eserve with an unspecified lower-body injury

MINNEAPOLIS -- Richard Pitino enters his fourth season at Minnesota coming off a disastrous 2-16 finish in the Big Ten and with a new boss watching over the program.Those are two elements that can bring major concern about a coachs future, but Pitino walks into a crucial season in his tenure brimming with confidence.I do believe, when healthy, its the most talent weve had and its the most complete team. Youve got to stay healthy but I really am excited about these guys, Pitino said.There are six new players on the roster from the team that went 8-23 last season, meaning nearly half the team wasnt around for the difficulties of his third year on the job. Not only did a young and overmatched roster falter on the court, but there were a couple of off-the-court incidents that added to the misery.They seem very eager to move on from last year, Pitino said. Last year was very, very difficult for everybody. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about. Theyve been really eager to change the perspective of this basketball program.The Golden Gophers open the season against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 11 and tip off the conference season against Michigan State on Dec. 23.I think people are going to see our progress by the time we hit the court, said forward Jordan Murphy, who was a member of the Big Tens All-Freshman team last season. I dont think were worried about proving people wrong. Its more about getting better day by day.Pitino added local prep star Amir Coffey, whose father Richard is a former Gophers standout, and gets transfers Reggie Lynch from Illinois State and Akeem Springs from UW-Milwaukee to help try to breathe new life into the program. And with new athletic director Mark Coyle, who comes back to Minnesota from traditional college hoops power Syracuse, evaluating things, its time for the Gophers to make their move.I know what they walked into and may have perceived of our program, Pitino said. And Im eager to show them what were all about. Weve been as transparent as possible.Here are some things to watch with the Gophers this year:COFFEYS ARRIVAL: The Gophers have historically have had difficulty keeping some of the states best high school players from leaving for other programs. Landing Coffey, a 6-foot-8 guard, was a huge coup for Pitino, and he has looked as good as advertised during fall camp. Hes going to have to play major minutes and hes going to have to do a little bit of everything, Pitino said. I think its on me to figure out where to put him in spots to put the defense in a bind because hes got that size.AKEEMS TWEET: Springs raised eyebrows on Monday night when he tweeted that it looks like my time in Minnesota may be shorter than (I) thought. Its all good though. Pitino immediately called Springs to ask for an explanation and was told that Springs was just messing around. Springs didnt provide a whole lot of clarity on Tuesday. I didnt mean anything. If you go through my history, I tweet a lot of stuff. It meant nothing. It was just a tweet, he said. He said he has not thought about leaving the program. Akeem has been an awesome teammate, Pitino said. Hes been a great leader. He has practiced his butt off. Hes about winning.BAD LUCK: The season got off to a bad start when Davonte Fitzgerald, a 6-8 post player, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Fitzgerald was injured in practice and the loss was a big blow for a team that was relying on his size and defense to give them more size in the paint.LYNCHS INJURY: Lynch had minor knee surgery earlier this fall and is still working his way back. Pitino said he would like for Lynch to play in the exhibition game against Bemidji State on Nov. 3, but they wont rush him back if hes not quite ready. Lynch said his knee is feeling much better and he was confident that he would be able to play in the season opener after sitting out last season after the transfer. Ive been antsy for a year and a half, Lynch said. Its been a long time.---AP college basketball website: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/ Nike Air Max 97 Outlet .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Wholesale Nike Air Max 97 . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. https://www.fakeairmax97wholesale.com/ . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Black Friday Nike Air Max 97 .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Cheap Nike Air Max 97 .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Sean OBrien had 22 points and a career-high nine assists as Southern Illinois cruised to a 101-83 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Friday night.OBrien shot 9 of 11 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Mike Rodriguez and Leo Vincent added 20 points apiece for Southern Illinois (2-2), which made 37 of 54 field goals for 69 percent shooting.Tre Harris scored 24 points and made five 3-pointers to lead SIU Edwardsville (2-2). Jaalen Henry had 17 points, and Christian Ellis added 16 points and six assists.ddddddddddddThe Cougars had their last lead, 20-19 with 11:27 left in the first half. Southern Illinois closed on a 35-13 run for a 54-33 halftime lead, and then stretched it to 30 points three minutes into the second half and cruised from there. ' ' '