With the beginning of faculty basketball season in early November, we’ll study the convention as a complete and Indiana’s roster over the approaching weeks.
Right this moment, our staff previews proceed with Minnesota.
Beforehand: Penn State, Washington
The 2023-24 season was certainly one of progress for Minnesota. The Gophers completed with a successful document for the primary time for the reason that 2018-19 season. In his third season on the helm of his alma mater, Ben Johnson gained 19 video games and guided this system to the second spherical of the NIT.
Minnesota rose from 216th within the closing KenPom rankings through the 2022-23 season to 78th after final season. Because the season ended for the Gophers with a second-round NIT loss at Indiana State, there was optimism for much more success forward in Johnson’s fourth season.
The offseason, nonetheless, was stuffed with turbulence. Cam Christie, one of many league’s greatest freshmen final season, declared for the NBA draft and was picked within the second spherical. Two starters, level guard Elijah Hawkins and middle Pharrel Payne, hit the switch portal.
With meager NIL assets, Minnesota needed to recruit from the mid and low-major ranks to fill out its roster for Johnson’s fourth season.
Happily for Johnson, he was in a position to retain two starters from final season’s 19-win staff. Dawson Garcia, top-of-the-line frontcourt gamers within the convention, is again for his closing season of eligibility. Mike Mitchell, a 6-foot-2 guard, additionally returns for his closing season after transferring from Pepperdine earlier than final season.
The 6-foot-11 Garcia averaged 17.6 factors, 6.7 rebounds and a block in 31 video games final season. Garcia is a superb free throw shooter (80.2 p.c) and also can step out to the perimeter. Together with his expertise and measurement, Garcia has All-Huge Ten potential.
Mitchell was one of many league’s greatest 3-point shooters final season. He revamped two 3-pointers per recreation as a junior and shot 39.9 p.c from distance. Like Garcia, Mitchell is a superb free throw shooter at 80.6 p.c. After taking part in extra off the ball final season resulting from Hawkins dealing with level guard duties, it’s potential Mitchell may very well be requested to distribute the ball extra this winter.
The one different returnees for the Gophers are Parker Fox, a 6-foot-8 redshirt senior who averaged 5.1 factors final season, and Kadyn Betts, a 6-foot-8 redshirt sophomore who has performed in simply eight video games in his profession.
The remainder of the rotation will include switch portal additions with no scarcity of expertise. A 6-foot-8 ahead, Frank Mitchell, will be a part of Garcia within the beginning frontcourt. Mitchell earned All-MAAC second-team accolades final season and was the one participant in that league to common a double-double final season. Mitchell had 15 double-doubles and averaged 12.1 factors and 11.6 rebounds. His free throw taking pictures was problematic as he shot simply 43 p.c from the stripe.
Trey Edmonds, a 6-foot-10 switch from UTSA, will present depth behind Garcia and Mitchell after averaging seven factors and 5.8 rebounds final season for the Roadrunners.
Femi Odukale, a 6-foot-6 switch from New Mexico State, ought to get loads of minutes on the wing. The Brooklyn native was an All-CUSA third-team choice and averaged 10.7 factors and 6.4 rebounds final season. Minnesota is his fourth college as he performed at Pittsburgh and Seton Corridor earlier than New Mexico State.
The guard rotation subsequent to Mitchell will comprise Toledo switch Tyler Cochran, Oregon switch Brennan Rigsby, Charlotte switch Lu’Cye Patterson and Caleb Williams, who arrives from Division III Macalester.
Cochran is a 6-foot-2 redshirt senior from Bolingbrook, Illinois, who earned second-team All-MAC honors and a share of the league’s defensive participant of the 12 months award final season. Cochran averaged 14.4 factors and 6.4 rebounds and led the MAC with 1.9 steals per recreation. He might get the primary have a look at beginning alongside Mitchell within the Gopher backcourt.
Patterson is a 6-foot-2 native of Minneapolis who was named second-team All-AAC final season whereas averaging a team-best 14.6 factors for the 49ers. He was the one Charlotte participant to start out each recreation. Patterson additionally grabbed 3.4 rebounds per recreation, dished out 2.5 assists and shot 35 p.c on 3s.
A 6-foot-3 senior, Rigsby is the one switch addition from the high-major degree. A succesful flooring spacer, Rigsby made 35.3 p.c of his 3s final season and averaged 6.1 factors for the Geese, who superior to the second spherical of the NCAA event.
Williams is leaping up two ranges from the Division III ranks, the place he averaged 20 factors, 4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals at Macalester. Williams also can make 3s and shot simply over 34 p.c final season. In November 2023, Williams scored 41 in an exhibition in opposition to Minnesota on the Barn.
The opposite newcomers to the roster are freshman guard Isaac Asuma and freshman massive man Grayson Grove. With the entire expertise forward of them and stress for Johnson to win this season, it may very well be difficult for each to crack the rotation.
Expectations are low for Minnesota getting into Johnson’s fourth season. The present Torvik rankings have the Gophers 71st within the Huge Ten, the third-lowest rating of any Huge Ten staff.
Backside line: Minnesota had a strong season final winter, however dropping Christie to the NBA was an surprising setback, as had been the departures of Hawkins and Payne. With near-bottom of the Huge Ten NIL assets, the Gophers should do extra with much less expertise than nearly all of the league to keep away from the league cellar this winter. Minnesota will take loads of 3s, nevertheless it must be a greater free-throw taking pictures staff (69 p.c) than a season in the past. With a good non-conference schedule, Minnesota can get off to a different robust begin – it started final season 12-3 – and construct some momentum earlier than Huge Ten play.
Quotable: “We’ve progressively gotten higher so far as our program and the place we would like it to get to. These are all actually good steps. Now I would like our guys to view themselves as winners.” – Johnson in late August on the Minnesota State Honest.
Filed to: 2024-25 Huge Ten preview, Minnesota Golden Gophers
