What a day this has been. First, the Reid Travis decision that did not go the Gophers way. Then, the Mo Walker suspension. Then, an odd situation with Wally Ellenson, who did not play at all (more on that below).
Finally, a Gophers win to start off the 2013-14 season, and Richard Pitino's tenure at Minnesota.
I can promise that after this blog is posted, a generous scotch will be poured for myself and my weary fingers.
But back to the night that was.
All in all, the Gophers played well, and with good energy, considering the circumstances. Mo Walker's six-game suspension for violating university policy -- he will return in the second game of the Maui Invitational -- is a huge hit for a team that already had an extremely thin frontcourt. It also comes at a time when Walker appeared to just be hitting his stride after recording 17 points and 13 rebounds in the last exhibition.
The Gophers weathered the frontcourt storm tonight, ultimately out-rebounding Lehigh, 38-35 and winning 81-62. Elliott Eliason had the first double-double of his Gophers career with 11 points and 17 rebounds in a very impressive performance. Joey King started his career as a Gopher with a 20-point game. Otherwise Minnesota did some good things, fouling just 15 times, getting 11 steals and playing lock-down defense. But it was Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks had just one player on their roster bigger than 6-8 and never posed much of a threat to the Gophers, despite four three-pointers from Mackey McKnight.
There are much bigger battles ahead.
The Gophers play Richmond on the road next week, which could prove to be the first big challenge. And Syracuse awaits in the first round on the Hawaii tour, which Walker will still be out for.
