New espnu100, Barnes #1 Jacob Thomas #75

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Cmich Gopher

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Noteables include:
-Barnes: 98 #1
-Casey Prather: 95 #22
-Jelan Kenderick: 95 #29
-Cory Joseph: 95 #39
-Vander Blue: 95 #48
-Jacob Thomas: 93 #75
-Alex Kirk: 93 #76

Not that you can put too much stock in any of these rankings and it remains to be seen whether we get any of these guys to commit it is still encouraging to see how many well respected recruits are on the gopher radar. Once again a testament to the national respect that Tubby and his staff have brought to this program.

On a side note i was pleased to see that badger commit Evan Anderson: 93 #84 is rated below all of the players listed above... :clap:
 

Cmich Gopher said:
Noteables include:
-Barnes: 98 #1
-Casey Prather: 95 #22
-Jelan Kenderick: 95 #29
-Cory Joseph: 95 #39
-Vander Blue: 95 #48
-Jacob Thomas: 93 #75
-Alex Kirk: 93 #76

Not that you can put too much stock in any of these rankings and it remains to be seen whether we get any of these guys to commit it is still encouraging to see how many well respected recruits are on the gopher radar. Once again a testament to the national respect that Tubby and his staff have brought to this program.

On a side note i was pleased to see that badger commit Evan Anderson: 93 #84 is rated below all of the players listed above... :clap:
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If you're interested about Prather his AAU coach posts regularly on the TCP recruiting board about Prather and his recruitment. He's usually pretty good about answering questions in regards to Casey.
 

Yeah im not sure how seriously Prather and Kenderick are looking at us anyways but I figured it was worth throwing them in there. It will be interesting to see what happens with Thomas, ive heard people compare his to the Hoffarber situation of a couple years ago. If I remember correctly hoffarber's final espn rating ended up being 93 as well.
 

ESPN's player evaluations are the best and these look pretty spot on.

Kirk is a player the Gophers absolutely love and without a doubt the #1 big man on Minnesota's priority list.

Jacob has been shooting lights out this summer and on the court he has earned a Gopher scholarship and would have it right now if his grades we're in order. Right now he is in a similiar position to where Rodney was at this time last year. He hit 9 threes and had 39 points in a game last weekend and basically changed the way teams are playing against Pulley, now that won't be able to work once Harrison plays.

Cory Joseph is much closer to where he should be than where rivals has him.
 

Johnny, if they offer Thomas, will they still go after Joseph or Blue, or are they only taking 1 guard?
 


Thanks for the post. Pretty sweet to see the quality of the players we're recruiting. Obviously it's hard to know who we will end up with, but I would be happy even getting just two players from that list.

I hope Thomas ends up on the team. We could really use an outside shooter and he's a hometown kid who already knows the gophers are his first choice.
 


Anyone know much about Kevin Noreen? Boston College seems to love him and have offered him a scholarship. Anyone know about his relationship with the gophers?
 

I swear if we don't sign Jacob Thomas he's going to turn in the next Chris Lofton on someone else's team. Give the kid an offer already. :)
 




I only have one problem with Barnes, he more then likely will only be in school at the most 2 years. It is hard to develop a program with kids one or two years and gone!
 

calminnfan said:
I only have one problem with Barnes, he more then likely will only be in school at the most 2 years. It is hard to develop a program with kids one or two years and gone!
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True, but in our case, he would be supplementing a team of veterans. I think that's the ultimate recipe for success: a team made up primarily of 3-4 years players with one or two 1-2 year guys mixed in.
 

Plinnius said:
True, but in our case, he would be supplementing a team of veterans. I think that's the ultimate recipe for success: a team made up primarily of 3-4 years players with one or two 1-2 year guys mixed in.
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Good point, but I would still like to see him play through his jr. year though, but to be drafted high is a whole lot of money and I can understand kids going for it!
 



Having kids go pro is good for your program's image and for recruiting in the future... Don't think that Tubby doesn't bring up the fact that our school has produced the second most pro players in the big 10 behind only Indiana.

It's also good for Tubby, he obviously points out the players he has sent to the pros... especially the ones who are particularly successful like Tayshawn Prince and Rajon Rondo.

When recruiting a player like Vander Blue, he has to look at what Rondo is doing in the NBA and think that Tubby is a good choice of coaches to play for...

Barnes has a chance to be better than any of those guys though, and would be huge not only for our program now, but for a guy that both Tubby and future coaches can point to farther down the road.

That, and our team should be VERY strong in the first 2 years of Barnes' potential career here.. with him, we could compete for a championship if the whole team develops the way many think they will. Barnes is the kind of guy that can put a team over the top.
 

yes the plan is a guard, wing, and a center.

I think if Barnes, Blue, and Jacob all wanted to commit, Jacob would find himself at a prep school for a year or something similiar, basically if they had a problem like that, which would be pretty awsome, they would find a way to work it out.

Jacob's situation has now moved beyond whether he is good enough and is all about the grades

Very, very, very slim chance Noreen ends up with the Gophers, it's just not a good fit and both sides know it.
 

Noreen is an interesting case considering that his HS competition is the smallest schools. He must have played decent in spring/summer ball to get a BC offer.

Is his charter school targeted for "at-risk" kids? Is the name Minneapolis Transitions High School? A name like that leaves me with that impression.
 

From Pulley website from Memorial Day tournament

In a game that had numerous lead changes, the 17 Black team held off the Alabama Storm for a 66-61 victory. HP Player of the Game, Jacob Thomas, sank 7 three-pointers to keep the Storm at bay and allow his team to finish the weekend at 2-2. Seantrel Henderson and Harrison Barnes also played major roles in the consolation victory.

17 Black Players Pts
Chad Calcaterra 4
Joe Coleman 1
Peter Crawford 2
Darren Glover
Seantrel Henderson 11
Jordan Hughes 7
Louis Cox
Marvin Singleton 4
Harrison Barnes 19
Jacob Thomas 21
 

ESPN grades each BT team's 2009 recruiting class, we got a B+ which is the second in the conference:

Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota signees: four
With only two seniors on the roster last season, the Gophers continue to add talent to their already good team. Coach Tubby Smith has made it a priority to keep in-state talent at home, and he passed that test with flying colors thanks to this class, led by two ESPNU 100 players from the state and a juco transfer from the state. PF Royce White (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) has the versatility and athleticism to play as a combo-forward. He has enough strength to score in the paint and can connect on jumpers, though he needs to continue to work in that area. The other ESPNU 100 player, 6-6 SF Rodney Williams (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper), has elite athleticism and leaping ability, which makes him a terror in the open court. He also needs to work on his ball skills for play on the perimeter. Juco transfer and Minnesota native 6-8 PF Trevor Mbakwe gives the Gophers another rebounder and an athletic, physical threat in the paint. 6-1 PG Justin Cobbs (Torrance, Calif./Bishop Montgomery) has the athleticism and quickness to get into the paint at will. Cobbs needs to continue to improve his decision-making as a lead guard.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4179911

Go Gophers!!
 

Top newcomer (transfer): PF Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota

Mbakwe, formerly of Marquette, has very good athleticism and length, which he uses to his advantage on the paint. He does a good job of scoring around the bucket and hits the boards aggressively on both ends of the floor. Mbakwe plays with great intensity and effort on both ends of the floor. He has also improved his shooting ability in the 15-feet range and should combine with Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III to give the Gophers a very nice triumvirate of players in the paint.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4193991

Go Gophers!!
 

Cmich Gopher said:
Noteables include:
-Barnes: 98 #1
-Casey Prather: 95 #22
-Jelan Kenderick: 95 #29
-Cory Joseph: 95 #39
-Vander Blue: 95 #48
-Jacob Thomas: 93 #75
-Alex Kirk: 93 #76

Not that you can put too much stock in any of these rankings and it remains to be seen whether we get any of these guys to commit it is still encouraging to see how many well respected recruits are on the gopher radar. Once again a testament to the national respect that Tubby and his staff have brought to this program.

On a side note i was pleased to see that badger commit Evan Anderson: 93 #84 is rated below all of the players listed above... :clap:
Click to expand...

I have seen Evan Anderson play ever since he was a freshman at Stanley-Boyd High School in the middle of Wisconsin. I have ALWAYS thought he has been overrated. At one point on Scout.com he was a five-star recruit but has since been dropped to a four-star and out of the nation's top 50 players. He has NEVER averaged more than 8.6 point per game. C'mon, he's 7-feet tall playing in Eau Claire, Wis. -- he should be DOMINATING, but he's not.
 

JohnnyGopher said:
From Pulley website from Memorial Day tournament

In a game that had numerous lead changes, the 17 Black team held off the Alabama Storm for a 66-61 victory. HP Player of the Game, Jacob Thomas, sank 7 three-pointers to keep the Storm at bay and allow his team to finish the weekend at 2-2. Seantrel Henderson and Harrison Barnes also played major roles in the consolation victory.

17 Black Players Pts
Chad Calcaterra 4
Joe Coleman 1
Peter Crawford 2
Darren Glover
Seantrel Henderson 11
Jordan Hughes 7
Louis Cox
Marvin Singleton 4
Harrison Barnes 19
Jacob Thomas 21
Click to expand...

you got to love this roster...I can just see all these guys meshing (barnes/henderson/thomas) and just being like well we all like each other, screw it lets all go to minnesota together. I believe beside usc (which wont happen with the Mayo debacle) the only real chance of barnes and henderson being on the same campus is right here.
 

I'd have to say that I was not very impressed with Noreen the one time I saw him play (only one time I know). It was the first game at the state tourney this past year and though he was easily the best player on the court talent wise he never even tried to take over. He had atleast 5 inches on the tallest player on the opposing team and 6-8 inches taller than the kid guarding him but he hardly ever tried to go down low. He just floated around the outside and when he did "post up" he was still 8-10 feet from the basket.

I was very surprised to see him get a high major offer but the talent is there and with some good coaching (I personally think his high school coach Sherman is terrible) he may turn out to be a very good college player.
 

gopheraschells said:
you got to love this roster...I can just see all these guys meshing (barnes/henderson/thomas) and just being like well we all like each other, screw it lets all go to minnesota together. I believe beside usc (which wont happen with the Mayo debacle) the only real chance of barnes and henderson being on the same campus is right here.
Click to expand...

Oh gosh, dont even give me that picture... its too good. Its still great to appreciate that theres a shot though.
 

Charter Schools. I have seen a post that adressed charter schools like Minnesota Transtions. To my understanding, They are schools that are payed for by a district. They are also schools that can write there own program. eg Math and science. It is another form of education that is away from the main stream education.

The Transtions coach runs the Minnesota Magic AAU program.
 


Here's a tidbit from another site (non-premium) about Harrison Barnes.

- Harrison Barnes didn’t start the first game with his best jump shot available but the big news was that he was able to make the adjustment and began driving the ball to the hole and took the hacks while finishing at the rim. The 6′6″ wing was confident with the ball, scored when he had to and made the defense pay for their mistakes. Overall, Barnes continues to receive great assessments for his basketball IQ and his ability to help his team win. It was reported this past week that Barnes will stay after the tourney and take unofficial visits to UCLA and Stanford. Barnes is smart kid with a high GPA, so many believe he’ll pick his school with academic considerations somewhere on the list. Duke has been rumored as one of the schools to beat along with Kansas and Bill Self.
Click to expand...
 


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