I appreciate the hope that you have for J. Johnson but from my understanding he has a degenerative condition that is not curable. This means that as he gets older it gets worse. There is no getting better from it. If he was ineligible to play as a freshman he would be for sure ineligible to play now. Its sad but it's the way it is. There is no coming back from it.
All Things 2018 Gophers Basketball Recruiting Thread
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I appreciate the hope that you have for J. Johnson but from my understanding he has a degenerative condition that is not curable. This means that as he gets older it gets worse. There is no getting better from it. If he was ineligible to play as a freshman he would be for sure ineligible to play now. Its sad but it's the way it is. There is no coming back from it.
JimmyJamesMD
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Brand new practice facility coming, top 15 ranking, and we are losing marginal recruits to Seton Hall? Ouch.
Agreed - any way you slice it these past few months have been discouraging from a recruiting standpoint. Obviously Tre was an extreme long shot from the get go - but to miss out on Hunter, Johnson, and Nelson now just feels downright insulting... I agree with earlier post that the Spring commit from Oturu made it feel like all the momentum was on our side coming off of a solid season and with new facilities coming in. Hopefully the worm will turn.
TruthSeeker
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I am somewhat worried that we weren't able to land one more good recruit during this fall period. However, it should be possible to land one good recruit in the spring.
WriterGoph
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I agree with the earlier poster (I think EG9?) who said that maybe these guards aren't feeling the idea of playing behind Washington for 3 years. Personally, I'm not too worried about recruiting. Things will work themselves out in the spring.
PS. Seton Hall is ranked in most preseason Top 25s and has put someone in the NBA much more recently than us (Whitehead). It's not like we lost a recruit to Rutgers or NDSU
JimmyJamesMD
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And I like all three of our recruits. Also, it was debatable if we should even have offered Nelson. But we did, and we lost to SH.
Maybe next year is the year we land some top recruits. Hopefully we have a great season and it pays off for recruiting.
Absolutely - no complaints about the 3 we have committed, especially with ready made chemistry from playing together growing up. I'm hopeful there will be a solid recruit that surfaces in the spring, but of course it's always nice to get class solidified in the fall. To me Hunter was the big miss - others were incidentals. Oh well, just win baby.
WriterGoph
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You're joking, right? Top recruits?!
2016 - Coffey was consensus Top 40-50.
2017 - Washington was consensus Top 70.
2018 - Oturu is consensus Top 50-60.
Looks like we've consistently been getting "top recruits" for the past three classes. Or did you mean something else by saying "top recruits"?
I think, and maybe this is the benefit of the doubt, that JimmyJames meant that next year we can get some *more* top recruits.
GopherPlaya
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Honest question, is our class really that great after missing out on Tre & other top PGs? Oturu was a big get but Gabe & Jarvis are specialty players that benefited from playing with Tre (a pg that can create and draw attention). I know every one is excited because we kept in state talent around, but I still think we are over-hyping this class.
gopherguy15
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It doesn't really bother me at all that we missed out on Nelson, knowing that we already have Oturu, Thomas, and Gabe. Let's go out and get a big-time grad transfer in the spring... and let's hope Coffee stays for his Junior year...
dpodoll68
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We have a consensus top-25 recruiting class for what has been historically nowhere near a top-25 program, so it feels like the appropriate amount of "hype".
I can’t help but agree. We need a point guard in the spring. Gabe is a local kid, he can shoot some...can he defend elite athletes? Losing Nelson is disappointing to me...much preferred him over Hunter.
Find another point guard to go with Washington. Get Curry healthy. Blend in the four other new guys to go with a point guard and it’s a pretty flexible impressive roster again next year.
Will we still have a consensus top 25 class when all the recruits have landed (assuming we don't get another one?). For comparison Coffey (#49) Curry (#114) and Hurt (#217) were a 30th ranked class in 2016 while now we have Orturu (#51), Thomas (#158) Kalscheur (#184). Numbers are from 247 composite rankings.
Thats not to say it's not good to be #30 but without any other recruit I say we'll end up right about there again.
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I agree, this class started so promising but effort to finish it has turned into a sh*tshow. Can’t help but wonder (in light of the FBI revelations, etc) if we are still playing by different rules than the competition.
Race Thompson reclassified to go to Indiana, Tre swears he’s taking his OV here but then commits a few weeks beforehand, Hunter swears he’s taking his OV but commits 3 days beforehand, Johnson cuts us from his list 2 days after visiting, and then we can’t beat the group of Seton Hall and Dayton for a guy in the 200’s. Probably more that I’m missing.
Hope we don’t regret not offering that scholarship to Hedstrom. Since he’s not getting a scholarship his first year, I wonder if he doesn’t sign the LOI this fall so we could maybe reevaluate after his sr year and possibly flip him if we still have the scholarship open.
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This seems like quite the overreaction. A "sh*tshow"? Boy, sure sucks to land the players we already have... what?
FBI revelations? talk about jumping to conclusions.
Perhaps Race just preferred Indiana? Tre was always a Dookie. Hunter and Nelson have opportunities to start more quickly instead of backing up Washington, so that was probably the biggest factor.
Hedstrom... not into it. There are always viable transfer options at guard if need be. I'd much rather have a backup PG as a grad transfer who can have some experience and jump in immediately.
I think people should calm down about this recruiting class. It's good thus far, and there's still a lot of time to round it out. We could be in Wisconsin's shoes right now...... sheesh.
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WanderingGopher has a wandering mind
GopherNuts
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Easy to say now with the shortcomings in PG recruiting but adding a grad transfer PG probably bodes better for the 18-19 team than another freshman would if you aren't getting a truly elite one. We've been a bit spoiled with Mason as he's been steady from the jump. Washington's more of a risk taker and probably could do with more of a veteran presence in the backcourt as a sophomore. In 19-20 having the steady presence of an upperclassman and a freshman PG that you can groom behind him sets things up well for the future and gets you in a cycle of always having a veteran presence at that position.
I know people are down because we've missed on some targets but there's a lot to be excited about with this class. As Jarvis Thomas fills out physically he has every chance to be the impact guy that Jordan Murphy has been in his Gopher career. He's shown he has the physicality, the motor and skill to be that type of player and he in all likelihood won't have the chance to start until he's a senior. Gabe was one of the better shooters on a strong EYBL circuit and showed he could defend some of the better guards in his age group. The group of Oturu, Murphy, Curry and Stockman should form one of the better front courts in the conference next year. Think about the potential of an Oturu-Curry front court down the road. This is a strong class and sets us up well for the future.
I know people are down because we've missed on some targets but there's a lot to be excited about with this class. As Jarvis Thomas fills out physically he has every chance to be the impact guy that Jordan Murphy has been in his Gopher career. He's shown he has the physicality, the motor and skill to be that type of player and he in all likelihood won't have the chance to start until he's a senior. Gabe was one of the better shooters on a strong EYBL circuit and showed he could defend some of the better guards in his age group. The group of Oturu, Murphy, Curry and Stockman should form one of the better front courts in the conference next year. Think about the potential of an Oturu-Curry front court down the road. This is a strong class and sets us up well for the future.
With a PG as good as IW on the roster, what are the chances of a grad transfer PG coming here? I like the idea of a veteran on paper, I'm just not sure it's all that realistic. Juco would seem a more realistic possibility to me. Count me disappointed we missed out on two guards, but neither were program changers. They were the kind of guys that keep solid teams solid, but don't lift them to the next level. I hope Pitino and Co. will be able to recruit a nice balance of solid guys and hopefully a program changer or two. FWIW, I think Coffey was a program changer. Oturo could be too. Hurt definitely is as well.
GopherNuts
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If the Gophers play up to expectations this season the chances have to be pretty good. Why did Jaaron Simmons grad transfer to Michigan? Xavier Simpson came in as highly touted as Washington is now. Mark Smith turned down offers from Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State to go to Illinois yet Mark Alstork who plays the same position landed there. Grad transfers want to win. It's why Akeem came here because even if he had to sacrifice playing time he had a chance to be playing in March. Even if it's not a grad transfer we have to trust Pitino's eye for talent when you look at what Mason was from day 1.
bemidjigopher
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If you can promise a grad or JUCO combo guard a decent amount of PT you always have a shot
WanderingGopher
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Combo guard seems more likely, esp as a grad transfer.
Also, fwiw, reading comprehension seems a bit spotty on GH today. Cheers.
I'm not a fan of taking a guy just to fill a scholarship, unless it's entirely necessary. Some NFL GM had a quote about most of his best moves were in the players he didn't draft/sign. Not that Nelson won't be a solid player, but If I would have told you last July that we missed out on him, nobody would have thought twice about it. I would've loved to miss out on Josh Martin, Carlos Morris, Gaston, about 8 guys from Tubby's time, etc. Far from a S...show.
bemidjigopher
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To be fair Carlos singe handedly won us that game in East Lansing. Had him and Joey King been scorers off the bench we would have better memories of them. That's my hope Fitz if he can just be what Joey King should have been for us will be fine playing him 15 minutes a night. As for this class, either round it out with a JUCO or transfer combo Guard or bank the scholly
Are we still in the middle of an effort to balance out our classes? I know pitino has had his hands full for a few years with this, but 3 players seems like a reasonably full class to me. How many scholarships are open for 2019?
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Winasota Gopher
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A mid major stud pg will absolutely grad transfer to play 15-20 minutes on a team that is almost guaranteed time in the tournament and on tv every game.
