Minnesota Basketball: Gophers Add Assistant Coach and Clears Reggie Lynch to Play

A couple of important Gopher Hoop's nuggets surfaced today.

NEW COACH

First off is the announcement that Ed Conroy was added to the coaching staff, replacing Nate Pomeday.

Conroy brings a lot of experience to the bench, which is really something that Pitino's prior staffs have really lacked.  The past 10 years Conroy has been a head coach at Citadel and Tulane before being relieved of his duties this past March.

He is a Davenport, Iowa native and is returning to the Midwest for now.

"I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to join Coach Pitino’s staff, as I am excited to work with him but also because I am excited about the future of Minnesota basketball," said Conroy. "Being a Midwesterner and growing up a Big Ten fan, I am well aware of the quality and depth of this great league. I also know how passionate Gopher fans are and how much the program means to the community and the entire state. My family and I look forward to being a part of it all."

It is unclear where Conroy will specialize and what he will bring to the table in terms of recruiting.  But he clearly has experience to the Gopher bench and may be very beneficial to Pitino.

REGGIE LYNCH CLEARED

This was put out on the Twitters this morning...

Minnesota's Reggie Lynch has been cleared by the school to play this season, source told ESPN.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) September 8, 2016

And that is fantastic news from a basketball standpoint.  Lynch will bring a Big Ten caliber defensive presence into the paint for the first time in a while.  He will immediately be a big-time shot-blocker with an improving offensive game.  If he is not starting game 1, he will be by the time the Big Ten season rolls around.

I would have been surprised to see that he would not have been cleared to play.  But it appears to be official (or almost official, but Marcus Fuller also is reporting he has been cleared) and having Lynch available is absolutely important to the Gophers turning around the program in 2016-17.