All Things Rakeem Buckles Thread

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MadtownGopher said:
Mbakwe had some serious injuries on his resume when we offered him a scholarship. Buckles was also ranked as the 36th best player in his class by Rivals. Rivals had Trevor as the 42nd best at his POSITION. There is definitely reason to like the potential of Buckles transferring to the U. If you can't see that I don't know what to say other than maybe you are just trolling.
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Not sure if you are trolling or not, but I'll take three years of stats over a rivals pre-college ball ranking. By your logic, using that term as loosely as possible, because he was the 36th ranked overall, and Mbakwe was the 42nd best only at his POSITION, Buckles oughta put up about double the numbers (or has double the talent) Mbakwe had? Hmm...you're right, my bad. Start him at 30+minutes a game without batting an eye.

It's good to have Buckles, I'm not disputing that. The fact that he has one year may be beneficial in the sense that it is low-risk scenario, but everyone is really excited about what I see as a mediocre prospect filling a needed open spot. His stats aren't very good over three years, he has a bad injury history, and he hasn't really done anything to prove his 36th in the nation pre-college rank yet.

I'm hoping for the next Mbakwe, though!
 

GameDay said:
Per Zach Johnson of Gophers Illustrated and Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN, Rakeem Buckles will transfer to the University of Minnesota.

Buckles is a 6-8, 215 lb Power Forward who transfered from Louisville and signed with FIU, before Coach Pitino jumped ship to the "U". He will fill a HUGE, HUGE HOLE IN THE LINEUP when he becomes eligible. He could possibly become eligible for next season, or in 2014 otherwise.

Career stats and accolades...

HS Senior- 23 ppg, 13 rpg, 3.5 bpg and Florida Class 4A Player of the Year
#36 Recruit by rivals and #78 by ESPN (2009 class)

Louisville
FR- 4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 11.5 minutes per game, 32 games played
SO- 7 ppg, 6 rpg, 19 minutes per game, 16 games played
JR- 4 ppg, 4 rpg, 13.5 minutes per game, 11 games played

*Notes: Missed this season do to ACL recovery which is very common nowadays, and the big question is if he can get eligible for this season.

Hopefully so because we have solid potential under Coach Pitino this season, but there is a missing gap in an otherwise filled starting lineup at Power Forward! We need him eligible this season, so cross your fingers! Obviously Oto isn't capable of being a starter under any circumstances, no offense to the young man.

Possible starting lineup...

G- Andre Hollins (6-2)
SG- Austin Hollins (6-4)
G/F- Joe Coleman (6-4)
PF- Rakeem Buckley (6-8)
C- Elliot Eliason (7-0)

Key Bench:
PG- Mav Ahanmisi (6-0)
SF/PF- Charles Buggs (6-8)
Surprise Contributor/Another Newcomer??
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Did Ellenson leave the program? Did I miss that?
 

jovs said:
With four scholerships available and only one player signed to loi we kind of need bodies, at least one more could be signed and maybe two without impacting the next couple of years, a player that has one year of eligibility left that knows Pitino's system would be that much better.
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I agree! I am just saying people are getting overly-excited about him (because of his Rivals ranks, or whatever reason)
 

KSBGopher said:
Not sure if you are trolling or not, but I'll take three years of stats over a rivals pre-college ball ranking. By your logic, using that term as loosely as possible, because he was the 36th ranked overall, and Mbakwe was the 42nd best only at his POSITION, Buckles oughta put up about double the numbers (or has double the talent) Mbakwe had? Hmm...you're right, my bad. Start him at 30+minutes a game without batting an eye.

It's good to have Buckles, I'm not disputing that. The fact that he has one year may be beneficial in the sense that it is low-risk scenario, but everyone is really excited about what I see as a mediocre prospect filling a needed open spot. His stats aren't very good over three years, he has a bad injury history, and he hasn't really done anything to prove his 36th in the nation pre-college rank yet.

I'm hoping for the next Mbakwe, though!
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Welp, if you think he's a mediocre prospect you better call up Richard Pitino and let him know. Hell, call up Rick while you're at it and rip him for offering the kid a Louisville scholarship.

You also may want to go back and look at Buckles career at Louisville a little closer, he had a number of injuries that hampered his playing time and effectivness, but that would take up too much time. It's much easier to rip the kid and anyone who thinks it would be a good idea to bring in him.
 

KSBGopher said:
Not sure if you are trolling or not, but I'll take three years of stats over a rivals pre-college ball ranking. By your logic, using that term as loosely as possible, because he was the 36th ranked overall, and Mbakwe was the 42nd best only at his POSITION, Buckles oughta put up about double the numbers (or has double the talent) Mbakwe had? Hmm...you're right, my bad. Start him at 30+minutes a game without batting an eye.

It's good to have Buckles, I'm not disputing that. The fact that he has one year may be beneficial in the sense that it is low-risk scenario, but everyone is really excited about what I see as a mediocre prospect filling a needed open spot. His stats aren't very good over three years, he has a bad injury history, and he hasn't really done anything to prove his 36th in the nation pre-college rank yet.

I'm hoping for the next Mbakwe, though!
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Don't you think that the injury history might have something to do with the mediocre stats. It's not like it was just ACL injuries either, he also had a concussion and (IIRC) a broken finger plus a torn ACL in one of the seasons. He definitely seems a little injury prone but like others have said, their is essentially no risk and it could pay off big.
 


MadtownGopher said:
Welp, if you think he's a mediocre prospect you better call up Richard Pitino and let him know. Hell, call up Rick while you're at it and rip him for offering the kid a Louisville scholarship.

You also may want to go back and look at Buckles career at Louisville a little closer, he had a number of injuries that hampered his playing time and effectivness, but that would take up too much time. It's much easier to rip the kid and anyone who thinks it would be a good idea to bring in him.
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This is some other kind of erratic and defensive behavior.

I never ripped anybody for taking him in, I was just trying to temper everyone's expectations on an injury-prone player that has not yet proven himself in college ball. He may be the next great Minnesota power forward, but his stats and his history do not support this conclusion.

Perhaps he was a great prospect 4 years ago, but today I am weary. That's all.
 

KSBGopher said:
This is some other kind of erratic and defensive behavior.

I never ripped anybody for taking him in, I was just trying to temper everyone's expectations on an injury-prone player that has not yet proven himself in college ball. He may be the next great Minnesota power forward, but his stats and his history do not support this conclusion.

Perhaps he was a great prospect 4 years ago, but today I am weary. That's all.
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He has a whole lot of talent. Considering we were probably going to bank this scholly anyways, I don't see the downside. He comes in at a position of great need, and if he can stay healthy, we went from being a mid-level team to a competitor once again.
 

KSBGopher said:
This is some other kind of erratic and defensive behavior.

I never ripped anybody for taking him in, I was just trying to temper everyone's expectations on an injury-prone player that has not yet proven himself in college ball. He may be the next great Minnesota power forward, but his stats and his history do not support this conclusion.

Perhaps he was a great prospect 4 years ago, but today I am weary. That's all.
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Why do our expectations need to be tempered? We like the idea of adding him because it is low risk and would help our weakest position. It's not like we are saying he's going to be all-conference. The only reason Mbakwe was brought up is because your in-depth research and analysis was simply based on his averages at Louisville and Mbakwe had unimpressive stats at Marquette.
 

If its only for one year and the choice is bank it or use it on Buckles, whats the downside? It seems like a low risk, potentially high reward proposition.
 



MadtownGopher said:
Why do our expectations need to be tempered? We like the idea of adding him because it is low risk and would help our weakest position. It's not like we are saying he's going to be all-conference. The only reason Mbakwe was brought up is because your in-depth research and analysis was simply based on his averages at Louisville and Mbakwe had unimpressive stats at Marquette.
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Here is my comment which led you to call me a troll: Hate to say it, but I agree with this, except for the Oto part. I say bring in Buckles to compete with Buggs for minutes but I'd rather see Buggs out there for the long-term look. Buckles just doesn't have the stats in college ball to be getting this excited over, even if we overlook the injuries.

You then proceeded to compare Mbakwe's stats after his first 100 minutes played in college ball to Buckles' 800+ over three seasons of college coaching and training. Good point, man. It's pretty absurd to take a player's stats developed over 3 years and 800 minutes and base my expectations off those. Sorry for being so naive.
 

KSBGopher said:
This is some other kind of erratic and defensive behavior.

I never ripped anybody for taking him in, I was just trying to temper everyone's expectations on an injury-prone player that has not yet proven himself in college ball. He may be the next great Minnesota power forward, but his stats and his history do not support this conclusion.

Perhaps he was a great prospect 4 years ago, but today I am weary. That's all.
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KSB I totally get where you are coming from with your posts. I don't think people would be expecting this kid to come in and be a great player for us but he would certainly fill a need position and would be an extremely low risk high reward prospect. Most of the posts I have read have said he would be a nice pickup to add to the roster but I'm with you that I think it would be foolish to expect big things out of him, and to be fair I don't get the impression that many of the fans that have commented do.
 

MNVCGUY said:
KSB I totally get where you are coming from with your posts. I don't think people would be expecting this kid to come in and be a great player for us but he would certainly fill a need position and would be an extremely low risk high reward prospect. Most of the posts I have read have said he would be a nice pickup to add to the roster but I'm with you that I think it would be foolish to expect big things out of him, and to be fair I don't get the impression that many of the fans that have commented do.
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Fair enough, man. I'm on the same page as you.
 

Even if he only averaged like 8 points and 6 rebounds I still think that is worth getting excited over. PF is a concern right now and even just adding quality depth there could make a big difference for this team. A guy who won't take a scholarship away from anyone else and can help us win games is worth getting excited about if you ask me.
 



We have a big hole at the 4, and Buckles is a body. However, I'm hardly excited about it. He cannot be worse than our resident D.II bench warmer Osenieks, but Buckles is hardly a game changer. Anyone with expectations of him being more than a warm body are severally misguided.
 

Let's face it, none of us really know how good Buckles can be. We need to give Coach Pitino the benefit of the doubt here. I'm willing to bet the guy is athletic, but that is about it. Right now, I'm not getting too excited about anyone coming in unless he is one of two types of players: a point guard who doesn't turn it over or a shooter who doesn't turn it over.
 

In a word - DEPTH. Pitino says he will press after every made basket. to play that kind of style, you need serious depth, so you can keep relatively fresh players on the floor. And let's face it, unless Mo Walker is able to transform himself in the off-season, he is not going to play in that style of ball. If Buckles can contribute, and if he's eligible to play (both big ifs), I think it's a no-brainer.

I said in another thread that I could easily see Pitino playing "small" a lot of the time - with Austin Hollins or even Coleman at the 4 in a pressing lineup. If I'm right, you only need 1 legitimate "big" on the floor at a time. Don't forget, Pitino has also stated that the 3-pt shot is a major part of his offense. This is not going to be your father's gopher team next year - it's going to be a whole 'nuther animal.

One more thought - Pitino may be the perfect coach for Wally Ellenson - a guy who can run, jump, and is supposed to be a decent outside shooter. I could see him really benfitting from being on the press, getting the ball on a steal, and becoming the new Rodney Williams by getting the crowd juiced with sick dunks. (
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
We have a big hole at the 4, and Buckles is a body. However, I'm hardly excited about it. He cannot be worse than our resident D.II bench warmer Osenieks, but Buckles is hardly a game changer. Anyone with expectations of him being more than a warm body are severally misguided.
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That sounds painful.
 


GameDay said:
Mo- He might be to unconditioned and slow to play Center in Pitino's new system according to Marcus Fuller, so how would sliding down to power forward somehow work? They have to be even more conditioned and nimble! I still like Mo as backup Center though.

Oto- Common now... Oto might be a really nice kid, but if you've seen him play, it's a big enough sample size to know he cant compete in the big ten. Lowest FG % on team by far, has no feel for the game, and is unconfident.

I definitely feel your ideas about finding some other options at forward, but I think Buckles and Buggs (possibly) are the only options as far as starting forwards go this next season.
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Couldn't disagree more. I think Oto was taken out of his game by the former coach. I, for one, think Oto will flourish under Pitino.
 

Bisker82 said:
Couldn't disagree more. I think Oto was taken out of his game by the former coach. I, for one, think Oto will flourish under Pitino.
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I respect your opinion. I guess we all have our own perceptions and projections, we'll just have to wait to see how Oto performs next season.
 

Here is the June 2012 posting from the Louisville Cardinal website announcing Buckles transfer to FIU. Plenty of positives in the article once you get past all the injuries.

June 21, 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Forward Rakeem Buckles will transfer from the University of Louisville to join the Florida International University men's basketball team.

FIU is coached by first year head coach Richard Pitino, a former UofL assistant coach, and FIU assistant coach Mark Lieberman was Buckles' high school coach and is a former UofL assistant.

"Rakeem is one of my favorites during my tenure at Louisville," said U of L Coach Rick Pitino. "He's just a fantastic young man who we wish great success at FIU. We will miss his personality and work ethic, but he is in good hands with Richard."

Buckles was expected to miss the 2012-13 season while recovering from a second torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of his career. He suffered the injury in his left knee during the Cardinals' game at Marquette on Jan. 16, had surgery on Feb. 1 and will missed the remainder of season.

The 6-7, 215-pound forward tore the ACL in his right knee on Feb. 27, 2011 in a game against Pittsburgh. He had surgery to repair the knee on March 16, 2011, and saw his first game action in 283 days against IUPUI on Dec. 7. He played an average of 13 minutes in the 11 games in which he participated last season, averaging 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds. He made his only start of the season against Memphis, totaling 12 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes.

The first knee injury was one setback during a tough sophomore season in which he suffered three separate injuries that kept him off the court, as he also endured a concussion and broken index finger. As a sophomore, he averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 rebounds in 16 games, including 10 starting assignments. He had ranked among the BIG EAST top ten in rebounding before he broke his finger.

He finished his freshman year scoring a career-high 20 points against California in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He added nine rebounds while hitting 10-of-11 field goals in that game.

Buckles will be returning to his hometown in Miami where he earned Class 4A Player of the Year honors in Florida when he averaged 22.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots as a senior in helping Monsignor Pace post a 24-8 record and the Class 4A regional finals. Monsignor Pace won the state championship in his sophomore and junior seasons with Lieberman as his coach.

http://www.gocards.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062112aaa.html
 

Bisker82 said:
I, for one, think Oto will flourish under Pitino.
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Me Too! I believe Maverick will also do better under a less watchful eye of Richard. In fact I think the whole team will loosen up and play better under Richard. Then again I might be basing that on the madness of an offense I saw by Louisville in the championship game. Not once did I notice a player looking to the bench when the ball was in play. How could they?
 

MadtownGopher said:
Well he was the 36th ranked player in his class and was good enough to get good playing time on Louisville until he caught an injury bug. Don't think it's crazy to think he could help out more than Oto. I'm all for Buggs getting as much playing time as possible, but he isn't going to play the whole game, we need front court help.
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Yep +1 from me. He was a highly rated player. Is dealing with some tough injuries. I say bring him on IF he is eligible this year.
 

rrjackIII said:
Me Too! I believe Maverick will also do better under a less watchful eye of Richard. In fact I think the whole team will loosen up and play better under Richard. Then again I might be basing that on the madness of an offense I saw by Louisville in the championship game. Not once did I notice a player looking to the bench when the ball was in play. How could they?
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I hope you're right, but I fear you have rose-tinted glasses on. Every guard Louisville played last night is better than Mav. Mav can hit open jumpers, but his ball handling is extremely spotty. He also lacks court vision. He's a set jump shooter who comes in to run the point in order to give Hollins a breather. He's a body only, not much talent there. But that's what we get with Tubby recruiting.

As for Oto, well, he'd be better off playing for St. Cloud. There's nothing there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if our new coach hints that it would be in the best interest of Oto and possibly Mo to take their talents somewhere else if they want to see time on the court. I don't see Mo thriving in a fast paced game unless he loses 30-40 pounds.
 




Gopherguy0723 said:
I hope you're right, but I fear you have rose-tinted glasses on. Every guard Louisville played last night is better than Mav. Mav can hit open jumpers, but his ball handling is extremely spotty. He also lacks court vision. He's a set jump shooter who comes in to run the point in order to give Hollins a breather. He's a body only, not much talent there. But that's what we get with Tubby recruiting.

As for Oto, well, he'd be better off playing for St. Cloud. There's nothing there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if our new coach hints that it would be in the best interest of Oto and possibly Mo to take their talents somewhere else if they want to see time on the court. I don't see Mo thriving in a fast paced game unless he loses 30-40 pounds.
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Tubby picked up Mav in about May of 2010, when we had just had a different point guard, Justin Cobbs, transfer about a month before and needed to fill the spot, and pickings are a bit slim this time of year. If Dre transfers in a couple days and Pitino signs a 2-star point guard because he is the best attainable option at this point, are you going to criticize his recruiting?

Also not sure if you're implying that Mo is untalented or simply out of shape, but he was a Rivals top 150 recruit with multiple BCS offers, so it's not like he was some guy that no one wanted that Tubby recruited on a whim. I agree it would be to Mo's benefit to drop a little weight and get in better shape, but having sustained an injury that sidelined him for the better part of 2 seasons has slowed his development.

Personally I still think there's hope for Oto, he had an okay freshman year. I don't believe it was until this season that the "Oh God, why is this guy on the floor?" sentiment became common.
 

howieramone said:
I wonder what Florida was thinking when they offered him a scholarship?
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So are you arguing that people thought he was talented, but Oto proved them wrong? Or are you arguing that he currently has talent, but Tubby couldn't get it out of him? Or something else entirely?

If you're trying to take a shot at me because I ripped Oto for being a D2 player by stating Florida liked him, then I can do nothing but laugh at you. Oto doesn't deserve to step foot in a D1 gym. Please keep taking shots if that was your intent. You're too dim to realize that you're actually making a mockery of yourself as opposed to being funny or witty by trying to rip me, which makes your shots even more hilarious.
 

Cayman said:
Tubby picked up Mav in about May of 2010, when we had just had a different point guard, Justin Cobbs, transfer about a month before and needed to fill the spot, and pickings are a bit slim this time of year. If Dre transfers in a couple days and Pitino signs a 2-star point guard because he is the best attainable option at this point, are you going to criticize his recruiting?

Also not sure if you're implying that Mo is untalented or simply out of shape, but he was a Rivals top 150 recruit with multiple BCS offers, so it's not like he was some guy that no one wanted that Tubby recruited on a whim. I agree it would be to Mo's benefit to drop a little weight and get in better shape, but having sustained an injury that sidelined him for the better part of 2 seasons has slowed his development.

Personally I still think there's hope for Oto, he had an okay freshman year. I don't believe it was until this season that the "Oh God, why is this guy on the floor?" sentiment became common.
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I believe Mo has some talent; however, I don't think he can play in a fast paced game.

I'm aware of the circumstances with Mav, but that doesn't mean I'm not right about him. I said he's what you get when you recruit in the spring. At that point we needed a body. We currently don't need bodies, we need talent.

As for Oto, I think you're wrong. The "Oh no" sentiment has been there since the 2011-2012 season. He simply has no business in D1. He cannot dribble, pass, shoot, jump, etc. It's not his fault he doesn't belong here. It's Tubby's fault for bringing someone so over-matched here.
 

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