First Look at J’son Stamper (and more)

While the 2004-05 Gopher Basketball roster is likely still evolving, I have now finally gotten an in-person look at each player who can currently call himself a Golden Gopher. That became the case after I was able to watch incoming junior college forward J’son Stamper participate in some pickup games at Williams Arena this weekend.

J’son had been sitting out the past couple of weeks with a minor injury, but he’s now back at full speed. While I had been able to form some initial impressions just from watching him shoot around on the court between games, this was my first look at him going all out. My opinion is still forming (J’son only played part of the time), but so far those initial impressions appear to be proving true.

J’son doesn’t have the body of a prototypical Big 10 power forward (he’s only about 6’5″), but he appears to have everything else. He’s a quick, powerful, and explosive athlete, and he has very good perimeter skills for someone I had initially expected to be solely a post player. J’son handles the ball very well (definitely well enough to play the ‘3’), and he has a solid jump shot. It’s probably most effective from mid-range, but he also knocked down a 17-footer and a 3-pointer during the couple of games he played. He’s also able to use both hands in the paint.

I also liked J’son’s aggressiveness. Even though he’s just coming off an injury (he appears to be a guy who hates sitting out), he went up very hard to block several shots and also attacked every rebound he could get his hands on. Match-ups didn’t allow me to judge how he’s able to defend bigger players inside (that might be the one question, although there aren’t all that many big forwards around anymore), but there’s certainly a role for him on this team. J’son appears to have a great attitude too, which is always a plus.

Here are some other notes from the games:

• Two recruits in attendance were Henry senior Brandon Smith and Bloomington Jefferson sophomore Cole Aldrich. Smith wasn’t there too long, but he showed good athleticism as well as an improved perimeter jumper since the last time I had seen him. Cole was there from the get-go and got a vey good workout. He had his work cut out for him going against guys like Jeff Hagen and Spencer Tollackson, and he doesn’t yet have the strength to be able to consistently finish inside against that kind of size, but Cole was also able to show several glimpses of his big-time potential
• Vincent Grier continues to impress. I’m still not able to have a definitive opinion on his jump shot (it seems to be good enough to keep defenders honest), but that’s because he really likes to penetrate and get to the basket at every opportunity. And when he gets there, he’s very adept at finishing. Vincent also appears to have some good post moves to go with his strong physique, which will come in useful against smaller lineups
• Moe Hargrow was playing with the team again, and one really does get the feeling that he’s going to be back in Maroon and Gold again this season. And the way Moe was playing, that would be a big help. Moe doesn’t appear to be quite as strong as he was 6 months ago, but he also seems like he may have gained half a step. He was penetrating and handling the ball well, and his perimeter jumper was as good as I’ve seen from him in quite some time. He also made a great alley-oop pass to Cole after a nice pick and roll
• Jeff Hagen‘s ankle seems to be back to 100%, and that’s making it pretty obvious just how much it limited his play at times last season. Jeff showed improved quickness and mobility in these games (he’s in pretty good shape for the offseason) and blocked a lot of shots inside
• I know, it doesn’t matter if it’s not in a game, but Adam Boone again played very well and was hitting from 3-point range at a pretty good clip (not quite as automatic as he was last fall, but pretty good). He also had a couple of very nice drives. I’m still hopefully that a chance to spend more time at shooting guard this season will allow Adam to keep his confidence high and have much better results
• Brent Lawson really had a solid day, especially towards the end. He does not look like a walk-on anymore, and it’s clear that he has some of the best overall skills on the team. He had a couple of very impressive catches and finishes inside, and he also showed good athleticism and strength in transition. He didn’t take many jumpers, but his shot is usually very sound
• Rico Tucker really looked like the point guard of the future (and the present). He appears to be very comfortable having now been on campus over two weeks, and he’s playing like it. He showed good control of his team and made excellent pass/shoot and push/pull back decisions. He had a couple of impressive finishes inside (one with his left hand and another where he drew contact and then squared up to convert the finish), and he was also connecting well from long range. Rico’s jumper has really developed and is now almost textbook form. He doesn’t look like a player just a few weeks removed from high school
• Mike Bauer was there for part of the time and is really shooting the ball well (like the good old days). He’ll be playing on the Timberwolves’ summer team a little over a week from now

Talk about the team on our Gopher Basketball message board.