All Things Class of 2015 Recruiting - Class Finally Complete? Nope Chris Obekpa visit

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thesanfordman said:
Also forgot about Ingram and Osenieks
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Wait Ingram was a scholarship player? I always, for whatever reason, thought he was a walk-on(before I paid even 1/10th as much attention to recruiting as I do now).
 






Down with Goldy said:
Ingram was a very promising sophomore when he was a senior.
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Haha. That is sadly true. I was just starting to really enjoy his minutes off the bench when he graduated. He was definitely a late bloomer who was stuck behind some very nice talent in Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe.

I think he could thrive in this system since he would be the only power forward on the roster with the strength and athleticism to play above the rim. He wouldn't be expected to be a post presence on offense, just take up space defensively, and be a presence on the offensive glass.
 

If we are playing in the BigTen 1 on 1 tournament then I hope Lofton walks on. If we are playing 5 on 5 basketball where you have to practice, play defense, practice, pass, practice, rebound, practice, take smart shots and work hard in practice, then he does not fit.
 

corcoran1 said:
If we are playing in the BigTen 1 on 1 tournament then I hope Lofton walks on. If we are playing 5 on 5 basketball where you have to practice, play defense, practice, pass, practice, rebound, practice, take smart shots and work hard in practice, then he does not fit.
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I think all of us would rather have Kobe. But Lofton is on campus, and Kobe isn't.
 

howieramone said:
I think all of us would rather have Kobe. But Lofton is on campus, and Kobe isn't.
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My guess is that if it was Kobe had showed Pitino a bad attitude - he might have given him a few more chances than Lofton. Suffice it to say that there are quite a few levels of players between Kobe and Lofton. If he ends up on the team and is playing for the Gophers- I will be rooting for him. Meanwhile, it's VERY high risk to bring an attitude situation into the mix when you have 6-7 new, young players on the team.
 




corcoran1 said:
If we are playing in the BigTen 1 on 1 tournament then I hope Lofton walks on. If we are playing 5 on 5 basketball where you have to practice, play defense, practice, pass, practice, rebound, practice, take smart shots and work hard in practice, then he does not fit.
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This.

If you get frustrated with Carlos Morris, this guy would be worse.

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As for that last scolly, I don't see one being available, but if there was I would make Lofton split it with the other two walk-on.
 

howieramone said:
I think all of us would rather have Kobe. But Lofton is on campus, and Kobe isn't.
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Even if Lofton isn't a behavioral problem, he isn't a great fit because 1) he ties up a scholarship for two years unless he does a grad transfer after next year and 2) he takes minutes away from players like Morris (count me as one who still believes in Carlos), Johnson, McBrayer, and Gilbert. All but Morris are considered to be the future of this program.

As far as Lofton's future, I don't see why he couldn't find a way to play immediately for two years somewhere else. Deverell Biggs was kicked off the Nebraska team during January of 2014 and played the whole season for Texas Southern this year (Biggs is from Omaha).
 

cjbfbp said:
Even if Lofton isn't a behavioral problem, he isn't a great fit because 1) he ties up a scholarship for two years unless he does a grad transfer after next year and 2) he takes minutes away from players like Morris (count me as one who still believes in Carlos), Johnson, McBrayer, and Gilbert. All but Morris are considered to be the future of this program.

As far as Lofton's future, I don't see why he couldn't find a way to play immediately for two years somewhere else. Deverell Biggs was kicked off the Nebraska team during January of 2014 and played the whole season for Texas Southern this year (Biggs is from Omaha).
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I have no idea if Lofton is a good fit or not, but if he can contribute more than a player who is already expected to contribute next year, then you take him (as you do any player) assuming there is not a behavioral issue. You can still "believe in Carlos" but hope like heck we can upgrade over him. If we don't want to upgrade talent because we like a guy's potential, then we'll never upgrade the talent on the roster.

Realizing that you need role players, but every guy we recruit should ideally be an upgrade. That's how you build a program. And as of now, Morris is definitely part of the future. If you don't think he is, then why are you worried about having someone challenge for his PT? If we're NIT bound or worse come mid-February then we can think about a potential big part of the team not being part of the future, but the future is now in college sports, especially coming off two non-NCAA tournament seasons.

Go Gophers!!
 



BleedGopher said:
I have no idea if Lofton is a good fit or not, but if he can contribute more than a player who is already expected to contribute next year, then you take him (as you do any player) assuming there is not a behavioral issue. You can still "believe in Carlos" but hope like heck we can upgrade over him. If we don't want to upgrade talent because we like a guy's potential, then we'll never upgrade the talent on the roster.

Realizing that you need role players, but every guy we recruit should ideally be an upgrade. That's how you build a program. And as of now, Morris is definitely part of the future. If you don't think he is, then why are you worried about having someone challenge for his PT? If we're NIT bound or worse come mid-February then we can think about a potential big part of the team not being part of the future, but the future is now in college sports, especially coming off two non-NCAA tournament seasons.

Go Gophers!!
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I like Carlos and think he could be a good player.... If he was a sophomore. He wont grow enough next year to get us over the edge unless he takes a monumental step in man to man defense AND shot selection. Those two HAVE TO HAPPEN and then we need a lot more to happen right to get us over the hump.

That all said, his development are the least of my concerns when selecting whether a guy should come into the program or not, if I'm Pitino.
 

Will be interesting to see if we have a visit lined up with Boucher this weekend.
 

Between Boucher, Washington and Cunningham is there a clear favorite in terms of skill set and athletic ability. It seems they are all between 6'7 - 6'10. For those of you who watch the videos or have seen these guys in person, is there a clear cut favorite? I'm guessing probably not Cunningham as he has more of a 3 man build...
 


Blitzkrieg said:
Between Boucher, Washington and Cunningham is there a clear favorite in terms of skill set and athletic ability. It seems they are all between 6'7 - 6'10. For those of you who watch the videos or have seen these guys in person, is there a clear cut favorite? I'm guessing probably not Cunningham as he has more of a 3 man build...
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Not listed, but I'm very intrigued by Jordan Murphy too. He'd be my number one I think.
 

dpodoll68 said:
You can't split scholarships in basketball.
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I thought in the past we have had guys split scholarship money (not the full scollarhip) to a pair of walk-ons for housing, partial tuition, etc. if they had an unused scolly (perhaps I'm getting mixed up with other sports like D1 track and D2 scholarships).

If that is not the case.... I'd give the extra scolly to one of the returning walk-on's for a year and still make Lofton walk-on next season and make him earn a scolly for his senior year.
 

scher215 said:
Not listed, but I'm very intrigued by Jordan Murphy too. He'd be my number one I think.
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I can't imagine he won't join Shaka at Texas, but he may be the final piece to get us off the bubble in 2016/17.
 

Dpo is correct, basketball (and football) scholarships are 100%. Other sports like baseball you can divvy them up.

Agree with you about Lofton. If he's back, would rather have it be as a walk-on. Prove yourself on & off the court.
 

Blitzkrieg said:
Between Boucher, Washington and Cunningham is there a clear favorite in terms of skill set and athletic ability. It seems they are all between 6'7 - 6'10. For those of you who watch the videos or have seen these guys in person, is there a clear cut favorite? I'm guessing probably not Cunningham as he has more of a 3 man build...
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Boucher can play next year- and that's what we need.
 

bga1 said:
Boucher can play next year- and that's what we need.
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Amen, Beeg. Don't need another big guy who'll have to sit. Need bigs that can play immediately & produce. 1 (Lynch) sitting out is enough.
 

STrib: Where does Minnesota stand with Malik Ellison now?

The Gophers have one more scholarship available for the 2015 class, should they decide to use it. Coach Richard Pitino and staff are going after several others – including JUCO big man Chris Boucher – but more depth at the small forward spot could also be beneficial.

But the timeline has been drawn out in a way that doesn’t seem to favor Minnesota – if Ellison does make a decision this week, I’d be surprised if he chooses the Gophers.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/301446511.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
I have no idea if Lofton is a good fit or not, but if he can contribute more than a player who is already expected to contribute next year, then you take him (as you do any player) assuming there is not a behavioral issue. You can still "believe in Carlos" but hope like heck we can upgrade over him. If we don't want to upgrade talent because we like a guy's potential, then we'll never upgrade the talent on the roster.

Realizing that you need role players, but every guy we recruit should ideally be an upgrade. That's how you build a program. And as of now, Morris is definitely part of the future. If you don't think he is, then why are you worried about having someone challenge for his PT? If we're NIT bound or worse come mid-February then we can think about a potential big part of the team not being part of the future, but the future is now in college sports, especially coming off two non-NCAA tournament seasons.

Go Gophers!!
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By "future of the program" I mean contributors beyond next year. I believe Carlos will be a significant player next year.

I'm not particularly supportive of Lofton because his addition would crowd an area where the program has recruited in depth while doing nothing to address an area where the personnel has been lacking.
 



cjbfbp said:
By "future of the program" I mean contributors beyond next year. I believe Carlos will be a significant player next year.

I'm not particularly supportive of Lofton because his addition would crowd an area where the program has recruited in depth while doing nothing to address an area where the personnel has been lacking.
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Scorers?
 


Would love to land Jordan Murphy and add another versatile player to the mix but there will be some pretty decent competition. The other option that I would be pretty happy with is Boucher since he would be immediately eligible and could make a contribution. If we can't get either of those 2 I'm not sure what I would want done with the last scholarship. I really like Kyle Washington and his skill but having another scholarship tied up into a player that would have to sit out would be a little bit tough. Could also opt to offer Cullen Russo and I don't know enough about the player to have much of an opinion on him either way. Could always opt to bank it and use it in 2016 too.
 

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