All Things Gophers Basketball Class of 2022 Recruiting Thread

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Fleckoff said:
wasn't he in the 40's his freshman year, seems to be all over the place. It'll be interesting to see who is on the roster and getting minutes, especially if someone like Dawson Garcia were to jump in.
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Buggs was 34% on his career. Iowa was special...:)
 

Fleckoff said:
wasn't he in the 40's his freshman year, seems to be all over the place. It'll be interesting to see who is on the roster and getting minutes, especially if someone like Dawson Garcia were to jump in.
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38%. Gabe shot 41% his freshman season and still has a beautiful looking shot. But we’ve seen how that has played out.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
38%. Gabe shot 41% his freshman season and still has a beautiful looking shot. But we’ve seen how that has played out.
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That is basically unplayable and he’s playing 30 minutes a game.
 

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GopherWeatherGuy said:
Ihnen is likely a better defender, but Buggs was a better shooter. Ihnen was a terrible 3 point shooter last season at 22%.
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Good call on his year last year, but I think he is a better shooter than Buggs. Shot 38% the year before as a freshman, as he made 4 more on 14 less attempts. That is 6% higher than any of Buggs' years where he took more than 15 shots from deep. Idk if he is truly better but he plays in a system that has much better spacing and creates much better looks (if this year is any indication of what is to come), so I do expect him to shoot it at a better clip than Buggs did during his time.
 

MinnGopher said:
Good call on his year last year, but I think he is a better shooter than Buggs. Shot 38% the year before as a freshman, as he made 4 more on 14 less attempts. That is 6% higher than any of Buggs' years where he took more than 15 shots from deep. Idk if he is truly better but he plays in a system that has much better spacing and creates much better looks (if this year is any indication of what is to come), so I do expect him to shoot it at a better clip than Buggs did during his time.
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We’ll see. He’s coming off a serious injury and needs a lot of work. I hope he improves. I’m just surprised at how many want to pencil him in as a starter when he has been a below average player at best.
 


MinnGopher said:
Good call on his year last year, but I think he is a better shooter than Buggs. Shot 38% the year before as a freshman, as he made 4 more on 14 less attempts. That is 6% higher than any of Buggs' years where he took more than 15 shots from deep. Idk if he is truly better but he plays in a system that has much better spacing and creates much better looks (if this year is any indication of what is to come), so I do expect him to shoot it at a better clip than Buggs did during his time.
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He also seemed to me to be much more active on the boards and committed to D S well - plus coming from playing in Germany also factors in as well.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
We’ll see. He’s coming off a serious injury and needs a lot of work. I hope he improves. I’m just surprised at how many want to pencil him in as a starter when he has been a below average player at best.
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Definitely something to consider, but given we don't really have much returning on the roster its easy to pencil him in there imo. I'm not sure we would want to take a transfer who slots in as a 3/4 as the bulk of our roster profiles to play forward next year (Battle/JOJ/Fox/Ihnen). I know positions are fluid but for the sake of projecting a starting lineup I would guess it goes as follows:

1-transfer, Carrington
2-transfer, Carrington, Henley
3-Battle, Fox, JOJ
4-Ihhen/Fox, TT, JOJ
5-Payne, transfer, TT

I think potential transfer guards will start at the 1 and 2, and I put a transfer under the 5 but ideally we would grab a guy that could also play the 4. Wouldn't be surprised for us to take a 4th transfer or a decommit but obviously is a fairly fluid situation. From a roster makeup position, I have a hard time believing we are going to grab another player that is going to be a 4 in this cycle unless they are exceptional. Doesn't make sense to have a log jam there and only have 5 guards on the roster. Have to use one on a big that can defend in the B1G other than Payne. I don't believe JOJ or TT will get much run next year, although I'm hopeful with an offseason TT can start to come around.
 

MinnGopher said:
Definitely something to consider, but given we don't really have much returning on the roster its easy to pencil him in there imo. I'm not sure we would want to take a transfer who slots in as a 3/4 as the bulk of our roster profiles to play forward next year (Battle/JOJ/Fox/Ihnen). I know positions are fluid but for the sake of projecting a starting lineup I would guess it goes as follows:

1-transfer, Carrington
2-transfer, Carrington, Henley
3-Battle, Fox, JOJ
4-Ihhen/Fox, TT, JOJ
5-Payne, transfer, TT

I think potential transfer guards will start at the 1 and 2, and I put a transfer under the 5 but ideally we would grab a guy that could also play the 4. Wouldn't be surprised for us to take a 4th transfer or a decommit but obviously is a fairly fluid situation. From a roster makeup position, I have a hard time believing we are going to grab another player that is going to be a 4 in this cycle unless they are exceptional. Doesn't make sense to have a log jam there and only have 5 guards on the roster. Have to use one on a big that can defend in the B1G other than Payne. I don't believe JOJ or TT will get much run next year, although I'm hopeful with an offseason TT can start to come around.
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It’s a bit of a bummer since TT was a 4-star per the services, so there’s some expectation that he comes in and can contribute right away, but I think he just needs to be ready to be a 25+ min guy by junior year. We aren’t looking likely to win anything again next year, so I’m not in a rush with him.
 




MinnGopher said:
Definitely something to consider, but given we don't really have much returning on the roster its easy to pencil him in there imo. I'm not sure we would want to take a transfer who slots in as a 3/4 as the bulk of our roster profiles to play forward next year (Battle/JOJ/Fox/Ihnen). I know positions are fluid but for the sake of projecting a starting lineup I would guess it goes as follows:

1-transfer, Carrington
2-transfer, Carrington, Henley
3-Battle, Fox, JOJ
4-Ihhen/Fox, TT, JOJ
5-Payne, transfer, TT

I think potential transfer guards will start at the 1 and 2, and I put a transfer under the 5 but ideally we would grab a guy that could also play the 4. Wouldn't be surprised for us to take a 4th transfer or a decommit but obviously is a fairly fluid situation. From a roster makeup position, I have a hard time believing we are going to grab another player that is going to be a 4 in this cycle unless they are exceptional. Doesn't make sense to have a log jam there and only have 5 guards on the roster. Have to use one on a big that can defend in the B1G other than Payne. I don't believe JOJ or TT will get much run next year, although I'm hopeful with an offseason TT can start to come around.
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Fox is significantly better than Ihnen and appears to be fully recovered from his injury. He'll be a starter next season.

I will be shocked if Dawson Garcia is not on the Gophers next season. It appears he's not going back to UNC, and if he wants to play close to home, the Gophers are the only option.
 

MinnGopher said:
Definitely something to consider, but given we don't really have much returning on the roster its easy to pencil him in there imo. I'm not sure we would want to take a transfer who slots in as a 3/4 as the bulk of our roster profiles to play forward next year (Battle/JOJ/Fox/Ihnen). I know positions are fluid but for the sake of projecting a starting lineup I would guess it goes as follows:

1-transfer, Carrington
2-transfer, Carrington, Henley
3-Battle, Fox, JOJ
4-Ihhen/Fox, TT, JOJ
5-Payne, transfer, TT

I think potential transfer guards will start at the 1 and 2, and I put a transfer under the 5 but ideally we would grab a guy that could also play the 4. Wouldn't be surprised for us to take a 4th transfer or a decommit but obviously is a fairly fluid situation. From a roster makeup position, I have a hard time believing we are going to grab another player that is going to be a 4 in this cycle unless they are exceptional. Doesn't make sense to have a log jam there and only have 5 guards on the roster. Have to use one on a big that can defend in the B1G other than Payne. I don't believe JOJ or TT will get much run next year, although I'm hopeful with an offseason TT can start to come around.
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Seems about right although- assuming Thiam moves on, that puts us at 11 scholarships filled. I'd like to see them get it up to 12 if they can find the right guy and then either keep Thiam if he wants to stay or give the last one to Ramberg for the year. One more ball handling guard - you can't have enough of them.
 




MinnGopher said:
Definitely something to consider, but given we don't really have much returning on the roster its easy to pencil him in there imo. I'm not sure we would want to take a transfer who slots in as a 3/4 as the bulk of our roster profiles to play forward next year (Battle/JOJ/Fox/Ihnen). I know positions are fluid but for the sake of projecting a starting lineup I would guess it goes as follows:

1-transfer, Carrington
2-transfer, Carrington, Henley
3-Battle, Fox, JOJ
4-Ihhen/Fox, TT, JOJ
5-Payne, transfer, TT

I think potential transfer guards will start at the 1 and 2, and I put a transfer under the 5 but ideally we would grab a guy that could also play the 4. Wouldn't be surprised for us to take a 4th transfer or a decommit but obviously is a fairly fluid situation. From a roster makeup position, I have a hard time believing we are going to grab another player that is going to be a 4 in this cycle unless they are exceptional. Doesn't make sense to have a log jam there and only have 5 guards on the roster. Have to use one on a big that can defend in the B1G other than Payne. I don't believe JOJ or TT will get much run next year, although I'm hopeful with an offseason TT can start to come around.
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I forsee Fox and Battle as the main 3/4 guys next year and Ihnen backing up. Fox had 22 pt ave, 9 boards and 3 blocks his last year at Northern. He is very athletic. Ihnen was never a factor but maybe he will really be improved. It will be interesting where Ben uses TT.

IMO, the other 3 spots are wide open and look for BJ to bring in transfers to help with the young guys.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Fox is significantly better than Ihnen and appears to be fully recovered from his injury. He'll be a starter next season.

I will be shocked if Dawson Garcia is not on the Gophers next season. It appears he's not going back to UNC, and if he wants to play close to home, the Gophers are the only option.
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St. Thomas? He hasn't been very good elsewhere.
 

VolitileGopher said:
St. Thomas? He hasn't been very good elsewhere.
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This has to be a joke.

He averaged 13/7 on 53% shooting, including 36% 3PT and 78% FT as a freshman at Marquette.

This season against Purdue he scored 26 points on 10/13 shooting, including 3/5 3PT.

Would you prefer St. Thomas' Jarvis Omersa?
 

HS regular season is done. Carrington has lead Park Center to a 25-1 record, with the only hiccup a 3 point loss to Totino, which they avenged with a 30 point win in the rematch. PC's average scoring margin, per game, is +24.2 lol.
The thing is, if PC and Wayzata both make State, PC will likely be the #2 seed because the MSHSL uses some wonky formula created by some random dude. In the FAQ's of the QRF, it states that margin of victory is not part of the formula. Not to mention PC already beat Wayzata this season. It really shouldn't matter anyways, because PC should be the heavy favorite at AAAA.
 

nooram said:
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Somewhat off topic... but Arkansas is playing at Tennessee today. TN up by 21 at half. Completely forgot about Zakai Zeigler who had an official with us in early August. Reclassified to Class of '21, received an offer, and signed with TN a couple of weeks later. He is averaging 8.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, and 2.4 apg... would've looked good in maroon and gold. Zeigler's family lost their home to a fire about a week ago and there was a massive GoFundMe campaign to help due to the loss of medical equipment needed for a special needs nephew that Zeigler's mom cares for. Interesting story.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Fox is significantly better than Ihnen and appears to be fully recovered from his injury. He'll be a starter next season.
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I am unsure on this, Fox seems very talented but he has not been playing in D1. Ihnen came on at the end of his freshman year and was a very good 3 point shooter which is not the case with Fox. Will be interesting to see how it pans out. Nice to have 2 players with a lot of potential there.
 





GophersInIowa said:
May be a dumb question but could Battle play some at the 3 next year? Especially if a guy like Garcia transfers in
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Probably depends on the matchup and what defense they are playing. He’s not real fleet of foot so he could struggle on the perimeter against some of the quicker 3s
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Fox is significantly better than Ihnen and appears to be fully recovered from his injury. He'll be a starter next season.

I will be shocked if Dawson Garcia is not on the Gophers next season. It appears he's not going back to UNC, and if he wants to play close to home, the Gophers are the only option.
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Could be, but not sure how you can assume that before he has played in the B1G or coming off a knee injury like Ihnen, if we are going to account for it with him. Ihnen has proven he can guard big men in the B1G and is a better shooter. I think its safe to say Fox is better and getting to the rim as that was his game at Northern, and he was very good at doing just that. Doesn't look like Fox can shoot it very well, has only shot 58% from the line in his best year too. Minutes are going to be very similar between the two, hence the reason for the Ihnen discussion/projection on the board.
 


Be careful about too high of expectations for Ihnen. Granted he played under a dysfunctional Pitino-led system, but his stats leave a lot to be desired:

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That being said, we could have used him, although he offered little offense from the post. Most of his damage was from around the arc.
 

MinnGopher said:
Could be, but not sure how you can assume that before he has played in the B1G or coming off a knee injury like Ihnen, if we are going to account for it with him. Ihnen has proven he can guard big men in the B1G and is a better shooter. I think its safe to say Fox is better and getting to the rim as that was his game at Northern, and he was very good at doing just that. Doesn't look like Fox can shoot it very well, has only shot 58% from the line in his best year too. Minutes are going to be very similar between the two, hence the reason for the Ihnen discussion/projection on the board.
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Fox is already cleared to practice, has been dunking with ease in warmups, and looks nearly 100%. He was dominant at the lower levels, and making that jump up is not as difficult in basketball as it is in other sports. This is why he had many offers from top programs before signing with MN.

Ihnen has never been dominant at any level, and his recovery is a ? right now. He has also been a poor shooter. He has potential but hasn't come close to realizing it in 2 years.

I don't see minutes being similar between the two next season. I think people are underselling Fox and overselling Ihnen.
 

VanillaThunder said:
Be careful about too high of expectations for Ihnen. Granted he played under a dysfunctional Pitino-led system, but his stats leave a lot to be desired:

View attachment 17352
That being said, we could have used him, although he offered little offense from the post. Most of his damage was from around the arc.
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I think he was miscast as a small forward by Pitino for much of his time here. He doesn't shoot outside well enough or handle the ball well enough for that role. Maybe his initial luck in shooting threes as a freshman had something to do with that but it became clear by half way through his sophomore year that he should rarely take those. He was a solid shooter on two-pointers (54.8%) during his two years of playing here. Ridiculously he took only 42 twos in those two years while taking 105 threes where he was 28.8%. He is an 81% free throw shooter; unfortunately he's taken only 21 of those. Those measures are further indicators of Pitino's foolish stubbornness in his usage of players.

His best moments during his two years were when he played in the interior. He is a decent interior defender and is a good rebounder due to his length and quick reflexes. He also is a very willing passer out of the post so he won't be a black hole in there. He did show some ability to take maybe one or two dribbles and go to the hole and, when he got fouled and took shots, he did well at that.

Hopefully, Ben will use him more wisely than Pitino did. If the first year is any indication, Ben has the ability to recruit pretty good outside shooters. If he repeats that next season, he shouldn't need to have Ihnen shooting threes very much.
 
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
Fox is already cleared to practice, has been dunking with ease in warmups, and looks nearly 100%. He was dominant at the lower levels, and making that jump up is not as difficult in basketball as it is in other sports. This is why he had many offers from top programs before signing with MN.

Ihnen has never been dominant at any level, and his recovery is a ? right now. He has also been a poor shooter. He has potential but hasn't come close to realizing it in 2 years.

I don't see minutes being similar between the two next season. I think people are underselling Fox and overselling Ihnen.
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Ihnen is a kid with a ton of ability who always looked uncertain about his role on the court. Build his confidence and put him in places on the court where he can succeed and he can be a big asset, IMO.
 

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