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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Local hoops talent

An item last week about the Gophers basketball team losing recruits to Wisconsin brought an e-mail from Richard Hurt, the grandfather of brothers Michael Hurt (Gophers) and Matthew Hurt (Duke), pointing out the Badgers aren't the only college team finding success with Minnesota-grown talent.

In late January, ESPN released a list of their Top 25 college players in the country, and four players were from Minnesota. Gophers center and Cretin-Derham Hall grad Daniel Oturu was No. 4 on the list. Freddie Gillespie, who graduated from East Ridge and plays forward for Baylor, was ranked No. 12. Tre Jones, the Apple Valley point guard and Duke star, was No. 15. And Zeke Nnaji, who graduated from Hopkins and plays forward at Arizona, ranked No. 16.

Yes, the collective talent coming out of this state is the best it has ever been.

Gillespie is averaging 9.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for No. 1 Baylor. Gillespie is playing 27.5 minutes per game for the Bears (22-1).

Jones is second in scoring for the No. 7 Blue Devils (21-3) at 15.6 per game and leads the team in assists (6.6).

Nnaji is averaging 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds for Arizona (16-7).

Guard Both Gach of Austin is playing for Utah (14-9) and averaging 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists as a sophomore.

Sacar Anim and Theo John are at Marquette (17-6). John, a junior forward who went to Champlin Park, is averaging 4.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Anim, a senior guard and former DeLaSalle standout, is averaging 13.1 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Former Champlin Park star McKinley Wright IV is playing for No. 16 Colorado (19-5) and leading the team with 13.8 points per game to go along with 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He is one of only nine players in Division I college basketball averaging at least 13 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

Watertown-Mayer grad Trae Berhow is averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore guard for Northern Iowa (22-3), which is leading the Missouri Valley Conference.

Jericho Sims, who went to Cristo Rey Jesuit in Minneapolis, is a junior forward averaging 9.7 points and 8.2 rebounds for Texas (14-9).

One of the biggest standouts in the Pac-12 has been Stanford freshman guard Tyrell Terry. The former DeLaSalle standout is averaging 15.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Cardinal (16-7).

And Steffon Mitchell of Shakopee, a junior forward for Boston College, just posted a historic line with 21 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in a 77-73 overtime victory against Virginia Tech.

When you consider these players, along with Badgers forward Nate Reuvers (Lakeville North) and guard Brad Davison (Maple Grove), Minnesota has been a fountain of basketball talent over the past few years.

www.startribune.com

Justin Morneau to work 80 Twins games on TV as profile keeps rising

The 2006 AL MVP has taken off in broadcasting and public relations roles for his former team.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Thank god he brought up something we didnt already know! I'm pretty sure were aware of the guys who have left minnesota! There have been some guys that havent gone to minnesota from minnesota, but come on. You should see the list of guys from illinois that havent gone to illinois! Lol whatever.
 


What's past is prologue. This should still bode well for the future if the Gophers can do a better job of keeping more guys home.
 



I asked my college age son if he could ever see me sitting, looking like an idiot, in Badgers red behind the Visitors bench at the barn if my son was playing for the Badgers. He couldn't stop laughing. I think we agreed that as much as we'd like to blame Pitino, Tubby, the academic scandal, the negative fans, or even just plain ol' Minnesota Sports bad luck - we can't. The blame rests squarely on the parents.
 
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BleedGopher said:
Former Champlin Park star McKinley Wright IV is playing for No. 16 Colorado (19-5) and leading the team with 13.8 points per game to go along with 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He is one of only nine players in Division I college basketball averaging at least 13 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.
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Marcus Carr would appear to be one of those nine. At 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, Carr is putting up more points, rebounds, and assists per game than any guard listed here. You could knock on him for efficiency, as he appears to have a lower eFG% than all of Wright, Terry, and Jones, but at the very least, it doesn't seem like any of those three are far and away better than the guy we have starting at point right now. Tyrell Terry wouldn't be getting 32 minutes a game here, and Isaiah Washington and Marcus Carr were already on the team during the time of his recruitment.
 

Terry was never coming here. He had strong connections at Stanford and it is a dream choice. Hard to compare guards unless we factor in defense and winning. Jones has a off the charts IQ for the game and is one of the best defenders in college hoops.
 





golfing18now said:
This is a few years old but still insightful. Only Iowa and Nebraska produce less D1 basketball players than Minnesota for Big Ten school locations. We have certainly seen a few very high level recruits the last few years but the fascination with the depth of local talent is a little overblown.

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This is partially because MN has only 1 D1 school. Schools like UW-Green Bay, directional Michigan schools, IUPUI and IPFW etc. pick up a lot of in-state walk-ons and bench players that are no better than a lot of Minnesotans playing D2 ball.
 

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