All Things 2018 Gophers Basketball Recruiting Thread

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Anthony Nelson looks very smooth as well. Im surprised he hasn't been rated by any of the services, he looks like he really has some game. Very quick off the dribble
 

SM_25 said:
Anthony Nelson looks very smooth as well. Im surprised he hasn't been rated by any of the services, he looks like he really has some game. Very quick off the dribble
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I'm guessing Nelson isn't rated because it appears he is a prep school kid and went to South Kent for an additional year to improve offers and/or test scores. Every time I've seen South Kent mentioned, it's as a prep school.

To summarize where we are at:

Hunter is the only one with a scheduled official visit to the U - the weekend of the Maryland football game. He has already taken officials to Purdue, Xavier and Ohio State. If he moved the OSU official to replace Xavier last weekend, it sounds like he has been to Xavier a number of times previously.

Nelson has visits with Seton Hall and Dayton the next two weekends, but nothing else listed yet.

Keynotae Johnson visited Wichita State this past weekend and will visit Georgia Tech on Oct 6.

Pitino has done in-homes with all three players in the last week.

I highly doubt they would schedule to bring Johnson or any other 2018 player in the same weekend as Hunter, since in effect both players would be for the same final recruiting spot.
 

I've started to get more onboard with Nelson though I am a bit bigger fan of Hunter but would be fine with either. Would much prefer either of them to Johnson.
 

WriterGoph said:
I'm guessing Nelson isn't rated because it appears he is a prep school kid and went to South Kent for an additional year to improve offers and/or test scores. Every time I've seen South Kent mentioned, it's as a prep school.

To summarize where we are at:

Hunter is the only one with a scheduled official visit to the U - the weekend of the Maryland football game. He has already taken officials to Purdue, Xavier and Ohio State. If he moved the OSU official to replace Xavier last weekend, it sounds like he has been to Xavier a number of times previously.

Nelson has visits with Seton Hall and Dayton the next two weekends, but nothing else listed yet.

Keynotae Johnson visited Wichita State this past weekend and will visit Georgia Tech on Oct 6.

Pitino has done in-homes with all three players in the last week.

I highly doubt they would schedule to bring Johnson or any other 2018 player in the same weekend as Hunter, since in effect both players would be for the same final recruiting spot.
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For what it's worth, outside of his canceled official visit, 247 suggests Hunter has never visited Xavier, unless he visited Xavier the same weekend he visited Ohio State. Ryan James says we're trying to get Keyontae Johnson in for an official visit in early October.
 

Cayman said:
For what it's worth, outside of his canceled official visit, 247 suggests Hunter has never visited Xavier, unless he visited Xavier the same weekend he visited Ohio State. Ryan James says we're trying to get Keyontae Johnson in for an official visit in early October.
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Maybe I got Butler mixed up with Xavier on Hunter. But interestingly, 247 shows Hunter visiting Xavier the day before OSU as far as dates go. Does anyone know if he definitely canceled Xavier or if he just hit both in the same weekend?

As far as Johnson potentially visiting in October, I have to think it's Hunter's scholarship if he wants to commit soon after his visit. But if we are able to get Johnson to come a couple weeks later, that is not a bad backup plan at all - plus, the pending visit will add a bit of pressure for Hunter to make a decision.
 



JimmyJamesMD said:
I'm ok with Johnson if talent is too much to pass up.
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Hunter would certainly be ideal because we could use another ballhandler. But if we don't get Hunter, I would still rather get Johnson over Nelson. And not because Nelson is a bad option, but because Johnson appears to be very very talented.
 

How do you suppose the conversations at these home visits go where there are three recruits and one spot? Is Patino telling each one that whoever commits first gets the spot, or is it him wanting "X" and telling the other two that if "X" doesn't commit soon then the spot is open for you? I've got to think it's the former versus the later, which basically means that we'll take whoever commits first. I'd just like to be a fly-on-the-wall on those home visits...
 

Livingat45north said:
How do you suppose the conversations at these home visits go where there are three recruits and one spot? Is Patino telling each one that whoever commits first gets the spot, or is it him wanting "X" and telling the other two that if "X" doesn't commit soon then the spot is open for you? I've got to think it's the former versus the later, which basically means that we'll take whoever commits first. I'd just like to be a fly-on-the-wall on those home visits...
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It's easy from Pitino's side. He tells each one how great they are and how much he wants them....omitting the scholarship discussion. The question is, what is Pitino's answer when the recruit says, "Coach, I have decided I want to be a Gopher" or "Coach, IF I decide tomorrow or next week I want to be a Gopher do you have a scholarship for me?" Those are the answers from a coach that tell you where you stand. Those discussions don't come up unless the player asks, with most all coaches.
 



WriterGoph said:
I'm guessing Nelson isn't rated because it appears he is a prep school kid and went to South Kent for an additional year to improve offers and/or test scores. Every time I've seen South Kent mentioned, it's as a prep school.

To summarize where we are at:

Hunter is the only one with a scheduled official visit to the U - the weekend of the Maryland football game. He has already taken officials to Purdue, Xavier and Ohio State. If he moved the OSU official to replace Xavier last weekend, it sounds like he has been to Xavier a number of times previously.

Nelson has visits with Seton Hall and Dayton the next two weekends, but nothing else listed yet.

Keynotae Johnson visited Wichita State this past weekend and will visit Georgia Tech on Oct 6.

Pitino has done in-homes with all three players in the last week.

I highly doubt they would schedule to bring Johnson or any other 2018 player in the same weekend as Hunter, since in effect both players would be for the same final recruiting spot.
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Ahh that makes sense now. I automatically assumed he was a high school kid and didn't put much thought into it. I'd be happy with any of the three, but Hunter has to be the one everyone is hoping we can land. With Dupree going to be a senior next year it would be nice having a player ready to step up and fill his role. I envision Hunter being in the role that McBrayer was in last year, and then stepping up for a big time role as a sophomore.
 

die hard gopher said:
I'd rather have a legitimate backup PG in 18-19 than do what we did this year with Dupree. We saw what happened when Springs went down and I'm not sold that Jamir or Coffey can play point yet. It's nice to have a 10 man rotation and a 4 guard rotation instead of 3.
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I was gonna fire back and debate further but after I lay it out you make a good point. It does scare me though that we would not have taken a wing for 2 classes, as I don't think Hurt will ever be starter material. I may get crap for that take as I know he was just a freshman but I dont think we saw any signs that he will be significant much past a small role eating minutes.

I think I would rather take a wing and then follow it up with a PG the following year to get more balance on the roster year to year, but either way I'm not going to be too concerned.

'18-'19

1: Jelly SO (FR recruit)
2: Dupree SR/Coffey JR, Jamir Harris SO, Kalscheur FR
3: Coffey JR/Fitzgerald SR, Mike Hurt JR (FR recruit)
4: Murphy SR/Fitzgerald SR, Curry JR, Jarvis Thomas FR
5: Curry JR/Stockman SR, Oturu FR
 

MinnGopher said:
I was gonna fire back and debate further but after I lay it out you make a good point. It does scare me though that we would not have taken a wing for 2 classes, as I don't think Hurt will ever be starter material. I may get crap for that take as I know he was just a freshman but I dont think we saw any signs that he will be significant much past a small role eating minutes.

I think I would rather take a wing and then follow it up with a PG the following year to get more balance on the roster year to year, but either way I'm not going to be too concerned.

'18-'19

1: Jelly SO (FR recruit)
2: Dupree SR/Coffey JR, Jamir Harris SO, Kalscheur FR
3: Coffey JR/Fitzgerald SR, Mike Hurt JR (FR recruit)
4: Murphy SR/Fitzgerald SR, Curry JR, Jarvis Thomas FR
5: Curry JR/Stockman SR, Oturu FR
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I'm on the same page as you. Just not crazy about taking a point guard for the sake of depth. I'd rather bank the scholly and see if we can add a grad transfer or late bloomer if we can't land Hunter or Johnson. Mason was a bit under recruited the way Nelson is but you saw the ceiling of his game with the range he had even back then. I just don't see that with Nelson. Gotta trust Pitino's eye though as he's hit on guys who've landed here and some who haven't.
 




watertown 1987 guy n said:
Curry will be a SO next year. I assume he will get the medical redshirt his year.
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He doesn't need a hardship waiver because he will not have played in any games for the 17-18 season, so he can just take a regular red shirt.
 

MinnGopher said:
I was gonna fire back and debate further but after I lay it out you make a good point. It does scare me though that we would not have taken a wing for 2 classes, as I don't think Hurt will ever be starter material. I may get crap for that take as I know he was just a freshman but I dont think we saw any signs that he will be significant much past a small role eating minutes.

I think I would rather take a wing and then follow it up with a PG the following year to get more balance on the roster year to year, but either way I'm not going to be too concerned.

'18-'19

1: Jelly SO (FR recruit)
2: Dupree SR/Coffey JR, Jamir Harris SO, Kalscheur FR
3: Coffey JR/Fitzgerald SR, Mike Hurt JR (FR recruit)
4: Murphy SR/Fitzgerald SR, Curry JR, Jarvis Thomas FR
5: Curry JR/Stockman SR, Oturu FR
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In which class have we not signed a wing?

Dupree in '15
Coffey/Hurt in '16
Harris in '17
Gabe in '18...?
 

go_gophers said:
In which class have we not signed a wing?

Dupree in '15
Coffey/Hurt in '16
Harris in '17
Gabe in '18...?
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I believe he is referring to a SF. Coffey/Hurt obviously pass as a SF/3 but past that, we have a surplus of 2 guards in Dupree/Harris/Kalscheur('18) that, IMO, don't necessarily pass as "wings" at a high level program. Say Coffee has a monster year and leaves for the draft (this would suck in the long-term but all the power to him), we would be stuck with an unfortunate option at our SF position for '18.
 

gray4heisman said:
I believe he is referring to a SF. Coffey/Hurt obviously pass as a SF/3 but past that, we have a surplus of 2 guards in Dupree/Harris/Kalscheur('18) that, IMO, don't necessarily pass as "wings" at a high level program. Say Coffee has a monster year and leaves for the draft (this would suck in the long-term but all the power to him), we would be stuck with an unfortunate option at our SF position for '18.
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I understand the worry about Coffey going pro early but in so far as 2018 is concerned we would really only have 1 PG (Harris and McBrayer bing more SG) while I believe that Fitz was originally thought of as more of a Big 3 small 4 type player and Rumors have been that he is a decent shooter. Time will tell but he might end up being a Super Sub on that team between the 3/4 knowing we have a lot of 4/5 depth in 2018. Point being that an extra Ball handler in 2018 is needed and we just need to recruit great wings(4/5 star) in 2019.
 

I looked at 5 mock drafts for 2018. None mention Coffey at any point. I don't think he is going to the NBA after his sophomore year unless he has vastly improved his overall game.

I really like Coffey but to plan that he is leaving is foolish
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
I looked at 5 mock drafts for 2018. None mention Coffey at any point. I don't think he is going to the NBA after his sophomore year unless he has vastly improved his overall game.

I really like Coffey but to plan that he is leaving is foolish
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My sentiments exactly. This isn't to say we shouldn't be targeting wings, but I don't think there is reasonable concern Coffey will be gone after next year. His game reminds me of Tayshaun Prince without the size. Simply doesn't have the ball handling / quickness on the perimeter at this point to be a legit NBA wing prospect.
 

Either Hunter or Johnson would be a solid borderline top 100 player to end a great class.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I looked at 5 mock drafts for 2018. None mention Coffey at any point. I don't think he is going to the NBA after his sophomore year unless he has vastly improved his overall game.

I really like Coffey but to plan that he is leaving is foolish
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I said "Say Coffey has a monster year..." just giving an example of a situation that we would have no viable starting SF for 2018. But I agree, I still think he will be an extremely good 4 year player for us. Not sure why I entered the SF debate when I am on the side of getting one of the guards. Carry on...
 

I don't know if this has been mentioned on any of the premium boards (not a member), but I assume from reading the tea leaves with his recruitment that Haliburton couldn't commit to Minnesota if he wanted to. It seems like we wanted Haliburton to visit on the Keyontae Johnson timeline (October) as a backup plan to Hunter and possibly/probably even Nelson. The fact that we were not eager to schedule that earlier visit with Haliburtion suggests to me that the staff feels like they still have a very good shot at landing Hunter.

I was intrigued by Haliburton from the little I was able to see of him as he was one of the better passers I have seen among the numerous recruit YouTube style videos I've watched. He seems like a guy who has a lot of room for growth in more ways than one as he's grown physically quite a bit in the past year and his game will likely evolve as he the growth spurt slows down and he can get used to his body. My biggest concerns with him were that his outside shot looks like it needs to be completely revamped (almost a push shot and very slow release with little lift) and whether or not he could really handle the ball at the high major level...he was rarely if ever defended by guys who will be defending the perimeter at the high major level in the clips I watched.

I personally preferred Haliburton to Nelson though and I disagree with the poster who said that Nelson might not be ranked because he's at South Kent. That is a prep school, but Anthony played there last year too so he's not the one year at prep school type. Probably more importantly, Anthony played n the EYBL this season so he's clearly not a secret (and playing at South Kent would get you more attention than the average high school as well). He doesn't get much lift/explosion going to the basket and I remember thinking he looked injured in a couple of the videos I watched due to the way he moved/jumped. I do like that West Virginia is also recruiting him though because Huggins almost exclusively recruits tough kids.

Keyontae Johnson's recruitment is interesting. He certainly seemed like a priority for the Gophers (first out of state kid that Pitino personally went to see play this Spring), but over time it seemed like interest faded on his side (my speculation) and he received offers from Kansas, NC State, and Ohio State since late July. At some point this offseason he decided to change high schools (going from someplace in Florida to Oak Hill) and then scheduled official visits to Wichita State and Georgia Tech. Not to knock those schools, but it seemed like Keyontae was going to end up at higher profile program (I know Wichita State has had tourney success) and now the Gophers are back in on him and he'd be a nice consolation prize if we don't land Hunter.
 

EG#9 said:
I don't know if this has been mentioned on any of the premium boards (not a member), but I assume from reading the tea leaves with his recruitment that Haliburton couldn't commit to Minnesota if he wanted to. It seems like we wanted Haliburton to visit on the Keyontae Johnson timeline (October) as a backup plan to Hunter and possibly/probably even Nelson. The fact that we were not eager to schedule that earlier visit with Haliburtion suggests to me that the staff feels like they still have a very good shot at landing Hunter.

I was intrigued by Haliburton from the little I was able to see of him as he was one of the better passers I have seen among the numerous recruit YouTube style videos I've watched. He seems like a guy who has a lot of room for growth in more ways than one as he's grown physically quite a bit in the past year and his game will likely evolve as he the growth spurt slows down and he can get used to his body. My biggest concerns with him were that his outside shot looks like it needs to be completely revamped (almost a push shot and very slow release with little lift) and whether or not he could really handle the ball at the high major level...he was rarely if ever defended by guys who will be defending the perimeter at the high major level in the clips I watched.

I personally preferred Haliburton to Nelson though and I disagree with the poster who said that Nelson might not be ranked because he's at South Kent. That is a prep school, but Anthony played there last year too so he's not the one year at prep school type. Probably more importantly, Anthony played n the EYBL this season so he's clearly not a secret (and playing at South Kent would get you more attention than the average high school as well). He doesn't get much lift/explosion going to the basket and I remember thinking he looked injured in a couple of the videos I watched due to the way he moved/jumped. I do like that West Virginia is also recruiting him though because Huggins almost exclusively recruits tough kids.

Keyontae Johnson's recruitment is interesting. He certainly seemed like a priority for the Gophers (first out of state kid that Pitino personally went to see play this Spring), but over time it seemed like interest faded on his side (my speculation) and he received offers from Kansas, NC State, and Ohio State since late July. At some point this offseason he decided to change high schools (going from someplace in Florida to Oak Hill) and then scheduled official visits to Wichita State and Georgia Tech. Not to knock those schools, but it seemed like Keyontae was going to end up at higher profile program (I know Wichita State has had tourney success) and now the Gophers are back in on him and he'd be a nice consolation prize if we don't land Hunter.
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I only speculated that because often times prep school kids who take an extra year aren't included in that correlating high school class's rankings. But if he went there two years, then who knows? Odd that he would have all these offers and be totally unranked - unless he's a total late bloomer.
 

WriterGoph said:
I only speculated that because often times prep school kids who take an extra year aren't included in that correlating high school class's rankings. But if he went there two years, then who knows? Odd that he would have all these offers and be totally unranked - unless he's a total late bloomer.
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Like Charles Buggs! :clap:
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I looked at 5 mock drafts for 2018. None mention Coffey at any point. I don't think he is going to the NBA after his sophomore year unless he has vastly improved his overall game.

I really like Coffey but to plan that he is leaving is foolish
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I'm sure you can look at the 2017 draft and find players that were drafted, but weren't included in preseason mock drafts.

What's just as foolish as planning on him leaving, is planning on him not leaving based on totally useless information.
 

EG#9 said:
I don't know if this has been mentioned on any of the premium boards (not a member), but I assume from reading the tea leaves with his recruitment that Haliburton couldn't commit to Minnesota if he wanted to. It seems like we wanted Haliburton to visit on the Keyontae Johnson timeline (October) as a backup plan to Hunter and possibly/probably even Nelson. The fact that we were not eager to schedule that earlier visit with Haliburtion suggests to me that the staff feels like they still have a very good shot at landing Hunter.

I was intrigued by Haliburton from the little I was able to see of him as he was one of the better passers I have seen among the numerous recruit YouTube style videos I've watched. He seems like a guy who has a lot of room for growth in more ways than one as he's grown physically quite a bit in the past year and his game will likely evolve as he the growth spurt slows down and he can get used to his body. My biggest concerns with him were that his outside shot looks like it needs to be completely revamped (almost a push shot and very slow release with little lift) and whether or not he could really handle the ball at the high major level...he was rarely if ever defended by guys who will be defending the perimeter at the high major level in the clips I watched.

I personally preferred Haliburton to Nelson though and I disagree with the poster who said that Nelson might not be ranked because he's at South Kent. That is a prep school, but Anthony played there last year too so he's not the one year at prep school type. Probably more importantly, Anthony played n the EYBL this season so he's clearly not a secret (and playing at South Kent would get you more attention than the average high school as well). He doesn't get much lift/explosion going to the basket and I remember thinking he looked injured in a couple of the videos I watched due to the way he moved/jumped. I do like that West Virginia is also recruiting him though because Huggins almost exclusively recruits tough kids.

Keyontae Johnson's recruitment is interesting. He certainly seemed like a priority for the Gophers (first out of state kid that Pitino personally went to see play this Spring), but over time it seemed like interest faded on his side (my speculation) and he received offers from Kansas, NC State, and Ohio State since late July. At some point this offseason he decided to change high schools (going from someplace in Florida to Oak Hill) and then scheduled official visits to Wichita State and Georgia Tech. Not to knock those schools, but it seemed like Keyontae was going to end up at higher profile program (I know Wichita State has had tourney success) and now the Gophers are back in on him and he'd be a nice consolation prize if we don't land Hunter.
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I don't understand your point about Johnson. Are you saying he got offers from the bigger schools, but they didn't truly want him, hence why he only has visited the two other schools, making MN more appealing again?
 

Coffey will get looks and has a real chance to play in the NBA... But if it were to be after this season he would likely have to be a star during a deep NCAA Tournament run. I'd take that.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I don't understand your point about Johnson. Are you saying he got offers from the bigger schools, but they didn't truly want him, hence why he only has visited the two other schools, making MN more appealing again?
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He's probably saying that Johnson is to Kansas as Halibruton is to Minnesota.
 

Coffey

Do you mean he is one inch shorter than Tayshaun's 6-9? I am sure he is at least as heavy as Prince was at the same age. If you are talking reach or wingspan, Coffey's is good but it may not be quite as much as Prince's (7-2"). Other than that, I do agree that Coffey shouldn't entertain the NBA right now. Unless your a for sure first rounder it is too risky.



Holf said:
My sentiments exactly. This isn't to say we shouldn't be targeting wings, but I don't think there is reasonable concern Coffey will be gone after next year. His game reminds me of Tayshaun Prince without the size. Simply doesn't have the ball handling / quickness on the perimeter at this point to be a legit NBA wing prospect.
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