All Things Nolan Winter Recruitment Thread (Class of 2023, Gophers Offered, Son of Trevor)

[Zeppelin Gopher]

Ryan James is a complete fraud. I'm about to have a meltdown post on GI and cancel my membership there effective immediately.

 

[JayBobDobbins]

Ryan James is a complete fraud. I'm about to have a meltdown post on GI and cancel my membership there effective immediately.

What did he claim to know?

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

What did he claim to know?

Hinted for months and months that MN was a strong favorite. Suddenly changes his tune then plays the card that "you never know with these things".

He either doesn't have real sources, or he actively lies to drive readers and subscribers.

RJ is a total douche and a terrible writer on top of everything else. Peace out GI

 

[howeda7]

stopped over at Buckyville, and their posts seem to also say that he's headed there. I'm a bit surprised that he didn't pick MN.

I wouldn't blame this on Ben though. I'm giving him some time. If he didn't want to play at a "city school", well, there sure isn't anything Ben could do about that.

What's "city school" code for?

 

[JayBobDobbins]

What's "city school" code for?

I dunno for sure, my assumption is a college in a large metro area? But you'd have to ask Winter if that's what his reasoning actually is and what he means by "city school".

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

The issue will be if he loses these battles at an 80% clip from then its something to worry about.

If Winter goes to Wisconsin, Ben is 2 for 7 on MN kids with MN offers that went to other high major schools. 4 of them to other B1G schools which is troubling.

So that's a 72% miss rate today, it won't take much to get him to 80% if he misses next year.

 

[JayBobDobbins]

what happened to BuiltBadgers? He would seem to be a good source of info on what went down with this.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Pitino was on multiple 5*'s when he first started here. Him missing them is why they were terrible in year 3. Let's hope Ben doesn't follow the same path.

That combined with the fact that he inherited terrible freshmen and sophomores.

 

[Otis]

He is SERIOUSLY going to Wisconsin!

I blame the parents. Should of had that Badger hatred ingrained by age three.

 

[USAF]

This is a very bad miss, if it happens. Very, very bad.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Hinted for months and months that MN was a strong favorite. Suddenly changes his tune then plays the card that "you never know with these things".

He either doesn't have real sources, or he actively lies to drive readers and subscribers.

RJ is a total douche and a terrible writer on top of everything else. Peace out GI

Yeah, things never change in recruiting. Players know exactly where they are going years in advance and never change their mind.

If Ryan James is a "fraud" for saying he was a strong Minnesota lean, then so is the Wisconsin insider who had been predicting he would go to MN for a long time.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

what happened to BuiltBadgers? He would seem to be a good source of info on what went down with this.

Celebrating in Lakeville?????

 

[Go4]

Ryan James is a complete fraud. I'm about to have a meltdown post on GI and cancel my membership there effective immediately.

his entire business model is to get subscriptions, the dude literally teased an injury for a few days leading to speculation of others getting hurt or arrests. what more do you need to know about him? it was an absolutely embarrassing use of "see what I know and you don't", who the f teases injury news about college kids?

 

[DeathClutch]

This is a very bad miss, if it happens. Very, very bad.

No not really. Winters isn't an immediate impact player and we already have a bunch of guys that can play the 4. I am quite confident Betts will turn out to be the better player anyways.

 

[GopherPlaya]

If Winter goes to Wisconsin, Ben is 2 for 6 on MN kids he did offer that went to other P5 schools. 3 of them to other B1G schools which is troubling.

So that's a 67% miss rate today, it won't take much to get him to 80% if he misses next year.

Who are the 6?

 

[USAF]

No not really. Winters isn't an immediate impact player and we already have a bunch of guys that can play the 4. I am quite confident Betts will turn out to be the better player anyways.

He's a double legacy 3 star from the metro. Johnson made him a priority. I dont care what if any on-court impact he might or might not have made.

This is bad.

 

[ecoperson]

No not really. Winters isn't an immediate impact player and we already have a bunch of guys that can play the 4. I am quite confident Betts will turn out to be the better player anyways.

Betts' reclassification in late July may ultimately be what causes Nolan to reevaluate and move another direction. Betts will now have a year of experience on Nolan and it may be harder for Nolan to battle for a coveted starting spot.

That said, I STILL have major issues with a MN prepster having a final 2 of the U of M and the state to the east. I see it as a real slap to the face. At least keep Stanford in as a final 3!!

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

He is SERIOUSLY going to Wisconsin!

I blame the parents. Should of had that Badger hatred ingrained by age three.

100% this. Better dead than red.

 

[ecoperson]

He's a double legacy 3 star from the metro. Johnson made him a priority. I dont care what if any on-court impact he might or might not have made.

This is bad.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. His parents were very motivated to have him stay home. If THEY couldn't convince him to stay home, it is hard to blame a coach for failing to do the same.

 

[bga1]

I wonder how much the potential signing of Evans has to do with Winter likely going to Wisky. As skilled as Winter is on the perimeter it is hard to see 2 guys in the 7 foot range on the court at the same time in this era of basketball.

If that's the choice that BJ is making, I am with the coach- I want Evans. Of course I want them both- because I am a fan and decisions are super easy for us.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. His parents were very motivated to have him stay home. If THEY couldn't convince him to stay home, it is hard to blame a coach for failing to do the same.

Speaking of horses, it's time for a parable.

Some of you may recognize this from the excellent and vastly underrated Charlie Wilson's War about funding the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and their fight against the Soviets.
Philip Seymour Hoffman's CIA character relates this to Wilson (Tom Hanks) as they celebrate the Soviets withdrawal -

The Parable of the Horse or Just Don’t Know

An old Chinese farmer had lost his mare, his only horse, having escaped through a broken fence. His neighbor, seeing this, shook his head and said what bad fortune this was. The old farmer only rep…

adamtritt.com

The Parable of the Horse or Just Don’t Know​

An old Chinese farmer had lost his mare, his only horse, having escaped through a broken fence. His neighbor, seeing this, shook his head and said what bad fortune this was. The old farmer only replied, “Could be. Could be.”

The horse returned and brought with her a stallion. His neighbor, seeing the fine horse, remarked what good fortune he had. The farmer replied. “Could be. Could be.”

His son tried to tame the horse, to ride him, but the horse threw him off. His son broke his leg. He would be of no help on the farm. The neighbor said how sorry he was for the old man, that things were bad for him. What bad fortune. “Could be. Could be,” he said.

The general came through the province, looking for men to fight the barbarians to the west, promising the soldiers would return with the spoils of war. But he did not take the old man’s son, as he now walked with a limp. Such terrible fortune, his neighbor said. “Could be. Could be.”

The army was routed, and most of the soldiers killed. The neighbor heard, and, upon seeing the old man said, “What good fortune!” “Could be. Could be,” was all he said.

We won't know until results occur or they don't - Jordan Murphy is a prime example, as is Jelly, et al.

So, take a breath and relax (or don't) and be grateful, we have time to worry about something like this and not serious lifey things.

 

[Bad Gopher]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. His parents were very motivated to have him stay home. If THEY couldn't convince him to stay home, it is hard to blame a coach for failing to do the same.

This. We'll wait for the announcement before engaging in post-mortem, but it's hard to overcome the pipeline UW has established from Lakeville North, and it's impossible to ignore the relative success of the Badger program compared to the Gophers. Winter knows that, if he goes to Madison, he'll be on a team competing for conference championships, which is an obvious draw. It would be a leap of faith for him to stay in Minneapolis, hoping that his tenure here would include the first season in more than a generation that the Gophs finish above the skunks in the conference standings.

 

[Tucker32]

This is a very bad miss, if it happens. Very, very bad.

No it's not. Some kids just want to go to another school, no matter how hard a coach works. Wiscy rarely gets the kids they want in their own state. Some kids just want to try something new. Ben is bringing in higher rated recruits than Nolan from out of state. Why does it matter where they are from? I have talked with numerous recruits over the years, and they each have their own interests and preferences.

 

[tommypoly]

He's a double legacy 3 star from the metro. Johnson made him a priority. I dont care what if any on-court impact he might or might not have made.

This is bad.

Could be. Could be.

 

[topos]

I'm much more disappointed that going "all in" on Winter and Evans meant backing off of Chatman. It seemed to me there was a much bigger need for a true PG, but maybe that's what the staff needed to do to secure the Christie commit. It seems like we have a lot of underclassmen, 6'7"/6'8" guys, that are 3/4 material and that Winter would have been more of a "nice to add" vs. a "must get."

If we secure the Evans commit in a few weeks, all will be well, and 2023 is a great class (including the Betts reclass).

 

[NewBerlinBucky]

No it's not. Some kids just want to go to another school, no matter how hard a coach works. Wiscy rarely gets the kids they want in their own state. Some kids just want to try something new. Ben is bringing in higher rated recruits than Nolan from out of state. Why does it matter where they are from? I have talked with numerous recruits over the years, and they each have their own interests and preferences.

Well-stated Tucker.

EVERY school has issues like this. Wisconsin has historically had a hard time getting kids from the City of Milwaukee - there are different reasons for this, but… it just seems to happen quite a bit.

At the end of the day, it’s simply a 17 year old eager to make their own imprint on the world. The right thing to do for fans and parents is to give them all the space they desire and be supportive. It’s sometimes hard to do as a fan.

 

[Roland Brooks]

Well-stated Tucker.

EVERY school has issues like this. Wisconsin has historically had a hard time getting kids from the City of Milwaukee - there are different reasons for this, but… it just seems to happen quite a bit.

At the end of the day, it’s simply a 17 year old eager to make their own imprint on the world. The right thing to do for fans and parents is to give them all the space they desire and be supportive. It’s sometimes hard to do as a fan.

Thanks Trevor

 

[GophersInIowa]

Would be a disappointing miss if this is true.

 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

This. We'll wait for the announcement before engaging in post-mortem, but it's hard to overcome the pipeline UW has established from Lakeville North, and it's impossible to ignore the relative success of the Badger program compared to the Gophers. Winter knows that, if he goes to Madison, he'll be on a team competing for conference championships, which is an obvious draw. It would be a leap of faith for him to stay in Minneapolis, hoping that his tenure here would include the first season in more than a generation that the Gophs finish above the skunks in the conference standings.

Agree with this although I was hoping that some of that would've changed. It certainly didn't appear that Reuvers had a good ending to his Badger experience and was rumored to have issues with Gard. Oh well......

 

[GopherOhana]

Well-stated Tucker.

EVERY school has issues like this. Wisconsin has historically had a hard time getting kids from the City of Milwaukee - there are different reasons for this, but… it just seems to happen quite a bit.

At the end of the day, it’s simply a 17 year old eager to make their own imprint on the world. The right thing to do for fans and parents is to give them all the space they desire and be supportive. It’s sometimes hard to do as a fan.

what's the protocol for MN Skunks? Do we start hating them when they commit, when they sign, or when they actually start playing?