How Will Gophers Basketball Move Past Difficult Season?

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It would have been unfair to assume the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team was NCAA tourney bound just because they won the NIT tournament a year ago. But I think I can speak for the majority when I say we were expecting a little more than an 18-15 season and an NIT denial.

It’s important to keep a few things in perspective. This was only Richard Pitino’s second year at the helm and the roster seemed like a strange mix of players. Even before the season, Pitino cautioned fans not to expect a massive leap forward just because of their NIT run.

Maybe we all just need to take a lesson in expectations?

“I think this year more than anything has taught me that expectations should only matter within your program,” Pitino said recently in a Q&A with the Star Tribune. “That doesn’t mean I don’t respect the media or respect people’s opinion or our program. I certainly do. But at the end of the day, none of it can matter. We’ve had our fair share of criticism, but what if we hit a three at the buzzer and we win a few of those games? Are we all good coaches again? … Everybody is not going to be able to understand what we’re doing or what we’re going through, but as long as everybody in our program does, that’s all we can really worry about. And that’s the nature of sports everywhere.”

Managing expectations is all well and good, but I do question if the attitude above is going to inspire his players to new heights.

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It was a season to forget, so let’s move forward. The Gophers will lose starters Andre Hollins, DeAndre Mathieu and Mo Walker, and reserves Elliot Eliason and Kendal Shell.

It’s a little frightening to realize the team is losing about half of its scoring. The three senior starters averaged a combined 34.2 ppg this season.

On the other hand, Nate Mason looked ready to take over the all important starting PG position with consistent improvement all year. The 6-1 freshman out of Decatur, Georgia averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. It’s overwhelmingly likely Mason will start at the point for the Gophers next season.

Mar 5, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Nate Mason (2) shoots the ball in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Williams Arena. The Badgers won 76-63. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

They could be onto something with freshmen big-men Bakary Konate and Gaston Diedhiou, but there is a long way to go before they reach their lofty potential. Konate held his own as his role expanded towards the end of the regular season.

Then you have the incoming recruiting class, which is ranked 7th in the big-10. That’s not bad in such a competitive conference. It’s highlighted by 4-star point guard Kevin Dorsey from Fairfax, Virginia, widely considered to be a top-100 player in the 2015 class.

The moral of the story is, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The future looks bright for this program even though things didn’t go their way this year. Or probably next year.

Disappointment would be the encapsulation of the 2014-15 Gophers basketball season into one word. But I still see a light at the end of the tunnel with Richard Pitino, and maybe this disappointment was just a result of unrealistic expectations.