By: Peter Linskey | Twitter: @Izzy_Legit
Needless to say, I did not expect the season that the Men’s
Gopher Basketball team is currently having. After the abysmal year that was 2016,
the team has rebounded quickly and are poised for a NCAA Tournament
bid. Personally, I would have been happy with a six win BIG10 season and an invitation to the NIT.
Even with the successful season thus far, I am worried about
the overall health of the team. While we haven’t had any serious injury this
season (*knocks on wood*) the boys just look tired. With Pitino only playing
around 7 guys a game, I think our key players are starting to feel it. In the last
7 games, our top players have averaged the following minutes/game:
- Nate Mason: 35 Minutes
- Amir Coffey: 37 Minutes
- Akeem Springs: 34 Minutes
This doesn’t include Jordan Murphy (who finally decided to show up this year) in the last three
games has averaged 35 minutes. I know that in many major programs, the
key players play more time. The difference that I am noticing though is that late in games
we look be a step slow on defense and not as energetic offensively. I also feel
that we have the players on the bench to alleviate some of these minutes our
starters are accruing. Playing Ahmad
Gilbert or Michael Hurt a bit more, even if it’s just for 3-4 minutes a game,
could help our stars be fresher for the final minutes when it really counts. While
I know that the aforementioned players have their own deficiencies, which is why
they aren’t playing, but Lil’ Ricky should be able to get creative with his lineups to at least not make them stand out to much for the limited amount of minutes I am suggesting they play.
We stole one last night from an Indiana team that really needed a win. The Barn was a'rockin, but my continuing concern about the amount of minutes key players are accumulating could hinder this teams tournament aspirations.
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