When his starters get into foul trouble or need rest this season, first-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson has, among the reserves at his disposal, a 7-foot freshman hungry to play.
So far, Johnson has been hesitant to throw Minnesotan Treyton Thompson into meaningful minutes, just as he's mostly held back on subbing out his senior backcourt with freshman guard Abdoulaye Thiam.
Thompson and Thiam made strides during the summer to prepare themselves to contribute to the Gophers, but their opportunities have been limited with a veteran group ahead of them.
"You keep talking to them about it's a process," said Johnson, whose Gophers play Wednesday at No. 10 Michigan State. "I think those guys understand if you look across the landscape of high major college basketball, the amount of true freshmen playing significant minutes or getting in the rotation is slim."
Under current NCAA rules, basketball players — unlike football players — aren't able to use a redshirt if they compete in any games during the season. Thiam and Thompson have played in 13 games combined, but only one in the Big Ten.
At next week's NCAA Convention, the men's and women's basketball Oversight Committee will discuss a policy that would allow redshirt candidates to play four regular season conference games without using a season of eligibility.
It's a common path for freshmen to have minimal playing time to start their careers, but the Big Ten actually has 11 of 14 teams with at least one freshman averaging double figures in minutes, including Michigan State. The Gophers join Rutgers and Penn State with zero freshmen in their rotations. But the Nittany Lions have no freshmen on their roster.
On the other side of Wednesday's matchup for the Gophers (10-3, 1-3 in the Big Ten) is Michigan State's Max Christie, who leads all players in Big Ten freshmen of the week awards.
