SLIDE 4 of 14 11. Minnesota

By Ryan James, GopherIllustrated.com

Key returners: Jordan Murphy, Amir Coffey, Eric Curry, Dupree McBrayer, Isaiah Washington, Michael Hurt. Jordan Murphy will become the all time leading rebounder in Minnesota history shattering that record and has an outside shot to become the all time leading scorer in Gopher history. He had a historic double-double run last year breaking a record of Tim Duncan plus Murphy was an All Big Ten player. Amir Coffey scored 14 a game before being lost for the season in early January for shoulder problems while Dupree McBrayer played through a bad leg injury that kept him from practicing the final 10 weeks of the season. Also back from injury is Eric Curry who was the team's best defender as a freshman in 2016-17 (missed last year to a torn ACL). All the injuries allowed Isaiah Washington and Michael Hurt to start and gain experience as underclassmen.

Key losses: Nate Mason. The Gophers actually lose five scholarship players from last year's roster but the only valuable piece leaving the program is former All-Big Ten first team point guard Nate Mason. Mason has been the heart and soul of the team for the past four years and it's sad to see that he has hurt his hip once again this spring taking away any chances of playing professional hoops next year.

Top newcomer to watch: Daniel Oturu. Daniel is a top 35-40 level national recruit that led Cretin-Derham Hall to a state championship in Minnesota over the winter and his incredible length and high energy will be needed in the post for the Gophers. Unfortunately, the run of bad luck injuries for the Gophers continues as Oturu hurt his arm playing in the Nike Hoops Summit meaning he had shoulder surgery and could miss the start of the season. Gabe Kalscheur is also one to watch. He's a four-star recruit that won three state titles in high school and is one of the shooters entering college basketball out of high school.

Biggest reason for optimism: The talent is clearly there to have a fantastic season. Jordan Murphy is an all-time Gopher great while Amir Coffey is a potential NBA Draft pick if he can stay healthy. There is a strong incoming class of talent that includes Oturu, Kalshcheur, top 150 recruit Jarvis Omersa, and graduate transfer Brock Stull who led Wisconsin-Milwaukee in scoring last year. With McBrayer and Curry both expected to be fully healthy entering summer workouts and Isaiah Washington having four-star potential there is a high level of talent, but guys need to stay healthy and that just doesn't seem to happen consistently in the Twin Cities.