Senior point guard Al Nolen walked around Saturday's practice without a boot on the right foot he broke in January.
Team doctors cleared him for light workouts earlier this week. He took a few free throws and dribbled briefly, but he's still not allowed to run or practice with his teammates.
But it's a positive development for the Gophers.
The senior said he hopes to play in next week's Big Ten tournament. He said he won't play, however, unless he's confident that he can help.
"Mentally, I want to play but then I don't want to go out there and be sloppy … out of shape and possibly re-injure my foot," he said. "But I really do want to play with the guys. But I wouldn't be any good to them if I went out there and wasn't ready to go so that's really where I'm at. ... I just gotta make a decision on what I can do and talk to the doc."
Tubby Smith said the senior will not play against Penn State in the team's last regular season game Sunday and he's not sure if he'll be ready for the conference tourney.
"I don't know about that either. He won't play [Sunday]. I don't know about the Big Ten tournament," Smith said.
