All Things Taison Chatman Recruiting Thread (Class of 2023, Totino-Grace HS, Gophers Offered)

Donate To GopherHole
GopherPlaya said:
People called it lazy for Pitino bc he wasn’t putting in much effort before moving on. I’ve seen Ben actively recruiting Taisom. I was at the elite camp for 2025s & 2026s and as soon as taisom dad walked in the gym. Ben stopped everything just to acknowledge and converse with him. I am willing to bet he put effort in
Click to expand...

It's amazing Pitino was ever able to field a team here with how he never recruited anyone.

I have zero doubt Ben is trying hard on the recruiting trail. But let's not pretend it's two different things. I didn't care when Pitino gave up on a recruit that wasn't coming here, and I don't care if Ben does the same thing.

Chatman was the exact type of recruit Ben was hired to land here. Now that it's unlikely, it's 'smart' to give up on him. If Pitino was still here, there would post after post ripping him about letting another in state prospect get away.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's amazing Pitino was ever able to field a team here with how he never recruited anyone.

I have zero doubt Ben is trying hard on the recruiting trail. But let's not pretend it's two different things. I didn't care when Pitino gave up on a recruit that wasn't coming here, and I don't care if Ben does the same thing.

Chatman was the exact type of recruit Ben was hired to land here. Now that it's unlikely, it's 'smart' to give up on him. If Pitino was still here, there would post after post ripping him about letting another in state prospect get away.
Click to expand...
Pitino had assistants (Ben Johnson mainly) lock up any local kids. Richard Coffey (regarding Amir’s recruitment) and others have said so.
They really recruited in two different styles. Ben has been more selective with offers and outs more effort in relationships and being at all their events. Richard casted a larger net and didn’t put as much effort on an individual.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's amazing Pitino was ever able to field a team here with how he never recruited anyone.

I have zero doubt Ben is trying hard on the recruiting trail. But let's not pretend it's two different things. I didn't care when Pitino gave up on a recruit that wasn't coming here, and I don't care if Ben does the same thing.

Chatman was the exact type of recruit Ben was hired to land here. Now that it's unlikely, it's 'smart' to give up on him. If Pitino was still here, there would post after post ripping him about letting another in state prospect get away.
Click to expand...
I think Winter and Carrington's types are the kids Ben was hired to get. Did Pitino get those types, yes, but he didn't put effort into those types of local kids, and we got out-of-state kids who weren't better than locals we passed on. Honestly, I'm not too fond of the uproar over local recruiting, and I am a high school coach. Ben's (Was Pitino) job is to recruit the best players that fit your system regardless of where they grew up.
 

as others have pointed out, it's not just a matter of the coach and the recruit.

other parties get involved, including family members, friends, girlfriends, AAU coaches -- and now, there is the NIL component. there can be a lot of agendas in the mix, even conflicting agendas.

in the end, if the Gophers win, very few people are going to complain about where the players are coming from.

the complaints about "not getting the hometown talent" get a lot louder when the team is losing. If Pitino had won more games, we would not be having this discussion.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
as others have pointed out, it's not just a matter of the coach and the recruit.

other parties get involved, including family members, friends, girlfriends, AAU coaches -- and now, there is the NIL component. there can be a lot of agendas in the mix, even conflicting agendas.

in the end, if the Gophers win, very few people are going to complain about where the players are coming from.

the complaints about "not getting the hometown talent" get a lot louder when the team is losing. If Pitino had won more games, we would not be having this discussion.
Click to expand...

Exactly
 


GopherPlaya said:
I think Winter and Carrington's types are the kids Ben was hired to get. Did Pitino get those types, yes, but he didn't put effort into those types of local kids, and we got out-of-state kids who weren't better than locals we passed on. Honestly, I'm not too fond of the uproar over local recruiting, and I am a high school coach. Ben's (Was Pitino) job is to recruit the best players that fit your system regardless of where they grew up.
Click to expand...

Nate Mason wasn't better? Jordan Murphy? Eric Curry? Mashburn Jr? Liam Robbins? Pitino definitely brought in some out of state talent that was better than in state talent.

I mostly agree with the rest of your post. I don't really care where recruits come from. Chatman is a Coffey/Oturu level recruit, which Pitino was able to land with Ben's help. The Gophers still have a massive hole at PG and Chatman would likely start immediately.

Yet it appears he's not even taking an official visit here. Even Xavier was able to convince him to do that. That's a big whiff by Ben, and if it was Pitino, people would be whining incessantly about it on here. But maybe that's just apathy setting in for a last place program with another bleak season ahead.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's amazing Pitino was ever able to field a team here with how he never recruited anyone.

I have zero doubt Ben is trying hard on the recruiting trail. But let's not pretend it's two different things. I didn't care when Pitino gave up on a recruit that wasn't coming here, and I don't care if Ben does the same thing.

Chatman was the exact type of recruit Ben was hired to land here. Now that it's unlikely, it's 'smart' to give up on him. If Pitino was still here, there would post after post ripping him about letting another in state prospect get away.
Click to expand...
That complaining didn't start until it became a pattern. If that becomes a pattern for Ben too then people will rip him the same way.
 

Keyser Söze said:
That complaining didn't start until it became a pattern. If that becomes a pattern for Ben too then people will rip him the same way.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to get into another rankings argument, but he missed on the top 6 in state kids according to 247 last year. If Winter goes elsewhere, he's likely to go 0 fer in this class too.
 

So assuming Chatman is out, we either will get Cooper back next year or be in the market for another vet PG correct? Even if they want to give Christie some run at PG and maybe carrington can play a few minutes there (I'm skeptical on that) we would need a 25-32 min a game guy.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
I'm not going to get into another rankings argument, but he missed on the top 6 in state kids according to 247 last year. If Winter goes elsewhere, he's likely to go 0 fer in this class too.
Click to expand...
247 ranks Payne as the #3 in state prospect. My comment wasn't even a defense of Ben or attack on Pitino. It's just the fact that people get more exhausted and frustrated over time. Ben hasn't been here long enough to get the same complaints about recruiting that Pitino got.
 

Keyser Söze said:
247 ranks Payne as the #3 in state prospect. My comment wasn't even a defense of Ben or attack on Pitino. It's just the fact that people get more exhausted and frustrated over time. Ben hasn't been here long enough to get the same complaints about recruiting that Pitino got.
Click to expand...
Agreed that Ben hasn't been here long enough to warrant any recruiting complaints. My belief is that Payne will be the best player out of that class, and Ben just got the #1 prospect out of Illinois and is in contention for one of the best centers in the country. I would say he's showing some promise as a recruiter..
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Nate Mason wasn't better? Jordan Murphy? Eric Curry? Mashburn Jr? Liam Robbins? Pitino definitely brought in some out of state talent that was better than in state talent.

I mostly agree with the rest of your post. I don't really care where recruits come from. Chatman is a Coffey/Oturu level recruit, which Pitino was able to land with Ben's help. The Gophers still have a massive hole at PG and Chatman would likely start immediately.

Yet it appears he's not even taking an official visit here. Even Xavier was able to convince him to do that. That's a big whiff by Ben, and if it was Pitino, people would be whining incessantly about it on here. But maybe that's just apathy setting in for a last place program with another bleak season ahead.
Click to expand...
Bleak season? Battle joined by Garcia, Cooper, Samuels, and 5 solid newcomers doesn't do it for you? Thompson and Ramberg should be improved as well.
 

Keyser Söze said:
247 ranks Payne as the #3 in state prospect. My comment wasn't even a defense of Ben or attack on Pitino. It's just the fact that people get more exhausted and frustrated over time. Ben hasn't been here long enough to get the same complaints about recruiting that Pitino got.
Click to expand...
In two recruiting cycles we have seen more organization and plan in the type of players Ben wants than I noticed in eight years with Richard. Ben hasn’t gone 100% but it’s clear the kind of player he wants, here and out of state. If Chatman sent him packing right away that’s too bad. But if he showed no interest it’s not worth wasting time on. Much like Richard with the Jones brothers.

I gave Richard the benefit of the doubt. Ben gets it too.
 




ecoperson said:
Bleak season? Battle joined by Garcia, Cooper, Samuels, and 5 solid newcomers doesn't do it for you? Thompson and Ramberg should be improved as well.
Click to expand...

No, and it doesn't for everyone else who thinks the Gophers will be at or near the bottom of the B1G once again. Samuels is not a big 10 caliber player and we have no idea how good the freshman are.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
No, and it doesn't for everyone else who thinks the Gophers will be at or near the bottom of the B1G once again. Samuels is not a big 10 caliber player and we have no idea how good the freshman are.
Click to expand...
Samuels won't get much playing time. I see the freshmen playing more than him. I fully agree with you about him not being Big 10 caliber. I have watched a 2 of their summer practices and have not been impressed. Cooper on the other hand will be really good for us. The part that hurts is Ihnen getting injured. He looked really good at the practices I was at.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
No, and it doesn't for everyone else who thinks the Gophers will be at or near the bottom of the B1G once again. Samuels is not a big 10 caliber player and we have no idea how good the freshman are.
Click to expand...
Set the bar low enough and they just might beat your expectations! This beats the other extreme where people over-hype the team and then just complain incessantly.

The worst fans, of source, are those who are clearly never satisfied and always negative. Those fans would say a loss in the national championship game is a lost season... if you don't win, it doesn't matter! I've read that only wins matter here on the GH many, many times!
 

ecoperson said:
Set the bar low enough and they just might beat your expectations! This beats the other extreme where people over-hype the team and then just complain incessantly.

The worst fans, of source, are those who are clearly never satisfied and always negative. Those fans would say a loss in the national championship game is a lost season... if you don't win, it doesn't matter! I've read that only wins matter here on the GH many, many times!
Click to expand...
If you ain't first your last. LOL Love Rickie Bobbie
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's amazing Pitino was ever able to field a team here with how he never recruited anyone.

I have zero doubt Ben is trying hard on the recruiting trail. But let's not pretend it's two different things. I didn't care when Pitino gave up on a recruit that wasn't coming here, and I don't care if Ben does the same thing.

Chatman was the exact type of recruit Ben was hired to land here. Now that it's unlikely, it's 'smart' to give up on him. If Pitino was still here, there would post after post ripping him about letting another in state prospect get away.
Click to expand...
Yes, ben has limited time in recruiting and he's obviously getting feedback mn isn't in the mix.

I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to accomplish here.
 


ecoperson said:
Set the bar low enough and they just might beat your expectations! This beats the other extreme where people over-hype the team and then just complain incessantly.

The worst fans, of source, are those who are clearly never satisfied and always negative. Those fans would say a loss in the national championship game is a lost season... if you don't win, it doesn't matter! I've read that only wins matter here on the GH many, many times!
Click to expand...
Just win, eco sport
 

BarnBurner said:
Just win, eco sport
Click to expand...
Just like the genie in the bottle... one of the winmeisters is magically here to grace us with their presence!

We have learned that anything less than 20-0 in conference is a failure. There is nothing to be learned from individual games other than the Ws and the Ls.

If the Gophers were to improve to 10-10, building upon 4-16 the previous year, they are exactly the same as a 10-10 Badgers team who were trending downward after finishing 15-5 in 2021-22.

In some poster's minds, there is no such thing as momentum. One can not pull any positives out of a season, let alone any specific game. Moral victories are for chumps. Individual success in a loss is meaningless.

In these poster's minds, the games are simply to be played on paper. There is no way that a unheralded team could go on the road and win against a team that had been in the Top 10 the first three weeks of the season. Oh wait... upsets happen? The Gophers did beat Michigan in Crisler? Forget about it, let's just go by the rankings... it will save me 2 hours of my time.

These posters believe all L s are created equal. A 25 pt loss to Ohio State at Value City is the same as losing by 2 on a last second shot at Breslin to a Top 10 Michigan State team. Every loss is an embarrassment while every win is a riveting achievement suitable for a Wheaties box.
 

salzie said:
Yes, ben has limited time in recruiting and he's obviously getting feedback mn isn't in the mix.

I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to accomplish here.
Click to expand...

I’m not trying to accomplish anything. Just frustrated that we have a glaring hole at PG and we’re not really even in the running for an in state kid that should be at least somewhat attainable.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I’m not trying to accomplish anything. Just frustrated that we have a glaring hole at PG and we’re not really even in the running for an in state kid that should be at least somewhat attainable.
Click to expand...
Is he attainable? From what I've heard Ben has recruited him hard. Havent even heard hes interested lately. Ben's interested, but is the kid? Doesnt sound like he's interested.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
No, and it doesn't for everyone else who thinks the Gophers will be at or near the bottom of the B1G once again. Samuels is not a big 10 caliber player and we have no idea how good the freshman are.
Click to expand...
Most commenters seem to think that Samuels isn't any good. I see that he had 23 points in a game @Georgetown and 22 points @Stanford...so I'm hoping that he has some potential.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I’m not trying to accomplish anything. Just frustrated that we have a glaring hole at PG and we’re not really even in the running for an in state kid that should be at least somewhat attainable.
Click to expand...
Christie is a combo & played well at point this summer. Taisom not really wanting to go to the U is probably why we put the full court press on Christie. I’m trying to figure out the complaints about our current recruiting class. We got a commitment from one of the top players in Colorado & the top player in Ill. We are also in the running for a 4/5 star rim protector from out of state which is rare for us & we possibly could be receiving from Winter soon. 2024 class Asuma really likes the U & they could possibly get commitments fro 3 out the top 5 MN kids in that class (I have heard Freitag may be hard to get but also have heard that football may be a realistic option for him as well). If we have the same hole in the spring we can possibly bring a transfer in but they seriously like Henley as a big guard & have Christie coming in plus it’s possible Cooper comes back as a super senior
 

GopherPlaya said:
Christie is a combo & played well at point this summer. Taisom not really wanting to go to the U is probably why we put the full court press on Christie. I’m trying to figure out the complaints about our current recruiting class. We got a commitment from one of the top players in Colorado & the top player in Ill. We are also in the running for a 4/5 star rim protector from out of state which is rare for us & we possibly could be receiving from Winter soon. 2024 class Asuma really likes the U & they could possibly get commitments fro 3 out the top 5 MN kids in that class (I have heard Freitag may be hard to get but also have heard that football may be a realistic option for him as well). If we have the same hole in the spring we can possibly bring a transfer in but they seriously like Henley as a big guard & have Christie coming in plus it’s possible Cooper comes back as a super senior
Click to expand...
+o4, great post, this class is shaping up nice if we can pull in winter and big man would be huge!
 

GopherPlaya said:
Christie is a combo & played well at point this summer. Taisom not really wanting to go to the U is probably why we put the full court press on Christie. I’m trying to figure out the complaints about our current recruiting class. We got a commitment from one of the top players in Colorado & the top player in Ill. We are also in the running for a 4/5 star rim protector from out of state which is rare for us & we possibly could be receiving from Winter soon. 2024 class Asuma really likes the U & they could possibly get commitments fro 3 out the top 5 MN kids in that class (I have heard Freitag may be hard to get but also have heard that football may be a realistic option for him as well). If we have the same hole in the spring we can possibly bring a transfer in but they seriously like Henley as a big guard & have Christie coming in plus it’s possible Cooper comes back as a super senior
Click to expand...

I like everything about where this class is heading except for how they've recruited the guard position. It's pretty obvious we are headed back to the Tubby days of having a roster filled with 6'7"+ guys and no real PG who's a scoring threat. That doesn't work IMO. Having multiple guards who can handle the ball and score at a high level is what wins you games in college basketball.
 

MNJay said:
Most commenters seem to think that Samuels isn't any good. I see that he had 23 points in a game @Georgetown and 22 points @Stanford...so I'm hoping that he has some potential.
Click to expand...
Based on those commenters thoughts Payne and Carrington aren't all that great either then. Samuels didn't come to the U and say I want a scholarship and was given one. Ben obviously wanted him here. In other words Ben feels the kid can play AND contribute.

For someone to say he isn't good and won't play much is a bit off base with their line of thinking. IMO
 

ecoperson said:
Just like the genie in the bottle... one of the winmeisters is magically here to grace us with their presence!

We have learned that anything less than 20-0 in conference is a failure. There is nothing to be learned from individual games other than the Ws and the Ls.

If the Gophers were to improve to 10-10, building upon 4-16 the previous year, they are exactly the same as a 10-10 Badgers team who were trending downward after finishing 15-5 in 2021-22.

In some poster's minds, there is no such thing as momentum. One can not pull any positives out of a season, let alone any specific game. Moral victories are for chumps. Individual success in a loss is meaningless.

In these poster's minds, the games are simply to be played on paper. There is no way that a unheralded team could go on the road and win against a team that had been in the Top 10 the first three weeks of the season. Oh wait... upsets happen? The Gophers did beat Michigan in Crisler? Forget about it, let's just go by the rankings... it will save me 2 hours of my time.

These posters believe all L s are created equal. A 25 pt loss to Ohio State at Value City is the same as losing by 2 on a last second shot at Breslin to a Top 10 Michigan State team. Every loss is an embarrassment while every win is a riveting achievement suitable for a Wheaties box.
Click to expand...
Just win, eco sport.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom