2020-21 Gopher Transfers - Where Are They Now?

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cjbfbp said:
If Johnson could have gotten Pohto (or even Freeman) to stay and he didn't try, he looks like a jackass now. Hopefully, if these rumors about relying on overly optimistic recruiting expectations are true, he has learned not to count his chickens before they've hatched.
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Not really long term it's better to have one year of Daniels than three or four years of either of those guys if they're now what you're looking for at that spot. Obviously it sucks for this year, but being around the program when Gaston was here for four years Ben knows what's it's like to have a black hole sucking up space
 

Holy Man said:
Who knows what may have been implied, or more likely hoped for, in terms of building up an immediately competitive roster, but there is no way Coyle would have based his hire on immediate splashes. Every one who has ever worked with that age bracket knows it is a group that can change minds quickly. If there were any whispers about local stars returning, it most likely came from wishful thinking of hangers on and not Ben himself. Given the disasterous situation and players desire to win right away, especially a guy like Garcia who probably sees himself in the NBA next year, there is no way anyone could have reasonably expected that high profile of a transfer.

Ben's failure to lure guys leaving Xavier to follow him is the most concerning aspect of his early performance to me, though. Current relationships didn't result in filling the roster, and that is concerning.

My guess is that if any of this has any truth to it, the scenario imploded when core players on the previous roster jumped ship. That left possible transfers with little hope of being on a competitive team.
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Perhaps the Xavier players like being at Xavier
 



MaroonShaft said:
Prove it. I just looked at The Lair, and I’m seeing a lot of negativity. They are already recognizing familiar patterns. Look through the game thread.

I enjoyed this recent post about “team identity”. I bolded some familiar bits:
​
This Team has no recognizable Offensive or Defensive Identity it’s like watching an All-Star game.​
​
Once the game starts an athletes skill level and their mental and physical toughness preparedness and maintaining their Best Effort is all a competitive athlete is in control of once the game starts. After that it’s up to the HC to coach and regulate his players and his teams competitive edge.​
​
Rebounding and Defense are all about Effort and Toughness and we got “Out Toughed” in both categories and this is a serious Team issue but it is not complicated.​
​
Both are crucial components to playing Smart Tough Defense and having the ability as a team to effectively Rebound and only allow your opponents ”one shot” at the basket “one possession at a time.”​
​
Rebounding does require absolute effort toughness determination and focus by every athlete on the floor to be a good rebounding team— Not just the Bigs.​
​
When our opponents shoot the ball everyone on the floor has ONE responsibility—Box Out the person you are guarding and then go secure the ball for your team!​
​
At first I thought our Bigs we’re not mentally and physically prepared to compete last night but as the game moved on I noticed the Bigs weren’t getting ANY good touches from the Backcourt. The Backcourt didn’t seem interested in sharing the ball or looking inside for Post play opportunities. Rebounding was not something this team and especially the Bigs could stay focused on because they would get lulled to sleep because they never get any touches as either House or Mashburn play ISO ball taking random shots from all over the court making it difficult for anyone on offense to establish or maintain offensive rebounding position when no one on the Team knows who what where and when the next shot is coming from.​
​
Pitino rarely runs a play for the Frontcourt. His offensive strategy seems to rely on setting a high pick and roll action above the 3 point stripe for House or Mashburn or one at the Free Throw line for a pick and roll action for a Big that Forsling easily scored on twice in a row.​
​
Pitino allows his guards free reign to create playing their “seat of your pants hero ball offense” that keeps any team offense as an alternative which keeps the rest of the team disorganized as a result the team is not be able to get in position to even secure a minimum of 10 Offensive Rebounds per game to rack up easy points at the rim or in the paint and second chance points that actually Win games.​
​
Don’t get me wrong it’s OK to create but that shouldn’t be what a team offense is predicated on. There is No Team in ISO basketball.​
​
Also Defensive Rebounding is a critical part of “team defense” and it requires fighting for and maintaining a solid box out position with grit and determination and when your opponent shoots the ball every player on the floor has a personal responsibility to box out the person they are guarding and maintaining their box out position until our team has secured the ball to limit our opponents excess shot opportunities.​
​
Lastly Pitino and his team defensively doesn’t put a premium on the Helpline or Help Defense as weak side defenders idly watch our opponents score unchallenged buckets in their faces. As a Help or Weak Side defender near the Basket you Have to Move Over and HELP to alter and block shots and Stop and Guard against All Lane penetrations which Pitinos team clearly doesn’t value or understand or both.​
​
This team is very talented with High potential but it will continue to shoot itself in the foot and struggle and will remain more on the wrong side of the Win/Loss category until Pitino establishes a TEAM offensive and defensive identity and stops relying on hero ball offense that left House to the point of complete exhaustion(one reason he fouled out)​
​
At this point if Pitino doesn’t insure team balance offensively demand team rebounding effort and Help Defense improvement and start using his bench to give everyone a short rest this team will remain sporadically unpredictable an inefficient offensively and defensively which would be a complete waste of talent and skill this young team currently possesses and unfortunately these repetitive tendencies we all witness will be completely exposed by our tougher MWC opponents.​
​
This Team has the potential to be much much better with a few adjustments.​
​
Team- Offensive and Defensive Identity Matters!​
​
This topic was modified 1 day ago by BAD DAWG​
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That is the best summary of Pitino's philosophy that I have ever seen. He counts on "star players to make things happen" with very little regard to fundamental team basics.
 




Fleckoff said:
Perhaps the Xavier players like being at Xavier
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At least two transferred elsewhere. Neither of whom gave the Gophers a sniff. The point was that Ben was not able to leverage a previous relationship with them to get them to consider coming here. No one expects a roster to follow any coach. But those who have already decided to move on should be good candidates to follow a coach to a new location. My concern is that Ben struck out on the transfers from Xavier, as well as others he had previous relationships with. It is an observation and nothing else.
 

Holy Man said:
At least two transferred elsewhere. Neither of whom gave the Gophers a sniff. The point was that Ben was not able to leverage a previous relationship with them to get them to consider coming here. No one expects a roster to follow any coach. But those who have already decided to move on should be good candidates to follow a coach to a new location. My concern is that Ben struck out on the transfers from Xavier, as well as others he had previous relationships with. It is an observation and nothing else.
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Okay, but who were the players, what positions do they play, if there guards maybe Ben liked Willis, Lowe and Stephens better. If they were three/stretch four types, doubt they were better than Battle, also was he their primary recruiter or was one of the other assistants. A lot goes into it
 



MaroonShaft said:
Prove it. I just looked at The Lair, and I’m seeing a lot of negativity. They are already recognizing familiar patterns. Look through the game thread.

I enjoyed this recent post about “team identity”. I bolded some familiar bits:
​
This Team has no recognizable Offensive or Defensive Identity it’s like watching an All-Star game.​
​
Once the game starts an athletes skill level and their mental and physical toughness preparedness and maintaining their Best Effort is all a competitive athlete is in control of once the game starts. After that it’s up to the HC to coach and regulate his players and his teams competitive edge.​
​
Rebounding and Defense are all about Effort and Toughness and we got “Out Toughed” in both categories and this is a serious Team issue but it is not complicated.​
​
Both are crucial components to playing Smart Tough Defense and having the ability as a team to effectively Rebound and only allow your opponents ”one shot” at the basket “one possession at a time.”​
​
Rebounding does require absolute effort toughness determination and focus by every athlete on the floor to be a good rebounding team— Not just the Bigs.​
​
When our opponents shoot the ball everyone on the floor has ONE responsibility—Box Out the person you are guarding and then go secure the ball for your team!​
​
At first I thought our Bigs we’re not mentally and physically prepared to compete last night but as the game moved on I noticed the Bigs weren’t getting ANY good touches from the Backcourt. The Backcourt didn’t seem interested in sharing the ball or looking inside for Post play opportunities. Rebounding was not something this team and especially the Bigs could stay focused on because they would get lulled to sleep because they never get any touches as either House or Mashburn play ISO ball taking random shots from all over the court making it difficult for anyone on offense to establish or maintain offensive rebounding position when no one on the Team knows who what where and when the next shot is coming from.​
​
Pitino rarely runs a play for the Frontcourt. His offensive strategy seems to rely on setting a high pick and roll action above the 3 point stripe for House or Mashburn or one at the Free Throw line for a pick and roll action for a Big that Forsling easily scored on twice in a row.​
​
Pitino allows his guards free reign to create playing their “seat of your pants hero ball offense” that keeps any team offense as an alternative which keeps the rest of the team disorganized as a result the team is not be able to get in position to even secure a minimum of 10 Offensive Rebounds per game to rack up easy points at the rim or in the paint and second chance points that actually Win games.​
​
Don’t get me wrong it’s OK to create but that shouldn’t be what a team offense is predicated on. There is No Team in ISO basketball.​
​
Also Defensive Rebounding is a critical part of “team defense” and it requires fighting for and maintaining a solid box out position with grit and determination and when your opponent shoots the ball every player on the floor has a personal responsibility to box out the person they are guarding and maintaining their box out position until our team has secured the ball to limit our opponents excess shot opportunities.​
​
Lastly Pitino and his team defensively doesn’t put a premium on the Helpline or Help Defense as weak side defenders idly watch our opponents score unchallenged buckets in their faces. As a Help or Weak Side defender near the Basket you Have to Move Over and HELP to alter and block shots and Stop and Guard against All Lane penetrations which Pitinos team clearly doesn’t value or understand or both.​
​
This team is very talented with High potential but it will continue to shoot itself in the foot and struggle and will remain more on the wrong side of the Win/Loss category until Pitino establishes a TEAM offensive and defensive identity and stops relying on hero ball offense that left House to the point of complete exhaustion(one reason he fouled out)​
​
At this point if Pitino doesn’t insure team balance offensively demand team rebounding effort and Help Defense improvement and start using his bench to give everyone a short rest this team will remain sporadically unpredictable an inefficient offensively and defensively which would be a complete waste of talent and skill this young team currently possesses and unfortunately these repetitive tendencies we all witness will be completely exposed by our tougher MWC opponents.​
​
This Team has the potential to be much much better with a few adjustments.​
​
Team- Offensive and Defensive Identity Matters!​
​
This topic was modified 1 day ago by BAD DAWG​
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Go read pages 5 and 6 after their first game.


At the time I posted, their only game was against FAU. You picked a post after 2 additional games. It would be kind of like comparing the gopher football forums pre Illinois to post Iowa. Funny how the mood can change...
 
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I saw the end of the FAU and Miami game last night. Bryan Greenlee had a huge "and-1" layup, missed the FT, but got the rebound and kicked it out for a game-tying 3. Miami did hit a shot with .7 seconds left to seal it.

He probably would have had a decent role on this year's team with his 3-pt shooting and ballhandling (although he is severely undersized).

He transferred out after the 19/20 season, well before Ben was hired.
 



Spottedmuskie said:
...we play 7 guys
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Right and we still didn’t ask him. Tells you he was not a fit for what the staff wanted and that this staff won’t take shortcuts on who they bring. It’s truly the way to build your program, but obviously if can be your downfall since you may not get the talent you need. We will see how this plays out l.
 

As a gopher and Cyclone fan I can say its good to still be able to watch Gabe every game but his 3pt shot is still broken. 0-5 last night. Cyclones as a team were 1-20. But he is still an important cog for the cyclones do all the other little things per usual. Him and Penn State transfer Brockington are big 2 for cyclones.
 

CycloneGopher said:
As a gopher and Cyclone fan I can say its good to still be able to watch Gabe every game but his 3pt shot is still broken. 0-5 last night. Cyclones as a team were 1-20. But he is still an important cog for the cyclones do all the other little things per usual. Him and Penn State transfer Brockington are big 2 for cyclones.
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So has the change of scenery been worth it? Have the ISU fans started complaining about his shooting?
 

Fleckoff said:
Okay, but who were the players, what positions do they play, if there guards maybe Ben liked Willis, Lowe and Stephens better. If they were three/stretch four types, doubt they were better than Battle, also was he their primary recruiter or was one of the other assistants. A lot goes into it
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CJ Wilcher starts or plays a lot for Nebraska
SplitsGPMINFG%3P%FT%REBASTBLKSTLPFTOPTS
Home327.347.438.550.03.70.70.01.01.31.78.3

Daniel Ramsey 6-9 F went to Tennessee Tech

Stats
GPMINFG%3P%FT%REBASTBLKSTLPFTOPTS
312.364.70.00.03.00.00.00.01.70.07.3

CJ Wilcher Guard stayed at Xavier
 

alchemy2u said:
That is the best summary of Pitino's philosophy that I have ever seen. He counts on "star players to make things happen" with very little regard to fundamental team basics.
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I LOVED reading this. I agree, best summary of a Pitino team ever. They were always painful to watch because they played below their talent level. It's why so far I have loved watching Ben's team...because they play like a team. Thanks for posting!
 

CycloneGopher said:
As a gopher and Cyclone fan I can say its good to still be able to watch Gabe every game but his 3pt shot is still broken. 0-5 last night. Cyclones as a team were 1-20. But he is still an important cog for the cyclones do all the other little things per usual. Him and Penn State transfer Brockington are big 2 for cyclones.
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Took a look at his season stats and was shocked to see his 3 point percentage is even worse for ISU than it was for the Gophers. Through 3 games he is 3 for 19 from 3 and only making 16%. His 3pt percentage has dropped in every season from 41% in year 1 to 34% in year 2, 25% in year 3 and through 3 games at ISU, 16% in year 4.

Really shocking to see how much he has regressed in that department over the course of his college career. He came in as a freshman looking like he was going to be a sharp shooter for us and it just got worse and worse as the years went on.
 




Sure wish we had him but not sure how he would fit with Battle.

Good role player. Nothing dynamic but steady and dependable. Prob 4 pts, 3-4 boards, good D and about 16 minutes first half. DePaul up at half over Rutgers…by 4 or something like they.
 





MUgopher32 said:
Tre Williams has somehow gotten even worse at the line from last year
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0-6 from 3PT and 0-5 from FT. Yikes. He only got 6 minutes their last game, after 13, 18, 15 his previous 3 games.
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
Kenny Pohto playing a lot for Wichita State. Big body who moves well. We might regret that one…….
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There was a connection with the previous staff thru the prep school he was attending. I doubt anything Ben would have said would have kept him here.
 


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