The Gopher men took care of business, did what they had to do, etc., in their official opener against the mediocre Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 80-57. 6-11 senior Dawson Garcia poured in 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting including 4-of-5 3s and added 8 rebounds. The Gophers ran out to 14-2 and 29-8 leads. Late in the 1st half, the Eagles had clawed back to within 34-24, and early in the 2nd half it was 38-29. But soon enough the Gophers stretched the lead to 57-36 (at around 10 minutes), then to 28 points at 71-43 and 74-46.
The Gophers shot very well from the floor–56% in the 1st half and 60% in the 2nd, and 56% and 69% from 3. For whatever reason, they shot worse than that from the FT line, 75% in the 1st, 46% in the 2nd, and 53% for the game. But, to clarify, starters Garcia, Parker Fox, Mike Mitchell and Lucye Patterson made 9-of-10. Substitutes Kadyn Betts, Trey Edmonds and Femi Odukale were 0-for-7.
If anything, the Gophers depth chart got kind of muddied up. Power forward Frank Mitchell didn’t play and remains “week to week” with a dislocated shoulder. They’re going to need Frank on the boards as evidenced by Oral Roberts 12 offensive rebounds. He was replaced (indirectly) by Femi Odukale, the 6-6 transfer from Seton Hall and New Mexico State, who impressed in his first action for the Gophers. OK, he failed to score, going 0-for-3 both from the field and from the line, but he had 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in 20 minutes. Last night, at least, the depth chart looked approximately like this, though you can tell from the minutes played that these weren’t the only combinations. 7 different players have started a game or more.
Grading the Depth Chart
C- Garcia 23 minutes (started 3 times), Edmonds 22 (Frank Mitchell started twice)
PF- Parker Fox 19 minutes (started just this once), Betts 12 (started once)
SF- Brennan Rigsby 28 (started 3 times), Odukale 20
PG- Mike Mitchell 32 (started 3 times), Lu’Cye Patterson 8
SG- Patterson 14 (started twice), Isaac Asuma 22
So, now, across 3 games (the Gophers having previously won 2 exhibitions against Bemidji State and Hamline), here’s how the longer-term depth chart looks and how I would grade the guys at this stage.
C- Frank Mitchell grades out at a B with 6 points and 7 boards against Bemidji before being injured early in the Hamline game; and Edmonds gets a C+ with 5 ppg and 4 boards and 8-of-13 shooting, but he’s 1-of-9 from the line and, at that rate, can’t see the floor late in close games
PF- Garcia gets an A. Parker Fox is the backup. He gets a B. Fox is the Gophers #2 scorer at 13 ppg and an A+ as a shooter, making a remarkable 16-of-16 FG so far! But he’s 4-for-13 from the line.
Wing– The Gophers will be playing 3 guards when they can, that is, against smaller opponents. And, so guard Brennan Rigsby has been starting. He is average 12 ppg after an off-night last night (1-for-5, 3 pts), and though just 6-3, he’ll mix it up under the boards with 12 rebound and 7 assists so far. He grades out at a B. Femi Odukale seems to have emerged as the backup, based just on one game. The 6-6 transfer failed to score but had 3 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals in 20 minutes, and grades at a C.
PG- Mike Mitchell so far is doing a pretty good impression of Elijah Hawkins, who almost led the nation in assists last year before hoofing it on down to Texas through the hated portal. Mitchell is running the show, matching Rigsby with 12 ppg (tied for 3rd on the team) on 8-for-20 shooting, with 10 assists per game. He gets an A-/B+. Patterson starts at the 2 guard, but is also the backup at the 1.
SG- Lu’Cye Patterson gets a B. He’s scoring 7 ppg on 5-of-12 shooting with 2.5 assists per game. When Mike Mitchell is out, Patterson will handle the ball. Freshman Isaac Asuma has played well so far with 5 ppg on 6-of-11 shooting and 3-of-4 FT, plus 5 assists per game. And while he us coming off the bench, he is among the team leaders with 83 minutes so far. He gets a B.
The 10th man isand Kadyn Betts, the 6-8 forward who gets a C off the bench with 5 ppg on 6-of-11 shooting, 2-for-4 from the line and 2 rebounds per game so far. He might be the odd man out now that Odukale is playing and when Frank Mitchell returns from his injury. But he started one game and is very much in the mix so far.
Look Out for the Big 10
I had the Gophers #15 out of 18 teams in my Big 10 preview. Where would they be without Dawson Garcia. Still, the Gophers have a serious tent-pole in Garcia, some supporting talent, pretty good depth at least when Mitchell returns. They did what they had to do against Oral Roberts. They’ve got a solid game coach.
But, picturing them moving into the Big 10 schedule is sobering. The Big 10 is now 18-0 with an average margin of 29 points. Based on one game, I may have underestimated at least Illinois, Maryland and Rutgers. Illinois freshman Will Riley scored 31 points in his first game the other night, and Maryland freshman Derek Queen posted a 20-20. Then freshmen Dylan Harper and Lathan Somerville combined for 31 points, 11 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals in their first game. And Rutgers’ best freshman Ace Bailey didn’t play due to an injury. These 3 guys are the closest thing to the Fab 5 that I’ve since since the Fab 5. Finally Ohio State won at Texas 80-72 as senior guard Bruce Thornton controlled the game for the Buckeyes.
In short, the Big 10 is gonna be a beast. I had Ohio State at #3 or #4. What I didn’t appreciate was how good some of these freshmen are. The Big 10 is gonna be a beast. To even finish 15th, the Gophers are going to have to stay healthy and start making some FT.
