skiumah1
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Let the games begin!
All Things Gophers Basketball Class of 2022 Recruiting Thread
- Thread starter GopherHole Staff
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Are you talking about the Gophers' Ihnen? Because he hasn't shown he can guard anyone in the Big Ten, nor has he proven he can shoot.
DeathClutch
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He put up 12/8/5 in a win @Rutgers this season. EJ Stephens former teammate at Lafayette for 2 years.
Doesn't look to be the most athletic guy, but a big body that has solid skills in the post and a great passer.
As we saw last spring, true centers don't grow on trees so I wouldn't mind if we locked one up early. Preferably, I would rather have a better rim protector, but it's hard to be picky when true centers are probably the most scarce position.
Spottedmuskie
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I saw Lafayette and thought we might have a small chance
cheeseheadgophfan
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C'mon EJ.....RECRUIT!!!!!!
Spottedmuskie
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upnorthkid
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I guess now we'll see what Ben can do. HS guys have seen his vision in year one. Transfers have seen it on the floor. Now will it pay dividends? Next year's team could be competitive with the right couple of plug and play transfers. PT to be had for guys looking to move up
MinnGopher
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If you cant read, I cant help you. Comment was relative to Fox, yes Ihnen is a better shooter. The comment wasn't he is a proven shooter, it was that he is a better shooter than Fox.
Once again, the whole stand around on the arc and jack 3 balls under Pitino is over. If we had KD he might be successful at that, but few in the college game would be.
I wasn't responding to anything regarding Fox, so maybe it is you who has a reading problem. I won't offer to help you.
As you can see in the quote, I was responding to your assertion that stated "Ihnen has proven he can guard big men in the B1G and is a better shooter."
He hasn't proven he can guard big men in the Big Ten. At all. In fact, up to this point, he has proven he cannot guard big men in the Big Ten. A lack of defensive awareness is exactly what limited his minutes so far in his career.
As to being a better shooter, Ihnen and Fox have nearly identical long distance shooting stats, with Fox a very slight edge percentage wise.
MinnGopher
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The context of the post was referencing a comparison between him and Fox, you selected one portion of it. Interpret it that way if you want, but was intended to be a comparison to Fox. He has guarded bigs down low and has held his own unlike TT/any other big on our roster other than Curry. You are correct, stats are similar but I think we can give it some context. NSIC v B1G, not as long/less athletic.
Fair enough.
Ragnor
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I have no idea of Ihnen guards well other than he is very athletic so he should be able to. I know Ihnen can shoot but it depends on which Ihnen shows up 2019-2020 Ihnen was a 38% shooter with 45 attempts and 2020-2021 Ihnen was 22% with 59 attempts.
247 said he could shoot the 3 but not sure what that is worth:
https://247sports.com/player/isaiah-ihnen-46080931/
EVALUATED 11/02/2018
Evan DanielsDIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL RECRUITING
PROJECTION
Power-5 StarterAn intriguing combo forward prospect with good size, very long arms and a projectable frame with wide shoulders. A very good athlete especially for his size. He is fluid, mobile and is pretty explosive off the ground. Offensively, Ihnen is a tad raw, but can make shots off the catch from 3, Is a willing and good passer, runs the floor in transition and has potential as a slasher with development of his handle as it is fairly loose at this stage. Defensively, he is loaded with upside due to his athleticism and physical gifts. He can already defend multiple positions as he breaks down and gives good effort on this end and moves well lateral
If we get the Ihnen from 2019-2020 he will be good to very good or if we get the Ihnen that Pitino destroyed (i.e. Gabe and Gach) then it will be disappointing. Here are Ihnen's stats from the last 7 games of 2019-2020.
Isaiah Ihnen - Men's Basketball - University of Minnesota Athletics
Isaiah Ihnen (5) Forward - PRONUNCIATION Your browser does not support HTML5 audio. Season / Career Stats 2023-24 | RS-JUNIOR SEASON Academic All-Big Ten • p...
Season Statistics
| Date | Opponent | GS | MIN | FGM/A | % | 3FG/A | % | FTM/A | % | OFF | DEF | TOT | AVG | PF | AST | T/O | BLK | STL | PTS | AVG |
|---|
| 02/16/20 | Iowa | 16 | 2-5 | .400 | 1-4 | .250 | 0-0 | .000 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1.9 | |
| 02/19/20 | Indiana | 15 | 2-4 | .500 | 1-3 | .333 | 0-0 | .000 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2.1 | |
| 02/26/20 | Maryland | 20 | 3-9 | .333 | 3-7 | .429 | 0-0 | .000 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1.8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2.5 | |
| 03/01/20 | at Wisconsin | 24 | 2-7 | .286 | 2-7 | .286 | 0-0 | .000 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2.2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2.7 | |
| 03/04/20 | at Indiana | 23 | 3-4 | .750 | 3-3 | 1.000 | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2.4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3.0 | |
| 03/08/20 | Nebraska | 17 | 4-6 | .667 | 1-3 | .333 | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3.3 | |
| 03/11/20 | vs Northwestern | 20 | 2-4 | .500 | 1-2 | .500 | 0-0 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.4 | |
| Total | 239 | 26-61 | .426 | 17-45 | .378 | 2-2 | 1.000 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 2.5 | 24 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 71 | 3.4 |
MinnGopher
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I get what you are saying, tough to say for sure on what Ihnens potential is as a shooter, can probably make the case either way. Probably a little more optimistic than other so I get thinking he wont be much on the offensive end. I do think he has defended well in the games I have watched though.
Two things stand out in those stats. One, Ihnen was good on threes. His (limited) attempts netted 38%, about what Battle hit this year. Two, out of 61 attempts from the field only 16 were non-threes. A guy with his size and athletism needs to get inside for the majority of his shots and points.I have no idea of Ihnen guards well other than he is very athletic so he should be able to. I know Ihnen can shoot but it depends on which Ihnen shows up 2019-2020 Ihnen was a 38% shooter with 45 attempts and 2020-2021 Ihnen was 22% with 59 attempts.
247 said he could shoot the 3 but not sure what that is worth:
https://247sports.com/player/isaiah-ihnen-46080931/
EVALUATED 11/02/2018
Evan DanielsDIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL RECRUITING
PROJECTION
Power-5 Starter
An intriguing combo forward prospect with good size, very long arms and a projectable frame with wide shoulders. A very good athlete especially for his size. He is fluid, mobile and is pretty explosive off the ground. Offensively, Ihnen is a tad raw, but can make shots off the catch from 3, Is a willing and good passer, runs the floor in transition and has potential as a slasher with development of his handle as it is fairly loose at this stage. Defensively, he is loaded with upside due to his athleticism and physical gifts. He can already defend multiple positions as he breaks down and gives good effort on this end and moves well lateral
If we get the Ihnen from 2019-2020 he will be good to very good or if we get the Ihnen that Pitino destroyed (i.e. Gabe and Gach) then it will be disappointing. Here are Ihnen's stats from the last 7 games of 2019-2020.
Isaiah Ihnen - Men's Basketball - University of Minnesota Athletics
Isaiah Ihnen (5) Forward - PRONUNCIATION Your browser does not support HTML5 audio. Season / Career Stats 2023-24 | RS-JUNIOR SEASON Academic All-Big Ten • p...gophersports.com
Season Statistics
Date Opponent GS MIN FGM/A % 3FG/A % FTM/A % OFF DEF TOT AVG PF AST T/O BLK STL PTS AVG
02/16/20 Iowa 16 2-5 .400 1-4 .250 0-0 .000 3 1 4 1.5 2 2 0 3 0 5 1.9 02/19/20 Indiana 15 2-4 .500 1-3 .333 0-0 .000 1 2 3 1.6 2 2 0 0 1 5 2.1 02/26/20 Maryland 20 3-9 .333 3-7 .429 0-0 .000 3 1 4 1.8 2 1 1 1 1 9 2.5 03/01/20 at Wisconsin 24 2-7 .286 2-7 .286 0-0 .000 3 7 10 2.2 4 0 3 0 0 6 2.7 03/04/20 at Indiana 23 3-4 .750 3-3 1.000 0-0 .000 0 5 5 2.4 2 1 3 0 0 9 3.0 03/08/20 Nebraska 17 4-6 .667 1-3 .333 0-0 .000 0 4 4 2.5 2 1 1 2 0 9 3.3 03/11/20 vs Northwestern 20 2-4 .500 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 2 2 4 2.5 1 0 0 0 0 5 3.4 Total 239 26-61 .426 17-45 .378 2-2 1.000 15 38 53 2.5 24 12 14 9 5 71 3.4
I have no doubt Ben will change the way he plays offense.
MinnGopher
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Good post, thats the one knock on his game imo. He hasn't showed the ability to cut or get to the rim at all. That is the thing that scares me the most.
Ragnor
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The rumors of him coming in indicated he wanted to play more of a wing or even shooting guard. I agree very much with your analysis.
Ihnen definitely has potential to be a contributing Big Ten player and possibly even a starter with big impact.
However, I believe he was too lost on defense in his first two years to say he defended well. It was literally what kept him from getting 20+ minutes a night. If he improves on that end, he will play more.
Yes, I hope we get the Ihnen that showcased in the referenced seven-game stretch to finish his freshman year where he was 12-for-29=42%.
Hopefully, we don't get the Ihnen for the other 43 games of his career 18-for-75=24%.
Some coaches go along with what the player wants and some say "This is what I need you to do in order to be on the floor".
MinnGopher
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Fair point, def had a chance to earn more minute. Looks like he got 15 but I think Brandon Johnson factored into that a bit as well..thinking Curry played some 4 that year as well but could be wrong.
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I agree with a lot of what's been said about Ihnen. He is an athletic guy who does have 3 pt range, even though it's streaky. The 2 things for him to work on in the coming year are his defensive awareness and putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim-if he want to shoot 3's in the big ten he needs to be able to drive it on occasion. It seems like every drive he's made, he has a guy on his hip and he stops and passes off. I hope Johnson forces him to finish his drives. The guy can rebound, and he could be an asset.
Yes, go to the basket on occasion. Better yet, slash to the basket a lot. Better than better, post up a dozen or so times a game and use your size and length.
We'd all like to see everybody on the floor knocking down threes at 40% or more but it's not realistic and still not a good offense unless we are getting points in the paint.
We are always going to have plenty of 6'6 guys who can shoot from outside and guard a wing. That is not the primary role of a good athlete like Ihnen and certainly not the primary role for Thompson.
If it were not abundantly clear before, this team proved a weak interior offense with four guys hanging on the perimeter can't get second chance points and can't score inside.
Blackhammer
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To even compare his three point shooting to Battle is ridiculous. We really have no idea what kind of player he could be. Seems to look the part of a Big Ten player athletic wise .
He’s playing time has been so limited it’s an educated guess at best at what he actually is capable of . Maybe he’s Buggs maybe much more. It’s also possible he won’t get any minutes . Like a backup quarterback guys who don’t play give fans reason for optimism. Sometimes warranted sometimes not.
Formerswish
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I agree with you completely. And I would also say that both Ihnen and Thompson have grown up as mostly face the basket players, and have shown very little inclination, or the skills, to post up. Unfortunately, most bigs who come in as face the basket players have a very difficult time changing. If Johnson can get one or both of those guys to learn a few post moves or a jump hook, it would be very impressive. And they need an inside scorer very badly. We can only hope Payne or a portal transfer can supply some inside scoring to free up some shooters, we'll need it.
I compared his three-point shooting from the stats supplied to Battle's percentage this year. Ihnen's percentage is fractionally better than Battle's.
I offered zero opinion of how Ihnen would shoot playing a full season next year. The only opinion I offered is that 74% of his shots should not be threes.
opportunity 1st and foremost....lots of bodies in front of him
his shooting...he made his strides last spring on this but its still a question.....will he be good enough on offense to get minutes?
while his defense on paper seems like will be a plus...will he be fast/quick enough to guard Big Ten level 3/4's?
Ola-Joseph was always going to be a project and will need time....i will be pleasantly shocked if he gets meaningful minutes next year
cheeseheadgophfan
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Just watched some of Henley's highlights on Twitter and my first thought was can we get their PG.....#1?????