Richard Pitino’s 15th-ranked Gophers played two exhibition games and topped the century mark in both of them, piling up 106 points against Concordia-St. Paul and 115 in Sunday’s blowout win over Green Bay.
It’s not Big Ten competition, but Minnesota is already humming along on both ends of the floor.
In the highlight video from Sunday’s game (below), make sure you really focus on the plays at the following time stamps:
- :10 – Jordan Murphy drives and dunks on a helpless defender.
- 1:05 – Isaiah Washington crosses over on a guy and finishes with an acrobatic layup.
- 2:48 – Washington blows by defenders in transition and then hits Bakary Konate with a no-look pass.
Washington looks like the real deal. The former high school star from New York City is fast and athletic and brings skilled depth and explosiveness to a backcourt that already features last year’s All-Big Ten First Team point guard, Nate Mason, and Dupree McBrayer, who played a boatload of minutes a true freshman last year.
Here’s a couple of video tweets showing off his talent.
Isaiah Washington wasting no time bringing the Jelly to Minnesota! 🍇🍇🍇 @Jellyfam_Dimes pic.twitter.com/TMbjSharfL
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) November 3, 2017
Isaiah Washington had 24 points and 6 dimes today 🍇 (via @GopherMBB) pic.twitter.com/vufhavn1T0
— Overtime (@overtime) November 6, 2017
The bigs down low, Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy, look bigger, stronger and more skilled. There’s not a team in the Big Ten that can match the defensive firepower on the block those two bring. If they can stay out of foul trouble, opposing teams are in trouble.
All the while, Coffey is playing well on both ends of the floor. He and Washington led the Gophers with 24 points each against Green Bay.
Adding to the depth are true freshman guard, Jamir Harris, and redshirt senior Davonte Fitzgerald, who didn’t play last year because of a season-ending knee injury. Pitino has spoken glowingly about him.
If you haven’t seen the highlights from their win over Concordia-St. Paul, check them out here.
