Are the Gophers guards good enough to compete in the Big Ten?
The Gophers' backcourt outlook for 2024-25 took a major hit when starting point guard Elijah Hawkins transferred to Texas Tech in the spring. Mike Mitchell Jr. is the only returning scholarship guard on the roster, but has Minnesota done enough in the portal to have a competitive backcourt in the Big Ten next season?
When the 6-foot-2 guard opted to return to the program for his final year of college basketball there weren't many pieces around him, but Ben Johnson and the Gophers are grateful they could get a player like Mitchell Jr. to remain in Minneapolis. "There is a reason we went with a lot of older guys. If you're going to have a turnaround, you better have unlimited NIL, where you can get whoever or you got to have a strategy about it," Johnson said. "I look a lot about year one, where we just had experience. It goes without saying, you got to have the talent, but experience also wins and we were able to find that in the portal.
Playing his high school basketball at local Minnesota Prep Academy, Patterson is likely the favorite to start at the other guard spot, but he's never averaged more than three assists per game in his four-year college career. As for the other options, Williams has never averaged more than three per game, Rigsby has never totaled more than two per contest and Odukale, at 6-foot-6, might need to be used more at the three position in the role Christie played last season.
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