Gophers' Reggie Lynch cleared for contact, could play in exhibition game

Reggie Lynch isn't being limited in practice any longer, which is a big step toward the junior center finally making his Gophers debut.

"Yesterday, he did 15 minutes of contact," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said Tuesday at Gophers media day. "He was really good. It's now (being) patient, (getting) him ready. He's so eager to get back on the court. It's let's not rush it. Let's be patient. The biggest thing is let's get you ready for the first game. Whatever (trainer) Ben Felz and the doctors tell us to do we're going to ease into it as much as we can."

The Gophers scrimmage against DePaul at home Saturday. But Pitino hopes Lynch can play for the first time in front of fans in the exhibition game Nov. 3 against Bemidji State.

"I want him to be 100 percent," Pitino said. "That's my biggest thing. That's more important than anything else, because he's going to have jitters. Not only has he not played in a year, but he came here to play for his home state. That means a lot to him. So he'll have those jitters. That's why I like those exhibition games to get that out of the way."

Lynch called the meniscus tear a "small injury." He's been ahead of schedule in recovery since having surgery a month ago.

"I'm already practicing, so I'm not worried about it," he said. "No one on the team is worried, either. They're just like "Reggie got injured, so he can skip the hard parts of practice.' So basically that's all about it to me. Obviously, it's very important to me and I don't want to skip these practices."

Being able to participate more in practice this week, Lynch had to learn the plays and get used to the speed of the game again.

-- Lynch was Akeem Springs' host in April when the Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate transfer made an official visit to the Gophers, so he didn't believe Monday's controversial tweet meant anything about Springs' commitment to the team.

"Don't read into that," Lynch said. "He's all about winning, as am I, as is everyone. No need for him to address the team. We know what he's about."

-- Strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown wants Lynch's playing weight to be less than 260 pounds this year. Lynch had hoped to play at 265, but he's at 258 right now. He'll likely lose more weight to start the season.

-- Freshman Eric Curry (6-9, 235) gained more than 20 pounds since he was a senior at Southwest Christian Academy in Arkansas. Sophomore Dupree McBrayer (6-5, 190) put on 15 pounds from last year. Freshman Amir Coffey (6-8, 195) gained nearly 10 pounds over the summer. Freshman Michael Hurt (6-7, 200) actually lost 10 pounds after arriving on campus. He says he still feels strong enough to play some power forward, if the team needs. Hurt has practiced more in the post since Davonte Fitzgerald suffered a season-ending knee injury.