All Things Gophers Basketball 2017 Recruiting Thread

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Would be interesting to have insight into why we pulled trigger on Harris when we still had interest from French and seemed to be front runners. I believe he was scheduled for official visit and cancelled when Harris took last spot. I am thrilled to have a pure shooter coming in, but it's hard not to second guess especially with our lack of post depth next year. I thought French had been down close to #150 at time of commit, must have had a great Sr year
 

Holf said:
Would be interesting to have insight into why we pulled trigger on Harris when we still had interest from French and seemed to be front runners. I believe he was scheduled for official visit and cancelled when Harris took last spot. I am thrilled to have a pure shooter coming in, but it's hard not to second guess especially with our lack of post depth next year. I thought French had been down close to #150 at time of commit, must have had a great Sr year
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The coaches lost interest in French and preferred Harris. We could have had him if we wanted.
 

Holf said:
Would be interesting to have insight into why we pulled trigger on Harris when we still had interest from French and seemed to be front runners. I believe he was scheduled for official visit and cancelled when Harris took last spot. I am thrilled to have a pure shooter coming in, but it's hard not to second guess especially with our lack of post depth next year. I thought French had been down close to #150 at time of commit, must have had a great Sr year
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ESPN must be a lot higher on French that the other sites, because his composite ranking is 205. I'm guessing we just wanted a guard with some shooting instead of a big. Maybe has to do with Curry looking good early on.
 

Golden_Sloth said:
ESPN must be a lot higher on French that the other sites, because his composite ranking is 205. I'm guessing we just wanted a guard with some shooting instead of a big. Maybe has to do with Curry looking good early on.
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When I saw the #87 number I thought that was composite - I can live with #205. Not that rankings are end all be all of what determines what a quality recruit is, but #87 and #234 is a chasm - if that were the case.
 

Not getting on a soap box regarding the hand-wringing people do on rankings, I get it. It's a scoreboard in something that doesn't have a score. But the French/Harris concern should not be talked about. Just like the Nwankwo/Illiakainin (spelling on both way off). In both situations, based on the information WE as fans had, it looked like Pitino PICKED one over the other or at a minimum gave the individual a chance to commit and they didnt.

In those situations, anyone that "disagrees" is saying they know better than coach based on a ranking and a highlight tape. Stop it.
 


per Jace:

Minnesota was Wright’s runner-up last fall when he picked Dayton. The Gophers picked up a commitment from Isaiah Washington, a four-star point guard from the Bronx, N.Y., days before Wright committed, which cooled the 6-foot point guard’s interest despite Minnesota’s attempt to sell him on the possibility that the two point guards could coexist.

Yet here the Gophers are again, right back in the hunt for a local standout after initially swinging and missing on the loaded crop of in-state talent the Class of 2017 had to offer.

“I still like Minnesota. Nothing has changed with them,” Wright said. “I’ve been talking to (assistant coach) Ben (Johnson) and (head coach Richard) Pitino. Minnesota, it’s home. I’m close with a lot of those guys on that team. I’m close with (Cretin-Derham Hall forward) Daniel Oturu, the 2018 commit. Those are guys are just people I’ve talked to on a daily basis. They had a great year, and I think this upcoming season they’ll have another good year.”

While this is Wright’s second rodeo, he’s not planning on rushing matters. He said Wednesday he still has “at least” 50 days left to make his choice. And since he only used two of his five allotted official visits last fall, he can take three more this spring.

Wright has no timeline for when he might make those visits or make his final decision, but he does think he’ll begin to cut his list in the next week or two.

“The reason I opened my recruitment, I just had to do what was best for me,” Wright said. “I just wanted to weigh all my options and see where it’d be best for me to play my next years of college basketball. … Right now I’m letting everything come at once and seeing what’ll be best for me after I sit down and talk with family and (AAU) coach Al (Harris).”

http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/20/gophers-back-in-the-mix-for-mr-basketball-mckinley-wright-iv/

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Jace:

Minnesota was Wright’s runner-up last fall when he picked Dayton. The Gophers picked up a commitment from Isaiah Washington, a four-star point guard from the Bronx, N.Y., days before Wright committed, which cooled the 6-foot point guard’s interest despite Minnesota’s attempt to sell him on the possibility that the two point guards could coexist.

Yet here the Gophers are again, right back in the hunt for a local standout after initially swinging and missing on the loaded crop of in-state talent the Class of 2017 had to offer.

“I still like Minnesota. Nothing has changed with them,” Wright said. “I’ve been talking to (assistant coach) Ben (Johnson) and (head coach Richard) Pitino. Minnesota, it’s home. I’m close with a lot of those guys on that team. I’m close with (Cretin-Derham Hall forward) Daniel Oturu, the 2018 commit. Those are guys are just people I’ve talked to on a daily basis. They had a great year, and I think this upcoming season they’ll have another good year.”

While this is Wright’s second rodeo, he’s not planning on rushing matters. He said Wednesday he still has “at least” 50 days left to make his choice. And since he only used two of his five allotted official visits last fall, he can take three more this spring.

Wright has no timeline for when he might make those visits or make his final decision, but he does think he’ll begin to cut his list in the next week or two.

“The reason I opened my recruitment, I just had to do what was best for me,” Wright said. “I just wanted to weigh all my options and see where it’d be best for me to play my next years of college basketball. … Right now I’m letting everything come at once and seeing what’ll be best for me after I sit down and talk with family and (AAU) coach Al (Harris).”

http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/20/gophers-back-in-the-mix-for-mr-basketball-mckinley-wright-iv/

Go Gophers!!
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I'd take him if Gas is transferring out.

Don't really care about the guard log jam. Mason will be gone in a year and if Washington/Wright can coexist offensively, I think they'll be fine.

I like the idea of having multiple bulldog point guards on my team. Wright is that for sure and everybody says Washington is that as well.
 

UMass transfers Dejon Jarreau & Brison Gresham receiving interest from SHU, UConn, Creighton, TT, Tulane, OU, Minn., & Houston, per source.

Tweet from Jon Rothstein
 





Winasota Gopher said:
Not getting on a soap box regarding the hand-wringing people do on rankings, I get it. It's a scoreboard in something that doesn't have a score. But the French/Harris concern should not be talked about. Just like the Nwankwo/Illiakainin (spelling on both way off). In both situations, based on the information WE as fans had, it looked like Pitino PICKED one over the other or at a minimum gave the individual a chance to commit and they didnt.

In those situations, anyone that "disagrees" is saying they know better than coach based on a ranking and a highlight tape. Stop it.
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I agree that it is silly to place too much emphasis upon rankings (although they are more informative in basketball than in football). One might be reasonably accurate in saying that there are 20 to 30 DI recruits who are clearly better than mostly all of the others but I'm not sure anyone can say with any real accuracy that #150 is a much better prospect than #200.

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying with the other point. Basketball coaches, other than maybe a select few, don't have the influence to compel anyone who meets their desires to commit to the team. What a coach wants and what a coach gets are two different things. I don't believe every occurrence on this team is a result of Pitino's "master plan."
 

Gopherfan12 said:
UMass transfers Dejon Jarreau & Brison Gresham receiving interest from SHU, UConn, Creighton, TT, Tulane, OU, Minn., & Houston, per source.

Tweet from Jon Rothstein
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Ahhhh, yes and yes, either of these two would fit in perfectly.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
Ahhhh, yes and yes, either of these two would fit in perfectly.
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From a quick google search, it sounds like those two were a package deal to UMASS out of NOLA in HS. I doubt that they are planning on going different places than the other. Though whether it's here or not, not many schools have two open spots at this point.
 



cjbfbp said:
I agree that it is silly to place too much emphasis upon rankings (although they are more informative in basketball than in football). One might be reasonably accurate in saying that there are 20 to 30 DI recruits who are clearly better than mostly all of the others but I'm not sure anyone can say with any real accuracy that #150 is a much better prospect than #200.

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying with the other point. Basketball coaches, other than maybe a select few, don't have the influence to compel anyone who meets their desires to commit to the team. What a coach wants and what a coach gets are two different things. I don't believe every occurrence on this team is a result of Pitino's "master plan."
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Said nothing of a master plan. Simply put, based on our information it looks as if pitino chose Harris over a chance at French. To second guess that decision is silly.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Said nothing of a master plan. Simply put, based on our information it looks as if pitino chose Harris over a chance at French. To second guess that decision is silly.
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But can pitino's staff really evaluate talent? I don't think they're bottom -of-the-barrel but they fell into guys like mason and Murphy. I think it's fair game to question their ability to pick the right guy, especially given Harris' perceived weaknesses and the transfer of a recent shooter with similar limitations.


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Gopherphile said:
But can pitino's staff really evaluate talent? I don't think they're bottom -of-the-barrel but they fell into guys like mason and Murphy. I think it's fair game to question their ability to pick the right guy, especially given Harris' perceived weaknesses and the transfer of a recent shooter with similar limitations.
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Gilbert was a late pick-up as oppose to Harris. Mason wasn't a spring recruit how did he fall to us? Murphy we did fall into as Shaka left VCU but it's still here are other examples of good talent evaluation

Dorsey definitely looked like he had good potential when he was here, Curry didn't fall to us and looks solid to very good. McBrayer is showing a really good skill set for a soph. in the BIG. I'm not entirely sold that Josh Martin was a miss as last year in 5 games he averaged 10 pts and 8rbs for Cal Poly (did he get hurt?).
 

Gopherphile said:
But can pitino's staff really evaluate talent? I don't think they're bottom -of-the-barrel but they fell into guys like mason and Murphy. I think it's fair game to question their ability to pick the right guy, especially given Harris' perceived weaknesses and the transfer of a recent shooter with similar limitations.


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Mason committed in the fall and had multiple offers at the time. Not sure how the staff "fell into" Mason.
 


Gopherphile said:
But can pitino's staff really evaluate talent? I don't think they're bottom -of-the-barrel but they fell into guys like mason and Murphy. I think it's fair game to question their ability to pick the right guy, especially given Harris' perceived weaknesses and the transfer of a recent shooter with similar limitations.


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I think they can better than any of us and our very limited exposure to these recruits.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Mason committed in the fall and had multiple offers at the time. Not sure how the staff "fell into" Mason.
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Mason was at best our third "gettable" choice at guard that year after Tum Tum and LeChance. The parallel for those that need it drawn: we got the best player but it wasn't through the evaluation process.
 

Tim1406 said:
Gilbert was a late pick-up as oppose to Harris. Mason wasn't a spring recruit how did he fall to us? Murphy we did fall into as Shaka left VCU but it's still here are other examples of good talent evaluation

Dorsey definitely looked like he had good potential when he was here, Curry didn't fall to us and looks solid to very good. McBrayer is showing a really good skill set for a soph. in the BIG. I'm not entirely sold that Josh Martin was a miss as last year in 5 games he averaged 10 pts and 8rbs for Cal Poly (did he get hurt?).
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We've added shooters in each of the past two seasons that have major question marks but are about four inches taller than Harris. I love that the staff zeroed in and picked him out of a shooting guard lineup but I'm not overly confident they know what they're looking for.

Curry is a great example of the staff finding a quality player that was a bit under-the-radar, but he was still a national top 150 guy and the second best player in AK after a soon-to-be lottery choice. Harris is not at the same level of recruit - there are a bunch of good players at that level and if we can find an develop role players from that pool, we'll be golden. If not, we have the weight of carrying the schollie for four years.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I think they can better than any of us and our very limited exposure to these recruits.
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So when you disagree with a move that Pitino makes you shouldn't complain because he is presumably a better coach than you? There is mounds of evidence on this message board, likely including many posts from you, that would contradict that mind set.
 

Gopherphile said:
So when you disagree with a move that Pitino makes you shouldn't complain because he is presumably a better coach than you? There is mounds of evidence on this message board, likely including many posts from you, that would contradict that mind set.
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It can be frustrating to have people question a recruit (and a coaches decision to recruit them) before he even steps on campus. I'd rather be all happy and optimistic until proven wrong in regards to recruiting.
 

per Marcus:

-- Former Dayton recruit and Champlin Park senior guard McKinley Wright played with D1 Minnesota in Dallas. Wright, the state’s Mr. Basketball, averaged 14 points, 2.7 assists and two steals in three games. Wright, who had 22 points against Game Elite, just turned 18 and won't play with his former AAU team after Dallas. He had a crowd-pleasing putback dunk in a game with Pitino in attendance this weekend. But Minnesota doesn't have a scholarship to offer Wright at the moment. He's also hearing from Butler, Baylor, Tennessee, Colorado and Indiana, where former Flyers coach Archie Miller left for.

http://www.startribune.com/apple-va...o-see-gophers-making-major-strides/420271933/

Go Gophers!!
 

Gopherphile said:
So when you disagree with a move that Pitino makes you shouldn't complain because he is presumably a better coach than you? There is mounds of evidence on this message board, likely including many posts from you, that would contradict that mind set.
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My original comment has now been taken extremely out of context. It was intended for a situation where the coach appeared to choose between two players. In that situation, specifically, I trust his judgement more than all of ours.
 

Tim1406 said:
It can be frustrating to have people question a recruit (and a coaches decision to recruit them) before he even steps on campus. I'd rather be all happy and optimistic until proven wrong in regards to recruiting.
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That's fair. I hope Jamir lights it up a la Charles Thomas from a bygone era.


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Gopherphile said:
Mason was at best our third "gettable" choice at guard that year after Tum Tum and LeChance. The parallel for those that need it drawn: we got the best player but it wasn't through the evaluation process.
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So Pitino is a great developer of talent then?


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Oregon Gopher said:
So Pitino is a great developer of talent then?


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His track record isn't bad at developing talent, he got more out of the overweight center than I thought we would ever see. Mason was good from the start and has had three years to get better. Don't know if it has to do with coaching but his turnovers are down. Konate has become respectable under Pitino and Lynch seems to be much improved over Illinois State days.

Now that we have some talented players we can judge better by the development from last to next year in Coffey, Curry, McBrayer and Hurt.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

-- Former Dayton recruit and Champlin Park senior guard McKinley Wright played with D1 Minnesota in Dallas. Wright, the state’s Mr. Basketball, averaged 14 points, 2.7 assists and two steals in three games. Wright, who had 22 points against Game Elite, just turned 18 and won't play with his former AAU team after Dallas. He had a crowd-pleasing putback dunk in a game with Pitino in attendance this weekend. But Minnesota doesn't have a scholarship to offer Wright at the moment. He's also hearing from Butler, Baylor, Tennessee, Colorado and Indiana, where former Flyers coach Archie Miller left for.

http://www.startribune.com/apple-va...o-see-gophers-making-major-strides/420271933/

Go Gophers!!
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Something is brewing that we aren't aware of if we are offering Wright.

Everyone right now is thinking we have another transfer out, and we're all hoping it's someone we wouldn't mind transferring out.

I'm fearful it's someone we would mind losing and it might not be someone who is even on the roster yet. That would be terrible.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Something is brewing that we aren't aware of if we are offering Wright.

Everyone right now is thinking we have another transfer out, and we're all hoping it's someone we wouldn't mind transferring out.

I'm fearful it's someone we would mind losing and it might not be someone who is even on the roster yet. That would be terrible.
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Pitino was there but has nothing to do with McKinley. Race and other Minnesota players are on the team also
 

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