Konate joining team late; Walker and Mason both set to go on Friday

Minnesota freshman big man Bakary Konate is traveling to Puerto Rico separate from the team and will meet them today, coach Richard Pitino said at an open Coast Guard demonstration for both the Gophers and Louisville on Thursday.

"Not allowed to miss class," Pitino said, lowering his sunglasses. "Yes, I'm serious."

Konate is enrolled in English intensive classes this semester as a requirement for his admission to Minnesota. The center, who was named student athlete of the month in October, missed early warmups for a 7 p.m. exhibition game due to the English classes as well. Konate made it to Williams Arena at 6:20 for that game.

The Gophers bumped back practice at the airplane hangar in Puerto Rico on Thursday to adjust for Konate's travel schedule.

Scholarship players miss class on a semi-regular basis because of team requirements, which is one of the reasons why so much academic tutoring and assistance is available to them.

Pitino said he's never experienced a situation like this one since he's been a coach.

"It is unusual," he said. "We work around it, and it's difficult, but we'll figure it out."

The University of Minnesota Office of Admissions denied entry to the Gophers' other international recruit, Gaston Diedhiou, this summer. The team said they were told English proficiency test scores were the main factor. Diedhiou is currently on campus, participating in an English intensive program, but is not enrolled as a student or on the roster. He will have the opportunity to retake the proficiency test this winter.

--

Both freshman guard Nate Mason and senior center Mo Walker will be available on Friday night, Pitino said.

Mason injured his knee two weeks ago, but has been practicing since Monday. Walker, who tweaked a hamstring in Minnesota's Maroon-and-Gold scrimmage on Oct. 26, has been practicing since Saturday. Both are "100 percent" now, Pitino said.

"I was worried about Nate but he looks good," Pitino said. "The thing you always worry about is is he going to look slow, but he doesn't. He looks good. So I'm not even worried about that part of it."

The rest of the team is healthy for tomorrow night's showdown vs. Louisville, although Pitino joked that he wasn't wild about his players wading around in the ocean right before practice.

Both teams met at Crash Boat Beach on Thursday for a Coast Guard demonstration. Players in maroon and gold -- some donning custom bucket hats -- and red in white peeled off their shirts and splashed in the waves as a helicopter hovered over a floating raft, and demonstrated the recovery process. A Coast Guard member leapt from the aircraft and swam to the boat, pulling the victim to a rope dropped by the chopper and both were pulled to safety.

"It's not every day that you get to talk to active members of the military," senior DeAndre Mathieu said. "They're really down to earth. You'd think they'd be just straight forward but they're really down to earth, laughing, smiling, making jokes.

"Its's a great experience. A once in a lifetime experience."

Last night, both teams had dinner with the troops on the base and the team was able to mingle a little bit. JUCO transfer Carlos Morris -- a self-proclaimed shy guy -- sat down with a few different Coast Guard members, Pitino said, impressed that the guard was making an effort to become more outspoken all-around, as the coaches have asked.

Mathieu said troops he encountered had already picked a side so he was a bit late to recruit more support to turn the tide of the arena, which holds about 1,400.

"One of the guys was from Tallahassee area and he said 'Oh, nevermind, I'm going for Minnesota now" after meeting Tallahassee native Morris, Mathieu said. "So it might be whoever's got the most guys from the area that they're from."

No sign of any Knoxville contingency, though, he said.

--

Hangar 2, the venue for tomorrow's game, will not be air conditioned. Both coaches have been practicing their teams in heated gyms this week to prepare, and Pitino said his biggest concern was it getting so hot that players start cramping up and slipping on a slick court.