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I think the reason they have Payne out there is that he's strong with the ball in his hands, he passes fairly well, and they'd like to hit him after a hand-off as he rolls to the hoop. It's just that it hasn't been very successful. And for the life of me I don't know why Payne doesn't at least...

Tonight was ugly and the Gophers may have stayed within 10-15 if they had shot a bit better, but they're outmanned so badly. And let's also consider that Purdue's freshmen class is one of the best in the country-on their team they have about 5-6 Mr Basketballs from Indiana. The Gophers have a...

Henley has had a very challenging year, but he will be a legit Big Ten player. The kid is 6'7, handles the ball well, is a very good athlete, moves well side to side and will be an excellent defensive player. He is one of the few players on the Gophers who can get by people off the dribble. He...

Agreed that there are not good options off the bench. And I'd also say that with anybody who is depended on to provide outside shooting, you're going to have some bad decisions and poor shots heaved up. That's happening with Battle more this year. Part of the problem is spacing. Last year, when...

"Ben has nothing to point at today?" If you can't see there is improvement in the team and in the level of talent (including the guys recruited for next year, who remain unknown but clearly are a level above our "normal" recruits) compared to the previous guy, you don't have a very good idea of...

Agreed, he doesn't seem to have much interest in hoops at the U, but more interest in Fleck and the football program. They are all in on Asuma, and you're right, there is not a culture fit between Freitag and Johnson.

I couldn't agree more. Johnson showed he has excellent command of X's and O's, consistently creates good scoring opportunities after breaks in play, stays positive when things go south, and most importantly, he has the respect of his players. For a guy who has been heavily criticized around here...

I also came to the U in 74-75 as an athlete in another sport, and got to know some of the guys on that team, which was in '76 the best team we've ever had. And let's just say that to get through some of the classes that they had, they must have had some help or some very understanding...

I hope there is a place somewhere between a savior and someone not even starting on this team next year that Evans can fit in. This "skinny freshman" is the highest rated recruit this program has had in forever, he moves well, is by all accounts a very hard worker, has some post moves, has great...

That's true that it's too early to judge, and I would say that this year's freshmen would really have to disintegrate badly to not end up better than the 2019 class of Bryan Greenlee, Sam Freeman, and Tre Williams along with Ihnen in 2019. 24/7 may not have had their synapses firing when they...

The 2018 class was better perhaps with Oturu and Kalscheur, but the other ones? Take a look at how those players turned out, not even close.

I would give Coyle a pass as well. I think most people would say Fleck was a good hire, and the lifeblood of every program is recruiting. It appears to me that so far both Whalen (one of the best recruiting classes in the country last year, with a highly regarded 6' 5 center transferring back...

Well, actually, logic can be used when you look at a players frame and the frame of his parents. To suggest that Evans won't add weight and be much stronger a year from now doesn't seem to be using much logic. Check out the difference between Evans' dad and Thompson's dad. No guarantee, but I...

I would say that right now the quality of players he has right now is near or at the bottom of the Big Ten. And that is figuring in that there are not a lot of Big Ten teams playing 4 freshman pretty big minutes (freshman usually not displaying their full talent their first year) and the 3...

Got it, I "snuck in" w/o checking all previous posts. Garcia has plenty of experience, and he's pretty good at a few things but not great at any of them. And you're right, Battle needs better talent around him, and that means a guard who can penetrate and kick out to him, as well as more...

I would say that just because a player has experience doesn't mean he's getting better each year. I can't speak for Cooper, but Garcia doesn't seem to have improved at all since his freshman season at Marquette, and Battle has been a far inferior player to the guy we watched last year. That...

I think it makes sense that you're concerned that the "veterans" aren't as effective as we had anticipated. Battle got a slow start on the season, but he doesn't seem as able to create space for his shot and overall has played poorly. Garcia is a solid Big 10 player but doesn't seem to have...

I don't think Evans will be the Messiah next year, but Payne went from about 225 to 255 between the end of his senior year and the start of the season. I think our trainer knows what he's doing. Evans Dad is about 7 feet and must be about 320, he's huge. If Evans can put on 25-30 lbs as well...

This is all due to coaching? After coaching young people for 30 years, I've found that when you're coaching them every day for long periods of time, you gain a really good idea of what they can do and what they can't. If you don't have that information, it's a lot harder to tease out what's poor...

You're right, Samuels is not a legit Big Ten level player, but I will say that he at least has brought some level of stability to a lineup that needed it badly early in the season. I think you'll see he plays less as the season progresses. As to your wish that Ben should be able to recruit...