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Gophers Get Really Bad News on Injured Guard
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- Gophers Get Really Bad News on Injured Guard
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Gophers aren't yet into the meat of their regular season, but Big Ten play opens on Wednesday night. A season ago Ben Johnson led the group to an underwhelming 15-17 record before being shown the door.
Niko Medved was the hire athletic director Mark Coyle zeroed in on . Transition to a new program will always take time , but Medved worked quickly to revamp the roster this season. Unfortunately adversity will take away his starting point guard before conference play begins.
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Starting PG Chansey Willis Jr. out for season
Back in April Chansey Willis Jr. transfered to Minnesota after leaving Western Michigan. He has bounced around a bit in college, but is a former Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year. Unfortunately his first season with the Gophers will end after just eight games.
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Playing against Stanford, Willis Jr. injured his foot and left after just four minutes. He was with the team the following day but rocking a boot .
Former North Carolina forward Cade Tyson is leading the Minnesota Gophers with 22.4 points per game . Right now that also leads the Big Ten Conference. Willis Jr. was averaging 6.3 points per game , which ranks fifth on the team.
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Willis sat out in the loss against Santa Clara , but started all seven previous contests. He was averaging 26.7 minutes per game for Medved, and was the team's primary ball handler. He logged 3.3 assists per game and his 2.3 steals per game led the conference.
Now Medved will be tasked with finding someone to step up throughout conference play. Minnesota native Isaac Asuma has been a key member of the starting lineup and will have expanded opportunities. Northern Colorado transfer Langston Reynolds will also see responsibilities fall on his polate.
Freshman guard Kai Shinholster has averaged just over 11 minutes per game as the last backcourt member. He could absorb some of the minutes vacated by Chansey Willis Jr.'s absence.
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