At what point do we consider Noreen?

[ChemEGopher]

Looks like we could now have room for 6 new guys next year and only three of those spots are taken. Kevin Noreen is available with Skinner out at BC. While I've never seen him play, its suspicious to me that the coaching staff has so little interest in Minnesota's high school all-time leading scorer (yes, I realize his competition was very weak). I would like to avoid another Ryan Wittman-type misake if possible. At this point why don't we just offer the kid? I guess we could just hold on to an extra scholarship or two but it's not like we've heard that we are in on a bunch of big time recruits for 2011 so what would be the point?

Anybody "on the inside" have an answer on this?

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

I would be very disappointed if we offered Noreen. Just because he broke the scoring record doesn't necessarily mean anything. Who held the record before him? Cody Schilling. I played against him in high school. Good player, but just because he was putting up 1,000 points per season didn't make him a high-major player, in fact he's not even playing D1. I would be very, very disappointed if Tubby decides to fill scholarships just for the sake of filling scholarships. He should only offer someone if the player has the potential to be a major contributor.

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

Does Tubby not think much of the high school talent in Minnesota? I really wish he would take a look around the country and realize the huge number of Minnesota kids thriving elsewhere...

I'd offer Noreen for sure.

 

[ChemEGopher]

I would be very disappointed if we offered Noreen. Just because he broke the scoring record doesn't necessarily mean anything. Who held the record before him? Cody Schilling. I played against him in high school. Good player, but just because he was putting up 1,000 points per season didn't make him a high-major player, in fact he's not even playing D1. I would be very, very disappointed if Tubby decides to fill scholarships just for the sake of filling scholarships. He should only offer someone if the player has the potential to be a major contributor.

He was signed with Boston College. That's D1. In the ACC. He also had offeres from Gonzaga and NC State. He was ranked a 92 on ESPN which is the same as Maurice Walker. All this leads me to wonder why we haven't given him more thought. Does someone know if he's even asked out of his LOI since Skinner was canned at BC? I haven't heard officially, only speculation.

 

[Curseislifted33]

that would signal we are equal to WI and IA

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

He was signed with Boston College. That's D1. In the ACC. He also had offeres from Gonzaga and NC State. He was ranked a 92 on ESPN which is the same as Maurice Walker. All this leads me to wonder why we haven't given him more thought. Does someone know if he's even asked out of his LOI since Skinner was canned at BC? I haven't heard officially, only speculation.

I never said he wasn't D1, I said Schilling wasn't D1 (although he could have gone to a mid-major if he really wanted). Noreen is D1 and may do well at Boston College if he stay there, but he just doesn't fit Minnesota's style of play, which is exactly why he wasn't offered by Tubby. I don't see him thriving at Minnesota, so I think it would be better for both parties if he went elsewhere. You shouldn't fill scholarships just for the sake of filling scholarships. If there is no one available that has the potential to make a significant impact on the team, then hold on to the scholarship and use it on someone who will. There's no need to use up a scholarship for someone to rot on the bench for 4 years.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I've seen Noreen play, and I would never offer this kid a D1 scholorship. I hope I am dead wrong, and I hope he has a great career wherever he ends up, but I hope it isn't at Minnesota. He simply dominated atrocious competition. He was usually guarded by men who were 6'2". In the state semi finals he was being guarded (pretty well) by a kid who was barely 6'0". I don't think his game looked that smooth, he didn't look that strong, and I was thinking there is no way this kid plays at BC. I personally thought his little brother was more impressive than him.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I have a hard time believing anyone who is saying we should offer him has seen him play.

 

[98VQueens]

Sign him up.

 

[WolfontheProwl]

I wish things too.

I wish people on message boards would also try to under stand that players from Minnesota often benefit from not playing at the U. Wittman for example would struggle to get on the floor for the Gophers because of his lack of athletic ability. He does not fit the Gopher system at all and went to a school that was perfect for what he could do. Some players are hard to see go like a Cole Aldrich or Taylor playing at Wisconsin but some guys are better suited going to other schools who will benefit from what they do.

The Gophers are not making mistakes in all cases just because a Minnesota goes else where and plays well. The difference between the Big Ten and the Ivy League is pretty vast. Not that the teams in the Ivy League cant play or that they dont have good players but how would they do playing a Big Ten Schedule?

 

[ChemEGopher]

As I said, I haven't seen him play. A 6'10" guy with range just sounds like someone we should be interested in on its face. I will be disappointed though if we end up carrying over any scholarships this year and Noreen turns out to be a solid D1 player.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

As I said, I haven't seen him play. A 6'10" guy with range just sounds like someone we should be interested in on its face. I will be disappointed though if we end up carrying over any scholarships this year and Noreen turns out to be a solid D1 player.

If he turns out to be solid somewhere else, it doesn't mean he would have been solid here. Different players fit different systems. If Noreen fit ours Tubby would have offered him a long time ago.

 

[DuluthGopher]

Does Tubby not think much of the high school talent in Minnesota? I really wish he would take a look around the country and realize the huge number of Minnesota kids thriving elsewhere...

I'd offer Noreen for sure.

Does Williams and White not count for some reason? Not to mention he has offered Coleman & will go hard after the kid from Apple Valley, once he hits puberty.

 

[panndder]

Does Williams and White not count for some reason? Not to mention he has offered Coleman & will go hard after the kid from Apple Valley, once he hits puberty.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

?

 

[guru]

I've seen Noreen play, and I would never offer this kid a D1 scholorship. I hope I am dead wrong, and I hope he has a great career wherever he ends up, but I hope it isn't at Minnesota. He simply dominated atrocious competition. He was usually guarded by men who were 6'2". In the state semi finals he was being guarded (pretty well) by a kid who was barely 6'0". I don't think his game looked that smooth, he didn't look that strong, and I was thinking there is no way this kid plays at BC. I personally thought his little brother was more impressive than him.

I kind of doubt that the Gophers or the other High Major schools (Marquette, UCLA, Texas, Maryland, Florida, BC, Northwestern, Gonzaga, Colorado, etc.) that were/are pursuing Noreen right now are too concerned about ?Blahblahblah's? opinion. It has pretty well been documented on multiple scouting sites (eg. ESPN has him as a "92" and Scout. com has him as a 4-Star and nationally ranked at #107 and Dave Telep rated him as the #one player who deserved to be in the top 100 that wasn't) that the kid can play. Numerous AAU tournament recaps from more neutral national sources (Rivals, Scout.Com, ChicagoPreps, Scout.com, etc.) highlight him outplaying/matching up favorably with- many of the top ranked players in the class- Josh Hairston (Duke), Dwight Powell (Stanford), Wayne Blackshear (Louisville), Nate Lubick (Georgetown), Meyers Leonard (Illinois), Ricky Kreklow (Missouri), etc. Loblaw seems like he has been going out of his way in trashing this kid in the StarTrib, Rivals and now this site, not sure of the agenda, but I kind of doubt he knows more than the guys that do this for a living know.

The late-bloomer kids like Noreen don't always get evaluated like the can't-miss athletes and watching only high school games can often be misleading where the opponent employs double- & triple-teaming and junk zones. There is validity to the idea that Tubby is usually looking for long and strong bigs, not necessarily skilled ones for the type of schemes he runs- and looked past Noreen previously (he's more of John Leuer-type player). Having said that, I would bet that the Gophers will pursue Noreen if/when he gets his release from BC. Both metro papers beat guys have already hinted at it. Even JohnnyGopher has gone from negative to positive on Noreen. By all accounts, another good student, hard worker and solid citizen on the roster can't be all bad after what went down this year w/ Royce, Trevor and Nolen. And he played AAU with Rodney Williams.

 

[BigGopherFan]

I would be very disappointed if we offered Noreen. Just because he broke the scoring record doesn't necessarily mean anything. Who held the record before him? Cody Schilling. I played against him in high school. Good player, but just because he was putting up 1,000 points per season didn't make him a high-major player, in fact he's not even playing D1. I would be very, very disappointed if Tubby decides to fill scholarships just for the sake of filling scholarships. He should only offer someone if the player has the potential to be a major contributor.

No, Schilling "just" a Division II All-American...as a sophomore.
Noreen, for whatever its worth, is a 4-star player. Your post makes it sound like he can't play at the Gophers' level. Though I think he's overrated, there is no question he could play Division I. The Gophers would be foolish to go after another big guy this year. Noreen looks to have the same skill-set as EE.

 

[BigGopherFan]

what

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

No, Schilling "just" a Division II All-American...as a sophomore.
Noreen, for whatever its worth, is a 4-star player. Your post makes it sound like he can't play at the Gophers' level. Though I think he's overrated, there is no question he could play Division I. The Gophers would be foolish to go after another big guy this year. Noreen looks to have the same skill-set as EE.

Did you not read my other posts? I said Schilling could have played mid-major D1 if he wanted to, but he's not. My point with him was that just because he might score 1000 more points than another recruit doesn't mean he's better and just because you are (or was, in his case) the state's leading scorer, it doesn't automatically mean that you should be playing for that state's school. And I also never said Noreen wasn't good enough to play for the Gophers, I said he doesn't fit the Gophers' style and wouldn't thrive in our system like he might in another, so it would be better for both parties if he went elsewhere. Read my posts more carefully. And also, for like the 4th time, just because a team has an extra scholarship doesn't mean they have to use it. It's pointless to have someone on the bench for 4 years eating up a scholarship when you could have saved it for a big contributor.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

And by the way, I doubt there are many high-major coaches kicking themselves wishing they had offered the D2 All-Americans.

 

[underground629]

I've been wondering that for some time as well. We've been looking at some less than intriguing PF prospects, so I wonder what about Noreen has scared them away. I'm also wondering if any of the returning players have been reaching out to Royce to return.

Looks like we could now have room for 6 new guys next year and only three of those spots are taken. Kevin Noreen is available with Skinner out at BC. While I've never seen him play, its suspicious to me that the coaching staff has so little interest in Minnesota's high school all-time leading scorer (yes, I realize his competition was very weak). I would like to avoid another Ryan Wittman-type misake if possible. At this point why don't we just offer the kid? I guess we could just hold on to an extra scholarship or two but it's not like we've heard that we are in on a bunch of big time recruits for 2011 so what would be the point?

Anybody "on the inside" have an answer on this?

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I kind of doubt that the Gophers or the other High Major schools (Marquette, UCLA, Texas, Maryland, Florida, BC, Northwestern, Gonzaga, Colorado, etc.) that were/are pursuing Noreen right now are too concerned about ?Blahblahblah's? opinion. It has pretty well been documented on multiple scouting sites (eg. ESPN has him as a "92" and Scout. com has him as a 4-Star and nationally ranked at #107 and Dave Telep rated him as the #one player who deserved to be in the top 100 that wasn't) that the kid can play. Numerous AAU tournament recaps from more neutral national sources (Rivals, Scout.Com, ChicagoPreps, Scout.com, etc.) highlight him outplaying/matching up favorably with- many of the top ranked players in the class- Josh Hairston (Duke), Dwight Powell (Stanford), Wayne Blackshear (Louisville), Nate Lubick (Georgetown), Meyers Leonard (Illinois), Ricky Kreklow (Missouri), etc. Loblaw seems like he has been going out of his way in trashing this kid in the StarTrib, Rivals and now this site, not sure of the agenda, but I kind of doubt he knows more than the guys that do this for a living know.

The late-bloomer kids like Noreen don't always get evaluated like the can't-miss athletes and watching only high school games can often be misleading where the opponent employs double- & triple-teaming and junk zones. There is validity to the idea that Tubby is usually looking for long and strong bigs, not necessarily skilled ones for the type of schemes he runs- and looked past Noreen previously (he's more of John Leuer-type player). Having said that, I would bet that the Gophers will pursue Noreen if/when he gets his release from BC. Both metro papers beat guys have already hinted at it. Even JohnnyGopher has gone from negative to positive on Noreen. By all accounts, another good student, hard worker and solid citizen on the roster can't be all bad after what went down this year w/ Royce, Trevor and Nolen. And he played AAU with Rodney Williams.

First off, I have been on the rivals site and I don't post on the Strib. If I did "trash" the kid on those sites, I would admit, but I simply didn't.

Second of all, I never claimed to be an expert. I merely said in my opinion the kid didn't impress me much. This is a message board, its entire design is for rubes like US to share our opinions. That's all it was, it was me sharing my opinion. I also said that I hoped I was wrong and I hope the kid has success wherever he goes, I just can't see him being succesful at the U (or anywhere in the Big 10). If that statement on a Gopher basketball message board is so offensive to you, I question your motives.

Lastly, you can compare Noreen to Leur if you want, but Leur was much more heavily recruited. In my opinion, it has much less to do with style of play and much more to do with their ability. Leur was offered by Tubby, but it was too late. Don't you think it says something that not 1 Big 10 school has offered Noreen? Not Iowa? Not Nwestern (despite his GPA)?

Again, I hope I am dead wrong on Noreen. I will gladly eat crow if the kid goes out and becomes a solid D1 college basketball player. I will be the first person to admit it, and I really wish him nothing but success. By all accounts he is a tough, good and intelligent kid. So I have nothing against him, but as a Gopher fan, I hope we don't offer him.

Now let me ask this question again...
Does anyone who saw him play actually thinks that the Gophers should offer the kid?

 

[underground629]

Is that a serious statement about Wittman? All I can say is Blake Hoffarber...

I wish people on message boards would also try to under stand that players from Minnesota often benefit from not playing at the U. Wittman for example would struggle to get on the floor for the Gophers because of his lack of athletic ability. He does not fit the Gopher system at all and went to a school that was perfect for what he could do. Some players are hard to see go like a Cole Aldrich or Taylor playing at Wisconsin but some guys are better suited going to other schools who will benefit from what they do.

The Gophers are not making mistakes in all cases just because a Minnesota goes else where and plays well. The difference between the Big Ten and the Ivy League is pretty vast. Not that the teams in the Ivy League cant play or that they dont have good players but how would they do playing a Big Ten Schedule?

 

[BigGopherFan]

And by the way, I doubt there are many high-major coaches kicking themselves wishing they had offered the D2 All-Americans.

Honestly, you'd be surprised. The gap between lower/mid-level "mid major" and high-level Division II (All-Americans) players is often minuscule.

I agree. For some reason I thought you wrote mid-major. High majors don't sweat over D-II A-A's.

 

[march madness]

Noreen is the kind of kid Wisconsin usually likes. Big kid with some touch from outside, a hard worker. Someone good at their inside out game. If Wisconsin didn't offer, that makes me wonder. I say stay away. Yes he may go somewhere and develop into a decent player by his jr and sr year but he will never be a great defensive player and thats a must with Tubby.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

Honestly, you'd be surprised. The gap between lower/mid-level "mid major" and high-level Division II (All-Americans) players is often minuscule.

Umm once again, read my post. I said I doubt any high-major coaches would be kicking themselves over not offering the D2 All-Americans. Would the low-majors and mid-majors? Very possible, and in plenty of situations yes. But not the high-major coaches, like I said. If you think there isn't much of a difference between a D2 All-American and 99.9999% of high-major players you're kidding yourself.

 

[Winnipegopher]

I think the problem is Tubby already has his reach in Eliason- why go for another? In retrospect, with Walker sigining, Noreen might be a nice change of pace/ different kind of player to Iverson, Sampson/ Walker.

From a recruiting perspective, I would think Tubby is better off with the Minnesota POY vs the Nebaska one. Minnesota has way more talent than Nebraska so there is no real future beneift to inroads in Nebraska.

PS The last two time Nebraska POY washed out of Iowa State and is now at Colorado State.

PPS Noreen didn't help himself by electing to go to Transitions.

 

[guru]

First off, I have been on the rivals site and I don't post on the Strib. If I did "trash" the kid on those sites, I would admit, but I simply didn't.

Second of all, I never claimed to be an expert. I merely said in my opinion the kid didn't impress me much. This is a message board, its entire design is for rubes like US to share our opinions. That's all it was, it was me sharing my opinion.

Bobloblaw I vs. "bobloblaw II"

From the StarTribune:

MN Transitions should be shut down
What are these numbers: 8.08%; 8.56%; 4.49%? If you guessed, "what are the 4-year graduation rates for MN Transitions Charter School students the last 3 years," you win!
Really, Transitions? You can't even graduate 10% of your kids? For crying out loud, Red Lake high school, which has probably the greatest obstacles to overcome of any school in the state, graduated between 26% and 41% of their students over the same period.
Shut the faux "school" down until they show they take education seriously.

posted by str0ngbad on Mar 23, 10 at 9:00 pm |
0 of 1 people liked this comment.

From the Rivals site:

by Bob Loblaw » Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:51 pm

Wow...defensive much, aau dude? I guarantee that the students at MTS don't face hurdles to graduation any more significant than students at Red Lake High School face, and RL graduated between 26% and 41% of their students over the same span as MTS graduated less than 10% of its students.


***One word on "First off": pwned.

***On "second of all", based on reading the body of boblob's work on rivals and his three-year crusade against Noreen's school (which apparently has defeated bobloblaw's school "unfairly"), at least bobloblaw's self-description as a "rube" is the one thing we know for sure that is accurate.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I hate to tell you guru, but that's not me. I swear on a stack of bibles that I didn't post that stuff. Bob_Loblaw is a character from a Arrested Development TV show, someone else must've also used the name. That guy seems pretty obsessed with the graduation rates at MTS, those are stats I had absolutely no idea until you just posted them. If I was the same guy, don't think I would have continued my tirade here? All I said is that I don't think Kevin Noreen is a Big 10 basketball player. I didn't rip on his school or imply that he couldn't graduate. In fact, as a city kid, I was rooting for MTS to win their division of the state championship.

I am 28 years old and I graduated from Cretin Derham Hall. I have no vested disagreement with MTS, it didn't even exist when I was in HS (to my knowledge) and if it did, it certainly never played Cretin. If you don't believe me you can go through my history on the football board where i've made it obvious I am a Cretin guy for sometime.

I'm sorry there is a bobloblaw on another site ripping on their graduation rates at MTS, I had no idea there was ever a debate about MTS, I simply don't think Noreen will be an effective Big 10 basketball player. I am sorry if that offended you, but keep in mind this is a message board. This is a thread about if the Gophers should offer Noreen. What do you expect? Do you think everyone should have the exact same opinion on the kid.

MY main question stands:
Does anyone who who has seen this kid play think he would excel in the Big 10? Anyone? Besides you Mrs. Noree...i mean guru.

 

[Facts34]

Wittman is a legit 6'8, was named Ivy League Player of the Year, led his team on a convincing run to the Sweet 16, was invited to Portsmouth, has an outside chance at being drafted in the 2nd round, and will certainly be in an NBA camp.

So while his skills outweigh his athleticism, and that will be his biggest hurdle to an NBA career, to say that he would have struggled to get on the floor for the Gophers is ludicrous.

Is that a serious statement about Wittman? All I can say is Blake Hoffarber...

I wish people on message boards would also try to under stand that players from Minnesota often benefit from not playing at the U. Wittman for example would struggle to get on the floor for the Gophers because of his lack of athletic ability. He does not fit the Gopher system at all and went to a school that was perfect for what he could do. Some players are hard to see go like a Cole Aldrich or Taylor playing at Wisconsin but some guys are better suited going to other schools who will benefit from what they do.

The Gophers are not making mistakes in all cases just because a Minnesota goes else where and plays well. The difference between the Big Ten and the Ivy League is pretty vast. Not that the teams in the Ivy League cant play or that they dont have good players but how would they do playing a Big Ten Schedule?