There are still seven more days until the Gophers' regular season starts. From there, it's almost two months until the Big Ten schedule begins. With the exception of the Maui Invitation -- which the Gophers open against Syracuse -- a road game at Richmond, and a few others, there are scores of games that the Gophers are expected to win easily.
In other words, there is plenty of time to tweak the starting lineup as coach Richard Pitino has said he is comfortable doing.
But early as it is, I think there is one thing that is already clear:
Deandre Mathieu should be the Gophers' starting point guard.
After a single exhibition game and a public scrimmage, I think it's apparent. With Mathieu in the lineup, the Gophers simply seem faster, more efficient and more dynamic with the 5-9 guard leading the offense.
"He is very good at getting out to the sideline and advancing the ball up the court," Pitino said after the game. "That's why I recruited him, I mean he's an extremely fast guard and fits how we want to play."
Mathieu finished with seven points on 2-for-6 shooting from the field -- and was the only Gopher to make more than 50 percent of his free throws, going 3-for-4 from the line -- but it was his ball handling and speed that really shined.
The Tennesee-native had a game-high nine assists in 21 minutes, and not a single turnover. He embodied the very way that Pitino wants to play, aggressively pushing up the court and going to the basket. After a scrimmage in which he scored 26 points, he pointed out that he liked to be a distributor, too. We saw that side on Friday, and it looked just as smooth and effective.
