The Gophers men’s basketball team has seen plenty of ups and downs throughout this unprecedented season. Junior guard Gabe Kalscheur has been one player who seems to have his ups on defense and downs on offense.

Kalscheur continues to be the best Gopher defender and gets praised constantly by head coach Richard Pitino.

“We talk constantly about Gabe’s shooting; I think Gabe is the best perimeter defender in the league,” Pitino said.

Kalscheur had one of his best games defensively in an upset win over then-No.7 Michigan Jan. 16. He was able to hold the Wolverines’ top-scoring guard to just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. Sophomore Franz Wagner was unable to get things going and had his worst shooting performance of the season to that point.

Kalscheur did a good job against the 6-foot-9 guard, even with a five-inch difference in height.

“I just tried to make it as tough as possible, make him second guess his shots. … I just tried to make it as tough as possible for him to get to his right hand and make every shot difficult for him to take,” Kalscheur said.

The defense has never been a problem for Kalscheur since he first stepped foot on the elevated floor of the Barn. Another thing that wasn’t a problem during his first season for the maroon and gold was Kalscheur’s ability to shoot.

Kalscheur began his collegiate career successfully for Minnesota. In his freshman stint, he shot 41.7% from the field and 41% from deep while starting all 36 games that season. He posted 16 double-digit scoring games, with four being 20 or more points, while being the fourth leading scorer on the team with 10 points per game.

As of now, that has been the peak to Kalscheur’s career, which has been on a hard downfall since. His field goal percentage, as well as his three-point percentage, has been on a downward trend since his exceptional freshman year.

In his sophomore season, Kalscheur dropped down to a 37.6% field goal shooter, while seeing his three-point shooting drop down to 34.1%. That was just the beginning to his downward trend.

After such an abnormal offseason, Kalscheur still hasn’t warmed up yet in his junior season. After seeing his numbers fall after his sophomore stint, they have continued to drop in his third year. Through 18 games, those numbers have proceeded to follow suit as he’s shooting a career-low 31% from the field and 23.3% from deep.

Pitino doesn’t worry about the numbers and percentages around Kalscheur’s shooting. In the beginning of the season, he was making game-winning plays on defense that helped propel the Gophers to their undefeated start.

“I don’t judge Gabe’s play by made threes or not. This is back-to-back games where he’s made winning plays. I don’t make a big deal about that. I clearly have faith in him — he’s still playing major minutes because he brings a lot of other great things to the table,” Pitino said following the win over the University of North Dakota.

But as good as Kalscheur has been on defense, the shooting struggles are evident and are a problem for the Gophers on offense. Minnesota has relied on redshirt junior Marcus Carr and junior transfer Liam Robbins to run the offense, and when they are struggling, the team can’t seem to get anything going.

The team’s three-game skid has demonstrated these challenges and the team’s need for a consistent offensive threat outside of Carr and Robbins. Despite shooting a high volume of three-point attempts, Minnesota is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation, allowing opponents to direct their focus on Carr and Robbins.

Kalscheur demonstrated his offensive abilities in the past, and if he were to return to his freshman form, that could greatly contribute to the Gophers’ offense. If Kalscheur can become a consistent third option once again, the sky is the limit for a Gophers’ team that’s already beaten the likes of Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State.

The Gophers’ men’s basketball team came into an unprecedented season with six new faces joining the team. Among those six new players was a 7-foot transfer coming from Drake University. Junior Liam Robbins has fit in very well with his new team and was recognized on national levels for his performance.

After two seasons of playing for the Bulldogs, the junior joined his cousin and uncle on the Gophers. Senior Hunt Conroy is Robbins’ older cousin, while associate head coach Ed Conroy is his uncle. Robbins and the Gophers didn’t have the same offseason to get fully acclimated, but that hasn’t stopped Robbins from making the transition into Big Ten play.

Head coach Richard Pitino was excited about his big man before play even started. He was impressed by what he saw in practices leading up to the season.

“He’s stood out in practice, and I think he’s one of the best transfers in the country. He is a talented, talented player,” Pitino said.

It wasn’t a normal preseason by any means, and Robbins’ early play on the court showed he needed a bit more time to completely figure things out.

Robbins was dealt with the tough task of getting thrown into action right away and that was demonstrated with the results he put up. In his first few contests, Robbins was dealing with foul trouble, and those fouls were coming early in the game. He would find himself on the bench early in the first half with two fouls.

“To get adjusted to the Big Ten physicality, this is a good test for me. Obviously, I’ve been in foul trouble; part of that, I think, is just because we haven’t had exhibition games,” Robbins said after the team’s second game against LMU. “These games are huge and [I’m] just taking it one game at a time, one day at a time, trying to get better.”

Robbins saw the struggles he was having and made adjustments to his game in order to spend more time on the court. But he wasn’t given the easiest schedule; matchup-wise, he was facing some of the best big men in the nation right from the start of conference play.

In his first two Big Ten games, he was faced up with Kofi Cockburn of Illinois and Luka Garza of Iowa, both of whom found themselves on the preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award at the beginning of the season. Robbins himself was also on the list.

“Shaking the rust off, not playing a game since March of last year, it took me a little longer to get acclimated, plus I was playing with a new team,” Robbins said on his recent improvements. “I’ve been really working in practice on my verticality and just moving my feet to keep me out of foul trouble and I’m seeing the results of that paying off.”

Those adjustments show in his results on the court. He’s averaging 13.8 points per game while bringing in 7.3 rebounds per game. On top of that, the junior is leading the Big Ten in blocks per game with 2.6.

These numbers have earned him two separate Big Ten players of the week, most recently winning it alongside Purdue’s Trevion Williams. Robbins won it after a game-high 22 point performance over then-undefeated Michigan. He was also named Big Ten player of the week on Jan. 4.

On the national level, Robbins was recognized for his first ever Naismith Trophy Player of the Week for that same performance against the Wolverines.

“It’s great to see him succeed, and it’s great to see him take that next step,” Pitino said.

For the first time in three years, the Gophers’ men’s basketball team is ranked in the most recent Associated Press poll. After an upset win over then-No. 4 Iowa, Minnesota improved to 8-1 on the season and found itself ranked No. 21 in the nation.

The Gophers are alongside eight other Big Ten teams currently ranked, which is the most of any other conference. The Big 12 is the next closest with five teams in the rankings.

The overtime thriller displayed stellar performances from both redshirt senior Brandon Johnson and redshirt junior Marcus Carr. Johnson finished the night with a season-high 26 points on 8-of-9 shooting from downtown, including a perfect 4-of-4 in overtime to propel the Gophers to a 102-95 win.

Carr was sensational again, continuing his dominance early in the season. Coming off a 32 point performance in a win over Saint Louis, he put up 30 points including a game-tying stepback three pointer with under six seconds remaining.

In the Iowa contest, Carr scored his third 30-point game of the season and is currently averaging 24.6 points per game to rank second in the Big Ten and third in the nation. Carr was awarded his first ever Big Ten Player of the week award and is the Gophers’ first winner since junior Gabe Kalscheur and Daniel Oturu won in the 2019-20 season.

The Gophers will look to continue their success over No. 17 Michigan State Monday night. The Gophers are 8-5 overall and just 1-3 in Big Ten play under head coach Richard Pitino while being ranked.

The Gophers’ men’s basketball team has started out 3-0 this season in large part due to redshirt junior Marcus Carr. After setting a school record for 207 assists last season, and being the second leading scorer with 15.4 points per game, the stage was set for his third year.

This time around, he didn’t have Daniel Oturu manning the front court. Head coach Richard Pitino praised the work Carr put in over the offseason, and it has shown early.

“He went home and clearly got in the best shape of his life,” Pitino said. “You can see he went back home and didn’t sit on the couch. He got himself in terrific shape; he’s very, very confident.”

In their first three non-conference matchups, the Gophers have relied heavily on the third-year guard. In his first contest of the season, Carr led the Gophers to a 30-point win behind a 35-point performance, tying his career high.

Carr used that momentum in the Gophers’ second game of the season to jump out on Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in the first half, scoring 22 of the Gophers’ 41 first half points. LMU adjusted and held Carr to just six points in the second half, as he ended with 28 in a 88-73 win.

After those two performances, Carr would probably have been deserving of being the Big Ten player of the week if it wasn’t for Iowa’s Luka Garza. The Iowa senior scored 67 points on 28-of-33 shooting with six blocks in two games.

Carr got right back to work against LMU in Minnesota’s second game of the back-to-back. The Lions continued to figure out Carr in the first half, holding him to just five points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Carr went into halftime and made adjustments for the second half. He put up 21 points, shooting 8-of-9 in the second half, including a game-winning three pointer to put the Gophers on top.

Carr started taking the ball coast to coast for easy layups in transition, creating space for his two threes. In the second half, Pitino drew up an out-of-bounds play that helped get Carr open on the wing for an easy two. He took advantage of the way LMU decided to guard against Carr.

“I think these last two games, just the way that they were guarding, the advantage was for the guards, for us, to just [attack] downhill. They had some bigger, slower guys, and they were trying to switch some times,” Carr said.

The second-year captain isn’t just putting up big numbers on the stats sheet. He has been a great leader to his team and helped bring them out of midgame slumps. In the 30-point win over Green Bay, the Gophers saw their lead drop to 10 before Carr opened things up.

“They went on their run, and I was just so focused on getting us back to where we needed to be. I kinda wasn’t even thinking about [the box score]; it wasn’t on my mind at all,” Carr said. “I was just focused on trying to get us back to playing the way we needed to be.”

In both games against LMU, Carr was able to help the Gophers’ offense when it needed it most. In the first game he contributed 22 first half points, and in the second game he scored 21 second half points.

“He’s been playing great these two games, and he’s just so consistent. We all see the work that he’s put in, how skilled he is. The confidence we have in him is because of the work he puts in,” junior Liam Robbins said. “I think people will be shocked at how dominant he is this year, but we are not going to be surprised because we see it every day.”

Over three games, he’s averaging 29.7 points, five assists and over five rebounds per game. He’s also shooting a lot more efficiently than he has in his career, hitting 54.4% from the field and 45% from behind the arc.

Carr came into this season already noticed by his play last season. Coming into the year, Carr earned himself three preseason awards.

His first preseason award was earning a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. After making the All-Big Ten Third Team following last season, Carr found himself on a list that included Iowa’s Garza, Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn as well as other Big Ten standouts.

Carr also earned the privilege of being named to both the Naismith Trophy Watch List and, most recently, the John R. Wooden Award watch list. Carr is demonstrating early that he’s deserving of all three of these prestigious preseason awards.

The Gophers’ men’s basketball team finally knows more than just one of its nonconference opponents. On Nov. 25, the Gophers will host Green Bay at the Barn to open up their season.

The day of the game is set, but there is still uncertainty about the game time.

“We don’t even know what time we’re playing next Wednesday. You know, I had a parent call me and say, ‘Hey do you know the time?’ I’m like, ‘No I don’t.’ I’m not lying to you, we just don’t know,” head coach Richard Pitino said in a recent media availability.

Green Bay finished last season with a 17-16 overall record while finishing third in the Horizon Conference with a 11-7 record. Green Bay graduated its top scorer last season in JayQuan McCloud but returns now-sophomore Amari Davis who finished second with 15.9 points per game.

This season, leading up to opening day, has been as abnormal as Pitino has ever seen. Usually the team would have eight weeks in the summer to get acclimated. However, only optional workouts were allowed this summer.

And it isn’t just the summer that hasn’t been normal. The preseason has looked quite different as well. Usually there’s a maroon and gold scrimmage, a scrimmage versus a Division I opponent or even an exhibition game. The Gophers had none of that.

In a season the Gophers brought in three transfers and three freshmen, so Pitino wishes he had a normal offseason to “get the jitters out.” It’s been a different year for recruiting across the board and it shows.

“Brandon Johnson, Liam Robbins and Both Gach saw Williams Arena for the first time the other day,” Pitino said. “There’s going to be a mental adjustment for everybody, whether it’s the three freshmen or the transfers.”

The Gophers also had 24 other games announced for their schedule. Though Pitino is hoping for seven non-conference games, only five are on the schedule as of now. The Gophers will open up five of their first six games against non-Big Ten opponents.

For their first seven Big Ten opponents, Minnesota will be seeing ranked teams. Going into the season Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan are all ranked inside the top 25. Following their tough schedule right away, the Gophers will see just two more preseason ranked teams in its last ten games.

The Gophers will have a familiar face returning to the court in redshirt senior Eric Curry. Curry was recently named captain, and Pitino confirmed that he will be ready to play next Wednesday. He will be an important figure for these new assets to look up to both on and off the court.

Curry has gone through a lot in his career as a Gopher, including two different knee injuries that have continued to sideline the forward. He’s only played in 49 games in his career, including seven starts. Pitino speaks highly of his most experienced player and the positives he brings when on the court.

“He’s always been a good leader, but it’s just the challenging part has been staying on the court. We look better when he’s out there, we look better coached. He makes me look like a better coach, he makes me feel like a better coach,” Pitino said. “That experience factor is very, very important.”

The Gophers’ men’s basketball team has its first game of the season finally set in stone for Dec. 8 when the team takes on Boston College at Williams Arena.

It was announced on Oct. 30 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with the time and broadcast information to still be released. Head coach Richard Pitino is in his eighth year with the Gophers and holds a 4-3 record going into this season in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Gophers have an all-time 10-11 in the challenge since it first began in 1999.

In the history of the programs, the Gophers have only faced Boston College once, and that game happened to come in the 2018 challenge. The Eagles picked up a win in that contest 68-56, which gave the Gophers a three-game losing streak in the challenge.

That three-game skid ended last season when the Gophers handled Clemson 78-60. The Gophers aren’t alone in the struggles for the Big Ten. The ACC holds the series lead at 12-6-3 over the Big Ten.

Both the Gophers and the Eagles are coming into this season finishing under .500 in both their overall and conference records from a season ago. Minnesota is working on finalizing its nonconference schedule, with the potential start coming Nov. 25 at the Barn.

In a normal year, head coach Richard Pitino and his team would be under two weeks from starting their season. This year has been everything but normal, and the Gophers’ men’s basketball team is feeling that effect.

The season was scheduled to start Nov. 10 but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of the season being delayed, the NCAA has also delayed the start date of practice. Scrimmages and exhibition games will not be allowed, and the season will be condensed.

That first day of the season, officially, was Oct. 15. The Gophers are only allowed 30 practices in the 42 days before the season gets underway.

The number of games played always is dependent on the teams’ ability to win in the Big Ten tournament, as well as in the NIT or NCAA tournament, granted the Gophers make it. Originally, the schedule was going to be 31 games, but that has since changed.

The season is set to start Nov. 25 and will feature no more than 27 games. Ordinarily, with the season set to start just under a month away, Pitino and his team would have expectations as to who they would be going up against.

It’s easy to think generally about the teams that the Gophers will face. That isn’t the question that’s still up in the air. The lingering question is the non-conference games the Gophers will participate in.

When asked about what the schedule will look like, Pitino said, “I can’t confirm anything.” He added they are waiting for the Big Ten schedule to get solidified, so they can work around that.

Originally, the Gophers were set to play in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off starting Nov. 21. The team was scheduled to face UCF in the first round with the winner playing either Rhode Island or Marquette.

Pitino, again, was asked if he could confirm whether or not the Gophers would be participating in this tournament. He responded, “We’re not even close to confirming that yet, so I just don’t know.”

Now, there are three new teams that have taken the spots of the Gophers, Eagles and Knights in the Naismith bracket. Virginia Tech, Temple and South Florida have filled up the three spots, and the tournament is set to start Nov. 28.

The Gophers will miss out in the Hall of Fame tournament, but their first game of the season was announced Friday. As a part of the 2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Gophers will host Boston College on Dec. 8.

Though there still is a lot of uncertainty with the season amidst the pandemic, Pitino wants one thing for his team — safety.

“We want what’s best for the players from a safety standpoint. We want to make sure that whoever we are playing, they’re following the same type of protocols that we are,” Pitino said. “Travel creates another element that becomes an issue and so we’re trying to work our way through that.”

After two seasons playing for the Drake Bulldogs in the Missouri Valley Conference, junior Liam Robbins entered the transfer portal. Head coach Richard Pitino and his coaching staff were able to land the 7-foot center. After losing Daniel Oturu to the NBA draft, Robbins will help fill the void in the front court.

The Gophers have gotten key contributions from its past two centers in Jordan Murphy and Oturu. Robbins has big shoes to fill, but he has the skills and athleticism to give the Gophers the production they need.

“I think he’s an impact guy. I think he saw what we were able to do with Daniel and how we utilized Daniel last year,” Pitino said. “I don’t see why there should be any type of dropoff to be honest.”

While playing just over 27 minutes per game last season, Robbins averaged 14 points a game while shooting 49.9% from the field. He might not have the same skill set Oturu does on offense, but he’ll be an important piece for the Gophers on defense. He averaged 7.1 rebounds a game, but more importantly, averaged just under three blocks a game.

Examining the playing time of last year’s roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Robbins’ time increase. Oturu averaged about seven minutes more than Robbins last season. Robbins could see similar court time this season, and his productivity would be likely to take a jump as well.

It won’t be an easy task by any means going from the MVC to the Big Ten. Switching to a Power Five conference is never easy, and the competition he’ll have won’t make it any easier. Throughout the conference, the center position has some notable names that Robbins will go up against.

The most notable name on that list is Luka Garza of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Robbins’ height will bode well with Garza — who only has an inch on him — but in terms of size, Garza has about 25 pounds on the junior transfer. Kofi Cockburn and Trevion Williams both have at least 30 pounds on Robbins as well.

“He’s all the seven feet, got great hands, great feet, very skilled, and he’s a Big Ten-type player. Obviously there will be an adjustment period like anybody going from Drake up to the Big Ten,” Pitino said.

With COVID-19 postponing the season, and practices being delayed because of it, Robbins won’t have as much time to prepare for the Gophers’ first matchup. The schedule has still yet to be released, but Robbins would benefit from not having to face the physicality of the conference’s top centers in his first conference games.

“He’s stood out in practice, and I think he’s one of the best transfers in the country. He is a talented, talented player,” Pitino said.

It hasn’t been the easiest time for gymnasts following the decision by athletics director Mark Coyle to discontinue the men’s gymnastics program.

Senior Shane Wiskus and junior Mike Moran have been through a lot since the season’s premature end last season until now.

“I thought right away that was the end of collegiate men’s gymnastics. If we go down the rest of the Big Ten is gonna collapse, and after that it’s gonna spiral out of control,” Wiskus said. “At first I was devastated and just thinking about the worst of the worst that can happen.”

However, Wiskus took a step back and reevaluated the decision and how he would move forward.

“My personality is just wired to make me find the best in every circumstance, so I just tried to think to myself, ‘What is the best outcome that can happen through all of this?’” Wiskus said. “That outcome is gymnastics being reinstated.”

Moran’s initial reaction was similar. However, he said he might have jumped too far too early.

“I got very angry, then five minutes later very upset, then five minutes later just trying to be rational about it. It was just too many thoughts in my head at the same time that it was pretty difficult to process that,” Moran said. “And even now still, I have not accepted that as a legitimate thing that has happened to me.”

Wiskus hasn’t given up hope that there won’t be another season of Gophers’ men’s gymnastics. Like his coach Mike Burns, he has been proactive in communicating with the gymnastics community on social media. He’s connected with alumni and gymnasts across the country to figure out a game plan.

“The thing that’s keeping me going is the possibility of the vote not going through,” Wiskus said, referring to the Board of Regents’ scheduled October vote on whether to cut men’s gymnastics and two other men’s sports. “We’re trying to work out another solution with Mark Coyle and the Board of Regents, and I’m not losing hope till the day you tell me I’m not allowed to go back in.”

Moran struggled with the news, especially as the team was prepping for the upcoming season. But he enjoyed the time off with the “leave of absence this summer,” as he put it.

“Me personally, [I] just tried to enjoy that time off because this is the first time — as much as it was very hard to get over that fact — I have ever gone more than a week without going to the gym,” Moran said.

It wasn’t a normal hiatus, by any means, for these gymnasts. Moran saw his stints in a local gym vary due to COVID-19 outbreaks, while Wiskus was doing just about any workout he could to stay in shape.

“About halfway through the summer I found a club gym nearby, but it just got too hectic. It would be week in, week out, someone would be exposed [to COVID-19], and everyone goes into the whole 14 days [quarantine] and everyone would get tested again,” Moran said. “It was like a never-ending cycle and even when I had a gym, I don’t think I ever was in the gym for more than a week.”

None of the gymnasts could’ve expected they were going to have such a long absence from Cooke Hall, but being back felt just as good.

“You step foot in that gym, it smells bad and it’s super hot and there’s about a million reasons why it sucks. But, when you’re back in there, it is the perfect place to grind,” Wiskus said. “Even though our gym isn’t the prettiest, we definitely put in enough work there to make things work.”

As they’ve returned to Cooke Hall, Moran thinks about the possibility this could be his last season, or even his last career in gymnastics.

“I’m still slightly in denial with the fact that this could be the last season and this could be the last year that I ever do gymnastics in my entire life,” Moran said. “It’s definitely a tough time, and there’s a general consensus that we were all just mourning and in grief.”

Gymnasts saw support from fans, students and other athletes when they gathered at Athletes Village and marched to Morrill Hall to protest the decision.

“It was really cool to see all the support from the community. On social media there have already been close to 10,000 signatures on a petition to help save gymnastics. There has already been a lot of money raised to help fund this year,” Wiskus said. “It’s reassuring to me that I’m in a strong community that will fight to the end to keep [gymnastics] around.”

On Aug. 4, Gophers’ star receiver Rashod Bateman announced he would be opting out of the 2020 college football season. He intended to start preparing for the 2021 NFL draft and cited health concerns as his reason for opting out.

That was just a week before the Big Ten announced it intended to pursue a spring season. But, on Sept. 16, the uncertainty of the Big Ten season came to an end, as the schools’ presidents reversed action and voted to start the season.

However, it still seemed Minnesota would go into its season without Bateman. But shortly after the announcement, Bateman was back on campus and practicing with the team.

“When you ask where is [Bateman] at, it’s not like he ever lost that. He came back the first day, took some reps and you could see that Rashod is back,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “All we can do today is prepare him the best we can for his future.”

Fleck said he had no impact on Bateman’s original decision nor his desire to come back. But Bateman was the first person he called when he heard the season was back on.

“This was strictly his decision. This was all Rashod — he didn’t need much convincing … I said ‘Rashod, whatever you decide, I support you 100%,’” Fleck said.

It isn’t going to be easy for Bateman to return, and there are hurdles he must overcome. Between his opt out and wanting to come back, Bateman signed with agent Blake Baratz of IFA. Bateman will have to go through the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Process to play this season.

“If [Bateman] decides to come back, it’s not guaranteed that [he’s] going to come back,” Fleck said, adding that he told Bateman the athlete could go five weeks without playing. “Without hesitation he said, ‘It’s worth it, I really wanna come back,’” Fleck said.

The team knew Bateman’s original decision wasn’t selfish. Bateman has asthma and noted health concerns as the reason for his opt out.

“When he made that decision, every single person knew why … and it was strictly based on the health concerns and his future,” Fleck said. “He didn’t come back for Rashod Bateman, he came back for his teammates too. I think that’s really exciting about him ’cause he made that comment. When you have a team player like that, that’s what you feel on the field.”

Redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Morgan talked to Bateman on Sunday. Morgan was taken aback when Bateman told him he wanted to return to the Gophers this fall.

“He told me right away, ‘Hey, I think I’m gonna be able to come back.’ I thought he was joking at first,” Morgan said. “It’s something that we’re really excited about because he wanted to do it for the team, not for Rashod.”

Redshirt junior running back Mohamed Ibrahim had a similar reaction to hearing his teammate’s desire to come back this fall.

“When Rashod opted out, he was never really gone. He was always around the team, so I’ve seen [Bateman] very often. And that Sunday I talked to him, and he told me he wanted to come back. I thought he was joking, I didn’t think it was a possibility,” Ibrahim said.

Bateman has stayed involved with the team since he opted out. He has been granted a waiver to practice with the team, keeping the connection with his fellow teammates.

“He’s done everything the right way: he’s come to work every single day ready to be better and be a good leader. It’s great to have him back in the locker room, see his face, see him smile. It’s really exciting — we really hope that he is able to come back,” Morgan said.

The energy Bateman brings back is contagious, and the team has felt his presence on and off the field.

“Just understanding that he can come back was a big boost to the whole team. Just him being in the locker room now, everybody is happy to see him, his smile. When you get out on the field, you can just feel the energy come back,” Ibrahim said.