2023 College Basketball Transfer Portal Watch Thread

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Big Dawg said:
he was 4th in minutes played. So, yes. Only started 4 games. Point is, Fox/Ihnen, if healthy MAY have started a few games or even most. Their presence in the starting lineup woud not have moved the needle one iouta this past season. Again. Horrible defense of Ben. Regardless of injuries to Ihnen and or Fox, Ben's roster construction was atrocious.

If that is dying on a hill, wow.

Now, answer the original question. #1. Who would they have started for in the starting lineup and/or who's minutes would they have replaced? #2. If healthy, what would the gophers record have been with them all season? I'll wait as you deflect again and apparetnly while I am dying on this hill. lol
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i legit answer that question on the part you quoted....JOJ would not have started if both Fox and Ihnen were healthy.

1. Ihnen would have started in JOJ's place.
2. We would have won maybe 2 more games......

and im not defending Ben at all.....hes in over his head
 
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Big Dawg said:
he was 4th in minutes played. So, yes. Only started 4 games. Point is, Fox/Ihnen, if healthy MAY have started a few games or even most. Their presence in the starting lineup woud not have moved the needle one iouta this past season. Again. Horrible defense of Ben. Regardless of injuries to Ihnen and or Fox, Ben's roster construction was atrocious.

If that is dying on a hill, wow.

Now, answer the original question. #1. Who would they have started for in the starting lineup and/or who's minutes would they have replaced? #2. If healthy, what would the gophers record have been with them all season? I'll wait as you deflect again and apparetnly while I am dying on this hill. lol
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This is delusional. Relying on young freshman and sophomore forwards to play defense had as much to do with the bad season as the guard play.
 


Big Dawg said:
none of Ben's defenders will answer that question.
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When Battle missed the beginning of the season, both would have started: Cooper, Ihnen, Garcia, Fox and JOJ or Henley. Once Battle came back, he probably would have taken the JOJ/Henley spot.
 

USAF said:
Who would Fox and Ihnen have replaced as starters this year?
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Perhaps Henley and JOJ and at times Payne. Ihnen is a wing and Fox is a forward who played a 5 too but hard to imagine him playing a 5 in the Big 10....
 

Big Dawg said:
he was 4th in minutes played. So, yes. Only started 4 games. Point is, Fox/Ihnen, if healthy MAY have started a few games or even most. Their presence in the starting lineup woud not have moved the needle one iouta this past season. Again. Horrible defense of Ben. Regardless of injuries to Ihnen and or Fox, Ben's roster construction was atrocious.

If that is dying on a hill, wow.

Now, answer the original question. #1. Who would they have started for in the starting lineup and/or who's minutes would they have replaced? #2. If healthy, what would the gophers record have been with them all season? I'll wait as you deflect again and apparetnly while I am dying on this hill. lol
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You're not dying on the hill, you expired. Turning your own guesses into statements of absolute fact -- move the needle not one iota, no difference in record -- is a failed argument.
 

howeda7 said:
They can't though.
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Mitchell is rated higher than Cooper. Christie is rated much higher than Samuels. Ihnen is rated much higher than Henley. And from reports (but who knows) Betts is better than Thompson and Wilson can at least take some effective fouls against big guys that pushed around Thompson. Battle would be the best guy on the floor. I also like that we have brought 7 in and 5 left. As a coach (kids) it is much better for practices, injuries, and just rest to have depth. So even if Erick Reader and Jack Wilson never see the floor, they will make practices better and help their teammates recover from injuries faster and be an insurance policy in the case of injured players missing games too.
 
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CoMn said:
Mitchell is rated higher than Cooper. Christie is rated much higher than Samuels. Ihnen is rated much higer than Henley. And from reports (but who knows) Betts is better than Thompson and Wilson can at least take some effective fouls against big guys that pushed around Thompson. Battle would be the best guy on the floor. I also like that we have brought 7 in and 5 left. As a coach (kids) it is much better for practices, injuries, and just rest to have depth. So even if Erick Reader and Jack Wilson never see the floor, they will make practices better and help their teammates recover from injuries faster and be an insurance policy in the case of injured players missing games too.
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Mitchell vs Cooper is a wash until proven otherwise. Certainly I hope it's an upgrade, but Cooper was highly rated as a transfer too.

Samuels wasn't playing at the end of the season and is irrelevant to this discussion IMO. Christie is the replacement for Henley. This is also a wash until proven otherwise as it's comparing two freshman. Again potential for an upgrade but no guarantee.

Ihnen for Battle is a downgrade. For all his struggles, Battle still averaged 14 ppg. The odds of Ihnen doing that aren't great.

Wilson/Fox for TT is another push at best.

The place for improvement is from Payne/Carrington. Maybe that offsets the loss of Battle.

Overall, it's very hard to say the team as it stands now is better than the one that finished the season. Arguably it's worse. They need two more solid guards from the portal badly.
 

Big Dawg said:
Lame answer. Here are/were the main starters. Put up or shut up. Who would they have started instead of?

Cooper?-Nope. Ihnen and/or Fox are not PG's
Samuels?, Carrington?, Henley?-Nope. Despite rumors, Ihnen is not a 2. Fox is not a 2
Battle?-Nope, many think he was our best player. He wasn't. Ihnen and/or Fox were not starting in place of Battle
Garcia?-He was our best player last season. Ihnen and/or Fox were not starting in place of Garcia
Payne?-Ihnen and/or Fox MAY have started in place of Payne but the typical 5 in the BIG would have dominated Ihnen or Fox.

A healthy Ihnen and Fox this past season would not have helped the Gophers win more games. Our problems weren't centered on the PF position. It was lack of guards on the roster. Well, lack of decent guards I should say.
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Ihnen is a guard not a PF. Mitchell is a PG as is Cooper. In the portal Mitchell is a 92 and Cooper is an 89...their transfer ratings. It indeed was our guard play that weakened us. We've lost Henley, Cooper and Samuels. We gain Christie, Mitchell and Ihnen. I'd take the later 3 over the former. The defense especially of the first 3 was poor. I have no idea how the latter will play D but I hope it's better than what we saw from Henley Cooper and Samuels. Of course we don't know for fact which group is better but we have some data...like ratings...which say this is an improvement. We will also be improved because all the freshmen were much better at the end of the year than they were at the beginning. And of course we are after more guards...the four who are visiting seem to be generating some excitement on this board so we can probably be confident when a couple of them commit a decent chunk of our guard problems will be improved.
 
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Johnnyboy18 said:
This is delusional. Relying on young freshman and sophomore forwards to play defense had as much to do with the bad season as the guard play.
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howeda7 said:
Mitchell vs Cooper is a wash until proven otherwise. Certainly I hope it's an upgrade, but Cooper was highly rated as a transfer too.

Samuels wasn't playing at the end of the season and is irrelevant to this discussion IMO. Christie is the replacement for Henley. This is also a wash until proven otherwise as it's comparing two freshman. Again potential for an upgrade but no guarantee.

Ihnen for Battle is a downgrade. For all his struggles, Battle still averaged 14 ppg. The odds of Ihnen doing that aren't great.

Wilson/Fox for TT is another push at best.

The place for improvement is from Payne/Carrington. Maybe that offsets the loss of Battle.

Overall, it's very hard to say the team as it stands now is better than the one that finished the season. Arguably it's worse. They need two more solid guards from the portal badly.
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It cannot be said often enough that Battle was a poor defender and an inefficient offensive player for us last year. One of the least efficient players we had. The way he played last year- he is minimal loss. The year before he was much better. He will be much better off as a 4th or 5th option or off the bench at OSU. Battle can be replaced easily with good team play.
 

bga1 said:
It cannot be said often enough that Battle was a poor defender and an inefficient offensive player for us last year. One of the least efficient players we had. The way he played last year- he is minimal loss. The year before he was much better. He will be much better off as a 4th or 5th option or off the bench at OSU. Battle can be replaced easily with good team play.
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Battle had a down year due to a combination of injuries, personal issues and lack of competent PG play. It's also very likely he would have had a bounce back if he'd stayed. His leaving is still a big loss IMO.
 





Is it possible that PP, Carrington, JOJ take a 2nd year leap YES. Is it possible that Mitchell is better than Cooper YES. Is it possible that Fox and II provide value YES. That said, the Ben homer's assume every one of these will happen. That's about like saying it's possible to win the powerball. This coaching staff has done 0 to prove they are any way shape or form of competent. And for me, until I see that change I'll assume we will be a 14th place team
 

leib0039 said:
Is it possible that PP, Carrington, JOJ take a 2nd year leap YES. Is it possible that Mitchell is better than Cooper YES. Is it possible that Fox and II provide value YES. That said, the Ben homer's assume every one of these will happen. That's about like saying it's possible to win the powerball. This coaching staff has done 0 to prove they are any way shape or form of competent. And for me, until I see that change I'll assume we will be a 14th place team
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I'm still trying to figure out who these "Ben homer's (your words)" are. Some of you post in a way that makes it seem like there is this group of posters that rally behind Ben at all costs and think he is gods gift to coaching.

At best you have people like me and a bunch of others who are willing to see how year 3 plays out. Almost all of us have also said we don't think Johnson survives another bad year. That is hardly a ringing endorsement for the head coach and yet some feel even that goes too far apparently.

And to your first part....yeah...a lot of things will need to go right for the team to improve in year 3. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't but why give up on it now? Its the friggin off season and Johnson is going to be the coach next year....so may as well hope for the best as opposed to assuming the worst. But to each their own I guess, some would rather wallow in the negative then allow themselves to look for the positive.
 


leib0039 said:
Is it possible that PP, Carrington, JOJ take a 2nd year leap YES. Is it possible that Mitchell is better than Cooper YES. Is it possible that Fox and II provide value YES. That said, the Ben homer's assume every one of these will happen. That's about like saying it's possible to win the powerball. This coaching staff has done 0 to prove they are any way shape or form of competent. And for me, until I see that change I'll assume we will be a 14th place team
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That the freshmen will be better the 2nd year is a safe bet, not a Powerball win. That Ihnen and Fox add value if they can play is a safe bet, not a Powerball win.
 

Dakota2 said:
He was used in the best way available. How he was allowed to operate was poor coaching.
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What do you mean used in the best way available? I agree poor coaching in allowed to operate part.
 

Dakota2 said:
That the freshmen will be better the 2nd year is a safe bet, not a Powerball win. That Ihnen and Fox add value if they can play is a safe bet, not a Powerball win.
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It's kind of sad that there are a few that are so down on things that even suggesting things like this makes you into some sort of Ben Johnson apologist who will support the coach in everything he does and says in their eyes.
 

Dakota2 said:
That the freshmen will be better the 2nd year is a safe bet, not a Powerball win. That Ihnen and Fox add value if they can play is a safe bet, not a Powerball win.
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A safe bet? Ihnen was worse his 2nd year than he was as a freshman with good knees, and now he's also a safe bet to add value post 2 knee surgeries?
 


Back to the portal. While Brown and Pride are visiting and hopefully will commit before leaving, Taran Armstrong may be restarting his recruitment. His top four schools have added guards:

"Taran Armstrong: Armstrong recently had four options. However, each seems to have moved on. Creighton got Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth, Xavier landed WKU transfer Dayvion McKnight, while Providence seems intent on Jayden Pierre and top-50 freshman Garwey Dual running the offense. Gonzaga is the last one left and if they land Nembhard, it seems likely the Cal Baptist sophomore will restart his recruitment."

While it is a highly unlikely pickup, can I get a "he and Ben remain close"?

Here's the Athletic's writeup on him:

22. Taran Armstrong | 6-6 guard | Two years of eligibility | California Baptist​

A dynamic lead guard with tremendous size at 6-foot-6, Armstrong is one of the smartest teenage guards I’ve gotten to talk to about his game. As an 18-year-old, he was already expertly reading help-side defenders on the back-line out of ball screens and making advanced, high-level passing reads. He averaged 11 points, five rebounds and five assists this season for the Lancers, but has far more upside than that long-term as he continues to grow into a skinny frame. He improved as a driver and finisher inside this year, but the next step in his growth beyond the physical aspect will be with his shooting. Armstrong has hit about 30 percent from 3. He doesn’t have bad mechanics; it just seems like he’s really forcing it up to hoist the ball toward the rim. Again, strength will help. Armstrong is an unfinished product, and as an Australian he will likely be courted by professional teams looking to add him to their roster in the NBL. But Armstrong’s feel for the game is seen as special by evaluators. If he can add the necessary strength, he has every opportunity to be a difference-making starting point guard at the high-major level.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, transfer recruiting is insanely competitive. You have a finite number of impact guys and a whole bunch of teams trying to land them. On top of that we have factors like location and lack of pay for play money working against us as well.

And before the usual suspects chime in with their tired excuses or rationalization posts....It will be on Johnson to get at least one and probably two more guards that can be part of the rotation next year. Failure to do that most likely means the team doesn't improve enough and he gets fired.

Hopefully we get some good news in the near future from the guys that are visiting.
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This is not a knock on Ben, but I dont think any coach is going to have any real success if their season rests on how well they do in the portal. Not a school like ours. It is one thing if you are at a Blue Blood or recently successful school getting the creme de la creme of transfers then you can make it work. A middling program like ours that has no real history of success? Its a recipe for disaster.

Fingers crossed, I hope Ben pulls a few rabbits out of his hat.
 

CoMn said:
Mitchell is rated higher than Cooper. Christie is rated much higher than Samuels. Ihnen is rated much higher than Henley. And from reports (but who knows) Betts is better than Thompson and Wilson can at least take some effective fouls against big guys that pushed around Thompson. Battle would be the best guy on the floor. I also like that we have brought 7 in and 5 left. As a coach (kids) it is much better for practices, injuries, and just rest to have depth. So even if Erick Reader and Jack Wilson never see the floor, they will make practices better and help their teammates recover from injuries faster and be an insurance policy in the case of injured players missing games too.
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I can’t disagree with your take except that Ihnen is rated higher than Henley. Ihnen was really an unknown, as I recall. Henley was at least on the California radar and certainly improved his play during his freshman year.
 


Ihnen is an unknown, especially after multiple knee surgeries. How can you judge his offensive capability when he had Carr as his point guard his second year. There was no ball movement, offensive sets to speak of. No one could have looked good in that offense. He may have no game at all but I sure am going to wait and see, that is if he ever gets back on the court.
 

Dave H said:
This is not a knock on Ben, but I dont think any coach is going to have any real success if their season rests on how well they do in the portal. Not a school like ours. It is one thing if you are at a Blue Blood or recently successful school getting the creme de la creme of transfers then you can make it work. A middling program like ours that has no real history of success? Its a recipe for disaster.

Fingers crossed, I hope Ben pulls a few rabbits out of his hat.
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Yeah, ideally you got to the point where you can use the transfer portal the way Fleck does in football, in order to bolster certain spots or add experience but not necessarily to save the team.

The one thing Johnson has going for him this year is that he at least has a decent core of a roster. He needs to hit a HR with the guards he brings in but his starting point is better than it was in each of the past two off seasons.

Will be interesting to see if he will be able to get it done.
 

jovs said:
Ihnen is an unknown, especially after multiple knee surgeries. How can you judge his offensive capability when he had Carr as his point guard his second year. There was no ball movement, offensive sets to speak of. No one could have looked good in that offense. He may have no game at all but I sure am going to wait and see, that is if he ever gets back on the court.
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Ihnen, Fox, Betts and Christie are complete unknowns in terms of what impact they will have on the 23-24 roster.

A lot of assumptions are being made about Ihnen and Fox but the reality is that as fans we have no clue what those guys are going to bring to the table. Hopefully they are like Curry and able to bounce back enough to be parts of the rotation next season. They don't have to be stars they just need to be able to come in off the bench and help the team in whatever roles they end up playing.
 

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