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

Donate To GopherHole
GopherPlaya said:
Heide went to a prep school out of state as well & Ola Joseph committed before leaving. However, Payne didn't get any interest until last summer, and Carrington wasn't getting much interest last year.

The recruits you are talking about weren't realistic in year 1. He got 3 Minnesota kids. I am confused about how our recruiting this year is bleak when we are getting better players than any in-state recruit not named Taisom. When did getting MN kids become the requirement for the rebuild? I watched Betts destroy D1MN. He was one of the top 2 players on the court that game. Christie is better than any MN kid in this class - Taisom, and if we get Evans, he and Taisom are equally rated prospects. Winter teams haven't won nothin in high school with another high major D1 kid on the team and a HOF coach who gets to state every year. Winter would have been a good addition, but to act like he was or is some game-changer doesn't make sense to me. It would be nice to win with in-state talent, but this was one of the weakest MN classes we have had in a while. Most were low major to D2 Level kids. There is reason why Grassroots, Pulley & D1MN struggled nationally for AAU this summer
Click to expand...

I forgot Heide left so that's my bad, JOJ should be included then for 3/8.

Christie is better than any MN recruit, better than Chatman? Based on what? Kids flash from game to game in the case of someone like Betts, and doesn't mean they can sustain it long term.

I'm not real high on Winter either, but the optics of missing a legacy recruit to Wisconsin are poor. Recruiting rankings are far from perfect but none of the recruits we are landing are top 100 recruits outside of potentially Evans. But he hasn't signed here yet. Winter is ranked right were Payne was last year, and ahead of Carringon, JOJ, Henley, and Betts.

We don't know if any of these guys are game changers at the B1G level including Winter, but Ben wanted him and thought he could be. The Gophers are going to need several of them to turn out to be good to great players if they are going to stay out of last place the next few years. It's really hard to recruit and win in the B1G with nearly all under the radar/late bloomer recruits.
 

ecoperson said:
I would add that Holloman and King were already heavy leans to MSU and ISU respectively when Johnson was hired. He didn't have time to build these relationships.

Izzo had been working Holloman for a couple of years. King had an established relationship with Otzelberger. You can't expect kids to throw away the relationship AND gamble on a first year head coach without seeing a single game.

Johnson was hired on March 21, 2021.
King committed to ISU on April 20.
Holloman committed in early Aug.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, I just add them because we did recruit them and to meet GWG at somewhat of a fair level in discussion.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
People will get over the provincialism once some of these guys play and produce. So much judgement and we’ve not even seen our first true recruiting class play. Once people see Betts is better than Winter it will help. A lot of people whine about Illikainen, but getting Murphy instead allow most to forget
Click to expand...

I've said this before that I don't care where the recruits come from as long as they win. The only thing Ben had on his resume when he was hired was the ability to recruit local kids, so it's fair to get upset when that doesn't happen. Especially after we finished in last place and are expected to be at the bottom again this season.
 

ecoperson said:
Do Kammron Taylor and Jordan Taylor count
Click to expand...
MNJay said:
Saying this is a big loss is ridiculous.

Saying Trevor Winter was a good player is delusional.

If Wisconsin pulls a Coffey or Oturu type kid out of Minnesota...then I'll start to worry.
Click to expand...
We aren’t recruiting Trevor Winter . Nolan is a very good shooter but we don’t need shooters of course And really Kam Taylor and Jordan don’t count and Davidson does but only because of his height? You are ridiculous.😁 This would hurt and losing a legacy recruit is no good People forget the Sims kid that went to Texas a few years ago also. a legacy kid . Winter was certainly much more highly recruiting that Treyton Thompson and his offers were good enough that saying this wasn’t a loss is basketball ignorant. That said there are lots of good players out there but for High School kids it’s getting late but a transfer point guard down the line would be nice If no Winter makes it much more important to get Evans IMO
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I forgot Heide left so that's my bad, JOJ should be included then for 3/8.

Christie is better than any MN recruit, better than Chatman? Based on what? Kids flash from game to game in the case of someone like Betts, and doesn't mean they can sustain it long term.

I'm not real high on Winter either, but the optics of missing a legacy recruit to Wisconsin are poor. Recruiting rankings are far from perfect but none of the recruits we are landing are top 100 recruits outside of potentially Evans. But he hasn't signed here yet. Winter is ranked right were Payne was last year, and ahead of Carringon, JOJ, Henley, and Betts.

We don't know if any of these guys are game changers at the B1G level including Winter, but Ben wanted him and thought he could be. The Gophers are going to need several of them to turn out to be good to great players if they are going to stay out of last place the next few years. It's really hard to recruit and win in the B1G with nearly all under the radar/late bloomer recruits.
Click to expand...
Christie is ranked 84 on 247. Based on my eyes and rankings, I said he is better than everyone except Taisom. Winter is just as much of a late bloomer as the kids you are talking about so we can't make that statement but whine about missing him.
 


GopherPlaya said:
Christie is ranked 84 on 247. Based on my eyes and rankings, I said he is better than everyone except Taisom. Winter is just as much of a late bloomer as the kids you are talking about so we can't make that statement but whine about missing him.
Click to expand...

I always go by composite where he's 130. And even by that measure he's still more highly ranked than anyone else besides Taisom, so that's not surprising. I'd still rather have Chatman though.

Christie and Evans would be the highest ranked recruits in Ben's career so far here which would be great. But we still need more, and if we don't get Evans, then what?
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
I've said this before that I don't care where the recruits come from as long as they win. The only thing Ben had on his resume when he was hired was the ability to recruit local kids, so it's fair to get upset when that doesn't happen. Especially after we finished in last place and are expected to be at the bottom again this season.
Click to expand...
According to 247, he was the primary recruiter on three Top 150 (one was top 100) recruits at Xavier. So he at least has shown he can recruit nationally too, not just MN kids.

Ben Johnson All Time Recruits

247sports.com 247sports.com
 

GopherPlaya said:
Ola-Joseph doesn't count? I will agree with Winter & Chatman but Holloman, Heide, & King were well established recruits and had relationships with the other coaches. The late bloomers we got because they weren't being recruited the same as those other guys. 2024 will be a bigger litmus test. Asuma, McAndrews, & Mekkonen are all high on the Gophers radar and if we can't pull any then it's a bad look. Freitag isn't a priority for a variety of non-basketball reasons.
Click to expand...
What about Robison? Will he be another becky badger? And curious as what you are referring to about Freitag?
 





BballJones said:
What about Robison? Will he be another becky badger? And curious as what you are referring to about Freitag?
Click to expand...
I think Freitag is considered a better football prospect but I have no idea if that is what he is referring.
 




BballJones said:
What about Robison? Will he be another becky badger? And curious as what you are referring to about Freitag?
Click to expand...
I have heard Robison wants to go to Iowa. Freitag will have options in both sports and heard he might be leaning towards football. (Could also be speculation as well)
 


Zeppelin Gopher said:
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
Click to expand...
That doesn't necessarily mean he was wrong. Could be that something changed.
 


I thought Lakeville kids turning red was a Pitino problem. We need Barnburner's prospective... I mean Spaulding... I mean, why did we ban these guys again? lol
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I've said this before that I don't care where the recruits come from as long as they win. The only thing Ben had on his resume when he was hired was the ability to recruit local kids, so it's fair to get upset when that doesn't happen. Especially after we finished in last place and are expected to be at the bottom again this season.
Click to expand...
That ability may have got him the interview or in the room. He won the job with his vision and ability to create relationships with players and recruits. Again Wisconsin beat us for Winter and it can’t always continue to happen, but it’s t he first time he’s went head to head with them. I don’t get upset over here be class. Multiple in a row and you’ll hear real concern from me
 

GopherPlaya said:
He is going to Wisconsin. I have had it confirmed by multiple sources. Definitely thought he would end up here but doesn't want to play at a "city school"
Click to expand...
Makes some sense.

I suspect the Winters aren’t overly impressed with the leadership (Gabel) at the U of M. She’s weak, and hasn’t made student safety on campus a priority. That stuff filters down. And Minneapolis has kind of turned into a cesspool.
 


GophersInIowa said:
According to 247, he was the primary recruiter on three Top 150 (one was top 100) recruits at Xavier. So he at least has shown he can recruit nationally too, not just MN kids.

Ben Johnson All Time Recruits

247sports.com 247sports.com
Click to expand...

KyKy was a miss but Jones and Freemantle are good. But they are also playing on teams responsible for Xavier's worst 4 year run over the last 40 years.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I forgot Heide left so that's my bad, JOJ should be included then for 3/8.

Christie is better than any MN recruit, better than Chatman? Based on what? Kids flash from game to game in the case of someone like Betts, and doesn't mean they can sustain it long term.

I'm not real high on Winter either, but the optics of missing a legacy recruit to Wisconsin are poor. Recruiting rankings are far from perfect but none of the recruits we are landing are top 100 recruits outside of potentially Evans. But he hasn't signed here yet. Winter is ranked right were Payne was last year, and ahead of Carringon, JOJ, Henley, and Betts.

We don't know if any of these guys are game changers at the B1G level including Winter, but Ben wanted him and thought he could be. The Gophers are going to need several of them to turn out to be good to great players if they are going to stay out of last place the next few years. It's really hard to recruit and win in the B1G with nearly all under the radar/late bloomer recruits.
Click to expand...
I have yet to see anyone project the Gophers to last in the conference. This is in sharp contrast to last year when they were the near unanimous #14 and certainly didn't pass the eye test when they walked off the bus.

Most of the publications that I have read this summer/fall project the Gophers at #10 or #11. This seems fair in my opinion and a logical step up in year 2 of the Johnson regime. As competitive as they were last year with a bunch of 1 year mid-major players, I expect to see improvement in 2022-23. There will be some growing pains this year to be followed by solid growth as the 5 new and complementary players grow up in the system together.
 


I was busy all day and just read the last few....we are now assuming we are out and hes going to Wisc?!?!?!?
 


SelectionSunday said:
Makes some sense.

I suspect the Winters aren’t overly impressed with the leadership (Gabel) at the U of M. She’s weak, and hasn’t made student safety on campus a priority. That stuff filters down. And Minneapolis has kind of turned into a cesspool.
Click to expand...
Good old SS can't keep his politics at bay. It might be time to move when Jensen loses.
 

Blackhammer said:
We aren’t recruiting Trevor Winter . Nolan is a very good shooter but we don’t need shooters of course And really Kam Taylor and Jordan don’t count and Davidson does but only because of his height? You are ridiculous.😁 This would hurt and losing a legacy recruit is no good People forget the Sims kid that went to Texas a few years ago also. a legacy kid . Winter was certainly much more highly recruiting that Treyton Thompson and his offers were good enough that saying this wasn’t a loss is basketball ignorant. That said there are lots of good players out there but for High School kids it’s getting late but a transfer point guard down the line would be nice If no Winter makes it much more important to get Evans IMO
Click to expand...
No, I'm not ridiculous. It's a fact that WI recruits the exact same type of players out of MN...tall white guys who are more comfortable on the perimeter than inside. (Except for Davison, who we didn't recruit.)

You and others keep emphasizing the 'legacy' stuff. But come on...this is Trevor Winter we're talking about. Not Bobby Jackson. Or should I say it directly again...Winter sucked.

And no, Winter is not rated higher than Treyton Thompson. He's rated slightly lower than most of the perimeter bigs that WI usually gets.
 

MNJay said:
No, I'm not ridiculous. It's a fact that WI recruits the exact same type of players out of MN...tall white guys who are more comfortable on the perimeter than inside. (Except for Davison, who we didn't recruit.)

You and others keep emphasizing the 'legacy' stuff. But come on...this is Trevor Winter we're talking about. Not Bobby Jackson. Or should I say it directly again...Winter sucked.

And no, Winter is not rated higher than Treyton Thompson. He's rated slightly lower than most of the perimeter bigs that WI usually gets.
Click to expand...

Yeah Wisconsin should really stop recruiting these types of players. They only have 3 B1G titles, 4 sweet 16s, two final 4s, and one national championship game appearance over the last 10 years to show for it.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
You could be 100% on the money, but him being a Lakeville player, believe when I see it.
Click to expand...
If Nolan Winter goes to Wisconsin (and I’m not saying he isn’t) it won’t be because the LN coaching staff wants him to go to Wisconsin instead of the U. I know for a fact their coaching staff really likes Ben Johnson and felt he and the Gopher coaching staff did a great job recruiting Winter. There wasn’t a push from them to get him to Madison.

Nolan Winter I’ve heard is a nice kid…and he is free to go to college wherever he would like to go to college. I respect his decision. That being said….if he goes to Wisconsin, I still will hope they lose every game the next four years (I would no matter where he goes to college)…and will never cheer for him just because he is from Minnesota.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom