In-coming Gophers signee Kai Shinholster reaffirms his commitment to Minnesota! He’s a 6-5 combo guard from Philly.

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Just heard recently about some guy named Braden Smith. Had scholarship offers from Purdue, Belmont, Appalachian State, Montana, and Toledo. I guess he turned out okay, right?

I prefer to see guys play on the college court first before declaring them 4-year non-contributors /busts. Maybe he will indeed disappoint, but remember, we now have a coach with some real head coaching experience again. A record of success. Medved would have let him walk if he saw nothing in him.
 


Holy Man said:
Project? Or under the radar?
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He wasn't under the radar as he has teammates committed to LSU and Northwestern that are also graduating. I just looked it up tonight and the LSU kid got injured while the Northwestern kid won the conference player of the year. Now Kai is listed at 6'5 and the Northwestern kid is a shorter PG, so maybe he has more upside? When he initially committed I was concerned he didn't have an offer from any of the good schools in that Philly area. I think it's interesting that Niko said "thanks, but no thanks" to the other 2 recruits but kept Kai. My guess would have been he would have released all of them, but if he was going to keep one I wouldn't have guessed it would be Kai just based on offers/stats.
 

EG#9 said:
He wasn't under the radar as he has teammates committed to LSU and Northwestern that are also graduating. I just looked it up tonight and the LSU kid got injured while the Northwestern kid won the conference player of the year. Now Kai is listed at 6'5 and the Northwestern kid is a shorter PG, so maybe he has more upside? When he initially committed I was concerned he didn't have an offer from any of the good schools in that Philly area. I think it's interesting that Niko said "thanks, but no thanks" to the other 2 recruits but kept Kai. My guess would have been he would have released all of them, but if he was going to keep one I wouldn't have guessed it would be Kai just based on offers/stats.
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I'd guess that Kai's game reminds him of Evans. The kid has a nice looking shot, isn't a flashy run and dunk kid.
 

bga1 said:
I'd guess that Kai's game reminds him of Evans. The kid has a nice looking shot, isn't a flashy run and dunk kid.
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Niko has a good track record of identifying players who have potential and can be developed. That should be trusted. Where EG is probably coming from is the need to have players ready to play Big Ten professional basketball on day one. So far the portal hasn’t delivered any plug and play starters. If the program is going to move forward, Niko needs to sign a few of those.
 

PhillyGopher said:
Yes!
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Excellent. Have you seen him play?
What is your answer based on??

rwbPhilly said:
A warm body for the bench?
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Your neighbor disagrees with your assessment and feels he can be a player/contributor for the team.

So same questions for you then -

Have you seen him play?
What is your answer based on??

Snarky remarks reveal nothing, except a lack of evidence!!
 



rwbPhilly said:
A warm body for the bench?
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Why would he try to keep someone who only has the potential to be a warm body? I'm not saying Niko is right, but I'd guess he sees more in him.

As for Kai, he looks to be able to dribble a bit and is a decent shooter. If you can handle the ball alright and knock down open shots, most programs can find a use for you.
 



I just do not understand how people can relegate a new recruit to "sitting on the bench" for the year (or yers) withoug him having played yet.

This guy was good enough to be recruited by Ben, and re-recruited by Niko.

Old timer story, I was a freshman at the U in 1978. Recruting was not a big deal back then, But we had the #1 Street and Smith recruting class coming in. Stallings, Holmes, Rautins, Hall, Daryl Mitchell, and Trent Tucker. Distinctly recall that the lowest rated recruit of these six was described as "a lanky 6-5 wing from Flint, Michigan names Trent Tucker whose strength was a strong outside shot". Just saying.......you never know!
 






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