College Basketball Transfer Portal Thread - 2024

Donate To GopherHole
007gopherfan said:
CBJ just needs to make sure he is developing that next year 10,11,12 guys are able to contribute in Big Ten play if needed. Not saying has to play 10,11,12 players each game, but there is no reason you can't have a roster of 10,11, or even 12 who are ready to contribute in big games if and when needed.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you but, at this point, I'd be satisfied with 9 who could contribute reliably in Big Ten play.
 

007gopherfan said:
CBJ just needs to make sure he is developing that next year 10,11,12 guys are able to contribute in Big Ten play if needed. Not saying has to play 10,11,12 players each game, but there is no reason you can't have a roster of 10,11, or even 12 who are ready to contribute in big games if and when needed.
Click to expand...
Almost as important as having seven, eight, and nine men who contribute.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
I don't disagree with you but, at this point, I'd be satisfied with 9 who could contribute reliably in Big Ten play.
Click to expand...
Our biggest issue was lack of consistent play behind the starters, especially the guards. We got lucky with a guy like Hawkins who can play as much as he did last year. But we can't count on that and Mitchell playing as much as he did either. Christie too. They need consistent breathers. The front court depth was SLIGHTLY better with Fox but in all likelihood, he's gone. Most really good teams have 8, 9 rotation players
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
I'd say our most pressing need for next season is quality front court players to provide relief for Garcia and Payne (assuming both return). This 6'8" soph forward from Missouri State (Illinois native) is a rebounding machine (averages 14.4 per 40 minutes). He also averaged 2.9 blocks per 40 minutes. Despite averaging just under 22 minutes per game, he was 4th in the MO Valley for rebounds per game , #1 in offensive rebounds, and #1 in total rebound percentage. He was also 2nd in the conference in blocks per game.

N.J. Benson
Click to expand...
This guy is No. 1 so far.
 



TwistingMyMelon said:
I don't disagree with you but, at this point, I'd be satisfied with 9 who could contribute reliably in Big Ten play.
Click to expand...
Problem with only 9 is when 1 or 2 go down you only got 7. Plus then you walk a fine line each year with the transfer portal in risking being really thin team in need from lot of yelp or get really young again. There are 14/15 scholarships spots on a team. 10,11,12 should be able to fill into that 9 rotation if needed. 13,14,15 should be ones who if don't get redshirted, or more of wild card, etc.
 



leib0039 said:
Probably nothing but I find it interesting that essentially everyone they've contacted had been a guard/wing. Considering Asuma, Hawkins, Mitchell seem locked in and DG/Fox being a ? Just seems odd. 👀
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've thought that too. The UIC guy is 6'8, which would be useful from a length and defensive perspective. Would be an upgrade over Carrington IMO. Wouldn't be the worst thing having someone like that at the 3 spot to play alongside Hawk and Christie and then can move Mitchell to the 6th man.
 



JZABR said:
Our biggest issue was lack of consistent play behind the starters, especially the guards. We got lucky with a guy like Hawkins who can play as much as he did last year. But we can't count on that and Mitchell playing as much as he did either. Christie too. They need consistent breathers. The front court depth was SLIGHTLY better with Fox but in all likelihood, he's gone. Most really good teams have 8, 9 rotation players
Click to expand...

That's why most of the teams we played in the latter part of the season ran 9. 10, or even 11 guys at us. They knew they could wear us out while keeping their best players fresh.
 



007gopherfan said:
Problem with only 9 is when 1 or 2 go down you only got 7. Plus then you walk a fine line each year with the transfer portal in risking being really thin team in need from lot of yelp or get really young again. There are 14/15 scholarships spots on a team. 10,11,12 should be able to fill into that 9 rotation if needed. 13,14,15 should be ones who if don't get redshirted, or more of wild card, etc.
Click to expand...

I realize that but my point was that we are so short (regularly) on our rosters than even two more would seem like a relief.
 



leib0039 said:
Probably nothing but I find it interesting that essentially everyone they've contacted had been a guard/wing. Considering Asuma, Hawkins, Mitchell seem locked in and DG/Fox being a ? Just seems odd. 👀
Click to expand...
They have to have someone in place should Christie decide to go pro (I don't think he will). Now is the time to make contact and start developing relationships. If Christie doesn't go then offers won't be made- although we could use another wing regardless
 



fan of Ray Williams said:
He must have been hurt during the 22-23 season. Only played 2 games.
Click to expand...
Yup. I coach in Iowa and we were invited to meet with Jacobson, watch film with the team, and watch them practice. He looked good, but he was up and down all season.

Unrelated note: UNI had 3 other guys enter the portal today (F Michael Duax, F Cole Henry, G Ege Peksari from Turkey)
 

007gopherfan said:
Problem with only 9 is when 1 or 2 go down you only got 7. Plus then you walk a fine line each year with the transfer portal in risking being really thin team in need from lot of yelp or get really young again. There are 14/15 scholarships spots on a team. 10,11,12 should be able to fill into that 9 rotation if needed. 13,14,15 should be ones who if don't get redshirted, or more of wild card, etc.
Click to expand...
If Minnesota and Northern Iowa both want a guy and he figures out that Minnesota wants him for 10th or 11th guy as insurance against an injury and Northern Iowa wants him as a starter, can we get him?

There are 13 scholarships, not 14/15.
 

leib0039 said:
Probably nothing but I find it interesting that essentially everyone they've contacted had been a guard/wing. Considering Asuma, Hawkins, Mitchell seem locked in and DG/Fox being a ? Just seems odd. 👀
Click to expand...
They will contact plenty of front court players. That is the greatest need. In terms of quantity there will be a lot more guards and wings in the portal than big men.
 



Off-GridTNgopher said:
Yup... We will find out if he's got the proclaimed chops....
Click to expand...
He certainly has more to sell this year than in the past. And... barring an unexpected loss of a number of core players- he should be able to concentrate on a few slots rather than a bunch of them. I am optimistic that he will get a couple of good players this year.
 

bga1 said:
I am optimistic that he will get a couple of good players this year.
Click to expand...

If he has the openings I believe he can get a couple of good players. I doubt Fox will return so there's probably one. Do any others leave or does Johnson have the will to nudge them out if they aren't inclined to leave? We know that Fleck has no problem recruiting over existing players. It's not clear to me whether Johnson does. Maybe that's what happened with Thiam and Thompson.
 

bga1 said:
He certainly has more to sell this year than in the past. And... barring an unexpected loss of a number of core players- he should be able to concentrate on a few slots rather than a bunch of them. I am optimistic that he will get a couple of good players this year.
Click to expand...
Depends what the sell is: it isn’t a past history of getting to a NCAA tourney (maybe that is tops on a players list). NIL could also be a deciding factor, and I believe most on this board would agree (which is the one thing we may agree on) that we are behind on NIL…or playing time at a P5 school could be a major deciding factor for a portal player…we no longer really have that (if Garcia returns he is a lock), Hawkins is a lock, Payne is a lock, Christie (if he returns is a lock)…where is the PT coming from? If those guys leave…that hurts your pitch on NCAA tourney…so there is that.
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Depends what the sell is: it isn’t a past history of getting to a NCAA tourney (maybe that is tops on a players list). NIL could also be a deciding factor, and I believe most on this board would agree (which is the one thing we may agree on) that we are behind on NIL…or playing time at a P5 school could be a major deciding factor for a portal player…we no longer really have that (if Garcia returns he is a lock), Hawkins is a lock, Payne is a lock, Christie (if he returns is a lock)…where is the PT coming from? If those guys leave…that hurts your pitch on NCAA tourney…so there is that.
Click to expand...
Interesting post. That one is a pretty good defense of Ben! :) I think you are saying that Ben has built a pretty good core despite our history as a program of not making the NCAAs and being at a school that is not offering big NIL.

You are correct.

I think he can target a guy who is a scoring wing that has a year or two left and that player is not going to be afraid to compete with Mitchell for time.

As to the big that we need, there I would be looking for a kid that has a few years left who is a good defender and perhaps a 4-5 combo that can sub for Garcia and Payne and also be looking at starting in the years following.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
Here's a surprise (to an outsider anyway). Kanye Clary, Penn State's leading scorer through most of the season, hit the transfer portal today.
Click to expand...
I mean at this point is anything that happens in the transfer portal really a surprise? :)

Assume he is either thinking he can cash in on this year or already has been offered a better deal from someone else.
 

leib0039 said:
Probably nothing but I find it interesting that essentially everyone they've contacted had been a guard/wing. Considering Asuma, Hawkins, Mitchell seem locked in and DG/Fox being a ? Just seems odd. 👀
Click to expand...
A bigger guard/wing makes a lot of sense to me from the standpoint of trying to make it so Mitchell could be a 6th man off the bench. A starting 5 of Hawkins, Christie, transfer G/W, Garcia and Payne with Mitchell, Asuma, and some front court depth off the bench could be a pretty strong team.

Of course that is working under the assumption that all the key guys come back which in this day and age is not something we can really do. Going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
I realize that but my point was that we are so short (regularly) on our rosters than even two more would seem like a relief.
Click to expand...
Yeah I've never seen a Gophers team with more than 9 contributing players. All the way back through Haskins.

I realize that there's the transfer portal now. But those who demand Ben have 12 good players aren't being realistic.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I mean at this point is anything that happens in the transfer portal really a surprise? :)

Assume he is either thinking he can cash in on this year or already has been offered a better deal from someone else.
Click to expand...
He was basically kicked off the team at mid season. This is the most unsurprising name in the portal. His current coach deemed his issues to more of a liability than his considerable talent as an asset.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom