Gophers basketball team hopes local stars attract more talented in-state recruits

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BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

Coffey’s emergence could be a big influence on loaded in-state classes in 2018 and 2019. Pitino has offered scholarships to Armstrong forward Race Thompson, Apple Valley point guard Tre Jones, Cretin-Derham Hall forward/center Daniel Oturu and DeLaSalle shooting guard Gabe Kalscheur in the state’s 2018 class. Michael Hurt’s brother, Matthew, is a five-star forward prospect with a Gophers offer in the 2019 class.

“There certainly is an impact,” said Richard Hurt, father of Michael and Matthew and co-owner of the D1 Minnesota AAU program. “Kids look at certain things. They look at boxscores. They look at dunks. The dunk that Amir had the other night was amazing. When they’re watching games, you can see who is playing well.”

Oturu and Kalscheur both were in the Williams Arena crowd against Ohio State. The 6-8 Thompson visited with the Gophers after a nonconference victory against Arkansas and came back to see the Big Ten opener against Michigan State.

“Amir is playing really good,” said Thompson, the son of former Gophers football star and career rushing leader Darrell Thompson, last month. “It’s fun to see that. I feel like I could be that in the next year and a half or so. I can pretty much see myself playing like that.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...ct-more-talented-in-state-recruits/410339365/

Go Gophers!!
 

I really enjoy reading Gopher articles in the Strib this year. If Amelia would have written this article it would have been filled with passive digs at the program and "*&$^ Sandwich"-style compliments.
 

Could Thompson be like Coffey?
 


That was a really good article. Props to Fuller for always being a glass half full writer in comparison to Amelia and Myron. It's refreshing to see that type of writing at the Strib.
 


I'm a little lost here. Was this article positive about the gophers or did I miss something. Have we Gopher fans possibly have just gained one local sports writer capable of putting a positive thought together, on occasion, w/o it being induced by serious hallucinatory medication? Get a urine test on Marcus to confirm.
 

“It’s fun to see that. I feel like I could be that in the next year and a half or so. I can pretty much see myself playing like that.”

Love that quote from Race. Have watched him play a few times and biggest similarity between his game and Amir's that I've noticed is that the game just seems to come easy to them. Both rarely look like they're working too hard, and yet they almost always seem to be in the right place. Fluid, smooth. Would love for Race to be a Gopher!
 

I don't necessarily see Marcus as being positive or negative, I see him as fair and willing to be balanced in his approach. I get the feeling he really loves the game and respects the people he covers (players and coaches both). I like reading his stuff, particularly his willingness to dig into the high school level (not his beat, but one with very clear ties to the college game).
 

Otis said:
Could Thompson be like Coffey?
Click to expand...

I saw Thompson play a couple of weeks ago vs Northfield. Thompson I think would be more of a power player.
 



I saw Amir and Nia on The Journey the other night and both were impressive in all ways. My biggest takeaway from Amir was his saying into the camera that he takes pride in the local connection and wants to be known as the guy and part of the group that turned it around. If Race and the rest of the Class of 18 have that kind of pride and desire, this program is well on its way to being consistently very good. I am more impressed with him as a young man every time I hear him speak. Great player. Great desire. Head screwed on straight. And incredibly team oriented and humble. Excellent poster for the program.
 

We will know before long if Amir is the pivot point for the program. I expect he is.
 

Thompson is a much different player than Coffey, kind of a strange comparison.

Thompson moves well and handles the ball well for a guy his size but not like Amir does. Thompson is also quite a bit thicker and can play down low. He's probably a better shooter than Coffey also.
 

Agreed. Don't see them as having similar styles at all. My point was that one of the only things about their games that I view as being similar is how easy they make it look, and their demeanor on the court. So when Race says "I can pretty much see myself playing like that" I took that as being less about having a similar style to Coffey and being more about the poise and effortlessness, as well as having success in our program.
 



Austin Hollins hit a buzzer beater vs. Iowa years ago with Amir seated as a guest behind the Gophers bench (as a 10th grader???). He leapt to his feet, fist pumped and had the biggest grin on his face. Every other visitor has been so guarded and stoic. He might have been the happiest person in the building. Talent aside, to to say that we hope more local recruits are like Amir is a massive understatement.

edit: It wasn't a buzzer beater exactly, but a key late shot. Amir can be seen 31 seconds into the video on far left in a Hopkins blue sweatshirt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmBgRx7pgaM
 

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