Dartmouth transfer Taurus Samuels will visit Gophers May 5-6

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As others said in the other thread, yes could be a good pack up to Cooper. Similar stats to Ryan Larson I guess.
 




I am all for it, if Samuels is content playing 8-10 minutes a night. Never know could be like Sutherlin where he ends up out kicking his coverage and playing beyond expectations
 

Fleckoff said:
I am all for it, if Samuels is content playing 8-10 minutes a night. Never know could be like Sutherlin where he ends up out kicking his coverage and playing beyond expectations
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Agreed. I'm all for a steady ballhandler that doesn't turn it over. There is ALWAYS a role for that player. Just gleaning his stats, it seemed like he finished the season nicely (more minutes and more points).
 

Fleckoff said:
I am all for it, if Samuels is content playing 8-10 minutes a night. Never know could be like Sutherlin where he ends up out kicking his coverage and playing beyond expectations
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This makes sense. I don't know why so many on here think every kid we recruit has to be a potential star. With 13 scholarships, and likely playing 7-8 guys the bulk of minutes you need to recruit personalities that are ok with their role, especially now with the new transfer rules. Ben already has the following who each have potential to see a lot of minutes:

Garcia
Battle
Cooper
Ihnen
Carrington
Fox
Payne
Samuels or other

There are your likely top eight guys with minutes right now, and there is a lot of flexibility on both ends of the floor with this group. Having another guy who can handle the ball such as Samuels makes sense, and you have a top 8 players.

These guys will likely get a few minutes here and there as well:
Thompson (if he gets stronger and can defend he'll get some minutes)
Henley (know little about him - maybe Ben sees more than anyone on here would know); and Ola-Joseph (he is athletic and can defend)

Thompson will hopefully be able to give better minutes than he did this year, and maybe Ben has more confidence than anyone on here with Henley as he has a much better idea of how he might be able to contribute. If he brings in Samuels the final two scholarships are likely developmental or guys who fill out the roster in practice. There are only so many minutes to go around.

Now, if Ben can find a great player he will always take that, but you need players that understand their roles as well.
 



Tucker32 said:
This makes sense. I don't know why so many on here think every kid we recruit has to be a potential star. With 13 scholarships, and likely playing 7-8 guys the bulk of minutes you need to recruit personalities that are ok with their role, especially now with the new transfer rules. Ben already has the following who each have potential to see a lot of minutes:

Garcia
Battle
Cooper
Ihnen
Carrington
Fox
Payne
Samuels or other

There are your likely top eight guys with minutes right now, and there is a lot of flexibility on both ends of the floor with this group. Having another guy who can handle the ball such as Samuels makes sense, and you have a top 8 players.

These guys will likely get a few minutes here and there as well:
Thompson (if he gets stronger and can defend he'll get some minutes)
Henley (know little about him - maybe Ben sees more than anyone on here would know); and Ola-Joseph (he is athletic and can defend)

Thompson will hopefully be able to give better minutes than he did this year, and maybe Ben has more confidence than anyone on here with Henley as he has a much better idea of how he might be able to contribute. If he brings in Samuels the final two scholarships are likely developmental or guys who fill out the roster in practice. There are only so many minutes to go around.

Now, if Ben can find a great player he will always take that, but you need players that understand their roles as well.
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The problem you have there is that 5 of the top 7 are not ball handling guards. That's why it is so important that we get one more real solid scorer and handler. I am guessing that Henley is better than people think and perhaps he surprises and brings it to 5 of 8. That still makes the team VERY susceptible to suffering big damage if there is an injury at the guard position.

Sure, I'd take Samuels in a heartbeat for that 8-10 minute role but we are still missing a proven scoring guard unless we get a great year out of Carrington or Henley or both.
 


bga1 said:
The problem you have there is that 5 of the top 7 are not ball handling guards. That's why it is so important that we get one more real solid scorer and handler. I am guessing that Henley is better than people think and perhaps he surprises and brings it to 5 of 8. That still makes the team VERY susceptible to suffering big damage if there is an injury at the guard position.

Sure, I'd take Samuels in a heartbeat for that 8-10 minute role but we are still missing a proven scoring guard unless we get a great year out of Carrington or Henley or both.
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If we don't get another transfer shooter, it seems to me that Ben must feel comfortable with what he can get from the Carrington/Henley combo. You also don't want to chase a freshman recruit you like off because a transfer comes in and takes their playing time. Ben is trying to set a tone with HS recruits and it wouldn't be a great look if his first signee ever (Carrington) left after a year. There also has to be a reason that some of the other CG/SG transfers ended up going to lesser schools - I would imagine Ben is/was very transparent with these guards about what playing time he sees for who he already has on the roster.
 

restovich said:
Would sure like to get another guard
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A little disappointing if we couldn't at least get Strong here. That 5th starting spot is up for grab with an ability to sell big minutes at a Big 10 level, with a decent group of players.
 



WriterGoph said:
If we don't get another transfer shooter, it seems to me that Ben must feel comfortable with what he can get from the Carrington/Henley combo. You also don't want to chase a freshman recruit you like off because a transfer comes in and takes their playing time. Ben is trying to set a tone with HS recruits and it wouldn't be a great look if his first signee ever (Carrington) left after a year. There also has to be a reason that some of the other CG/SG transfers ended up going to lesser schools - I would imagine Ben is/was very transparent with these guards about what playing time he sees for who he already has on the roster.
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If this is an indication that Ben thinks these two are ready to go, then that's fantastic and I would love to grow with the frosh. If they are both ready then you have 4 playable guards if they get Samuel. Still thin if there are injuries.
 

Tucker32 said:
This makes sense. I don't know why so many on here think every kid we recruit has to be a potential star. With 13 scholarships, and likely playing 7-8 guys the bulk of minutes you need to recruit personalities that are ok with their role, especially now with the new transfer rules. Ben already has the following who each have potential to see a lot of minutes:

Garcia
Battle
Cooper
Ihnen
Carrington
Fox
Payne
Samuels or other

There are your likely top eight guys with minutes right now, and there is a lot of flexibility on both ends of the floor with this group. Having another guy who can handle the ball such as Samuels makes sense, and you have a top 8 players.

These guys will likely get a few minutes here and there as well:
Thompson (if he gets stronger and can defend he'll get some minutes)
Henley (know little about him - maybe Ben sees more than anyone on here would know); and Ola-Joseph (he is athletic and can defend)

Thompson will hopefully be able to give better minutes than he did this year, and maybe Ben has more confidence than anyone on here with Henley as he has a much better idea of how he might be able to contribute. If he brings in Samuels the final two scholarships are likely developmental or guys who fill out the roster in practice. There are only so many minutes to go around.

Now, if Ben can find a great player he will always take that, but you need players that understand their roles as well.
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Agreed, that's why down the line I think JOJ and Thompson are important, they may not play much this year, but I think they can turn into glue guys who can help this program if they stick with it, hard to convince guys to do that, but you may be able too with late blooming in state guys. I'd consider pitching a spot to Dodd at SSP. Kid seems like a warrior and I doubt the 2023's would be afraid of him. For next year I think we will see something like this if Samuels commits

Cooper 28-32 MPG
Carrington 22-28 MPG
Battle 32-36 MPG
Garcia 32-36 MPG
Fox 20-25 MPG
Off the Bench
Payne 20-25 MPG
Hensley 15-20 MPG
Samuels 8-12 MPG
Ihnen I would like to see if we can get him a rotation in the first half, problem is I think minutes will be tough at the four spot with Garcia and potentially Battle and Fox playing there some and I am still skeptical he can guard on the perimeter, I do like his interior rebounding
TT I have no doubt is putting the work in to be a five, but I think he needs to change his mind set as well, right now I would probably trust Ihnen more in the post to make an impact if there's foul trouble, or moving Garcia down low and giving Ihnen those minutes at the four over TT.
JOJ, I love his energy and he's got a Big Ten body, but I don't see a path to playing time this year unless there's an injuries.
Overall I think there's a clear top 8, I'd feel better if we had an experienced combo or three an D shooting guard, but I like Carrington and based on a couple of full game tapes I like Hensley, different player than Carrington has a quicker and smoother stroke,(not too many guys have a smoother shot IMO) I think Hensley quicker defensively and has quicker, more active hands, which will lead to more steals, deflections, probably more fouls as a Freshman, both will take their lumps at times in this league as Freshman, but if Cooper's the real deal at PG and our 3-5 spots are healthy and as good as advertised, I think those two can hold it down as a 5th option. Clear top 8, but wouldn't be afraid to plug in guys 9-11for bench minutes. Team is definitely in trouble if Cooper gets hurt
 

skiumah1 said:
A little disappointing if we couldn't at least get Strong here. That 5th starting spot is up for grab with an ability to sell big minutes at a Big 10 level, with a decent group of players.
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You're assuming Ben thinks he could play ahead of Carrington, Henley, or even Battle at a perimeter spot. If Strong wants starter minutes and Ben doesn't have them, he's not going to bring him on. He could easily play Cooper, Battle, Ihnen, Garcia, and Payne/Fox together. He's not thinking 1, 2, 3, etc. Battle and Ihnen are both perimeter players. That would be a difficult lineup to guard, and they would have a lot of flexibility defensively.
 

Will be interesting to see how the rest of the off season plays out. We don't seem to be actively pursuing a ton of players for that other guard spot so there is a decent chance that Ben feels confident in what he has in the true freshman to think they can take on a role as early as this fall.

But still plenty of time for things to happen in the portal so who knows at this point.
 

Tucker32 said:
You're assuming Ben thinks he could play ahead of Carrington, Henley, or even Battle at a perimeter spot. If Strong wants starter minutes and Ben doesn't have them, he's not going to bring him on. He could easily play Cooper, Battle, Ihnen, Garcia, and Payne/Fox together. He's not thinking 1, 2, 3, etc. Battle and Ihnen are both perimeter players. That would be a difficult lineup to guard, and they would have a lot of flexibility defensively.
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True. I hope we are pleasantly surprised what Henley and Carrington are able to do right away.

If we are no longer showing interest in Jones, that's interesting. But maybe Ben really is focusing on building from the ground up here with his guys.
 

skiumah1 said:
True. I hope we are pleasantly surprised what Henley and Carrington are able to do right away.

If we are no longer showing interest in Jones, that's interesting. But maybe Ben really is focusing on building from the ground up here with his guys.
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That's fine by me. Give me one of two scenarios- a really good veteran team that is tourney worthy or a young team with a lot of potential. I never want to see a veteran team again here that has 4-5 Big Ten wins.
 

skiumah1 said:
True. I hope we are pleasantly surprised what Henley and Carrington are able to do right away.

If we are no longer showing interest in Jones, that's interesting. But maybe Ben really is focusing on building from the ground up here with his guys.
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I don't think Jones wants to come here, if that's been made clear, then Ben shouldn't waste his time on it, although Thorson recruited him pretty hard his one year at Drake. As for Strong, I think he envisioned himself as the PG and once Cooper committed, I don't think him and the staff were on the same page, it sucks, but if you bring in a guy whose not happy with his role, that's going to have other short and long term consequences and it's better for both sides to just be honest about it and move on and hopefully there's no hard feelings.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Will be interesting to see how the rest of the off season plays out. We don't seem to be actively pursuing a ton of players for that other guard spot so there is a decent chance that Ben feels confident in what he has in the true freshman to think they can take on a role as early as this fall.

But still plenty of time for things to happen in the portal so who knows at this point.
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I think that is really rolling the dice. Maybe he has another transfer in his pocket somewhere. Great to have confidence in the frosh, but I'd like to see a workable back up plan.
 

WriterGoph said:
If we don't get another transfer shooter, it seems to me that Ben must feel comfortable with what he can get from the Carrington/Henley combo. You also don't want to chase a freshman recruit you like off because a transfer comes in and takes their playing time. Ben is trying to set a tone with HS recruits and it wouldn't be a great look if his first signee ever (Carrington) left after a year. There also has to be a reason that some of the other CG/SG transfers ended up going to lesser schools - I would imagine Ben is/was very transparent with these guards about what playing time he sees for who he already has on the roster.
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Slightly similar situation, remember Justin Cobbs? Didn't do much here in 2009-2010 as a freshman. Al Nolen still had another year of eligibility, Devoe Joseph picked up the slack at PG when Nolen was ineligible, and his brother Cory Joseph looked like he had a strong shot of coming here (didn't commit to Texas until April 24th, after Cobbs announced his transfer).

Well he developed into a really nice PG for Cal and was a finalist for the Bob Cousy award. Helped take down #1 Arizona. If we bring in a 1-2 year transfer who takes all the minutes Carrington/Henley thinks they can earn, you've now increased the chances they transfer.
 
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WriterGoph said:
If we don't get another transfer shooter, it seems to me that Ben must feel comfortable with what he can get from the Carrington/Henley combo. You also don't want to chase a freshman recruit you like off because a transfer comes in and takes their playing time. Ben is trying to set a tone with HS recruits and it wouldn't be a great look if his first signee ever (Carrington) left after a year. There also has to be a reason that some of the other CG/SG transfers ended up going to lesser schools - I would imagine Ben is/was very transparent with these guards about what playing time he sees for who he already has on the roster.
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exactly...been saying this for a bit now as well....its ok to trust your 2 freshman....especially with a veteran lineup around them which we will have at almost all times
 

Holy Man said:
I think that is really rolling the dice. Maybe he has another transfer in his pocket somewhere. Great to have confidence in the frosh, but I'd like to see a workable back up plan.
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By the way, Samuels scored 23 last year when Dartmouth upset Georgetown. I know he's not known as a scorer, it looks like the kid has a good handle and has some decent experience: https://www.foxsports.com/watch/1973915715985
 



Tucker32 said:
You're assuming Ben thinks he could play ahead of Carrington, Henley, or even Battle at a perimeter spot. If Strong wants starter minutes and Ben doesn't have them, he's not going to bring him on. He could easily play Cooper, Battle, Ihnen, Garcia, and Payne/Fox together. He's not thinking 1, 2, 3, etc. Battle and Ihnen are both perimeter players. That would be a difficult lineup to guard, and they would have a lot of flexibility defensively.
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How would they defend with that five?
 

Tucker32 said:
You're assuming Ben thinks he could play ahead of Carrington, Henley, or even Battle at a perimeter spot. If Strong wants starter minutes and Ben doesn't have them, he's not going to bring him on. He could easily play Cooper, Battle, Ihnen, Garcia, and Payne/Fox together. He's not thinking 1, 2, 3, etc. Battle and Ihnen are both perimeter players. That would be a difficult lineup to guard, and they would have a lot of flexibility defensively.
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History suggests Ihnen is not a perimeter player. His success was almost all playing inside.
 

Holy Man said:
I like him as an answer for back-up point guard, not as a solid shooting guard that Kerwin or Jones would fill.
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I like him as a back up point guard as well. There is a need for a solid off guard who can shoot, but I would love to have a ball handler behind Cooper. And based on Johnson's assessment of Henley, it may dictate his aggressiveness in getting another shooting guard to take starter's minutes.
 

Much easier to play a freshman SG than a PG, might not be as high of a priority for Johnson to get a veteran SG.
 

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