Payne, Carrington, Ola-Joseph and Ihnen...

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Holy Man said:
Supply and demand of mobile big men. Hard for me to see a roster anywhere that would not benefit from his presence if he’s willing to accept a role he fits in.

No specifics. Just an observation that 6-9 250 guys with quickness and hops are rare and will be in demand.
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Oh, thanks. Thought maybe you read something somewhere. I think he is struggling to find a landing place. There are other big men in and entering the portal regularly.
 


Oatmeal Savage said:
I had hopes for Ihnen contributing this year and he certainly didn't. I was glad he seemed to be moving on to open up a roster spot. But now, maybe wanting to come back...

He's been roommates with Fox. Would you take him back if it meant getting Fox back?
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Love Fox and the energy he brings but 2 scholarships for an off the bench role player is not worth it.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
Not me. I'd take any of them back except Carrington. We know exactly who he is now.
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CBJ knows better than you or I. There're 8 roster spots to fill minus incoming freshmen and that's assuming Chrisie stays. The current year CBJ added 3 contributors. There is a boatload of minutes to fill and those transferring had significant minutes including Carrington @ 21 minutes/game. If CBJ can fill the roster with similar talent of the transferees, I'd be satisfied. My point is CBJ, unless Carrington was booted for someone reason that's unknown to the public, CBJ may need to take him back to fill the roster with experienced P5 players.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
It wasn't until more into his 2nd year where he was playing the 4, but you're right that is where he belongs and where he is the most effective.

For some reason he must not believe that, and Ben isn't willing to put him back there. For most of year 1, and again this year, he mostly floated around the perimeter. If that's where he wants to play, then good riddance.

One of the many red flags from BJ for me is when he has discussed how Ihnen can guard all 5 positions when he doesn't have that ability at all, even pre injury.
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Remember when BJ was saying Ihnen could be a 2?
 




DinkytownDelight said:
Love Fox and the energy he brings but 2 scholarships for an off the bench role player is not worth it.
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I disagree. Fox would definitely be worth another year on scholarship. He played very well the past half of the season off the bench, energetic and inspirational. With 13 scholarships there will be role players off the bench. Why not Fox?
 

Bobek said:
I disagree. Fox would definitely be worth another year on scholarship. He played very well the past half of the season off the bench, energetic and inspirational. With 13 scholarships there will be role players off the bench. Why not Fox?
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He's talking about the 2nd scholarship for Ihnen.
 

book said:
walked by P Payne at Coon Rapids bb tournament Asked him to stay a gopher and he slyly smiled and walked awa
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So you are saying there is a chance?!
 



bga1 said:
So you are saying there is a chance?!
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Right! I need to know what kind of sly smile this was. Sly, like, “dude it’s over, I’m gone” or sly like, “just wait, there’s some good news coming”!
 



Considering how much we’ve struggled to fill a roster in the Johnson era, I’d have no problem keeping Ihnen. As long as he understands his role, I take all the the grown men we can add for depth. For what it’s worth, Brodie for Drake wasn’t nearly the player he ended up becoming as he got older. Also Ihnen is another year removed from injuries.
 

dbmn said:
CBJ knows better than you or I. There're 8 roster spots to fill minus incoming freshmen and that's assuming Chrisie stays. The current year CBJ added 3 contributors. There is a boatload of minutes to fill and those transferring had significant minutes including Carrington @ 21 minutes/game. If CBJ can fill the roster with similar talent of the transferees, I'd be satisfied. My point is CBJ, unless Carrington was booted for someone reason that's unknown to the public, CBJ may need to take him back to fill the roster with experienced P5 players.
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The same Johnson who thought Ihnen was a guard. Sure
 

It's really easy to imply Johnson is pretty ignorant in thinking Ihnen "was a guard." Much of how players play in terms of their position is based on brain-type. There are many players who are geared towards being basket-facing players, and do not learn "back to the basket" kinds of skills easily.

As a coach, you can do your best to try to convert players to adopt skills (post up skills) that may better align with their physical make up, but many players are just not able to adapt. This happens to all coaches-it is not necessarily "Johnson's fault" that he couldn't change Ihnen into a player more comfortable close to the basket. (Treyton Thompson is a good example).

I don't think Johnson is the best coach in the country, but you can't transform every player that comes along. And while Ihnen has had his share of struggles, he does have some value as a guy who can defend and rebound in the right situation and can fill in a few minutes off the bench.

There are certainly things you can criticize Johnson for, but this isn't one of them. And if Christie and a few other pieces from the portal decide to join this group (a big "if" for sure), this team has the possibility of being an upper division Big Ten team and an NCAA tourney team next year.

And if that's the case (again, a big "if"), that's continued progress-and he'll look like less of an idiot to some on this board. And if they're worse next year, he'll probably be gone.

As it should be.
 

Formerswish said:
I don't think Johnson is the best coach in the country, but you can't transform every player that comes along. And while Ihnen has had his share of struggles, he does have some value as a guy who can defend and rebound in the right situation and can fill in a few minutes off the bench.
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Ihnen will add nothing to a BIG top 5 contending team next season. My expectation for the Gophers next season is top half-hopefully top 5 BIG finish. Will it happen? Depends on roster and how they gel. I'll put a Ben (Franklin, not Johnson) on Ihnen playing less minutes and have worse #'s next season for the gophers. My hope is that he is not taking up a roster spot for the gophers at all. Just like every season there will be a few bodies at the end of the bench who get essentially zero minutes. If he is one of them so we can keep Fox, I'm ok with that. But please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season. It isn't happening.

BTW, I wish the young man a bright future in whatever he pursues.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Disagree. No way could Ihnnen play the 5.
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I don't think there's much of a chance now but during his first two seasons I thought he was best used as a small ball 4/5. He was more effective in that role than any other during his time here other than a few games this season where he was hot from outside. His biggest problem offensively hasn't changed since his first two years. He can't handle the ball well enough in traffic to drive to the hoop and he knows that so he just settles for jacking up threes.
 

Big Dawg said:
If he is one of them so we can keep Fox, I'm ok with that. But please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season. It isn't happening.
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I don’t think any of us expect Ihnen to be a “high contributor” to our team next season. If he’s playing a ton of minutes I would assume that would be a bad sign. Then again I definitely didn’t expect the season that Fox had going into this year. Ultimately I think it’s more than ok to have Ihnen on the roster on the off chance he provides some valuable minutes in a game here or there. You never know when you’ll need a body!
 

CentralGopher said:
The same Johnson who thought Ihnen was a guard. Sure
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Gophers won 9 this year exceeding expectations so he's making improvements.

As far as Ihnen though 300 total minutes this year and not a factor in any significant wins. I wouldn't bring Ihnen back unless to fill the roster.
 

Big Dawg said:
Ihnen will add nothing to a BIG top 5 contending team next season. My expectation for the Gophers next season is top half-hopefully top 5 BIG finish. Will it happen? Depends on roster and how they gel. I'll put a Ben (Franklin, not Johnson) on Ihnen playing less minutes and have worse #'s next season for the gophers. My hope is that he is not taking up a roster spot for the gophers at all. Just like every season there will be a few bodies at the end of the bench who get essentially zero minutes. If he is one of them so we can keep Fox, I'm ok with that. But please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season. It isn't happening.

BTW, I wish the young man a bright future in whatever he pursues.
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I'm not sure how you translate "fill in a few minutes off the bench" into "please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season" . That's a bit curious to me, perhaps you didn't read it very closely?

And if he decided to come back? I'd welcome him. Why? I don't think there's any way Johnson's going to get enough high quality players from the portal to completer the team. And if Ihnen is bench player next year who occasionally plays a few minutes and is a good "team guy", no problem here.
 

Formerswish said:
I'm not sure how you translate "fill in a few minutes off the bench" into "please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season" . That's a bit curious to me, perhaps you didn't read it very closely?

And if he decided to come back? I'd welcome him. Why? I don't think there's any way Johnson's going to get enough high quality players from the portal to completer the team. And if Ihnen is bench player next year who occasionally plays a few minutes and is a good "team guy", no problem here.
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As a 25-year-old with 7 years in college and nothing in his track record to show he would be a positive contributor to a successful program I see zero need to even have him involved in your program. If you/he/Ben plan to have him "fill in a few minutes off the bench", I would rather give those minutes to literally anyone else on the roster. But if he ends up being the 10th-13th player on the team (minutes wise) then I really don't care. Ben plays maybe 9 guys, usually 8 or late in the season 7. Ihnen will not be in the top 9. If he is then I predict a 4-16 BIG record. If the Gophers are 10-10 or better in the BIG next season, Ihnen will not be any part of the first 9 players. I doubt he is one of the top ten. Actually, highly doubt he is playing for the Gophers next fall. We'll see.
 

You clearly have some strong feelings about this, I'll step aside on this one.
 

Big Dawg said:
As a 25-year-old with 7 years in college and nothing in his track record to show he would be a positive contributor to a successful program I see zero need to even have him involved in your program. If you/he/Ben plan to have him "fill in a few minutes off the bench", I would rather give those minutes to literally anyone else on the roster. But if he ends up being the 10th-13th player on the team (minutes wise) then I really don't care. Ben plays maybe 9 guys, usually 8 or late in the season 7. Ihnen will not be in the top 9. If he is then I predict a 4-16 BIG record. If the Gophers are 10-10 or better in the BIG next season, Ihnen will not be any part of the first 9 players. I doubt he is one of the top ten. Actually, highly doubt he is playing for the Gophers next fall. We'll see.
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Five years, two with injuries, one year back, maybe improvement, maybe not.
 
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jovs said:
Five years, two with injuries, one year back, maybe improvement, maybe not.
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Before he was injured he was really bad. Look at his stats. He is simply not a Big ten basketball player. Big Dawg is right, if he is getting any meaningful minutes next year we will be awful. He is one of the worst if not the worst defensive players as well. If he is a grad assistant next year that would be great. Hopefully Ihnen got his Masters.
 
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