the team already has a science project for the upcoming season: wilson. his basketball career was dead until CBJ thought he could breathe life back into it
Go get 'em.
I can already hear Grimm, "Mitchell to Mitchell for 3!"
The statistics on this kid tell us that he takes it to the hole all the time. Shoots tons of free throws and makes them at a 84% clip. Thus, despite his poor shooting percentage (34%) he ends up being pretty efficient at 1.2 points per shot. He turns it over too much. Overall- I like it if he is a good defensive player and fits the character of the squad.
www.startribune.com
I noticed he was a higher-volume shooter than Battle, had a slightly worse shooting %, and averaged another turnover per game. I would be intrigued to see him playing 20-25 minutes per game, assuming he can defend. He has doubled his scoring average every year (but obv, a lot of that has come with more volume).
The problem Battle had was that he didn't make up for his poor shooting (last year) by going to the line and making FTs. So Battle averaged 1 point per shot taken while this kid (who turns it over too much) averaged 1.2 points per shot taken.
Marcus chimes in:
More than two dozen guards who were contacted by the Gophers after entering the portal committed elsewhere this spring, mostly to other high major programs. But here are several guard targets still available who could be a good fit:
Nate Calmese, Lamar: The 6-2 Arizona native was the second-highest scoring freshman in the nation this season with 17.6 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 36.7% shooting from three-point range. Programs such as Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona reportedly were interested at one point, but he's been in the portal since mid-March.
DeJuan Clayton, California: The 26-year-old entered the portal late last month to pursue his eighth season of college hoops. Yes. That's correct. The grad transfer played at Coppin State from 2016-21. But he was injured for one season at Coppin State and played only 11 games the last two seasons at Hartford and Cal due to injuries. COVID eligibility and medical redshirts give him hope for another year. He has 116 career starts and more than 1,600 points.
Elijah Hawkins, Howard: The 5-11 sophomore led the Bison in points (12.9), assists (6.0), steals (1.7) and three-point percentage (46.6) last season. The Washington D.C. native played in the NCAA tournament this year with 12 points and eight assists in a loss to Kansas in the first round. He started 55 of his 59 games in two seasons.
Jarius Hicklen, North Florida: A 6-3, 175-pound graduate transfer averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Ospreys last season. He put up a season-high 25 points in his last game in a America Sun tournament opening round loss to Bellarmine. Hicklen played a pretty tough non-conference schedule for a mid-major guard. He faced Houston, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, and Washington last season. Scored double figures in four of those five games.
DeMarr Langford Jr., Boston College: At 6-5 and 220 pounds, Langford definitely has the size of a high-major wing. In three years at BC, he averaged 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists with 54 starts. He averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2021-22. Langford heard from teams from the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 since entering the portal in mid-April.
Deivon Smith, Georgia Tech: Smith averaged 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Yellow Jackets. The 13 starts last season were a career-best for him in three seasons. The 6-1 Georgia native started his career at Mississippi State playing 33 games in 2020-21, including scoring a still career-high 17 points vs. Memphis in the NIT championship game. He had 10 double figure scoring games in 2022-23, including three double-doubles with points and rebounds.
Gophers men's basketball still scouring transfer portal for guards
Two recent Gophers visitors committed elsewhere, leaving scholarships open for Ben Johnson to fill for next season.
Go Gophers!!
Calmese has been in the portal since mid-March. That has to raise some eyebrows as to why.
What about the guy from Kennesaw State? Interesting to me that he was part of a team that may have been the worst in D-1 three years and grew into an NCAA team. Having a guy who has been in that build mode could be helpful.Marcus chimes in:
More than two dozen guards who were contacted by the Gophers after entering the portal committed elsewhere this spring, mostly to other high major programs. But here are several guard targets still available who could be a good fit:
Nate Calmese, Lamar: The 6-2 Arizona native was the second-highest scoring freshman in the nation this season with 17.6 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 36.7% shooting from three-point range. Programs such as Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona reportedly were interested at one point, but he's been in the portal since mid-March.
DeJuan Clayton, California: The 26-year-old entered the portal late last month to pursue his eighth season of college hoops. Yes. That's correct. The grad transfer played at Coppin State from 2016-21. But he was injured for one season at Coppin State and played only 11 games the last two seasons at Hartford and Cal due to injuries. COVID eligibility and medical redshirts give him hope for another year. He has 116 career starts and more than 1,600 points.
Elijah Hawkins, Howard: The 5-11 sophomore led the Bison in points (12.9), assists (6.0), steals (1.7) and three-point percentage (46.6) last season. The Washington D.C. native played in the NCAA tournament this year with 12 points and eight assists in a loss to Kansas in the first round. He started 55 of his 59 games in two seasons.
Jarius Hicklen, North Florida: A 6-3, 175-pound graduate transfer averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Ospreys last season. He put up a season-high 25 points in his last game in a America Sun tournament opening round loss to Bellarmine. Hicklen played a pretty tough non-conference schedule for a mid-major guard. He faced Houston, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, and Washington last season. Scored double figures in four of those five games.
DeMarr Langford Jr., Boston College: At 6-5 and 220 pounds, Langford definitely has the size of a high-major wing. In three years at BC, he averaged 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists with 54 starts. He averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2021-22. Langford heard from teams from the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 since entering the portal in mid-April.
Deivon Smith, Georgia Tech: Smith averaged 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Yellow Jackets. The 13 starts last season were a career-best for him in three seasons. The 6-1 Georgia native started his career at Mississippi State playing 33 games in 2020-21, including scoring a still career-high 17 points vs. Memphis in the NIT championship game. He had 10 double figure scoring games in 2022-23, including three double-doubles with points and rebounds.
Gophers men's basketball still scouring transfer portal for guards
Two recent Gophers visitors committed elsewhere, leaving scholarships open for Ben Johnson to fill for next season.
Go Gophers!!
I seen this dude play three times…
drives and throws up trash… type that if you played with him he would piss you off.. he was out to get HIS..
the guy certainly has wingspan
That does a bit raise a red flag or two. At some point, we may need to look past them if we dont add anyone. We really need backcourt depth.
I second that.I seen this dude play three times…
That's a really good point
Something is off.
Take your place in the optimist club. I doubt there is any super secret plan that has any of us declaring the staff as brilliant savants when all is said and done. More likely is that any guys they might be chasing now are either new to the portal or so off the radar, people who follow these things don’t know or care.
Should he be someone the staff should be recruiting?
Yeah, kid plays on Finnish National teams?
But, but, but...he's from Minnesota....
Are the Gophers also recruiting this guy?