Transfers Elijah Hawkins, Mike Mitchell Jr. have U going in 'right direction'

Minnesota guards have found their rhythm as they gain experience in the offense.

Mike Mitchell Jr. was on fire for the Gophers men’s basketball team during Thursday’s win over Ball State at Williams Arena.

Mitchell, in his first year with the program after transferring from Pepperdine after two seasons there, scored a season-high 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, hitting 4 of 5 from long range. His efforts helped the U pull away to an 80-63 victory even though the Cardinals had hung tough for the better part of 40 minutes at The Barn.

Elijah Hawkins, fresh off setting the Gophers’ single-game assists record with 17 dimes in a win over IUPUI, had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the win over Ball State.

Hawkins, also in his first year with the program after transferring from Howard after two seasons there, and Mitchell have each been finding their rhythms for the Gophers.

Dec 12, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Elijah Hawkins (0) shoots as IUPUI Jaguars center Yves Nkomba (15) defends during the first half at Williams Arena / © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

In Minnesota’s last four games — all wins — Hawkins is averaging 8.5 points and 12.0 assists per game. Mitchell, meanwhile, is averaging 14.5 points and 3.5 assists per contest.

“I think we’re a balanced team,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Thursday’s victory. “And that’s one thing when Dawson (Garcia) went down that we really tried to focus on is opportunities for us to grow as a team and for guys to grow individually.

Garcia, the Gophers’ leading scorer, was injured during their Dec. 6 game against Nebraska, which kicked off their four-game win streak. That was also the last game starting guard Braeden Carrington played; he’s been away from the team for mental health reasons but rejoined the program on Wednesday.

But despite missing two key pieces — and starters — Minnesota has been able to rattle off three straight wins, and the contributions from Hawkins and Mitchell have been crucial to that success.

Hawkins has been able to get the entire team involved — five players scored in double figures in Thursday’s win and four players did so in the victories over Florida Gulf Coast and IUPUI.

“It takes time. I know (Hawkins) doesn’t want to know that, or hear that, early, and I was sometimes getting frustrated with it, but it does when you’re trying to learn a new system and you’re trying to learn new teammates, it takes time,” Johnson said. “And you’ve got to kind of go through those growing pains. But with an older guy, once he figures it out, you just want him to kind of ride the wave.

“And I think he’s doing that. The game has kinda slowed down for him and he’s taking command of the offense.”

Mitchell has also found his rhythm offensively. He’s scored in double figures in each of the four games during Minnesota’s win streak, and he showed what he can truly do offensively in Thursday’s victory over Ball State.

FG: 8-11
PTS: 20
REB: 4
AST: 5
STL: 3
BLK: 1

Mike Mitchell Jr. had himself a night in Minnesota's win over Ball State. 🤩

@HoopDreams2021 x @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/GA9VZSLF2i

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 22, 2023

“Mike’s always been capable of scoring and now I think Mike’s just getting comfortable in our offense,” Johnson said. “He knows where he’s gonna get his shots and sometimes that’s half the battle. Like you can be a talented scorer, but if you’re hunting and you don’t know when you’re going to get them, then sometimes you take a rushed shot or take a shot off rhythm.

“Now he’s in a great flow and he knows where he’s going to get his shots, he knows how to get to his spot. And guys know how to find him.”

Mitchell said after the game that he is feeling more comfortable in the offense, crediting his teammates — like Pharrel Payne — with helping him find his flow.

“I’m getting more comfortable too. Being out there with guys like (Payne) that is used to the offense makes it easier for me,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell’s efforts defensively have also not gone unnoticed, especially as the U has been without Carrington, who’s an exceptional perimeter defender. Mitchell had five steals in the win over Nebraska and three more in Thursday’s win over Ball State.

Having their two veteran transfer additions find their place in the offense and get comfortable and confident in the system will go a long was as the Gophers approach Big Ten play. And stringing wins together now will only help Minnesota carry that confidence down the line.

Minnesota guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (2) reacts to his shot with guard Elijah Hawkins (0) during the second half against New Orleans at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Nov. 30, 2023 :: Matt Krohn / USA TODAY Sports

“I think (Hawkins’) confidence has really trickled down and now we’ve got a team … they all feel like they’re in a rhythm and in a flow,” Johnson said. “… Like guys now know we’ve won, they can fall back on that and that’s why the lead doesn’t go from nine to seven to five to three like it did versus Missouri. Because at that point they didn’t know. They didn’t have something to reference and fall back on because they hadn’t won yet.

“Well now there’s an expectation of how to close a game and they can fall back on that, and so when you’ve won four in a row and that lead gets to seven, they were the ones saying, ‘All right, enough is enough. We gotta close this out. We need to be greedy.’ And when your team is doing that, it’s not head coach driven or staff driven, I think that’s the sign of a program that is going in the right direction.”