Gophers coach Tubby Smith has looked at this lineup plenty, and as such, had a hard time finding a place in it for freshman forward Charles Buggs. A redshirt sounded pretty good.
After all, with Trevor Mbakwe and Mo Walker returning, Elliott Eliason coming off a season where he impressed late and senior Andre Ingram making significant improvements, the depth seemed almost stifling for a freshman with no experience.
Oh well, what's one more.
After two exhibition games, the freshman has shown enough that Smith wants to see some more immediately, figuring he'll be able to help the team.
"He came in and played well the other night," Smith said. "We were looking at redshirting him, that's something we considered for both he and Wally, because you're concerned about the minutes that they're going to get during the course of the season.
"But he's a gamer. He's a guy that when he gets on the court – he really performed well the other night."
Smith said Buggs will still need to gain weight. Buggs said on media day that his goal was to gain 10-15 pounds this season.
Other notes from tonight's media access:
