly audits the program. The players, some embarrassed by the abyss they fell into last spring, should be focused on rehabilitating their optics. If the Gophers are not better this year, changes should – and will – be made.
“I think there is some ownership to showing people what we’re all about,” said Pitino of his team. “I think they’re really, really eager to improve the image of this program. As tough as an offseason as this is for me, it’s tough for them, too. I think they’re good kids, kids make mistakes, you’re going to educate them, you’re going to hold them accountable. I think we did that.”
