Gophers' Murphy Switches Approach To Great Acclaim
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Gopher men's basketball team plays another key game, this time against Indiana at home Wednesday night.
They have battled by utilizing a balanced attack, and they may have a veteran emerging at just the right time: forward Jordan Murphy
The Gophers understand it's about an Indiana team that's hard to predict this season.
"The Big 10 is a great conference. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. So I feel like you guys are seeing that this year, and it just shows how much talent the Big 10 actually has," said guard Nate Mason.
But the Gophers have a new weapon; actually, a new approach by an old one. Jordan Murphy hit a switch last week and turned his game around.
"I just said, 'Murph, quit worrying about points,'" said Gophers Head Coach Richard Pitino. "'You need to understand what your identity is as a basketball player. It is not low-post touches, one-on-one. That's not where you're at right now.'"
He listened to his coach and he changed his game almost overnight.
"I really didn't focus on scoring at all, to be honest with you. It's just some minor rebounding, and the other stuff just kind of follow," Murphy said. "I mean, I just got to get myself going, set the tone for energy, just do stuff like that."
Murphy is built for the Big 10, and they need to be good most nights and great on others if this program is to continue building.
And there is little doubt. Murphy expects much of himself down the stretch, and so does his head coach.
"It's just been a mentality switch, and it's blatantly obvious, and it's been good for our guys to see as well," Pitino said.
Tipoff against Indiana is at 8 p.m. at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.