All Things Gophers Basketball Class of 2022 Recruiting Thread

Heide sure seems to be trending towards Purdue as well. I'm not counting on landing him either. Lee and Holloman would be huge! Lotta big names after those guys.

I'd think Watson-Saulsberry is also in play.
 

Heide to Purdue
Tschetter to Michigan.

So we're down to about 6 MN kids? We'll be lucky to get 2 IMO.
 


i will not worry about any one recruit, but would be nice to get a big start to 2022 with a MN kid to quiet some
 





Heide sure seems to be trending towards Purdue as well. I'm not counting on landing him either. Lee and Holloman would be huge! Lotta big names after those guys.

I'd think Watson-Saulsberry is also in play.
Holloman probably between MN and MSU. Have to get him. Watson-Saulsberry and Lee would be great gets as well.
 





Not much CBJ could've done in only 3 weeks when King already had a pre-existing relationship at ISU. Makes it much more imperative that we hit on either Holloman or Heide (or both). Need to keep some of the in-state guard talent home and start building with local talent ASAP.

Clock is ticking on CBJ whether it's fair or not.
 


Not much CBJ could've done in only 3 weeks when King already had a pre-existing relationship at ISU. Makes it much more imperative that we hit on either Holloman or Heide (or both). Need to keep some of the in-state guard talent home and start building with local talent ASAP.

Clock is ticking on CBJ whether it's fair or not.
Come on now he hasn't even coached a game. Plenty of guys have won without getting the top recruits. I'm curious to see if they really can play that defense first, smart basketball. If we play that way we should be able to get it done with guys around that lower tier of MN guys.

Could all be moot if he's able to get Holloman here though.

I also think Coyle gives Ben 4 years minimum unless they're single digit wins back to back years. I don't see that happening though.
 



Come on now he hasn't even coached a game. Plenty of guys have won without getting the top recruits. I'm curious to see if they really can play that defense first, smart basketball. If we play that way we should be able to get it done with guys around that lower tier of MN guys.

Could all be moot if he's able to get Holloman here though.

I also think Coyle gives Ben 4 years minimum unless they're single digit wins back to back years. I don't see that happening though.
The clock is ticking on every coach from the moment they are hired.

As to the point about recruiting, Eli King was a 3 star (ranked 378 in the class), this wasn't us losing out to a blue blood. We lost out to a horrible Iowa State program.

But I agree with you, unless we finish 10th or worse in the Big 10 for three straight years, Ben will and should get 4 seasons.
 


I have always wondered about the recruiting of private school kids....no rip on them or anyone who has gone to a private school....wanted to get that out right away. As they have already left their local community school, I wonder if they are any less likely to stay with their local community university.

Now, the argument may be made that the local kids who stayed with their community schools have been passing up the U lately already so it can't be any worse than private school kids. Fair enough. And we may argue that the last two prominent local high schoolers who did go to the U came from DeLaSalle (who has since transferred out) and Cretin, but I still wonder if you are a player who has already looked for the best situation regardless of the location or "loyalty" to your community and the kids you have played with growing up, I wonder how they would approach staying home for the U. Is there any attraction at all to the U simply based on staying home? This will be significant with the talent at Cretin, Minnehaha, and TG coming out the next few years. Will be interesting to watch.
 

Come on now he hasn't even coached a game. Plenty of guys have won without getting the top recruits. I'm curious to see if they really can play that defense first, smart basketball. If we play that way we should be able to get it done with guys around that lower tier of MN guys.

Could all be moot if he's able to get Holloman here though.

I also think Coyle gives Ben 4 years minimum unless they're single digit wins back to back years. I don't see that happening though.
Was Johnson brought in because he's an amazing coach with a wealth of experience or because he's supposed to have great relationships with the Minnesota AAU circuit and to recruit the local talent? Seeing as he's never had a head coaching gig I highly suspect it's the latter.

I'm not blaming him for missing on King, but if we fail to secure any of the 4* guards from Minnesota in the 2022 class it won't be a good look. Don't see how you could disagree on that tbh.
 

Was Johnson brought in because he's an amazing coach with a wealth of experience or because he's supposed to have great relationships with the Minnesota AAU circuit and to recruit the local talent? Seeing as he's never had a head coaching gig I highly suspect it's the latter.

I'm not blaming him for missing on King, but if we fail to secure any of the 4* guards from Minnesota in the 2022 class it won't be a good look. Don't see how you could disagree on that tbh.
It does feel like the reason for his hire is starting to move around. I think we've moved it now to: it put us in a position to lure Thorson away from CSU. Hey, if that's the objective, then mission accomplished; pass the champagne.
 

King is gone; Heide is doubtful; still hope for Holloman, but if we're up against MSU...
I keep saying it, but people are just going to have to learn the hard way:

you're never going to be able to recruit to win , at Minnesota. Too many unique disadvantages.


You have to win first, then try to recruit local high talent to stay home.
 

I keep saying it, but people are just going to have to learn the hard way:

you're never going to be able to recruit to win , at Minnesota. Too many unique disadvantages.


You have to win first, then try to recruit local high talent to stay home.
Never?
 

I keep saying it, but people are just going to have to learn the hard way:

you're never going to be able to recruit to win , at Minnesota. Too many unique disadvantages.


You have to win first, then try to recruit local high talent to stay home.
I don't disagree with your basic premise, but people throwing around this disadvantages crap...let's just call this what it is: excuses. We're never going to get beyond being a bunch of losers if we live on a diet of excuses. That's become comfort food here to a growing number of posters.
 

I don't disagree with your basic premise, but people throwing around this disadvantages crap...let's just call this what it is: excuses. We're never going to get beyond being a bunch of losers if we live on a diet of excuses. That's become comfort food here to a growing number of posters.

You can always deconstruct a recruit's decision and find a reason why they wouldn't pick us. Eventually, Ben is going to have to land some of these folks. It's hard to blame him too much for 2021 recruits but these are data points.
 

Not sure if there's new news but the belief is that the Gophers are very much in the mix for Heide and that the Purdue steam has simmered down after they tried to pressure him into committing early. Unfortunate about King but always seemed the least likely of the top 5 in the state to stay home.
 

Not sure if there's new news but the belief is that the Gophers are very much in the mix for Heide and that the Purdue steam has simmered down after they tried to pressure him into committing early. Unfortunate about King but always seemed the least likely of the top 5 in the state to stay home.
Where is this news that he has simmered down on Purdue? Aside from this message board I haven’t seen it
 



Was Johnson brought in because he's an amazing coach with a wealth of experience or because he's supposed to have great relationships with the Minnesota AAU circuit and to recruit the local talent? Seeing as he's never had a head coaching gig I highly suspect it's the latter.

I'm not blaming him for missing on King, but if we fail to secure any of the 4* guards from Minnesota in the 2022 class it won't be a good look. Don't see how you could disagree on that tbh.
I understand they want Minnesota kids to stay home and that was the focus of the hire. I'm willing to give Ben a chance to be able to coach though. I like the staff and sounds like he's got a certain type of kid he's looking for. Obviously I'd think he'll still take as much high level talent as he can get, but I wanna see how they play as a team/what's the character of the team. I'm thinking there could be more to Ben, and his staffs, coaching ability than just being a recruiter.

If all he's able to do is recruit, we probably won't end up being very good as I think we're more of a developmental program at the U. Need a culture and I'm hoping that's the defense first, smart basketball minds that he seems to be targeting to start here. And like I said, that doesn't mean you can't sprinkle in kids that are just high level talents and don't necessarily fit that criteria. It's a coach's job to figure out how to best mesh those guys into your system while still letting them freedom to use that talent.
 
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It does feel like the reason for his hire is starting to move around. I think we've moved it now to: it put us in a position to lure Thorson away from CSU. Hey, if that's the objective, then mission accomplished; pass the champagne.
True I forgot about that. I'd imagine CBJ also pitched bringing McNeilly and Cashius in as well with Miller joining in as a pleasant surprise.
 

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I understand they want Minnesota kids to stay home and that was the focus of the hire. I'm willing to give Ben a chance to be able to coach though. I like the staff and sounds like he's got a certain type of kid he's looking for. Obviously I'd think he'll still take as much high level talent as he can get, but I wanna see how they play as a team/what's the character of the team. I'm thinking there could be more to Ben, and his staffs, coaching ability than just being a recruiter.

If all he's able to do is recruit, we probably won't end up being very good as I think we're more of a developmental program at the U. Need a culture and I'm hoping that's the defense first, smart basketball minds that he seems to be targeting to start here. And like I said, that doesn't mean you can't sprinkle in kids that are just high level talents and don't necessarily fit that criteria. It's a coach's job to figure out how to best mesh those guys into your system while still letting them freedom to use that talent.
I 100% agree with you. In order to succeed at Minnesota you have to have coaching chops and be able to recruit the local talent. Time will tell if CBJ is that guy but I look forward to seeing what he does with all the transfers this season.
 

Heide to Purdue
Tschetter to Michigan.

So we're down to about 6 MN kids? We'll be lucky to get 2 IMO.
2-3 MN players a year is about the most they will take on any given year. 4-6 incoming freshman is a large crop and at least half should come from other parts of the country.
 




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