School Sucks!!!!

I have not been able to write as consistently as I would have liked.  That is because I have been swamped with School kicking my ass along with being a caregiver and having a weekly podcast.  On Monday I will return, and you can expect articles every other day as I have a little bit more time.  Please stick with me I like to write and write articles that you not only enjoy reading, but they make you think of the status quo and if it is on the right track.  Those readers I do have thank you for being patient, but I will start writing more consistently.

Gopher Basketball Preview-Reserves

(by Travis Aune MSU Founder)

Isiah Washington  PG  Freshman

You can make the argument that he is the top recruit in the Pitino time with the Gophers.  He is very different than Mason in that Washington is a pass first PG and got the nickname Jelly from the teardrop finger roll.  He will come off the bench and have a spark off the bench.  The PG from the Bronx will make losing Tre Jones a little bit easier.  I am very excited to see what he can do.  I am sure he will have good days and bad days, but he is a phenomenal prospect and someone to keep an eye on for the Gophers.

Jamir Harris G  Freshman 

Harris will fill the role of Akeem Springs from last year.  Harris is an excellent three-point shooter.  He is not on the level of Washington on prospect lists.  However, the New Brunswick, New Jersey native he comes over to Minnesota.  He will play a lot I would think as his outside shot prowess will help the Gophers.  It will have to be figured out I would think probably in the Michael Hurt type role.  Maybe play a little early and then play more and more as the season goes on.

Davonte Fitzgerald  F  Senior*

Fitzgerald is a transfer from Texas A&M who spent his first two years at Texas A&M averaging 5.4 pts and 1.4 rebounds.  The 6'8 forward was ready to be a contributor in his final year but suffered an injury, so he redshirted.  The NCAA granted him a 5th year, and it will be interesting to see if he plays the 4th and 5th years with the Gophers and if the Gophers want him to.  With the bigs coming in for 2018-2019 that it will be interested to see what they want to do.  I view him performing the Eric Curry role.  He will play good defense, rebound and hit the mid-range shots.

Bakary Konate   C  Senior

He is a fine backup center.  He is not going to look to shoot much, but he will rebind and play defense at an elite level.  He will not be excused as someone that needs to be guarded heavy, but he is good defensively.

Michael Hurt  F  Sophmore

Michael Hurt was a bit of a disappoint his freshman year.  In that, he only played a little over five minutes a game.  He averaged 0.7 pts and 0.5 rebounds per game.  He is a reserve they are looking forward to being a contributor.  I would expect his numbers to double if not tripled this year.  I would view him as Amir Coffey's primary backup, and they need him to be able to handle that role.  I am hopeful that he will take that next step because the Gophers need him.

Gophers Basketball Preview-Starters

The Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball has loads of expectations this year.  Probably more expectations they have in years.  They have a right mix of shooting, defense, guards, forwards, centers  They have a right mix of veteran players and a couple of good recruits that will play a lot as well.  I am going to talk about the players and then at the end a prediction for regular season wins.

Nate Mason PG Senior

Nate Mason has been through it all as a Gopher as he was one of the guys that were suspended a couple of years ago, so he needed to gain back Coach Pitino's trust.  He did just that in 2017.  He averaged 15.2 points and five assists a game as a junior last year.  He played mainly PG previous year as that was the need, but with Isiah "jelly" Washington on the roster, you could see Mason play the off guard more often.  What makes him unique is he can play off the ball and go off picks and shoot 3's or have the ball and break down the defense.  He is excellent either way, and that is what makes him special.  He is the player on this Gopher team, and I can see him play professionally overseas. 

Dupree Mcbrayer  SG  JR

The flexible guard from Queens, NY is excellent defensively and has picked up his three-point shot.  Last year as a sixth man he averaged 11.1 points and 2.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds.  He does it all for the Gophers.  He picked it up from behind the three-point land going from 25% as a Freshman to 42% as a Sophomore.  He was by far the best three-point shooter on the Gophers last year and are going to need him to take another jump his Junior year,

Amir Coffey  SF  SO

Arguably the best player on the Gophers last year is back as a Sophmore.  Last year as a Freshmen from Hopkins, Minnesota Amir averaged 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists.  He shot 33% from three-point range as well.  He is long ways away from that knee injury that had to have him questioning where his future was going.  He is such a fluid player that two dribbles and he can be from the three-point line to dunking it.  He has the most tools of any Gopher player in some time, and I don't think he spends all four years as a Gopher he has that kind of potential.  He has the work ethic, and they want to to be an NBA player sometime.  He reminds me of Tayshaun Prince not only in the build but how fluid he is and how his three-point shot is developing.

Jordan Murphy  PF  Junior

Murphy had some struggles finding his place on a much more talented team his Sophmore year.  However, the Junior from San Antonio eventually found his spot and finished with a flurry.  Murphy is only 6'6, so the rebound numbers he has put up as a Gopher have been phenomenal.  He averaged 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds.  Almost nine rebounds from a guy 6'6 are all about heart and determination.  He plays a very good forward and is just very consistent.  This year he is expected to come back and just do what he does.

Reggie Lynch  C  Senior

The native of Edina, Minnesota came back to the state and was a monster defensively and with a nice touch offensively.  He averaged 8.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game.  The problem all year for Lynch is he got into foul trouble so much that he only averaged 23.1 minutes a game.  Coach Pitino has made it clear that is not acceptable.  When he is on the floor, he is dominant, but he is not on the field enough.  Most of the fouls were ticky-tack ones that were dumb to commit.  I am not going to blame the official he needs to avoid the contact.  Him playing 30 minutes a night compared to 23 is difference between the Gophers finishing 4th or 5th in the Big 10 and contending for a Big 10 championship.

That is the starting 5 I will be back later today with the reserves.

Is Miguel Sano being Fat Shamed?

(by Travis Aune MSU Founder)

There is a prominent columnist for the Star Tribune Jim Souhan that has been very critical of Miguel Sano in past columns.  He brought up the fact that Sano has put on weight during the season.  I am not discounting that at all.  What I am critical of is I consider that Fat Shaming.  Meaning there is no substantial reasoning that his weight has affected Miguel Sano's game.  I am going to describe how fat shaming in his articles is prevalent.  Miguel Sano is a big-time power hitter, and it needs to be characterized that without Sano where would the Twins be.

What kind of player is he?

Miguel Sano is genuinely a three outcome player.  He is either going to hit a home run, strikeout, or make an out.   However, he was off the best start of his career before getting a stress reaction in his leg after fouling the pitch off his leg.  Because of this, he missed most of the rest of the season.  In all Sano hit .264 with 28 home runs and 77 rbi's in 114 games.  To be fair and balanced this is not the whole story in 424 at bats he had 173 strikeouts one out of every at-bat.  This Star Tribune writer Jim Souhan says that he gained weight during the year and I can't claim to know otherwise.  Ricky Rubio was a victim of his hate too as Souhan attacked his play.  Souhan has lost his edge in my opinion and now does hot takes to be relevant.  

Is Sano fat shamed?

When he reported springing training at 265 lbs, and then there should substantially gain weight during the season.  Just it bugged me that that particular writer went on and on about how much weight he gained and maybe I am going to far but reading it felt like he was accusing him of being lazy.  I think the Twins owe it to him to try to help him with his eating habits.  They can afford to have the personal chef on duty and checking in on him quite a bit to make sure he is staying in shape.  The fat shaming is saying well it is his fault and he should suffer the consequences to me is fat shaming.  I think this is just as much on the Twins as it is on Miguel Sano.  It would be the same thing if he weighed 160 lbs they would make sure he was taking 4000 calorie meals to maintain or raise his weight.  I don't think it is as simple as this writer made it out and if that were me regardless if I was overweight, I would demand an apology.  Of course, those that know that writer know that he feels he is entitled to say whatever he wants without having to apologize.  There might be others that have written about this issue, not the weight issue, but the personal responsibility of writers to show some compassion.  I know some writers and fans think well he makes this much money so he should take everything I got.  I don't feel that way when you get personal an unnamed source is not good enough in my opinion.   This is an article I would not have written if I had been him as it goes too far.  Then when he took guff for it, Souhan blamed the bloggers.  I have big enough shoulders that if he wants to blame the bloggers for making him take personal responsibility I am fine taking the blame.  That article should never have been written, and it's not the first time fat shaming has been done towards Twins players.  We know the other guys that have been criticized for what they eat, and I would never write that article.  To me, that comes off in poor taste, and it is disrespectful and not something I feel comfortable writing.

What Now?

I think that Miguel Sano is not going to let this issue define him as a baseball player.  He will come into camp in good shape in the 265-270 range, and it is up to Sano and the Twins to keep him in that range throughout the season.  This is a big year for Sano as some say that the reason that he missed all those games was that of his weight and I think that is ludicrous.  The truth is this was a bad injury to the point that he might have to put screws in the leg this year.  This could mean more DH days with Eduardo Escobar getting more days at 3b.  I am going to be completely honest Miguel Sano is my favorite Twins player so this bugs me more than most stories.  I feel like he is owed an apology, but I know he will never get it he needs to just work hard and prove him wrong.