All Things Tre Jones Recruitment Thread

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Wally said:
Lets just hope we meet Duke in the tourney and pound em. Tre can do what he wants, but his decision surprises me because you would think he would want to step out of his brothers shadow.
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He will always be connected to his brother because it's his brother. People still mention David Carr when talking about Derek Carr who has been more successful in his short stint. Tyus will always be mentioned with Tre
 

Bringing up the academic aspect of duke is hilarious to me.

Tre ain't going there to play school. He'll never sniff a degree from there.
 

I don't post too often on these topics anymore, but on this one, I'll just say this: Tre Jones made a choice to attend a certain school that happens to not be Minnesota. He's like thousands athletes all over the country that make these kind of decisions thousands of times per year. Sometimes you get the kid you want, sometimes you don't.

Marcus is completely correct when he states the Gophers are in good shape at guard. Nate is a senior, Isaiah and Jamir are freshman while Gabe is in the pipeline and Dupree or Amir can slide over to a guard slot in certain circumstances. And all of them, except Nate, are probably going to be around next season. So is losing Tre a bummer? Sure. But, it's not like there's a dearth of guards in place.

To me, Matthew Hurt is a more important recruit. He's a super-skilled forward at a position of need. Getting him was always a bigger deal to me than getting Tre.

With all that said, do I care if Tre succeeds? Not particularly. I'm a Gopher fan and I'm far more interested in what is going on with guys who want to play for the U. He could be a best player in the universe or completely flame out and my reaction would be the same. It's the same way I feel about Race Thompson, Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn, Gary Trent Jr., or any other Minnesota recruit who picks another school.

The bottom line? We've already got a good class coming in. That'll make three really good classes in a row with a chance at either Zegarowski or Hunter to close out the class. So Tre is in the past to me. Time to look forward. Just my $.02 :)
 

Can't blame a kid for wanting to go to a blue blood like Duke and play for a hall of fame coach. None of us know his motivation for picking Duke. None. Could be that he wanted to follow his brother and try to match his accomplishments. Won't be an easy task.....winning a Final Four MVP and a national championship as a true freshman. Hopefully if that's not the case....he won't receive disdain from a spoiled fan base who can easily forget about an elite recruit picking their team......as they come and go.

It's too bad. He would have likely been a local hero around here.....and would have been the Jones brother who chose to stay home. I'd think that that would be an attractive thought for players who....after their careers end....plan on moving back to their home states.

Honestly.....who cares. It seemed like a long shot to get him. We've got a couple home town superstars in Coffey and Oturu. Looking towards greener pastures? Good riddance.
 

stocker08 said:
Can't blame a kid for wanting to go to a blue blood like Duke and play for a hall of fame coach. None of us know his motivation for picking Duke. None. Could be that he wanted to follow his brother and try to match his accomplishments. Won't be an easy task.....winning a Final Four MVP and a national championship as a true freshman. Hopefully if that's not the case....he won't receive disdain from a spoiled fan base who can easily forget about an elite recruit picking their team......as they come and go.

It's too bad. He would have likely been a local hero around here.....and would have been the Jones brother who chose to stay home. I'd think that that would be an attractive thought for players who....after their careers end....plan on moving back to their home states.

Honestly.....who cares. It seemed like a long shot to get him. We've got a couple home town superstars in Coffey and Oturu. Looking towards greener pastures? Good riddance.
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Well said. It's hard to be too upset when we have the #4 center in the entire country coming our way.
 


WanderingGopher said:
^This.

I think the most polite way to put it is, on a free board like this there are quite a few "casual" fans, and not everyone sees recruiting through the lens of "how will this help the Gophers become a championship program?" I do, although I try not to get too worked up about the casual fans who post here. For me, the U of M is my "tribe," THE state university, and I really don't give a rip about "Minnesota (high school) basketball" in the general sense. I don't travel the country to watch MN high school basketball, wear their colors, talk to my friends about it, etc. For me, there is no alumni pride/bragging rights about the status of our state high school basketball or what state players have done elsewhere.

I'll admit it's frustrating to see the other perspective, which I view as "not helpful." I.e., seeing Minnesotans, especially younger fans its seems, who don't see the damage done or opportunity lost every time a 5 star player chooses to propagate the status of another program instead of ours (and it's idiotic to throw the argument back that every player on our roster isn't from MN ... when we start pulling out of state top-50 players on a regular basis, i.e. "importing" the level of players we're regularly exporting, then feel free to make that point). The one exception I understand is if you know the kid or his family, I get it that it's a different deal in the way you look at these things.

I think some of it comes down to is that some either don't remember, don't understand, or don't care what this program is capable of at its potential. I attended the U during the Final Four year and was a fan for the sweet sixteen and elite 8 runs. There is the potential for a championship caliber program here, and while Pitino is going about it the right way, building with 4-year players and building the culture, at some point a 5 star player needs to say yes in order for us to take the next step, and that largely falls on the in state kids right now. Five in a row have said no, which is unprecedented and very disturbing and unhappy trend. Here's hoping Hurt will be the one to rise up.
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You certainly are not alone in this sentiment, but I disagree. Way too much angst over the loss of one five star recruit. How many times do we need to post the number of top 25 type recruits that don't end up at their home school each year? Not just at Minnesota....everywhere.

The landscape of college basketball has two different pathways. Kentucky/Duke/North Carolina/Kansas and maybe a couple others recruit a bunch of five star guys that in many cases will only be around for one year. They certainly aren't finding those players in Lexington/Durham/Chapel Hill/Lawrence/etc....they are raiding other states year after year. Then the rest of us non-traditional blue bloods need to build a sustained culture of high character four year, four star players. As somebody else said earlier....four years of Nate Mason > one year of Tyus Jones. Caveat --- depending on how the other three years would have been used(obviously).

I personally really like the type of players that Pitino has been recruiting. After year one he clearly changed course after losing the recruiting battles for higher ranked players early on in his tenure. He is now focusing on the 50-200 range and attempting to develop pipelines out East where more players will reside year to year. He should absolutely continue to recruit the elite players in Minnesota but don't settle for lower ranked Minnesota players if options are better elsewhere. More winning would get the ball rolling and create a better opportunity for better players from here and elsewhere. Play to expectations when you have the right mix of talent and experience as is the case this upcoming season.

I also don't agree with the nonsense that these Minnesota kids become icons/legends/heroes because they grow up here and then play at the University of Minnesota. The kids that become "legends" (way too overhyped word) are those that perform on the court to an elite level, regardless of where they grew up (Bobby Jackson, for example). The Minnesota kids that don't meet expectations get crucified by the fan base here just like the non-Minnesotans. Go back and read the game day threads when Joey King was playing here. I suspect that is true of anywhere.
 

golfing18now said:
You certainly are not alone in this sentiment, but I disagree. Way too much angst over the loss of one five star recruit. How many times do we need to post the number of top 25 type recruits that don't end up at their home school each year? Not just at Minnesota....everywhere.

The landscape of college basketball has two different pathways. Kentucky/Duke/North Carolina/Kansas and maybe a couple others recruit a bunch of five star guys that in many cases will only be around for one year. They certainly aren't finding those players in Lexington/Durham/Chapel Hill/Lawrence/etc....they are raiding other states year after year. Then the rest of us non-traditional blue bloods need to build a sustained culture of high character four year, four star players. As somebody else said earlier....four years of Nate Mason > one year of Tyus Jones. Caveat --- depending on how the other three years would have been used(obviously).

I personally really like the type of players that Pitino has been recruiting. After year one he clearly changed course after losing the recruiting battles for higher ranked players early on in his tenure. He is now focusing on the 50-200 range and attempting to develop pipelines out East where more players will reside year to year. He should absolutely continue to recruit the elite players in Minnesota but don't settle for lower ranked Minnesota players if options are better elsewhere. More winning would get the ball rolling and create a better opportunity for better players from here and elsewhere. Play to expectations when you have the right mix of talent and experience as is the case this upcoming season.

I also don't agree with the nonsense that these Minnesota kids become icons/legends/heroes because they grow up here and then play at the University of Minnesota. The kids that become "legends" (way too overhyped word) are those that perform on the court to an elite level, regardless of where they grew up (Bobby Jackson, for example). The Minnesota kids that don't meet expectations get crucified by the fan base here just like the non-Minnesotans. Go back and read the game day threads when Joey King was playing here. I suspect that is true of anywhere.
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+100000000000000000000

No one looks at Humpries or Priz as legend or even Rick Rickert. Quincy Lewis gets way more respect than any of those guys and Bobby Jackson is in another stratosphere compared to those. The hometown hero is a cute but it won't be the determining factor to our team reaching the next level. Just look at the roster from the Final 4 team or The Elite 8 teams. They weren't all hometown boys.
 

MRJ said:
I don't post too often on these topics anymore, but on this one, I'll just say this: Tre Jones made a choice to attend a certain school that happens to not be Minnesota. He's like thousands athletes all over the country that make these kind of decisions thousands of times per year. Sometimes you get the kid you want, sometimes you don't.

Marcus is completely correct when he states the Gophers are in good shape at guard. Nate is a senior, Isaiah and Jamir are freshman while Gabe is in the pipeline and Dupree or Amir can slide over to a guard slot in certain circumstances. And all of them, except Nate, are probably going to be around next season. So is losing Tre a bummer? Sure. But, it's not like there's a dearth of guards in place.

To me, Matthew Hurt is a more important recruit. He's a super-skilled forward at a position of need. Getting him was always a bigger deal to me than getting Tre.

With all that said, do I care if Tre succeeds? Not particularly. I'm a Gopher fan and I'm far more interested in what is going on with guys who want to play for the U. He could be a best player in the universe or completely flame out and my reaction would be the same. It's the same way I feel about Race Thompson, Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn, Gary Trent Jr., or any other Minnesota recruit who picks another school.

The bottom line? We've already got a good class coming in. That'll make three really good classes in a row with a chance at either Zegarowski or Hunter to close out the class. So Tre is in the past to me. Time to look forward. Just my $.02 :)
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Awesome post, MRJ...couldn't say it any better!


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Losing Tre is so hurtful because we all know how great of a college player he will be. He's also a great kid to boot. I'll roll with the 3 local kids we got and never look back.


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MRJ said:
With all that said, do I care if Tre succeeds? Not particularly. I'm a Gopher fan and I'm far more interested in what is going on with guys who want to play for the U. He could be a best player in the universe or completely flame out and my reaction would be the same. It's the same way I feel about Race Thompson, Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn, Gary Trent Jr., or any other Minnesota recruit who picks another school.
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I will follow Tre and hope he does well more then other high profile recruits that have gone to other schools. That being said, we did land top 50ish recruits in Amir and Oturu. It just would have been nice to get over the hump and land one of these premier top 10 in-state prospects. I hope happens with Suggs or Hurt.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
I will follow Tre and hope he does well more then other high profile recruits that have gone to other schools. That being said, we did land top 50ish recruits in Amir and Oturu. It just would have been nice to get over the hump and land one of these premier top 10 in-state prospects. I hope happens with Suggs or Hurt.
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I think we would all love for that to happen. But Pitino has shown he knows how to recruit, whether the kids are Minnesotans or not. The point is that there will be plenty of recruiting wins and recruiting losses every year. Just paet of the game.



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stocker08 said:
Honestly.....who cares. It seemed like a long shot to get him. We've got a couple home town superstars in Coffey and Oturu. Looking towards greener pastures? Good riddance.
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49 pages and counting. Somebody must.
 

random thought - I don't see anyone criticizing Pitino because "he didn't get the top player in the state."

If Tubby was still coaching here, I suspect there would have been more people ripping on him personally.

That is NOT a rip on Pitino or Tubby. just noting the difference in how the two were regarded.
 



builtbadgers said:
How many Gophers have made the NBA since Humphries ?
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What exactly is your point? Sure Coach K is a hall of fame coach but it's not like he is turning a roster full of 3 star players into lottery draft picks every year. Most Duke players are 5 star or consensus Top 50 coming out of high school. And the vast majority of the players on the Gophers have been consensus 3 stars since Humphries.

If Jones is as great as his high ranking, he would be a first round draft pick wherever he went.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
random thought - I don't see anyone criticizing Pitino because "he didn't get the top player in the state."

If Tubby was still coaching here, I suspect there would have been more people ripping on him personally.

That is NOT a rip on Pitino or Tubby. just noting the difference in how the two were regarded.
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Pitino landed Coffey and Oturu. He has nothing to prove to me.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
random thought - I don't see anyone criticizing Pitino because "he didn't get the top player in the state."

If Tubby was still coaching here, I suspect there would have been more people ripping on him personally.
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Have you forgotten last year's recruiting class? He went 0-6 on the Minnesota kids and the local media brought it up quite often. It didn't matter that they signed Washington. "How could Pitino let all these kids leave??" Of course, they also stunk the year before this...
 

GibsonSG said:
Have you forgotten last year's recruiting class? He went 0-6 on the Minnesota kids and the local media brought it up quite often. It didn't matter that they signed Washington. "How could Pitino let all these kids leave??" Of course, they also stunk the year before this...
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Was just going to say this, but you beat me to it. Pitino got criticized quite a bit by the media for letting instate players leave despite bringing in very good talent. After you have a great season where you exceed expectations and follow that up by landing guys like Oturu, you earn a pass for missing out on a guy like Tre.
 

He would be a first round pick no matter where he went but why not play for a coach that the best players in the world love, in a tradition rich program at one of the best schools in the country. All of that and to play with incredible players and a strong chance at a championship. He is a highly competitive winner. Most of the very best players want to play at a elite program.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
random thought - I don't see anyone criticizing Pitino because "he didn't get the top player in the state."

If Tubby was still coaching here, I suspect there would have been more people ripping on him personally.

That is NOT a rip on Pitino or Tubby. just noting the difference in how the two were regarded.
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I wouldn't say it's the exact same. As others pointed out, Pitino has brought in highly ranked out of state players, where as Tubby's misses usually resulted in spring signings like Ahamisi. I have 100% more faith in Pitino's recruiting skills than I did Tubby's.

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pregameatblarneys said:
I wouldn't say it's the exact same. As others pointed out, Pitino has brought in highly ranked out of state players, where as Tubby's misses usually resulted in spring signings like Ahamisi. I have 100% more faith in Pitino's recruiting skills than I did Tubby's.

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What in state player did Tubby miss on when he brought in Ahamisi. Local recruiting in those years were down until Tyus Reid & Rashad class
 

Keyser Söze said:
Was just going to say this, but you beat me to it. Pitino got criticized quite a bit by the media for letting instate players leave despite bringing in very good talent. After you have a great season where you exceed expectations and follow that up by landing guys like Oturu, you earn a pass for missing out on a guy like Tre.
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Agreed, if he had gone 0-4 in MN though....would've been tough blow
 

MRJ said:
I think we would all love for that to happen. But Pitino has shown he knows how to recruit, whether the kids are Minnesotans or not. The point is that there will be plenty of recruiting wins and recruiting losses every year. Just paet of the game.
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Well, yeah.. who wouldn't like to have all those guys, it's not going to happen and we all realize that. If we are going to take the program to the next level we need to land one of those rare talents.

Rashad, Tyus, Trent, Tre, Hurt and Suggs. 1 out of 6 would be fine, if we miss out on the last two I will be somewhat disappointed. It would be great to have another former gopher in the NBA, it would also help with recruiting. Maybe Amir makes it, to early to say.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
random thought - I don't see anyone criticizing Pitino because "he didn't get the top player in the state."

If Tubby was still coaching here, I suspect there would have been more people ripping on him personally.

That is NOT a rip on Pitino or Tubby. just noting the difference in how the two were regarded.
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That has less to do with the two coaches and more to do with the fact that there just weren't very many top 100 local recruits in Tubby's tenure. It's both a blessing and a curse for Pitino. He has a much better local recruiting landscape to pull from than Tubby did, but because there are some guys ranked really high it also means that the competition for them is much more intense. Overall, both of them actually have done very well in getting the top guys from MN. Pitino got Jarvis, Amir, and Oturu. Tubby got Rodney, Joe Coleman, and Royce White. Both also did a good job in getting some guys to come back home, like Pitino with Reggie Lynch or Tubby with Mbakwe. Anyone who thinks that either one of them did a poor job recruiting locally doesn't really know what they are talking about.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
Well, yeah.. who wouldn't like to have all those guys, it's not going to happen and we all realize that. If we are going to take the program to the next level we need to land one of those rare talents.

Rashad, Tyus, Trent, Tre, Hurt and Suggs. 1 out of 6 would be fine, if we miss out on the last two I will be somewhat disappointed. It would be great to have another former gopher in the NBA, it would also help with recruiting. Maybe Amir makes it, to early to say.
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You could just as well start the calls for Pitino's head right now, because he's not getting Hurt or Suggs to come here either.
 

bizzle22 said:
That has less to do with the two coaches and more to do with the fact that there just weren't very many top 100 local recruits in Tubby's tenure. It's both a blessing and a curse for Pitino. He has a much better local recruiting landscape to pull from than Tubby did, but because there are some guys ranked really high it also means that the competition for them is much more intense. Overall, both of them actually have done very well in getting the top guys from MN. Pitino got Jarvis, Amir, and Oturu. Tubby got Rodney, Joe Coleman, and Royce White. Both also did a good job in getting some guys to come back home, like Pitino with Reggie Lynch or Tubby with Mbakwe. Anyone who thinks that either one of them did a poor job recruiting locally doesn't really know what they are talking about.
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Agree, there weren't many options def at the end of Tubby's tenure. They both have done well locally. Pitino looks better now because there are options each year and last year was the only one he truly missed on in state recruits but they both recruited Minnesota well. Honestly what coach didn't recruit locally. Monson brought in a lot of Minnesota players during his tenure. Even higher Minnesota recruits than Pitino & Tubby and it didn't make a difference. As long as we are recruiting for fit, I'm fine with the player no matter the location.
 

Heracles said:
You could just as well start the calls for Pitino's head right now, because he's not getting Hurt or Suggs to come here either.
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Won't be many calls for his head if we miss on Hurt and Suggs, but some disappointment. I'd guess we have a decent shot at Hurt, Suggs no idea our chances.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
Won't be many calls for his head if we miss on Hurt and Suggs, but some disappointment. I'd guess we have a decent shot at Hurt, Suggs no idea our chances.
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Hurt we have a chance, but we don't have a chance with Jalen. Grassroots haven't spoke highly of the U of M coaches. Hopefully, Pitino can get big Randy Carter to persuade Suggs to stay here, but from what I'm told he really likes Calipari.
 

GopherPlaya said:
Hurt we have a chance, but we don't have a chance with Jalen. Grassroots haven't spoke highly of the U of M coaches. Hopefully, Pitino can get big Randy Carter to persuade Suggs to stay here, but from what I'm told he really likes Calipari.
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grassroots.JPG

Coach Q, Big James, Big Meach, Big Ant & Coach Breezy aren't down with Kimani and Richard?
 



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