DAWSON GARCIA A GOPHER!!!

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Bad Gopher said:
I'm going to continue to go back to...this gives us a great starting front court, but the team's success will still hinge on the thing we haven't had in a long time: depth. In other words, I so badly want Thompson to take the next step in the off season and be the true center that we still need. There will be games and situations where you want a true post player, and there will always be injuries, illness, and foul trouble.
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The guard situation is far from settled yet. Really need a couple of experienced guys who can blend in quickly to make this work. I see good ones on the list, but I’m not sure I see any can’t miss candidates in the bunch either.
 

Flipper1a said:
I am worried about Thompson....but who knows maybe he will redshirt this year. He surprised me last year.
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Hopefully that won't be the case. Think Thompson has a lot of potential.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't care if it makes me a homer, go get Kerwin Walton. He is supposedly close with Garcia, he was one of the best shooters in the ACC in 2021, he has a lightening quick shot. Then go get Michael Jones (did he sign elsewhere?) and one of the PGs.

We could have some lineups with a ton of shooting on the court.
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I think most people think Jones is very likely headed to Stanford.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Yeah I don't think Payne comes in and plays 30 mins. I do know I've seen Payne as a Sr. and TT as a Sr. (AAU) and Payne is way more ready physically and defensively. He will be able to play 10 mins a game as a freshman with very little development. He recently has been developing at a rapid rate though and I'd be shocked if he doesn't continue to. TT did some nice things too, hopefully he can continue to get stronger. I honestly think we will be fine in the paint with Ihnen, Fox, Garcia, and Payne. Whatever Thompson adds is just gravy.
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Could have started for us last year when he was our guest sitting behind the bench. Payne is going to surprise people next season, thank you covid for holding his ranking back. B1G folks will see him and wonder why he didn't end up at ohio state
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Yeah I don't think Payne comes in and plays 30 mins. I do know I've seen Payne as a Sr. and TT as a Sr. (AAU) and Payne is way more ready physically and defensively. He will be able to play 10 mins a game as a freshman with very little development. He recently has been developing at a rapid rate though and I'd be shocked if he doesn't continue to. TT did some nice things too, hopefully he can continue to get stronger. I honestly think we will be fine in the paint with Ihnen, Fox, Garcia, and Payne. Whatever Thompson adds is just gravy.
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Barring injuries I don't see Thompson winning much PT with those other 4 holding down the 4-5 positions. Ihnen can perhaps back up Battle a few minutes at the 3 spot but otherwise I think those 4 divide 80 minutes maybe 85.
 


Spottedmuskie said:
Could have started for us last year when he was our guest sitting behind the bench. Payne is going to surprise people next season, thank you covid for holding his ranking back. B1G folks will see him and wonder why he didn't end up at ohio state
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I couldn't agree more. Payne will be a big surprise, in large part because he not only has the athleticism and the big body to have success in the post, he is late to the game and is getting better fast. His hands and feet are exceptional. The issue with Thompson is that he doesn't have post moves and isn't comfortable in the post. It's hard to change a big guy who's been facing the basket for a long time and prefers that. He may be able to make progress with strength and being more effective close to the basket, but I don't know if he's going to be much of a factor next year and it may be better to redshirt him. Too many solid players in the frontcourt for now. A really good PG and a shooting guard will fill things out so nicely....
 

Quotes from Garcia:

The Gophers hosted Garcia on Friday, and he made his decision official while returning to the U after the weekend with his family.

"It's like the coolest thing ever," Garcia told the Star Tribune. "Ben's done an unbelievable job to establish a culture in one year. I can only imagine what he's going to do in Year 2 and beyond.

"I'm excited to put on the uniform, but also when the time comes to be a proud alum and say I was part of the process of getting Minnesota basketball back."

"I'm excited to wear 'Minnesota' across my chest," Garcia said. "It's something that not too many people get to do, to represent the state."

"It was awesome being down at the practice facility," Garcia said. "It just felt it was yesterday when I played with some of those guys. I know a lot of them. There's a lot of home-state talent on this team."

www.startribune.com

Dawson Garcia commits to Gophers, wants to be part of 'getting Minnesota basketball back'

The 6-foot-11 forward from Prior Lake, who started 12 games for the North Carolina last season, will become the seventh scholarship player from Minnesota on the 2022-23 roster.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Quotes from Garcia:

The Gophers hosted Garcia on Friday, and he made his decision official while returning to the U after the weekend with his family.

"It's like the coolest thing ever," Garcia told the Star Tribune. "Ben's done an unbelievable job to establish a culture in one year. I can only imagine what he's going to do in Year 2 and beyond.

"I'm excited to put on the uniform, but also when the time comes to be a proud alum and say I was part of the process of getting Minnesota basketball back."

"I'm excited to wear 'Minnesota' across my chest," Garcia said. "It's something that not too many people get to do, to represent the state."

"It was awesome being down at the practice facility," Garcia said. "It just felt it was yesterday when I played with some of those guys. I know a lot of them. There's a lot of home-state talent on this team."

www.startribune.com

Dawson Garcia commits to Gophers, wants to be part of 'getting Minnesota basketball back'

The 6-foot-11 forward from Prior Lake, who started 12 games for the North Carolina last season, will become the seventh scholarship player from Minnesota on the 2022-23 roster.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
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Took a roundabout way to get here but awesome to see how excited he is about coming back and playing for the U.

Will be interesting to see how the rest of the transfer class shakes out but it is exciting to know we are heading into next season with some really nice front court options. If Ben can find the right guards to fill out the roster there is a definite opportunity for a quick turnaround.
 

The quote about seeing the hometown talent is awesome. It probably is a pretty great feeling to see people you know and have played with on the hometown team. And to know you actually have a chance to add to or create a legacy for that hometown team. In the past we were lacking that for sure.
 



Has Ryan Larson committed anywhere? As this roster is shaping up a pass first PG is looking like a good fit. Especially as a one year grad transfer.
 
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bga1 said:
Barring injuries I don't see Thompson winning much PT with those other 4 holding down the 4-5 positions. Ihnen can perhaps back up Battle a few minutes at the 3 spot but otherwise I think those 4 divide 80 minutes maybe 85.
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I'd like to think that Thompson is going to be heavier by this fall and more game ready. Even so....should add a layer of polish on his fairly unique skill set for a guy his size. Coach Johnson and the rest of the staff will hopefully be able to scheme out a way to utilize him.

BleedGopher said:
Quotes from Garcia:

The Gophers hosted Garcia on Friday, and he made his decision official while returning to the U after the weekend with his family.

"It's like the coolest thing ever," Garcia told the Star Tribune. "Ben's done an unbelievable job to establish a culture in one year. I can only imagine what he's going to do in Year 2 and beyond.

"I'm excited to put on the uniform, but also when the time comes to be a proud alum and say I was part of the process of getting Minnesota basketball back."

"I'm excited to wear 'Minnesota' across my chest," Garcia said. "It's something that not too many people get to do, to represent the state."

"It was awesome being down at the practice facility," Garcia said. "It just felt it was yesterday when I played with some of those guys. I know a lot of them. There's a lot of home-state talent on this team."

www.startribune.com

Dawson Garcia commits to Gophers, wants to be part of 'getting Minnesota basketball back'

The 6-foot-11 forward from Prior Lake, who started 12 games for the North Carolina last season, will become the seventh scholarship player from Minnesota on the 2022-23 roster.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
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Cool!
 




MNVCGUY said:
Took a roundabout way to get here but awesome to see how excited he is about coming back and playing for the U.

Will be interesting to see how the rest of the transfer class shakes out but it is exciting to know we are heading into next season with some really nice front court options. If Ben can find the right guards to fill out the roster there is a definite opportunity for a quick turnaround.
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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 





Gopherfan84 said:
Yeah I don't think Payne comes in and plays 30 mins. I do know I've seen Payne as a Sr. and TT as a Sr. (AAU) and Payne is way more ready physically and defensively. He will be able to play 10 mins a game as a freshman with very little development. He recently has been developing at a rapid rate though and I'd be shocked if he doesn't continue to. TT did some nice things too, hopefully he can continue to get stronger. I honestly think we will be fine in the paint with Ihnen, Fox, Garcia, and Payne. Whatever Thompson adds is just gravy.
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Likely depends on who we are playing. If we play a team with a strong center his minutes likely go up since neither Garcia or Thompson are true in the paint post players although Garcia is more suited to do it than Thompson. For other teams we can probably get away with leaving Fox or whoever is the pf alone in the paint on offense more.
 




MNVCGUY said:
He doesn't need to redshirt, he can be a key piece off the bench next season behind Garcia. Not every player is obsessed with starting and Thompson probably realizes his game has a ways to go before he is ready to make an impact at the Big Ten level. Big guys often need some time to develop.
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Thompson is starting,not coming off the bench? for sure.
 


I hope we keep zone defense in our package. Thompson could be a nice bottom outside defender in Boeheim's 2-3. Done well you can't shoot 3's because the corner/wing defenders are too long.

It's hard to make guys effective doing stuff they don't like or aren't good at. Utilize his skills....he has them,,,,he's never gonna be Shaq or Jabbar or Akeem or ....
 

Garcia was a 4-star recruit and the No. 37 senior in the nation in the Class of 2020, according to 247 Sports, which ranked him only behind Jalen Suggs in Minnesota's graduating class that year.
 

PhiloVance said:
Garcia was a 4-star recruit and the No. 37 senior in the nation in the Class of 2020, according to 247 Sports, which ranked him only behind Jalen Suggs in Minnesota's graduating class that year.
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and prephoops had him #26. 2020 was the end for Coach Pitino? whiffed on the loaded field of MN kids
 



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