It's sort of a no-win situation because they will be alienated the next time, and the next time,...Coaches are going to miss out on instate players. This was a bottom dweller B1G team last year.
Some of that crap is on our local coaches too. They hated Tubby by the end of his tenure, hated Monson, hated Pitino (Rightfully so on this one imo) so you can't be happy all the time. If Jelly was a hit and could actually play, or if Wright had floundered, honestly it wouldn't have mattered as much. We got 3 MN kids the next year. It does compound when you don't try hard and then pull that crap while Wright had a great college career. Pitino to his credit had learned as he was working hard on Holloman too from my understanding.
What makes you think he's going after 5 stars? He apparently didn't call Chet for a couple days after he got the job. He called all the 2022 guys (none are 5 stars right now). You are 100% right though, on identifying and spending times on recruits who fit what we do (I don't fully know what that is yet since we haven't played). It's what Painter and Gard do as well.
Good list but IMO I’d but Watson right there with Heide
Agree. If the local youth coaches always end up turning their backs on the Gophers, than it shows that part of the problem is with the local coaches. It makes you think that some of the local youth coaches are acting like some sort of prima-donnas.
Such is this experiment with BJ. Do instate relationships matter carry that much water? My perception is that “staying in state” is meaningless to this generation. It has been and will continue to be about personal fit. Being part of a system that is antagonistic to the home state coach just provides a built in rationale for following their dreams.
Great post. Most kids are not getting shoe money and their AAU coach often plays zero role in what school they pick. I know the most accomplished AAU coach in history loves a certain head coach and has never sent him a player. Kids pick schools for many reasons. Who the head coach is, what is the campus like, opportunity, cool factor, playing style, climate, girls and on and on. Someone name one local AAU coach who steered players away from here.
That’s what I have been saying all along. People want to blame the head coach for a fractured relationship, but sometimes/often the AAU system is simply not realistic about their players. That said, Wright was an easy one that Pitino should have seen.
Frankly, at this point I don't care where the players come from as long as they fit into BJ's plans. He focuses on players that can shoot (and play Defense) rather than athleticism.
While I do agree with this, it would put our decision making during the hiring process a bit into question. I think Ben's leash is shorter if he doesn't land local kids. In some ways, that's not fair to Ben. He didn't sell himself as the local recruiting guru, he's just a basketball guy.
You don’t know how he sold himself in the interviews. He may have said he will get local kids and said if he doesn’t he should be fired. Publicly he hasn’t said it but publicly he hasn’t said much. If he wins with non local kids he will keep his job. If he loses with local kids he’ll get fired. But he was done a disservice by being heralded as a local recruiter
www.startribune.com
I think Local coaches some times have a double standard. Where they expect Minnesota's head coach to be all about Minnesota players and will be unhappy if they look out of state. While they are happy with out of state of coaches just looking at the local players. So over time the local coach gets hate as he "snubs" instate kids and the out of state coaches just make more in roads.
That leaves out Chase Carter, who will probably play football and Elvis Nnaji, who is still pretty raw yet.per Marcus:
Johnson re-offered Holloman, Heide, Caledonia's Eli King, Byron's Ahjany Lee, Minnehaha Academy's Prince Aligbe, Totino-Grace's Demarion Watson-Saulsberry and Park Center's Braeden Carrington in Minnesota's 2022 class. King was the first Gophers in-state target to commit elsewhere since Johnson's hiring when new Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger landed him this week. Former Texas coach Shaka Smart, who inherited former five-star Prior Lake recruit and freshman Dawson Garcia, is offering Minnesota kids as well.
Top talent dwindling, so Gophers men's basketball must score next-level prep recruits
There doesn't appear to be another Chet Holmgren or Jalen Suggs in the next few years. Could that actually work to the advantage of the Gophers and new coach Ben Johnson?
Go Gophers!!
Or perhaps hiring a local coach?
Or perhaps hiring a local coach?
The reason we want in state kids is because they are easier to convince because their families can watch them play so it's an easier sell. Pitino used to recruit as the big basketball schools like his dad...but he wasn't his dad so those 5 stars weren't impressed. He was a lazy recruiter. Ben clearly is not as he's already received 6 commitments.
Yeah, I mean, that's what we're told. We will see how big of an impact that has.
Why does everyone keep saying Wright was so great in HS? He didn’t have a ton of offers elsewhere. He committed to Dayton for goodness sakes. Yes he developed into a great player, but he wasn’t recruited like a great player.
Because he was from MN and turned out to be good. At the time of recruitment nobody on this board would have chosen him (the 7th rated MN player) over top 60 in the country and Mr. basketball for NY Isaiah Washington.
Jelly was definitely eye candy, and I was enthused about him signing here, not gonna lie. But I knew Wright was going to be good. I didn't see him being that good, though, which is a testament to him and how hard he must've worked.
We hired two already.
Pitino was lazy 10 months out of the year but he was good in the spring to be fair
Yeah he was dynamic in high school but he had a suspect outside shot. No one knew he’d turn out this good. We also need to remember he wouldn’t have played much his freshman year either. Mason had the spot locked down. Also don’t have Marcus Carr either then. It’s all hindsight
Best PG I've seen in Minnesota, I thought he was better than Jarvis, even if you took Jelly I didn't see not getting him.
or the jones brothers, not getting those in any case, of the gettable ones.
Gotcha.
