After the Gophers finished off No. 20 Iowa on Tuesday, emerging with the 95-89 victory, Richard Pitino was asked how he could know that redshirt freshman Charles Buggs would go off the way he did.
"I did not know that," the Minnesota coach said with a laugh. "That was a guess."
With Gophers forward Oto Osenieks struggling through a left knee injury (the power forward has a cartilage issue from a prior surgery), Pitino already had made the decision to go with Buggs, and five minutes into the game, he subbed him in for Joey King.
What followed next would have been hard to predict.
Despite playing only two-plus minutes through all of the Big Ten schedule up until that point, Buggs — who the university has said is not comfortable speaking to the media — had nothing but confidence.
After missing the first shot he attempted, Buggs got open in the corner, and took the pass from Andre Hollins.
Swish.
It was only the second three-pointer of his career, but he was only getting started.