All Things 2014 Basketball Recruiting Thread

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bga1 said:
If something happens and there are injuries - Buggs or King would have to slide to the 3. Not ideal- but workable. They would end up playing a lot of zone defense.
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Unfortunately, our offense would also look like we are playing a zone, which is why we should hope it never happens.
 

Lofton really better be a player. I too am worried about the lack of guards/wings on the roster. It sucks that we won't even have a shot at Martin now.
 

jovs said:
Going into last season I'm sure Pitino would have stated that King and Osenieks are 4's and he wouldn't play either of them at the 5, things change, injuries happen, based on the makeup of the team I would be surprised if Buggs doesn't play the 3 a time or two during the season. I'm hoping he stays and competes for some playing time, Buggs has the ability to be a big time contributor and he still has three years of eligibility left.
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Maybe
 

MadtownGopher said:
Lofton really better be a player. I too am worried about the lack of guards/wings on the roster. It sucks that we won't even have a shot at Martin now.
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Yep. If he cannot play it is a terrible signing, not a bad one. We are sacrificing a much needed wing next season for him. His signing could potentially hurt us for three years. This is a very risky decision.

Although, I do believe it balances the classes out a little better. We don't want to have to replace 5 guys and 4 guys every few years. Ideally, we wouldn't want to replace 5 guys ever, unless they're NBA guys who got us to the promised land.
 


Jigga said:
It seems like i am the only poster who thinks Buggs and even king may be able to "spell" sometime at the 3...
granted, I know pitino's system is fast paced but, he slowed it down a few times this year when he needed too. because he didn't have the personel.

I think they are capable from what little I've seen of Buggs and I think King may work on his long range shot and help stretch the D.

But thats just my opinion and I think coach P would only do it out of nessecity.
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I am not claiming I am right, but you are right, I don't agree with you.
 

bga1 said:
If something happens and there are injuries - Buggs or King would have to slide to the 3. Not ideal- but workable. They would end up playing a lot of zone defense.
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My own opinion is that King (and maybe Buggs too if around and healthy) would be playing some time at the 3 anyway with the new players. King seems best suited to be a combo forward (maybe a 6th man); he would be especially suited to playing in the latter minutes of each half because of his free throw shooting.
 

Jigga said:
Yeah, I saw him play at the Pro-Am last summer.
Very athletic, long, and strong. I agree, hopefully he is working on his handle this off-season just in case we need him. idk about his jumper though.

King seems to have a solid mid-range jumper and he shot 33% from three last year, I think he has potential to spot up shoot from the SF spot.

Pitino likes his 3 gaurds though.
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He wants to play fast and attack. We are not going to play fast with either of those two at the three. I would pick King over Buggs at the three if I had to make a choice. Joey gets the game, he just is not that quick. Buggs is basically Rodney with 20% of the experience and less lateral quicks.
 

If Buggs became a legit 3/4, I'd be more ok with the Lofton signing...

PG-Mathieu, Dre, Mason
SG-Dre, McNeil, Mason [Lofton]
SF-Morris, McNeil, Buggs
PF-King, Martin, Buggs, Gaston
C-Mo, EE, Konate

At least we won't have to worry about our big guys getting in foul trouble as much as we did last year. Let EE go balls to the wall for 15 minutes and rack up his 5 fouls.
 




SelectionSunday said:
Still think Macura is the guy we're really gonna' regret whiffing on. He's a perfect fit for what the Gophers need next season, a wing that can put the ball in the hole.
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We did not whiff, he did not want to play here for whatever reason. Give it up, Pitino gave him every chance, but he was leaving the state. It is no one's fault, it is not a tragedy that should not have happened. It is what JP wanted.
 

Jigga said:
Yeah, I saw him play at the Pro-Am last summer.
Very athletic, long, and strong. I agree, hopefully he is working on his handle this off-season just in case we need him. idk about his jumper though.

King seems to have a solid mid-range jumper and he shot 33% from three last year, I think he has potential to spot up shoot from the SF spot.

Pitino likes his 3 gaurds though.
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He probably does prefer a 3 guard lineup, but he'll have to carve out an effective lineup from the players he has. I would also say that he didn't appear to have much choice last year. For most of the year, he had only two players beyond the centers with size and he wasn't willing to put both centers in the game at the same time.

I don't agree with those who say King is unsuited to play a small forward role. There may be some concerns there (perhaps primarily on the defensive end), but someone who averaged 2.7 rebounds a game certainly isn't ideal at the four either.
 

MadtownGopher said:
It sucks that we won't even have a shot at Martin now.
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Things that have been said on this site and by other knowledgeable basketball people all suggest that if a guy like Martin wanted to come here, it will happen.
There could be guys that don't qualify, or other ways the roster could still be in flux. One transfer possibility has been mentioned multiple times here, and doesn't seem to be just a wild guess.

W/r/t our possibility of getting Justin Martin, a relevant signal in my opinion is whether we pursue a waiver for Lofton.
 



MadtownGopher said:
What makes you say that? If he was interested in coming here he would have came here. Minnesota wasn't the right fit for him, just like the other guys. I don't see the difference.
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I think JP was actually less interested in coming here than either Vaughn or Travis were. The other all had great options well before their senior year and we were still players in their recruitment. JP never had great options but still was never really interested.
 

Let's not forget that Gaston hasn't signed yet. Does anyone know what the hold up is? Maybe his scholly is dependent on Martin not being able to come here or not choosing us.
 

If King or Buggs are Power Forwards then my grandma is an NFL Olineman. They're both basically the third/fourth guards on the floor.

We can't think in terms of a 1-5 system, because that's not we really run.
 

CrocShots said:
If King or Buggs are Power Forwards then my grandma is an NFL Olineman. They're both basically the third/fourth guards on the floor.

We can't think in terms of a 1-5 system, because that's not we really run.
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Your Grandma must be huge because that's exactly what King was last year.
 

CrocShots said:
If King or Buggs are Power Forwards then my grandma is an NFL Olineman. They're both basically the third/fourth guards on the floor.

We can't think in terms of a 1-5 system, because that's not we really run.
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Then I hope your grandma has a nice successful career in the NFL because King and Buggs are definitely not guards and they will continue to play the 4 spot.
 

CrocShots said:
If King or Buggs are Power Forwards then my grandma is an NFL Olineman. They're both basically the third/fourth guards on the floor.

We can't think in terms of a 1-5 system, because that's not we really run.
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Can't really think in a 1-5 system? How so? EE is 6-11, King is 6-9. Given their height and mobility, they are no where near a guard type player. Not really sure what you're trying to say. We had 1-5 in at once probably 80% of the time last season.
 

Goldy Gopher said:
Then I hope your grandma has a nice successful career in the NFL because King and Buggs are definitely not guards and they will continue to play the 4 spot.
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Well, we'll see. One thing that you have in common with the rest of us is that you can't predict the future. (Oh, sure, you might get lucky sometimes but I'm guessing that you always forget about the times when you were wrong).

I agree that they aren't guards, but neither of them appears to have the mindset (or certain other qualities) of a true power forward either. Pitino needed King to make that transformation last year due to lack of a better alternative but I would say that the transformation was far from complete.
 

Hey so I think I must have missed something but can anyone tell me the djuan piper status?
 


MadtownGopher said:
Lofton really better be a player. I too am worried about the lack of guards/wings on the roster. It sucks that we won't even have a shot at Martin now.
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Konate and Gaston haven't signed yet, could be a game of musical chairs, I think only all three come if we strike out on Martin, which as far as we know he hasn't indicated he wants to come here, i know Pitino and him have a past, but this isn't Louisville
 

bemidjigopher said:
Konate and Gaston haven't signed yet, could be a game of musical chairs, I think only all three come if we strike out on Martin, which as far as we know he hasn't indicated he wants to come here, i know Pitino and him have a past, but this isn't Louisville
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That may be true but my preferred scenario is Martin, Gaston, and Konate, which is no longer in the cards.

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MadtownGopher said:
That may be true but my preferred scenario is Martin, Gaston, and Konate, which is no longer in the cards.

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I'd rather have Lofton than Gaston. Looking at our roster for 2015, we need someone who can score. Obviously we will be adding other players, but I'm glad we grabbed Lofton.
 

BballJones said:
I'd rather have Lofton than Gaston. Looking at our roster for 2015, we need someone who can score. Obviously we will be adding other players, but I'm glad we grabbed Lofton.
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I don't think it's clear if Lofton can be an efficient scorer. So far he seems like a volume scorer. Gaston, physically, has a ton of upside. Plus, he can play next year and contribute for 4 years.

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MadtownGopher said:
I don't think it's clear if Lofton can be an efficient scorer. So far he seems like a volume scorer. Gaston, physically, has a ton of upside. Plus, he can play next year and contribute for 4 years.

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It's not that I don't like Gaston, but we are going to be very young (at least experience-wise). From what I've seen, Lofton can create his own shot and is a big physical guard. I understand your concern with him, but I believe he's going to be pretty effective.
 

BballJones said:
It's not that I don't like Gaston, but we are going to be very young (at least experience-wise). From what I've seen, Lofton can create his own shot and is a big physical guard. I understand your concern with him, but I believe he's going to be pretty effective.
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After reading a few of Lofton's interviews- here and elsewhere, I am now getting excited about him based on his sheer desire to perform as a Gopher. Kid is about as excited as you can be and is pumped to get better. I am drinking the kool aide.
 

cjbfbp said:
Well, we'll see. One thing that you have in common with the rest of us is that you can't predict the future. (Oh, sure, you might get lucky sometimes but I'm guessing that you always forget about the times when you were wrong).

I agree that they aren't guards, but neither of them appears to have the mindset (or certain other qualities) of a true power forward either. Pitino needed King to make that transformation last year due to lack of a better alternative but I would say that the transformation was far from complete.
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I would almost say both probably aren't true traditional 4s but they are more the stretch 4 type. While Buggs looks like he could possibly play some 3 at ties just because of his athleticism I don't think Pitino wants him trying to learn 2 different positions when it has been said that the mental part of the game was part of the reason he didn't get on the floor more this year. As for King he can step out and shoot the 3 but I don't believe he has the athleticism to play defensively at the 3 or the type of dribbling ability Pitino wants from his 3 spot.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I don't think it's clear if Lofton can be an efficient scorer. So far he seems like a volume scorer. Gaston, physically, has a ton of upside. Plus, he can play next year and contribute for 4 years.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
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If you look at his junior college stats, he was far more efficient his freshman year than he was during his soph year at ISU. Some of that undoubtedly might be due to higher level of competition with tougher defense and more of a half court environment. Still, sometimes these off years happen. Iowa's Josh Oglesby came to that program with a reputation as a great shooter but he was horrible as a soph. As a junior, his shooting made a miraculous recovery.
 

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