Gophers take closer look at turned-over men’s basketball roster in exhibition victory over Bemidji State

The Gophers men’s basketball team made its debut for the 2024-25 season Saturday afternoon with a newcomer-laden group that used a second-half surge to take a convincing 90-65 exhibition victory against Division II Bemidji State at Williams Arena.

After losing three starters from an NIT team, fourth-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson hit the transfer portal hard for immediate-impact talent. A few of those transfers were sidelined by injuries Saturday, but returning seniors Mike Mitchell Jr., Dawson Garcia and Parker Fox combined for 48 points.

Potential starters Lu’Cye Patterson, a transfer from Charlotte, and Femi Odukale, a transfer from New Mexico State, were in street clothes. So was arguably the team’s best defender, Tyler Cochran, a transfer from Toledo.

Missing some of their top playmakers, the Gophers stalled early on offense and trailed Bemidji State 27-23 midway through the first half. But Mitchell scored eight points and Garcia four in the next 8:59 and the Gophers led 41-40 at halftime.

In the second half, Mitchell continued to shoot the lights out, but he got help. Fox muscled in a basket and was fouled, starting an 11-0 run that provided a comfortable separation. Brennan Rigsby scored six straight points to make it 72-52 with just under eight minutes left.

“The first half is what it is and is pretty standard,” Johnson said. “It’s the response that I care about. I thought we responded the right way. They banked in a three, but we held them to 25 points [on 24% shooting in the second half].”

Johnson said Odukale (hip) could’ve played if it were the regular season and will be back soon. Patterson has a shoulder injury and his recovery is day-by-day. Cochran could be out until December after foot surgery.

The Gophers started newcomers Rigsby and Frank Mitchell alongside Mitchell, Garcia and returning sophomore Kadyn Betts on Saturday.

Rigsby, a springy 6-3 Oregon transfer, got the Gophers faithful’s attention quickly with a baseline two-hand slam on the second basket of the game. The top athlete on the team with a 40-inch vertical jump, Rigsby’s game isn’t solely about playing above the rim. He finished with 17 points with 3-for-6 three-point shooting to go with four rebounds and two assists.

“I try to get to all three levels and be able to score not just in one way and be one-dimensional,” Rigsby said. “It’s pretty easy when you have weapons like Dawson and Mike out there.”

Frank Mitchell is listed at 6-8 and 260 pounds but looked even bigger next to Bemidji State’s undersized frontcourt. He definitely threw his weight around to grab a team-high seven rebounds. Deceptively bouncy, Mitchell also stole the ball at midcourt and threw down a dunk. He’ll likely replace the physical inside presence of former starting center Pharrel Payne, who transferred to Texas A&M.

Isaac Asuma, a freshman from Cherry, Minn., who was a four-star recruit, contributed to the defensive dominance in the second half. Asuma also had eight points and finished tied with Mitchell with a team-high eight assists in 30 minutes off the bench.

The Gophers hoped to have one of the top returning backcourts in the Big Ten with last season’s Big Ten assist leader Elijah Hawkins and Mitchell, but Hawkins transferred to Texas Tech.

Mitchell looked motivated Saturday to show he can step into the role of main floor leader. The Gophers’ best shooter last season at nearly 40% from beyond the arc, the San Jose native had a team-best 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting, going 4-for-7 on three-pointers.

Hawkins’ presence last season made people forget that Mitchell was one of the best passers in the West Coast Conference at Pepperdine for his first two seasons. He had four assists in both halves Saturday, and the Gophers had 23 assists as a team.

“I’m just going to do whatever it takes for this team to win,” Mitchell said. “At my previous school, I played point guard. Last year was my first year playing off the ball. I had some ups and downs with it.”

Former Gophers guard Melvin Newbern, who played on Elite Eight and Sweet 16 teams under coach Clem Haskins, was in attendance Saturday to watch his son, Peyton, play his alma mater.

The younger Newbern was in Bemidji State’s starting backcourt and finished with eight points, three rebounds and two assists. The 6-4 junior transfer from North Dakota State College of Science also played high school basketball at Armstrong.

The Gophers play a second exhibition game in front of fans for the first time since 2017-18 when they host Hamline on Oct. 29 at the Barn. The regular-season opener is Nov. 6 against Oral Roberts.