Gopher-centric Portal Short List

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howeda7 said:
He's not the Tyson replacement he's the Reynolds replacement.
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It’s probably hyperbole by Ryan James, but Reynolds wasn’t our top portal priority last year as this tweet eludes. Reynolds was also a big ten sized guard at 6’4” and 215 pounds and was coming off a first team all-conference selection.

I also don’t get the role comparison. Evans is average height, very thin, not overly athletic or quick, and doesn’t get to the free throw line. He should be a far superior shooter, but he really has only 1-year as a highly efficient shooter, and never with any volume. He hasn’t had sustained success at any level entering his final year of eligibility. His size limits his ability to guard multiple positions, and he’s not known as a lockdown perimeter defender that you can stick on another teams PG.

He could be a nice depth piece to back up Asuma, but he doesn’t move the needle for me at all when thinking of elevating our chances to compete next year. I’ve seen multiple more intriguing players with size and proven success in the portal the past few weeks, but this guy seems to be a target simply because of moderate success two years ago in the tournament.

247 has him listed as the 227th rated transfer, 25 spots behind BJ Omot.

I’ll gladly eat crow if he becomes a major contributor that can elevate this team, there just doesn’t appear to be evidence to support it.
 

Evan’s is quick and can handle the ball… a perfect one year fit in a system he knows well… It will give Tomes time to develop.. Top priority? Niko might be making his former player feel good… I don’t see Evans having much leverage coming off the year he had..
 

It’s pretty obvious none of you watched, or just have really really short memories, but during Nikos run last year in the NCAA Tournament, where they were a play away from going to the sweet sixteen, Kyan Evans was the best player on the court, both the Memphis and Maryland games (probably besides Derik Queen), and that’s saying something. Evans was significantly better at Colorado State than Crocker Johnson who was arguably our second best player this year. All I’ll say is Niko knows better than absolutely all of us in this subject, and don’t be surprised if we learn how much we give him, because he got 2 Million to go to UNC for a reason!
 

TommieGopher45 said:
It’s pretty obvious none of you watched, or just have really really short memories, but during Nikos run last year in the NCAA Tournament, where they were a play away from going to the sweet sixteen, Kyan Evans was the best player on the court, both the Memphis and Maryland games (probably besides Derik Queen), and that’s saying something. Evans was significantly better at Colorado State than Crocker Johnson who was arguably our second best player this year. All I’ll say is Niko knows better than absolutely all of us in this subject, and don’t be surprised if we learn how much we give him, because he got 2 Million to go to UNC for a reason!
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I think virtually everyone on this board is completely aware of his performance in the tournament and it’s primarily why most are high on him. The concern is the tournament performance wss an outlier in his career. I’m for him, but assuming he’s an automatic star might be too much. One reason UNC gave him that pile of money is they could. And they have been notorious for poor use of players.
 

TommieGopher45 said:
It’s pretty obvious none of you watched, or just have really really short memories, but during Nikos run last year in the NCAA Tournament, where they were a play away from going to the sweet sixteen, Kyan Evans was the best player on the court, both the Memphis and Maryland games (probably besides Derik Queen), and that’s saying something. Evans was significantly better at Colorado State than Crocker Johnson who was arguably our second best player this year. All I’ll say is Niko knows better than absolutely all of us in this subject, and don’t be surprised if we learn how much we give him, because he got 2 Million to go to UNC for a reason!
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Well, no, the best player on the court was Nicque Clifford, but Evans was good and I did like him better than JCJ at the time.
 


bga1 said:
Well, no, the best player on the court was Nicque Clifford, but Evans was good and I did like him better than JCJ at the time.
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watching Evans, Clifford, and Lake?? i think it was, against memphis was simply fun to watch....3 guards who just controlled that game.

even in the Maryland game, those 3 guards kept them in the game, Clifford especially
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Minnesotans or Minnesota fans who are always concerned about money over everything else never ceases to amaze me.

Niko is not dumb. He's not going to give all of the money to Evans. He put together a pretty solid team on a limited budget last year.
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I'm not sure Evans would demand that much money at this point anyways.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Had a nice freshman year. Definitely fits the mold of what Niko seems to target in terms of bigger guys.
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I like an emphasis on size and skill. As they did with Durkin, a lot of guys have the ability to play defense under the right teaching. This is the Wisconsin model.
 






Gold Vision said:
It’s probably hyperbole by Ryan James, but Reynolds wasn’t our top portal priority last year as this tweet eludes. Reynolds was also a big ten sized guard at 6’4” and 215 pounds and was coming off a first team all-conference selection.

I also don’t get the role comparison. Evans is average height, very thin, not overly athletic or quick, and doesn’t get to the free throw line. He should be a far superior shooter, but he really has only 1-year as a highly efficient shooter, and never with any volume. He hasn’t had sustained success at any level entering his final year of eligibility. His size limits his ability to guard multiple positions, and he’s not known as a lockdown perimeter defender that you can stick on another teams PG.

He could be a nice depth piece to back up Asuma, but he doesn’t move the needle for me at all when thinking of elevating our chances to compete next year. I’ve seen multiple more intriguing players with size and proven success in the portal the past few weeks, but this guy seems to be a target simply because of moderate success two years ago in the tournament.

247 has him listed as the 227th rated transfer, 25 spots behind BJ Omot.

I’ll gladly eat crow if he becomes a major contributor that can elevate this team, there just doesn’t appear to be evidence to support it.
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Speaking of a Reynolds replacement, it seems like Nolan Groves is a stylistic fit. He had a free throw rate of 0.571 as a freshman, compared to Langston Reynolds career high 0.476 last year. FTR is how many free throws you attempt per FG attempt. Now Groves also averaged 58% (7/12 on the season) so he is the Reynolds replacement in more than one way. He seemed like a really physical guy when I watched his highlights last year. We could use someone who creates their own shot and forces contact.

Chansey Willis (0.564) and Cade Tyson (0.558) also had high FTR last year. Bobby Durkin had the lowest of the regulars at 0.156 which was not surprising.

I don't hold a bad freshman year against him. Texas Tech was good (23-11, 5 seed in the tourney). He started the first two games of the year and then was pretty much completely phased out the rest of the year. He played a total of 133 minutes and only had 1 turnover which is notable.

And for the record, Langston Reynolds had a similarly bad year as a freshman on a bad team in a bad conference. He averaged 1.7 ppg on 37% shooting and 40% FT, and 23 total turnovers in 260 total minutes. Players grow and develop.

I will be curious to see if Niko and Nolan are interested in each other.
 

eker0016 said:
Speaking of a Reynolds replacement, it seems like Nolan Groves is a stylistic fit. He had a free throw rate of 0.571 as a freshman, compared to Langston Reynolds career high 0.476 last year. FTR is how many free throws you attempt per FG attempt. Now Groves also averaged 58% (7/12 on the season) so he is the Reynolds replacement in more than one way. He seemed like a really physical guy when I watched his highlights last year. We could use someone who creates their own shot and forces contact.

Chansey Willis (0.564) and Cade Tyson (0.558) also had high FTR last year. Bobby Durkin had the lowest of the regulars at 0.156 which was not surprising.

I don't hold a bad freshman year against him. Texas Tech was good (23-11, 5 seed in the tourney). He started the first two games of the year and then was pretty much completely phased out the rest of the year. He played a total of 133 minutes and only had 1 turnover which is notable.

And for the record, Langston Reynolds had a similarly bad year as a freshman on a bad team in a bad conference. He averaged 1.7 ppg on 37% shooting and 40% FT, and 23 total turnovers in 260 total minutes. Players grow and develop.

I will be curious to see if Niko and Nolan are interested in each other.
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I don't know if there's anything to this, but I saw someone compare Groves to David Roddy.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I don't know if there's anything to this, but I saw someone compare Groves to David Roddy.
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Interesting comparison. I was struck by how physical he was at CSU. Those quads too, whew! He had so many dunks. I can see the comp.

I am just so excited to have a coach who develops players. Really excited to see who he takes in the portal, and how our team grows next year.
 

eker0016 said:
Speaking of a Reynolds replacement, it seems like Nolan Groves is a stylistic fit. He had a free throw rate of 0.571 as a freshman, compared to Langston Reynolds career high 0.476 last year. FTR is how many free throws you attempt per FG attempt. Now Groves also averaged 58% (7/12 on the season) so he is the Reynolds replacement in more than one way. He seemed like a really physical guy when I watched his highlights last year. We could use someone who creates their own shot and forces contact.

Chansey Willis (0.564) and Cade Tyson (0.558) also had high FTR last year. Bobby Durkin had the lowest of the regulars at 0.156 which was not surprising.

I don't hold a bad freshman year against him. Texas Tech was good (23-11, 5 seed in the tourney). He started the first two games of the year and then was pretty much completely phased out the rest of the year. He played a total of 133 minutes and only had 1 turnover which is notable.

And for the record, Langston Reynolds had a similarly bad year as a freshman on a bad team in a bad conference. He averaged 1.7 ppg on 37% shooting and 40% FT, and 23 total turnovers in 260 total minutes. Players grow and develop.

I will be curious to see if Niko and Nolan are interested in each other.
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The athletic ability, to go to basket and guard, is night and day though. I hope we do better than Groves.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Agree and it's a pointless thing to worry about. Niko will recruit the best players he can with the budget he has.

And none of us really know what that budget is and how much each player is making.
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Sure.....but that doesn't stop people from making crazy assumptions about how the coaches will certainly spend the money incorrectly. :)
 


leib0039 said:

We seem to be in on a lot of PG, makes me think Willis isn't coming back
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Broke into the starting lineup in late December. 24 points on 9/14 (5-7 3PT) in their NCAA matchup against Akron. 77% FT shooter. He made 69 threes on the year at a 37.5% clip so the dude is a gunner (for reference Tyson made 71 and Durkin made 80).

Christian Anderson for them averaged 7.4 assists per game, while Petty averaged 2.2 (they had another two guys average 2.1 and 2.4) so looks like he was used as more of a combo guard?

This guy would be a big get IMO but it looks like stiff competition.
 

eker0016 said:
Broke into the starting lineup in late December. 24 points on 9/14 (5-7 3PT) in their NCAA matchup against Akron. 77% FT shooter. He made 69 threes on the year at a 37.5% clip so the dude is a gunner (for reference Tyson made 71 and Durkin made 80).

Christian Anderson for them averaged 7.4 assists per game, while Petty averaged 2.2 (they had another two guys average 2.1 and 2.4) so looks like he was used as more of a combo guard?

This guy would be a big get IMO but it looks like stiff competition.
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Combo deal with Groves? ☺️
 






Eastside Forever said:
He would be a great addition to the Carleton College roster! Great school!!! Not sure if he would be academically qualified.
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I’d take Heide in a heartbeat. Athleticism (jumps out of the gym), experience on really good teams, has never been a selfish player, good 3-point shooter. … a lot to like.
 
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