Minnesota Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Golden Gophers
By Jason Belt
A new look Minnesota Basketball program will be put to the test in the 2020-21 season.
After a pretty disappointing 2019-20 season where Minnesota Basketball went 15-16 and were on the wrong side of the bubble pre COVID, a lot has changed for Richard Pitino’s team.
For starters, Daniel Oturu has entered his name into the NBA Draft list and is projected to go somewhere in the late first round.
The sophomore averaged 20 points and over 11 rebounds a game last season while adding 2.5 blocks as well.
Oturu was the backbone for Minnesota on both ends of the floor, protecting the paint while usually going up against a formidable opposing big man.
Losing him, as well as Payton Willis (College of Charleston) and Alihan Demir (graduated) leaves multiple holes to be filled for the 2020-21 season.
Luckily for the Golden Gophers, there’s a little something called the transfer portal.
Minnesota lived in the transfer portal this offseason, making the top choices for many key transfers looking to take their talents elsewhere.
While they weren’t always successful in landing these players, they were able to hone in on three key guys.
Maybe the most important of these three players is Both Gach, a former Utah guard who received his waiver to play on November 9th.
Gach had interest from many schools when he announced he would be transferring, but his Minnesota ties proved to be too strong as he landed back in his hometown state.
The junior will have a large role in his inaugural season with the Golden Gophers and could be a difference-maker down the stretch.
Along with Gach, big men Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins are high-impact transfers, coming from Western Michigan and Drake respectively.
The two big men will most likely start at the 4 and 5 and provide key minutes for Richard Pitino in the 2020-21 season.
Minnesota might be young and lack chemistry, but don’t be surprised if these new faces figure it out quickly.