All Things 2018 Gophers Basketball Recruiting Thread

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EG#9 said:
This thread has become unbelievably depressing. The last two names in this thread? Are you serious?

Kingsby: Appears to have not even started for his Juco team (http://njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2017-18/div1/players/danyakingsbysncg). To put his 13.3 points per game in context, his team averaged 100.8 points per game.

Willis: Where to even begin, he came off the bench to play 18.5 minutes a game for a 12-20 Vanderbilt team. He shot 34.8%! from the field and 65.7% from the line. Pitino is considering giving up the use of a scholarship for the 2018 season to wait a year for a kid who was not effective at Vanderbilt?

This is Limar Wilson, Engen Nurumbi, Maverick Ahanmisi, Chip Armelin type stuff.
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I can see some of your concerns. That said, I believe we have 3 scholarships to hand out, if we so choose. We are not going to land 3 5 star players or 3 4 star players. I would hope we can land one impact player. I am fine with tossing out a scholarship to a player with decent experience but lots of upside. We have some flexibility given we have 3 openings and a decent returning roster. We absolutely need a guard, but after that, we can take a risk if needed.
 

This thread is exactly why I wished Fitz would have stayed in the first place. I'm much more comfortable going into next year with KNOWING what we have with him as a floor and hoping for improvement regardless of how unlikely. That was probably never going to happen, but i just don't trust Spring recruiting and transfers. There is a reason these people are leaving their teams, very rarely are we getting that guy that puts us over the top so just give me who I have.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
This thread is exactly why I wished Fitz would have stayed in the first place. I'm much more comfortable going into next year with KNOWING what we have with him as a floor and hoping for improvement regardless of how unlikely. That was probably never going to happen, but i just don't trust Spring recruiting and transfers. There is a reason these people are leaving their teams, very rarely are we getting that guy that puts us over the top so just give me who I have.
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Not me. I'd rather have Jarvis get the Fitz playing time. The problem is at guard.
 

bga1 said:
Not me. I'd rather have Jarvis get the Fitz playing time. The problem is at guard.
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Agreed. On paper we need the depth at the 1/2, not the 3/4 where Fitz will be playing. Jamir was a much bigger hit to depth than Fitz.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
This thread is exactly why I wished Fitz would have stayed in the first place. I'm much more comfortable going into next year with KNOWING what we have with him as a floor and hoping for improvement regardless of how unlikely. That was probably never going to happen, but i just don't trust Spring recruiting and transfers. There is a reason these people are leaving their teams, very rarely are we getting that guy that puts us over the top so just give me who I have.
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In general, it's going to be difficult to fill 3 scholarships. I agree with the folks who say that if we can get only one impact player, that'll be good. But we can't afford another small roster / short bench situation. We may have to take on a Maverick-type player in order to have a functional team - practice and games.
 


Bad Gopher said:
In general, it's going to be difficult to fill 3 scholarships. I agree with the folks who say that if we can get only one impact player, that'll be good. But we can't afford another small roster / short bench situation. We may have to take on a Maverick-type player in order to have a functional team - practice and games.
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Yep, can't go into this season with only 10 scholarship players (eligible to play). If only adding 1 guy, it needs to be someone that can contribute immediately -- preferably a PG or CG -- and preferably someone that's a better player/more skilled than Hurt. Don't want to test fate again with multiple injuries/off-court shenangians. Ideally have at least 12 guys available, but for sure have to get 1 rotation guy.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Yep, can't go into this season with only 10 scholarship players (eligible to play). If only adding 1 guy, it needs to be someone that can contribute immediately -- preferably a PG or CG -- and preferably someone that's a better player/more skilled than Hurt. Don't want to test fate again with multiple injuries/off-court shenangians. Ideally have at least 12 guys available, but for sure have to get 1 rotation guy.
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Bingo! in a nut shell.
 

Pitino is coaching for his job. He's going to coach and recruit for this coming season. If he doesn't get the right guys, Pitino either recruited poorly or the right guys weren't available.
 

Pitino's first spring he acquired Joey King, DeAndre Mathieu, Daquein Mc Neil, and Malik Smith. He should be in a position to do better than that this spring. All of those guys would of played ahead of more than three guys who were on the roster and had to play this past winter. We can add productive people who will play and contribute more than Harris or Fitzgerald, plus give us a point guard to at minimum share time with IW.
 



60's Guy said:
Pitino's first spring he acquired Joey King, DeAndre Mathieu, Daquein Mc Neil, and Malik Smith. He should be in a position to do better than that this spring. All of those guys would of played ahead of more than three guys who were on the roster and had to play this past winter. We can add productive people who will play and contribute more than Harris or Fitzgerald, plus give us a point guard to at minimum share time with IW.
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Here's the deal: if he's unable to pull in the equal of those players this year - with an established program - that's concerning.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Here's the deal: if he's unable to pull in the equal of those players this year - with an established program - that's concerning.
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I’m beginning to wonder if the exodus of assistants has to do with the pressure of recruiting - if they are not pulling in the top guys , pitino wants someone who will. With new assistants the built relationships will suffer. Hopefully the new guys have players in mind.
 


I have a connection to Prior Lake. Apparently Texas has offered Garcia. Wisconsin and many others are all over him. I know Ben Johnson had been recruiting him at one point. But apparently there has 0 contact from Minnesota in weeks. That doesn’t make it sound like are running smoothly with all this turnover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



Bad Gopher said:
Here's the deal: if he's unable to pull in the equal of those players this year - with an established program - that's concerning.
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If he is unable to get players who can contribute with a decent level of performance in the coming season, he likely will be gone and we have no need to be "concerned" about him in the future. On the whole, I think I will be happy either way. if we have a good season, I'll be happy. If we don't, I'll be happy that we can finally move on.
 

Gophers need to grab someone who has point guard handle and can run an offense. Top priority need someone to backup Jelly. McBrayer and Coffey handle the ball fine in the half court offense.
 

Thymanst said:
I’m beginning to wonder if the exodus of assistants has to do with the pressure of recruiting - if they are not pulling in the top guys , pitino wants someone who will.
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Are these people exiting to the unemployment line or going to other positions? I think they are going to other positions. Maybe the assistants don't like the look of the future and decided to get out now. As the old saying goes: It's easier to get a job if you already have one.
 

cjbfbp said:
Are these people exiting to the unemployment line or going to other positions? I think they are going to other positions. Maybe the assistants don't like the look of the future and decided to get out now. As the old saying goes: It's easier to get a job if you already have one.
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Perhaps they see Coyle slithering around and whispering that he's prepared...[emoji216]
 


cjbfbp said:
Well, maybe, but here are two sophs this past season:


Player#----Minutes Played----PER----Win Shares/40 min----Win Shares

1)----573----10----.047----.7

2)----608----8.3---.049----.7


The first one is Payton Willis. The second one is Michael Hurt. They both played a fair number of minutes but for terrible teams and a big part of the reason these teams were terrible is that they were playing guys like this a fair number of minutes.
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I was able to watch a bunch of Vandy games this year. They were not a good team, and Willis did not put up numbers that has teams lining up for him. Its more of an eye test type of thing. I wouldn't argue with anyone if they said they didn't want him, because there is plenty of evidence in the stats.

Willis looks like a players that could be very good with the right coach. When I watch him play, his shooting mechanics look good. He's a good athlete and can all handle the ball. He's not a player like Hurt that is limited by his athleticism, and it is clear whenever you watch hurt play. I'm not saying hurt can't be a solid role player, but that he is at a disadvantage in most defensive matchups. All I'm saying with Willis is that the look of a good basketball player is there, but his numbers just haven't quite proven it. Its possible that his style of game didn't match well with the coach or coaches wanted him to change things that he never got comfortable with. I never looked at him on the court at Vandy and thought to myself that he was not a power 5 player.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
This thread is exactly why I wished Fitz would have stayed in the first place. I'm much more comfortable going into next year with KNOWING what we have with him as a floor and hoping for improvement regardless of how unlikely. That was probably never going to happen, but i just don't trust Spring recruiting and transfers. There is a reason these people are leaving their teams, very rarely are we getting that guy that puts us over the top so just give me who I have.
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If we came away with Ramey and McGowens this spring, that would be almost better than getting our first 3 commits. There are still good recruits out there, and transfers can be big time additions if the coach knows exactly what he is looking for.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
I have a connection to Prior Lake. Apparently Texas has offered Garcia. Wisconsin and many others are all over him. I know Ben Johnson had been recruiting him at one point. But apparently there has 0 contact from Minnesota in weeks. That doesn’t make it sound like are running smoothly with all this turnover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Of all the misses by this staff, Garcia will be the biggest. I would have offered him a year ago. He was a can't-miss then, and now everyone knows. I've been nauseous since I saw Texas offered and that it was his first one. We should have been his first offer, and we should be all over him.
 

MennoSota said:
Perhaps they see Coyle slithering around and whispering that he's prepared...[emoji216]
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That's not a joke. This situation is ripe for speculation. I wonder if Richard is advising his staff that his job security isn't the best. Reading all the people on here say that, if they don't make the NCAAs next year he should be gone: well, folks, barring a recruiting coup, they're not making the NCAAs next year, and Pitino of all people knows that. If Coyle's stated expectation is that they do...
 

Bad Gopher said:
Of all the misses by this staff, Garcia will be the biggest. I would have offered him a year ago. He was a can't-miss then, and now everyone knows. I've been nauseous since I saw Texas offered and that it was his first one. We should have been his first offer, and we should be all over him.
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yup....how he hasn't been all over some of these in-state players is odd. I mean he just sign 3 of the top 4 Minnesota kids for 2018 so he clearly is hitting the state. but lets stay ahead of the rest here on our local talent!
2019
Hurt
Terry
Nnaji

2020
Suggs
Garcia
Dainja
Carlson
the Madsen brothers

how nice would that be to get at least 2 out of the 3 in 2019 and 2 or 3 more of the 2020 kids
 

Bad Gopher said:
That's not a joke. This situation is ripe for speculation. I wonder if Richard is advising his staff that his job security isn't the best. Reading all the people on here say that, if they don't make the NCAAs next year he should be gone: well, folks, barring a recruiting coup, they're not making the NCAAs next year, and Pitino of all people knows that. If Coyle's stated expectation is that they do...
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You always have a very defensive posture when you bring this up. Is it unfair to expect a coach at a Big Ten university to make the NCAA Tournament twice in his first 6 seasons? Is it unfair to expect a coach to do so when his predecessor was fired for doing it three times in the same period? Is it unfair to expect a Big Ten coach to win more than 35% of his conference games, let alone 40%?
 

dpodoll68 said:
You always have a very defensive posture when you bring this up. Is it unfair to expect a coach at a Big Ten university to make the NCAA Tournament twice in his first 6 seasons? Is it unfair to expect a coach to do so when his predecessor was fired for doing it three times in the same period? Is it unfair to expect a Big Ten coach to win more than 35% of his conference games, let alone 40%?
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I don't read those comments quite the same way. I don't think he's saying that it's unfair to expect Pitino to have had greater success than he's had over his tenure. I think he's saying that it may be unfair to set a standard for this season that may not be reachable. I have no particular love for Pitino but if next season's team manages a decent Big Ten performance coupled with an NIT bid, I'd likely feel positive on the whole about him remaining in the coaching position (however, if the team doesn't do that, I want to see the program move on from Pitino).

Now, is that a different standard than was applied to Tubby? Are we grading Pitino on a curve when Tubby wasn't given that advantage? Is there something unfair about those differential expectations? Yes, Yes, and Yes. But the reality is that people adjust expectations for changing circumstances. Pitino probably should never have been hired for this job but, given that he was, his age and inexperience probably forecasted a longer developmental period.
 

SM_25 said:
I was able to watch a bunch of Vandy games this year. They were not a good team, and Willis did not put up numbers that has teams lining up for him. Its more of an eye test type of thing. I wouldn't argue with anyone if they said they didn't want him, because there is plenty of evidence in the stats.

Willis looks like a players that could be very good with the right coach. When I watch him play, his shooting mechanics look good. He's a good athlete and can all handle the ball. He's not a player like Hurt that is limited by his athleticism, and it is clear whenever you watch hurt play. I'm not saying hurt can't be a solid role player, but that he is at a disadvantage in most defensive matchups. All I'm saying with Willis is that the look of a good basketball player is there, but his numbers just haven't quite proven it. Its possible that his style of game didn't match well with the coach or coaches wanted him to change things that he never got comfortable with. I never looked at him on the court at Vandy and thought to myself that he was not a power 5 player.
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OK, I believe you, but I still think he is poor choice for a sit out transfer scholarship. Even Stockman appeared to be a better choice (and I was opposed to that move at the time).
 

dpodoll68 said:
You always have a very defensive posture when you bring this up. Is it unfair to expect a coach at a Big Ten university to make the NCAA Tournament twice in his first 6 seasons? Is it unfair to expect a coach to do so when his predecessor was fired for doing it three times in the same period? Is it unfair to expect a Big Ten coach to win more than 35% of his conference games, let alone 40%?
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I agree, that he will be fired if they don't have a bounce back season. There seems to be a lot of smoke within the program. Assistants leaving, handling of Coffee injury, transfers, and now three open scholarships that have become a struggle to fill. I like Pitino the public figure and interview. I struggle with his X's & O's and development of players.
 

cjbfbp said:
I don't read those comments quite the same way. I don't think he's saying that it's unfair to expect Pitino to have had greater success than he's had over his tenure. I think he's saying that it may be unfair to set a standard for this season that may not be reachable. I have no particular love for Pitino but if next season's team manages a decent Big Ten performance coupled with an NIT bid, I'd likely feel positive on the whole about him remaining in the coaching position (however, if the team doesn't do that, I want to see the program move on from Pitino).

Now, is that a different standard than was applied to Tubby? Are we grading Pitino on a curve when Tubby wasn't given that advantage? Is there something unfair about those differential expectations? Yes, Yes, and Yes. But the reality is that people adjust expectations for changing circumstances. Pitino probably should never have been hired for this job but, given that he was, his age and inexperience probably forecasted a longer developmental period.
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I don't agree at all, sorry. A Big Ten job isn't OJT. And if setting the expectation of a Tournament appearance in year 6 is unreachable, that is Pitino's fault and speaks to exactly why he needs to be fired. If we're sitting here in April and saying that a Tournament appearance in 11 months is an unattainable goal - Pitino should've been fired after this season.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
I agree, that he will be fired if they don't have a bounce back season. There seems to be a lot of smoke within the program. Assistants leaving, handling of Coffee injury, transfers, and now three open scholarships that have become a struggle to fill. I like Pitino the public figure and interview. I struggle with his X's & O's and development of players.
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His development of players has been excellent. The only kid I can think of that just did not develop to expectations was Konate. Great kid, lacking in reaction time and coordination.
How about let's give him the spring to see what coaches he brings in (the first one got rave reviews) and what players he signs. There are a lot of schools out there looking for talent this spring. By the way- I had no idea that Pitino was also a doctor.....
 


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