2022 Transfer Portal Discussion

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cjbfbp said:
Do you really think that Thompson as a soph can play center based on what you saw from him as a freshman? I sure don't. I think Ihnen (assuming he's fully healthy and not too rusty) would be a far better choice for center than Thompson. I have to think Payne would be as well. Thompson is like a misfit toy for our team (a 6'11" player who doesn't rebound well, gets outmanuevered and pushed around inside, and wants to hang outside and shoot three pointers).
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Assuming Ben's plan is to transform TT, a floater, into a 5. If successful, that will say volumes about player development. However, TT on the surface seems to have a good attitude and the grit to get it done.

Ihnen was a floater also when he came to the Barn. It will be interesting to see if he has somehow acquired what it takes to play the 5.

It will be very interesting to see how both players fit in next season. And how Ben will use Battle, Fox and Ihnen.
 

cjbfbp said:
I'm not so sure that he's significantly better. Here are their comparable stats adjusted for time from the past season. Granted, Honor plays in a higher level league but I think Larson is a better player than some realize. Honor made a big splash as a freshman at Fordham but Larson has grown over time.

Per 40 minutesHonorLarson
points
12.2​
10.9​
assists
3.8​
4.5​
turnovers
1.5​
1.6​
rebounds
2.2​
4.3​
Steals
1.6​
1.3​
free throw attempts
2​
1.9​
field goal attempts
10.9​
8.4​
2 point attempts
5.4​
2.3​
3 point attempts
5.4​
6.1​
Shooting PercentagesHonorLarson
2 point FG%
0.465​
0.419​
3 point FG %
0.325​
0.386​
Free throw %
0.905​
0.816​
True Shooting %
0.514​
0.589​
CompositesHonorLarson
Player Efficiency Rtg
12.9​
14.5​
Win Shares per 40
0.094​
0.125​
Minutes Per Game
25.4​
32.3​
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They actually played against each other this year. Larson went 2/6 (1/3 3PT), 2-2 FT, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 3 PF, 7 points in 31 minutes. Honor went 4/10 (1/3 3PT), 2-3 FT, 2 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL (!), 2 TO, 4 PF, 11 points in 35 minutes.

It's on Youtube if anybody wants to watch it. "He might lead the country in floor burns by the time this year is over" in warmups. I watched the first few minutes but I don't have time to watch more right now.

I will say it is really hard to project how a player will adjust going up a level from a Wofford to the B10. Hell look at Honor -- he averaged 15 PPG at Fordham, and then after a redshirt year that dropped to 8.

Larson definitely looked like a hustle/defensive effort guy and the announcers emphasized that. I still prob wouldn't want him as my starter, would be nice as a 15-20 minute key reserve IMO.

Honor seems like he was very up and down. Had 17 points/4 steals in a win against Purdue two years ago and won a starting job, but then was benched at the end of the season. Began the season as a starter this year, lost it after an extremely cold shooting run (11/48 and 2/16 in two separate stretches of games), and then regained it at the end of the year. Seems really streaky.
 
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Bayfieldgopher said:
Assuming Ben's plan is to transform TT, a floater, into a 5. If successful, that will say volumes about player development. However, TT on the surface seems to have a good attitude and the grit to get it done.

Ihnen was a floater also when he came to the Barn. It will be interesting to see if he has somehow acquired what it takes to play the 5.

It will be very interesting to see how both players fit in next season. And how Ben will use Battle, Fox and Ihnen.
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Again, with regard to Thompson, I don't think that is a one-year transition. I never care about future years; only the present. Ihnen already has shown that he was better inside than outside. You could see that he was usually thinking about what to do next when he played out on the wing and often ended up either jacking up a missed three or passing off because he did not have confidence in his ball handling abilities. When he played inside, he tended just to react and his reactions were pretty quick. You want to place a player in a position where he reacts quickly and plays without thinking too much.
 

eker0016 said:
They actually played against each other this year. Larson went 2/6 (1/3 3PT), 2-2 FT, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 3 PF, 7 points in 31 minutes. Honor went 4/10 (1/3 3PT), 2-3 FT, 2 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL (!), 2 TO, 4 PF, 11 points in 35 minutes.

It's on Youtube if anybody wants to watch it. "He might lead the country in floor burns by the time this year is over" in warmups. I watched the first few minutes but I don't have time to watch more right now.

I will say it is really hard to project how a player will adjust going up a level from a Wofford to the B10. Hell look at Honor -- he averaged 15 PPG at Fordham, and then after a redshirt year that dropped to 8.

Larson definitely looked like a hustle/defensive effort guy and the announcers emphasized that. I still prob wouldn't want him as my starter, would be nice as a 15-20 minute key reserve IMO.
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I would take either one of them (maybe both would be better). Larson doesn't look for his shot as much. I don't know how much that has to do with his abilities and how much that has to do with the fact that he had confidence in his primary scorers. Larson appears to be a natural low usage point. He gets the ball out of his hands quickly and keeps it moving.

Honor has two years of eligibility remaining and I think that's a real plus. It would be nice not to have to search for another starting point guard next year.
 

cjbfbp said:
My guess is that our chances of landing a transfer starting point guard significantly better than either of them are pretty slim.
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As long as he’s out 4th or 5th option he would be fine. If he needs to be our 3 option offensively it’ll be ugly.
 


cjbfbp said:
Again, with regard to Thompson, I don't think that is a one-year transition. I never care about future years; only the present. Ihnen already has shown that he was better inside than outside. You could see that he was usually thinking about what to do next when he played out on the wing and often ended up either jacking up a missed three or passing off because he did not have confidence in his ball handling abilities. When he played inside, he tended just to react and his reactions were pretty quick. You want to place a player in a position where he reacts quickly and plays without thinking too much.
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It’s not unheard of for guys to make a significant jump between their freshman or sophomore years. Crowl and Edy just did. That being said it’s not the norm and something I wouldn’t count on.

I think we seem to be collecting a group of frontcourt players that will allow for some flexibility. Between Payne, Thompson, Ihnen, Fox, and an impending transfer, they will be able to man the 4 and 5 spots by a committee. That group will be able to match up with most B1G frontcourts defensively.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
It’s not unheard of for guys to make a significant jump between their freshman or sophomore years. Crowl and Edy just did. That being said it’s not the norm and something I wouldn’t count on.

I think we seem to be collecting a group of frontcourt players that will allow for some flexibility. Between Payne, Thompson, Ihnen, Fox, and an impending transfer, they will be able to man the 4 and 5 spots by a committee. That group will be able to match up with most B1G frontcourts defensively.
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I absolutely agree with your second paragraph.

As to your first paragraph, yes, players often do make a big jump from freshman to soph year but we're talking about a makeover here, not just about someone getting much better, more confident, and growing more into a role that already suits him.
 

cjbfbp said:
I absolutely agree with your second paragraph.

As to your first paragraph, yes, players often do make a big jump from freshman to soph year but we're talking about a makeover here, not just about someone getting much better, more confident, and growing more into a role that already suits him.
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Offensively Thompson can float like he wants if Fox is playing beside him. Theoretically you could have play Fox and TT together and Payne and Ihnen together in tandems. Considering what the staff got out of Curry this year it’s something I’d be interested in seeing. Depending on the scoring we add at the wings it could work. At least there would be competition for spots. If Dawson shows up that would add another wrinkle as well. I think we will see some movement by finally in the next week or two.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Offensively Thompson can float like he wants if Fox is playing beside him. Theoretically you could have play Fox and TT together and Payne and Ihnen together in tandems. Considering what the staff got out of Curry this year it’s something I’d be interested in seeing. Depending on the scoring we add at the wings it could work. At least there would be competition for spots. If Dawson shows up that would add another wrinkle as well. I think we will see some movement by finally in the next week or two.
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And, boy oh boy, was that missing from this past season!
 



Gophers7633 said:
I'd actually be pretty happy with Honor and Spencer if we landed both. Larson is an easy pass for me.

PG: Honor
SG: Spencer
SF: Battle
PF: Fox
C: Thompson

Fill in the incoming FR behind them. If the FR are decent we should have some solid depth. I'd also like to have another big, unless it's a player like Daniels or Ogele. Then just give me another player that's better caliber.
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Thompson and Fox would likely never start together. Thompson will likely not play ahead of Payne, and I don't see Fox playing ahead of Ihnen. Fox will play and see him being really good defensively and rebounding, but he struggles as a shooter. That can always improve.
 
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Tucker32 said:
Thompson and Fox would never start together, and Thompson will not play ahead of Payne and Fox will not play ahead of Ihnen. Fox will be good for minutes playing defense and rebounding, but he can’t shoot at all.
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Eric Curry was a 17% career 3 point shooter. Parker Fox was at 30% for his career at Northern State. Not that I ever really wanted Curry shooting jumpers, but this makes me think Fox would be as good if not better. Yes, I realize there is a difference in opponent skill level, so no need to point that out :)
 


Tucker32 said:
Thompson and Fox would never start together, and Thompson will not play ahead of Payne and Fox will not play ahead of Ihnen. Fox will be good for minutes playing defense and rebounding, but he can’t shoot at all.
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I've never seen Fox or Payne play. Was just trying to project out. I think Thompson has potential. Honestly reminds me alot of Robbins if he can get stronger and play more physical. If he can't, then maybe he's only good for minutes off the bench. If Payne does start, I'll take that as a sign that he's pretty good.

Hopefully Ihnen had improved. I wasn't all that impressed with him thus far.
 



cjbfbp said:
Again, with regard to Thompson, I don't think that is a one-year transition. I never care about future years; only the present. Ihnen already has shown that he was better inside than outside. You could see that he was usually thinking about what to do next when he played out on the wing and often ended up either jacking up a missed three or passing off because he did not have confidence in his ball handling abilities. When he played inside, he tended just to react and his reactions were pretty quick. You want to place a player in a position where he reacts quickly and plays without thinking too much.
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With the new staff Ihnen will be primarly on the perimeter - they will play four out, one in, often all five interchangeable. How he looked under Pitino is a reflection of Pitino more than anything. He was looking really good with new staff, they are extremely high on him.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
Eric Curry was a 17% career 3 point shooter. Parker Fox was at 30% for his career at Northern State. Not that I ever really wanted Curry shooting jumpers, but this makes me think Fox would be as good if not better. Yes, I realize there is a difference in opponent skill level, so no need to point that out :)
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Not comparing him to Curry. Why are you doing that? Who cares how Curry shot the ball. Fox is not a real good shooter, although he ca always improve it.
 

Tucker32 said:
Not comparing him to Curry. Why are you doing that? Who cares how Curry shot the ball. Fox is not a real good shooter, although he ca always improve it.
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Comparing him to Curry because I think Fox is more of a 5 than anyone else on our team will be, besides Payne. Saying Fox will be good for defense and rebounding is the same role Curry was in. So my point was that if Fox can defend and rebound as good/ better than Curry, it will be a step forward. I'm not saying Fox is where we want to be with our 5 spot but it will be an upgrade over Curry.
 

Ihnen and Thompson, both would rather play on the perimeter. If a coach is going to make them play inside he better be pretty persuasive. Inside on defense, outside on offense or some form of tradeoff. Making either guy into a banger would be impressive, no doubt.
I think they both need to be encouraged to shoot threes to be comfortable and to utilize their strengths.
 

We've heard now that we're a finalist for both Honor and Isaiah Thompson. To my knowledge, we haven't heard from Larson but the presumption is that he's a likely point guard recruit.
None of these three would seem to be big impact players on paper but the good thing is that all three are realistic choices.

Thompson is an interesting player. He doesn't appear to have been widely recruited coming out of high school with only two offers from in-state programs (Purdue and Butler), albeit both good programs. His advanced stats from his Purdue career are not impressive but he's played a lot in a backup role (not just garbage minutes) over his three years with a very good program. He's a very good three point shooter and free throw shooter. Minnesota could be an appealing location for him. He has the possibility of increasing his minutes significantly while still playing in a high level conference and getting significant exposure.
 

60's Guy said:
Ihnen and Thompson, both would rather play on the perimeter.
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I'm not sure we know that with Ihnen. Pitino placed him in the wing often but he was miscast there. He performed much better when playing inside.
 

Tucker32 said:
With the new staff Ihnen will be primarly on the perimeter - they will play four out, one in, often all five interchangeable.
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Do you have inside information? I'm not sure we can make a firm conclusion about how a Ben Johnson team will look based on only one year. We had a lousy front court and that pretty much dictated our lineup and style of play. If 2021-22 was the kind of team Ben Johnson wants, then we might as well fire him now.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
Comparing him to Curry because I think Fox is more of a 5 than anyone else on our team will be, besides Payne. Saying Fox will be good for defense and rebounding is the same role Curry was in. So my point was that if Fox can defend and rebound as good/ better than Curry, it will be a step forward. I'm not saying Fox is where we want to be with our 5 spot but it will be an upgrade over Curry.
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We are thinking similarly, especially how this staff will use a 5. Fox can guard multiple positions, and most bigs (with the exceptions of Kofi, but there are very few of those in college). So he's more flexible that way than Curry. Also, he'll put the ball on the floor better than Curry, but he doesn't shoot well so bigs will be able to play off him. Will be interesting to see how Fox does when smaller players switch off on him. That said, I think Payne will get a lot of time as well.
 

Gophers7633 said:
I've never seen Fox or Payne play. Was just trying to project out. I think Thompson has potential. Honestly reminds me alot of Robbins if he can get stronger and play more physical. If he can't, then maybe he's only good for minutes off the bench. If Payne does start, I'll take that as a sign that he's pretty good.

Hopefully Ihnen had improved. I wasn't all that impressed with him thus far.
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That’s what the coach is for. He will be better, he has the talent.
 

cjbfbp said:
I'm not sure we know that with Ihnen. Pitino placed him in the wing often but he was miscast there. He performed much better when playing inside.
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Ihnen came to Minnesota because Pitino said he'd give him a shot to play point guard like Coffey,
He liked the offensive freedom and didn't see himself as a post player.
That was his thinking in coming here. Maybe it has changed.
 


cjbfbp said:
We've heard now that we're a finalist for both Honor and Isaiah Thompson. To my knowledge, we haven't heard from Larson but the presumption is that he's a likely point guard recruit.
None of these three would seem to be big impact players on paper but the good thing is that all three are realistic choices.

Thompson is an interesting player. He doesn't appear to have been widely recruited coming out of high school with only two offers from in-state programs (Purdue and Butler), albeit both good programs. His advanced stats from his Purdue career are not impressive but he's played a lot in a backup role (not just garbage minutes) over his three years with a very good program. He's a very good three point shooter and free throw shooter. Minnesota could be an appealing location for him. He has the possibility of increasing his minutes significantly while still playing in a high level conference and getting significant exposure.
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Thompson would be interesting. Looks like 17-3 when he was in that starting lineup first half of the year.
 
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cjbfbp said:
We've heard now that we're a finalist for both Honor and Isaiah Thompson. To my knowledge, we haven't heard from Larson but the presumption is that he's a likely point guard recruit.
None of these three would seem to be big impact players on paper but the good thing is that all three are realistic choices.

Thompson is an interesting player. He doesn't appear to have been widely recruited coming out of high school with only two offers from in-state programs (Purdue and Butler), albeit both good programs. His advanced stats from his Purdue career are not impressive but he's played a lot in a backup role (not just garbage minutes) over his three years with a very good program. He's a very good three point shooter and free throw shooter. Minnesota could be an appealing location for him. He has the possibility of increasing his minutes significantly while still playing in a high level conference and getting significant exposure.
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Minnesota is not really after Larson. Checked in on him initially but haven't been pursuing hard and I think he ends up at another mid major.
 



Tucker32 said:
Thompson and Fox would never start together, and Thompson will not play ahead of Payne and Fox will not play ahead of Ihnen. Fox will be good for minutes playing defense and rebounding, but he can’t shoot at all.
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Been told right here on gh that Fox will perform nearly as well as Willis and Battle, iirc.
 


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