For some, it might be easy to forget that there are three captains this year.
Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins get the most attention on the team, and understandably so, considering their on-court pursuits and accolades.
But what is the role of the captain who comes off the bench, who doesn't always play a lot of minutes, who doesn't even play every game?
It seems Maverick Ahanmisi has been figuring that out, gracefully, this fall.
The senior guard is averaging 10.9 minutes a game this season, so far – just 0.4 minutes more than last year. He didn't play at all in the Gophers' first two games in the Bahamas, against Syracuse and against Arkansas. And any talk of the California native taking a bigger role in his final season has evaporated.
With new JUCO guard DeAndre Mathieu excelling at the point, while becoming a key part of coach Richard Pitino's system, there isn't as much room for Ahanmisi, who a year ago was the only "true" point guard on the roster. And the Gophers' plethora of guards on the bench gives Pitino plenty of options for spot situations. Last year, Ahanmisi played the part of energy guy at times, the instant offense off the bench. Now, that space has been partly filled by Malik Smith, Pitino's top choice for a shooting specialist.
Instead, Ahanmisi has been feeling out his role as spot player – one with the best three-point shooting average on the team, but only seven attempts – and a leader on the bench.
He's handling his very different captain duties, Pitino has said, with impressive maturity.