Walking the Beat: Minnesota
With the Minnesota Golden Gophers set to come to Madison on Monday night for their game against the Wisconsin Badgers, we caught up with EJ Stevens IV from The Gopher Report to chat about Minnesota's season to this point, and get his take on their matchup with the Badgers.
Our questions and Stevens' answers are included below.
I think a lot of people in Madison knew this could be a rebuilding year for the Badgers - even if they didn't think it would be this bad. But Minnesota had some high expectations for their season early on and they were ranked No. 14 at one point - what happened to change all of that?
EJ Stevens: Injuries and suspensions have derailed Minnesota's season. Their depth in the frontcourt took a big hit when key reserve Eric Curry suffered a season-ending knee injury during a preseason pickup game. The Gophers had one of the better frontcourt combinations in the country still with Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy, but Lynch was suspended onJanuary 3for sexual assault allegations and hasn't played since. That same day, Gophers star wing Amir Coffey (14 ppg, four rebounds) hurt his shoulder and has played in just two of the last 12 games. Starting shooting guard Dupree McBrayer has barely been practicing and is probably at around 65% overall with a lingering shin injury that has limited his effectiveness since the Miami game in late November. When you lose four of your top six players to injury or suspension, that can seriously limit your team's ability to compete. Since losing Coffey and Lynch in early January, Minnesota has lost 11 of 12 games. The pressure has really been on Mason and Murphy to produce at a high level.
It's been a little while since the news about Reggie Lynch's sexual assault allegations broke and eventual expulsion from the school - how much did Richard Pitino's handling of that situation change his job status with the university, if at all?
EJ Stevens: The allegations were from 2016, so there is nothing really that Pitino could do besides let the process play out, and he did that. It's hard to just say he should suspend Lynch when he was accused because that sets a dangerous precedent and he could have lost the team because he would be presuming one of the players that he recruited was guilty before having a chance to defend himself. It is an extremely unfortunate situation for Pitino, the girls who have accused Lynch of sexual misconduct and of course the Gophers. They lost the best shot blocker in the country (4.1 per game) and a guy who contributed ten points and eight boards per game. I would be very surprised if Pitino isn't back next year. This team is going to have a lot of talent on the team next season.
The Gophers have also been playing without Amir Coffey for most of the last few weeks - how has that changed their offense, and who has stepped up in his absence?
EJ Stevens: It's really hard to replace a 6'8" wing who can defend three positions, shoot the three at a 38% clip and create his own shot basically whenever he wants. Michael Hurt is a 6'7" sophomore who has tried to replace him, but he is more of a feet set jump shooter and can't really go and create his own shot. He only averages about three points and two boards per game. Dupree McBrayer, when healthy, has been getting some more time at the three spot where Coffey usually plays, but he has missed the last several games because of injury as well. Freshman guard Isaiah Washington has been really good as of late, but he is a point guard who has allowed Mason to slide over and play the two more often. Washington has scored in double figures his last five games and had a career-high of 26 points against Michigan a couple weeks back. He has been really good these past few weeks. His talent and potential is through the roof, he just struggled to adapt to the college game for the first couple months of his career. He could have a big game tonight if he can get to the rim consistently.
Do fans expect this Gopher team to turn things around quickly for next year, or are they facing a longer rebuild in the years to come?
EJ Stevens: If they have all their pieces healthy, they will be ready to contend for a top-five finish in the league next year. They will lose Mason and of course Lynch, but they get Washington, Coffey, Murphy, Curry, McBrayer and Harris back in addition to a top 30 recruiting class led by highly ranked four-star center Daniel Oturu. Injuries and suspensions are the reason this team isn't at the top of the league this season as it seems like whatever could go wrong, did. But next year's group has a great mix of talent, athleticism, size and experience. The thing they will need to improve on most is shooting, as there have been too many stretches this season where the Gophers have gone ice cold. A knockdown shooter is needed and they could get assistance there from freshman-to-be Gabe Kalschuer, one of the top shooters in the EYBL last spring.
Finally, what's your prediction for this game?
EJ Stevens: Wisconsin hasn't lost to Minnesota at the Kohl Center since 2009. I don't expect that to changetonight. The Badgers are coming off a huge win over Purdue and should be able to get Happ going against a deteriorated Gophers front line. The X-Factor in this game is Minnesota guard Isaiah Washington. If he can get his offense going early, Wisconsin doesn't have a guard that is quick enough to stay in front of him consistently and he should be able to get some buckets at the rim. All things considered, however, i'll say that the Badgers win this one by two possessions.
Wisconsin 67, Minnesota 63
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.