Ask anyone that is around the team on a regular basis and they will say that Austin Hollins is a major part of the Gophers' operation.
But while the junior is still the Gophers' best defensive player on the floor, in terms of offensive production, Minnesota has been winning in spite of Hollins lately, not because of him.
In the last two games, Hollins has shot just 27 percent from the field while going 0-for-8 from 3-point range. The Gophers have won, but they've had to get their scoring from elsewhere.
And the slump extends far past that. In the last seven games, Hollins has shot just 34.8 percent from the field while making just 4 of 34 3-point attempts (good for 11.7 percent) from that range.
Considering that Hollins is one of the first guys in the gym before practice, and one of the last to leave, the Gophers aren't concerned about the shooting lapse, believing that it will come in it's time.
"Every shooter goes through bad streaks," assistant coach Vince Taylor said. "I told him, coach told him, Ray Allen one game went 0-for-15. He's the best shooter in the NBA. [Austin has] good mechanics and everything else. We feel he's going to be fine. And the other bottom line is we want Austin out there because he's our best defensive player. We have confidence in him. We know what he can do."
At some point, a slump like this often gets mental, with a player often forcing bad shots or being nervous to shoot at all. But Hollins has stayed poised through it, Taylor said.
"He's had open looks against Indiana – Austin and Andre had open looks and they just missed them," Taylor said. "And we still won. I tell you what, it's icing on the cake. When he starts hitting shots and we keep playing the way we're playing at, that will be icing on the cake."
