Written By Sam Ekstrom
The Big Ten basketball season goes by in the blink of an eye. From start to finish, the conference schedule spans just over two months. Eighteen games to make your case for the Big Dance – a sliver of the time NBA teams get to build their team over a six-month period. Just like in the cruelly fast 16-game NFL season, one bad college basketball loss can doom a team. Any type of losing streak can have large-scale ripple effects. And a five-game losing skid? Nearly insurmountable.
A third of the way through their Big Ten season, the Gophers – having already dealt with an emotionally-draining five-game losing streak — sit at 1-5, staring up at a dozen teams in the standings. Despite getting over the hump Saturday with their first conference win, an at-times-sloppy 89-80 victory over the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, head coach Richard Pitino made a pair of personnel decisions that arguably showed more regard for his program’s future than it did its present.
With big man Mo Walker in foul trouble early in Saturday’s game, Pitino looked to the bench, and instead of signaling to established senior Elliott Eliason, he gestured for true freshman Bakary Konate, the raw recruit from Mali. What first seemed like a brief stint for a freshman in a comfortable situation turned into a game-long trend. Konate totaled 17 minutes of game time – his most since a Dec. 10 non-conference game against Southern University. Eliason played just four minutes.
Pitino had indicated back in November that Konate’s playing time would reduce once the conference season got underway. “I don't know how many more minutes [Bakary]'s going to get because of Elliott and Mo,” said Pitino after a win against Franklin Pierce. “I want to get him to the point where he's ready, where he can be in our starting five next year, but that's really the key. He's still very raw, but he's got the size. It's going to take a while for him. We've got to take advantage of this non-conference because when you get going in the Big Ten, certainly Elliott and Mo, this is both their fifth years, so they're very experienced.”
The second-year coach stayed true to that through the first five Big Ten games, giving Konate minutes in just one contest, the Dec. 31 opener against Purdue. But an 0-5 start goes a long ways toward changing a coach’s philosophy. With Eliason averaging just 2.4 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game in Big Ten play, Pitino made the move to the lanky freshman against Rutgers.
“I told myself, you've got to roll with him,” Pitino said after the win. “It's not necessarily Elliott, we've got to develop Bakary. We've got to do it. I thought Elliott had a great attitude on the bench. Doesn't mean Elliott's not going to play anymore. Every guy is valuable, and certainly I was happy with Elliott's attitude, and I was happy with Bakary's production.”
Pitino went out of his way to compliment Konate for the one field goal he made – his lone shot attempt. That may have been the only bright spot in the 21-year-old’s performance. At one point, Konate had played for 12 minutes, collected zero rebounds, scored zero points and committed three fouls. His help-side defense was a second late, he didn’t get one shot off in the paint and his passes rarely hit teammates in the chest.
Konate, likely next year’s starting center, is a work in progress. Pitino acknowledged this throughout the preseason and initially seemed content letting Konate spend a year learning from seniors Eliason and Mo Walker, but the shift in his rotation against Rutgers indicates a new mindset: Develop the young kid. Take your lumps – and there were many of them on Saturday. Let him learn on the fly. Don’t worry about the side effects.
Eliason was not notified about the change, but Pitino appreciated the 23-year-old’s attitude. It’s easy for the Chadron, Neb., native to relate to Konate’s situation because he was there once as well, learning the ropes behind Ralph Sampson III and Trevor Mbakwe.
“[Bakary] just needs to do technical things, and he's got the heart, and he's definitely got the strength,” said Eliason after the game. “It's going to take some time. It's going to take a little time to develop him, but it's good to get him minutes.
“It takes a lot more time for a big man to develop than a guard would, so I think that's really good for him to get that right now, especially for the future. Not looking too far ahead, but it's going to be big for him, I think, in his career.”
Freshman Mason a full-time starter
For the second straight game, true freshman Nate Mason was on the floor at the tip-off in place of senior DeAndre Mathieu. This is a different type of change than playing Konate over Eliason. In the case of Konate, Pitino hoped to simply get the kinks out. Mason, however, forced Pitino’s hand by standing out as one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten.
“I think Nate's one of our best players. He needs to be on the court,” Pitino said Monday. “Nate's got the ability, in my opinion, just basketball-wise, to be one of the better guards in the Big Ten when it's all said and done, and we've got to continue to develop him on that.”
The young coach again uses the word develop. Mason, at 19, has three more years in the program, while Mathieu is 22 and concluding his college career. The concept of trying to season younger players is not a novel one, though it makes one do a double-take when looking at the caliber of player Pitino is replacing.
Mathieu was a stalwart on last year’s NIT-winning Gophers team. He averaged 12 points and four assists per game and shot 51 percent from the field. In each conference win last season, Mathieu notched double figures in points. In seven of their 11 conference losses, he was held below 10 points. In essence, he was the straw that stirred the drink.
To be fair, Mason has the tools to become a prolific scorer. He’s shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc and harasses guards on the defensive end the second they cross midcourt. In his first start against Iowa – when Pitino changed three-fifths of the lineup – Mason scored 17 points with four rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. It’s easy to see why Pitino likes Mason in his starting five.
But Mathieu leads the Gophers in assists (5.5) and steals (2.4) this season. He was influential in Minnesota’s second-half comebacks against Ohio State and Iowa. And he’s got the experience and maturity to know how to handle a team.
So why replace him in the lineup for a freshman? Pitino mentioned it was for height purposes, but the added bonus of development makes the decision easier. Get the teenager used to the idea of controlling the offense, give him a greater sense of ownership, see how he stacks up for 30-plus minutes a game against the Big Ten’s elite.
“He's such a tough player. He's a calming influence,” said Pitino. “Even though he was 3 for 10 today [against Rutgers], he did a lot of really good things. I think he's got a chance to be a really good player, and he's still only a freshmen, which is great.”
There could be a youth movement occurring at Williams Arena as the Gophers enter the second third of the Big Ten season. Whether he’s a starter or a bench player, Mason just wants to turn the season around.
“I don't really care about that stuff, man,” Mason said referring to his impressive start against Iowa. “I just want to win.”
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket and a play-by-play broadcaster in Burnsville, Minn. Hear him on 105 The Ticket Sunday mornings from 8-10 a.m. on “The Wake Up Call.” Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.