In today's Star Tribune, the Gophers will play tourists, and some basketball in Spain.
When November rolls around, there will be plenty to discover about this University of Minnesota men's basketball team.
Who will be the leaders? Will the Gophers play to their size or their quickness? Can the frontcourt survive in the Big Ten? What will the lineup and rotation look like?
All of these are questions that can't be answered yet. One season after we watched and listened as notable seniors Andre Hollins, DeAndre Mathieu, Mo Walker and Elliott Eliason anchored the media guide and the conversations on national broadcasts, we'll observe a genuine wildcard team. The expectant leaders are gone and in their place is one talented sophomore guard (Nate Mason – the only real known factor) and a slew of promising but raw newcomers, little-used returners and somewhat erratic contributors.
But let's focus, for now, on the raw newcomers bit. Given the construction of the team, they'll likely be expected to play notable roles almost immediately – Pitino said on Tuesday that he won't discuss redshirts until the "last minute possible" – and freshmen Kevin Dorsey and Jordan Murphy, in particular, are probably serious candidates to start.
"I think we have a bit of a gauge on what they can give us right away," Pitino said of all the newcomers. "It all changes when the season starts, that's just reality. When minutes are distributed, guys act differently. So I think a lot of that is speculation now, but I think they can all give us different things."
Pitino went through each player briefly while addressing the media on Tuesday. His comments:
The FRESHMEN:
