Another BOOM: Eylijah Stevens from Lafayette





Why are we saying boom? So far, assuming we lose the guys that have entered the TP, this has been a net negative on transfers. Next season will be rough.
 



Why are we saying boom? So far, assuming we lose the guys that have entered the TP, this has been a net negative on transfers. Next season will be rough.
Haven’t you read the posts? These guys were all conference (2nd or 3rd team) in stellar leagues like the Patriot. No reason to assume they aren’t better against better players.
 

Why are we saying boom? So far, assuming we lose the guys that have entered the TP, this has been a net negative on transfers. Next season will be rough.
Gabe is still likely coming back and there is a good chance Johnson is as well.

Battle, Lowe and Stephens are all better than Tre Williams and Stephens and Lowe are probably equal or a little better than Mashburn was. Freeman and Mitchell aren't huge losses with Treyton coming in and we'll likely get either Fox or Race as another big upfront. Possibly a true PG too.

Carr is obviously a massive loss but he was expected to go pro anyways so I don't really count him.

So assuming Gabe comes back I'd say Battle, Lowe and Stephens is a net upgrade over Mashburn, Tre, Mitchell and Freeman plus we will likely get 1-2 more guys.
 

I understand the reasons about new players needing time to gel, but the Gophers were a bubble team (or better) for most of the season, and I didn't think our basketball looked anything like a team of five guys who gelled together.

We had a team of like 1.5 - 2.5 contributing offensive players. That's an area we should be able to improve on.
 



Why are we saying boom? So far, assuming we lose the guys that have entered the TP, this has been a net negative on transfers. Next season will be rough.
because of the tweets that Johnson posts after a commit:

 


We don't want a FR class of larger than 2-3. The transfer portal is going to be hot for the next few years because so many people got an extra year (Grad transfers).

I actually think the slow (and correct) play is to not go TOO heavy on FR this year. I'd like BJ's first class to be one he had a whole year to recruit.
Agreed. I think we’d all prefer 3-4 year guys and watch Freshmen develop over their Gopher career. Filling gaps with 1-year transfers this season is the most feasible way to compete this year but it’s not sexy. I’m looking forward to the 2022 recruiting class and Holloman would be a hell off a start.
 

Gabe is still likely coming back and there is a good chance Johnson is as well.

Battle, Lowe and Stephens are all better than Tre Williams and Stephens and Lowe are probably equal or a little better than Mashburn was. Freeman and Mitchell aren't huge losses with Treyton coming in and we'll likely get either Fox or Race as another big upfront. Possibly a true PG too.

Carr is obviously a massive loss but he was expected to go pro anyways so I don't really count him.

So assuming Gabe comes back I'd say Battle, Lowe and Stephens is a net upgrade over Mashburn, Tre, Mitchell and Freeman plus we will likely get 1-2 more guys.
I’d rather have Mashburn than all those guys but as a collective swap, I agree 100%.
 



Agreed. I think we’d all prefer 3-4 year guys and watch Freshmen develop over their Gopher career. Filling gaps with 1-year transfers this season is the most feasible way to compete this year but it’s not sexy. I’m looking forward to the 2022 recruiting class and Holloman would be a hell off a start.
This is the general approach RP used and was roundly criticized. Build and take the pain was the cry.
Interesting approach by Johnson.
 

Keep in mind, too, that if you'd ideally want a player to hit 35% from 3 and their career percentage is 33%, that's only a few more makes in an entire season. That kind of improvement is well within reach for any player, especially if Johnson will run an offense that gets guys open looks.
 


Remember when Both Gach was going to rock our world?
Gach 19-20 vs Stephens 20-21 (with Carr 20-21 for comparison)

Gach Stephens Carr
PER 11.1 20.5 20.7
WinSh/40 .048 .138 .147
Off Ratg 96.9 110.4 109.3
Def Ratg 104.7 105.4 105.7


I don't know if Stephens will pan out, but Gach was arguably the worst rotation player on a very mediocre Utah team. Any expectation that he would "rock our world" was uninformed at best
 

Gabe is still likely coming back

The odds of players entering the transfer portal but remaining with their old teams are very low.

The tenacity with which some of you hold onto the idea that a single player who was a marginal starter at best in the Big Ten is going to come back is pathetic. You don't even know if the coach wants him back. If I were coach, I would recruit another player to fill his spot as quickly as possible just out of spite for his disloyalty.
 

The odds of players entering the transfer portal but remaining with their old teams are very low.

The tenacity with which some of you hold onto the idea that a single player who was a marginal starter at best in the Big Ten is going to come back is pathetic. You don't even know if the coach wants him back. If I were coach, I would recruit another player to fill his spot as quickly as possible just out of spite for his disloyalty.
You are probably right about his returning, but acting out of spite in your first two weeks on the job when a key element of your getting the job was good relationships with local people would not be a good idea. It's a different world now. When Ben gains some street cred, he'll get away with that. Turning Gabe down if he wants to come back in a reasonable amount of time would piss a lot of people off beyond the player. Not a great look right out of the box.
 

I understand the reasons about new players needing time to gel, but the Gophers were a bubble team (or better) for most of the season, and I didn't think our basketball looked anything like a team of five guys who gelled together.

We had a team of like 1.5 - 2.5 contributing offensive players. That's an area we should be able to improve on.
I favor developing players early in the season then settling on 7- 8 players for the B1G season with a couple of role players who you can count on in a pinch. It may cost a couple of W early but hopefully pay off during league play. Call me sn old fashion coach who believes early season player development pays off in the end.
 


Turning Gabe down if he wants to come back in a reasonable amount of time would piss a lot of people off beyond the player. Not a great look right out of the box.

I believe that Gabe will get offers elsewhere but quite possibly they will be at a lower level than this program. If he comes back and says "I didn't get what I want so can I play here instead?" he will look pathetic. He should man up and follow the decision he made.
 

Turning Gabe down if he wants to come back in a reasonable amount of time would piss a lot of people off beyond the player.
But we're just supposed to say "aw shucks" about Gabe entering the portal, in the first place?

Gabe wants a better deal. He knows that it's very unlikely that the Gophers will be able to do much in the next two seasons, and he probably would not mind being a bench player on a team that can do something.
 

Gach 19-20 vs Stephens 20-21 (with Carr 20-21 for comparison)

Gach Stephens Carr
PER 11.1 20.5 20.7
WinSh/40 .048 .138 .147
Off Ratg 96.9 110.4 109.3
Def Ratg 104.7 105.4 105.7


I don't know if Stephens will pan out, but Gach was arguably the worst rotation player on a very mediocre Utah team. Any expectation that he would "rock our world" was uninformed at best
Agree. Never liked his game in his school and liked it less at Utah . Hoped it would be different here.
 

You would be a terrible coach.

Well, maybe so but I'm just not the sentimental type. I also think coddling a single player who entered the transfer portal is disrespectful to those who didn't.
 

Gach 19-20 vs Stephens 20-21 (with Carr 20-21 for comparison)

Gach Stephens Carr
PER 11.1 20.5 20.7
WinSh/40 .048 .138 .147
Off Ratg 96.9 110.4 109.3
Def Ratg 104.7 105.4 105.7


I don't know if Stephens will pan out, but Gach was arguably the worst rotation player on a very mediocre Utah team. Any expectation that he would "rock our world" was uninformed at best
Agree. Never liked his game in his school and liked it less at Utah . Hoped it would be different here.

Were people saying this back when he was transferring here and then waiting for his waiver?

I coulda swore people were really excited about him coming here. Guess we cooled ....
 

Gach was arguably the worst rotation player on a very mediocre Utah team.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/utah/2020.html

RkPlayerGGSMPFGFGA
FG%
1Timmy Allen313135.66.113.80.441
2Both Gach272530.43.89.50.397
3Rylan Jones282831.52.870.396
4Alfonso Plummer26215.236.30.467
5Riley Battin312825.72.55.90.418
6Branden Carlson302920.935.50.549
7Mikael Jantunen31323.22.63.90.661
8Jaxon Brenchley31718.21.43.80.353
9Brooks King403.50.320.125
10Eli Ballstaedt1206.30.61.90.304
11Matt Van Komen904.80.81.10.7
12Marc Reininger3060.310.333
13Lahat Thioune2528.90.610.667
14Brandon Haddock603.200.80
 

Gach looked really good in the preseason. His dreadful first BIG game against Illinois really seemed to affect the rest of his season. In his defense, he was playing on a bum foot most of conference play. I hope he can be a solid rotaional piece once fully healthy.
 

The odds of players entering the transfer portal but remaining with their old teams are very low.

The tenacity with which some of you hold onto the idea that a single player who was a marginal starter at best in the Big Ten is going to come back is pathetic. You don't even know if the coach wants him back. If I were coach, I would recruit another player to fill his spot as quickly as possible just out of spite for his disloyalty.
Ryan James seems to think he’ll be back. I trust him. Gabe is also arguably the top perimeter defender returning in the Big Ten if he comes back.
 

Ryan James seems to think he’ll be back. I trust him. Gabe is also arguably the top perimeter defender returning in the Big Ten if he comes back.
Then why enter the portal in the first place?

If he gets an offer he likes ... he's gone. Otherwise, there would be no reason to enter. Just for the fun of it?


So basically, what he (James) is really saying is "I don't think he'll get an offer he likes". Not "I definitely think he wants to be a Gopher still, and so he'll choose to come back".
 




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