Former Gophers in Tourney

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Scottsdale Gopher

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While we sit and wait for the Gophers to name their new head coach and dream of returning to the NCAA Tournament, here are the former Gophers whose teams are playing in it.

Elijah Hawkins - Texas Tech
Hawkins spent the season in Lubbock as the starting PG and put up numbers similar to his season in Minnesota, with assists and minutes per game both down slightly. The Red Raiders were 25-8 this season, finishing 2nd in the Big 12, and losing in the semis of the conference tournament. Texas Tech is the three seed in the West.

Isaiah Ihnen - Liberty
Unfortunately, Ihnen suffered a season-ending injury just before Christmas. In the 11 games prior to getting hurt, he averaged 10 points per game in just 18 minutes, shooting 55.7 / 38.9 / 66.7. The Flames were 28-6 this season, winning the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. Liberty is the 12 seed in the East.

Pharrel Payne - Texas A&M
Payne saw slightly fewer minutes in College Station than with the Gophers, though he put up similar counting stats. The Aggies were 22-10 this season, finishing fifth in the SEC and losing in the second round (their first game) to rival Texas. A&M is the four seed in the South.

Abdoulaye Thiam - High Point
Thiam took a reduced role at High Point this season after starting 65 games for them over the previous two seasons. As a result, his stats are down considerably, averaging six points in 14 minutes per game. The Panthers were 29-5 this season, winning the Big South regular season and tournament titles. High Point is the 13 seed in the Midwest.
 

All well-known to me except Thiam. Did he get any (many) minutes with us? What's his back story?
 

GopherJack said:
All well-known to me except Thiam. Did he get any (many) minutes with us? What's his back story?
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No, he barely played on Ben's first team. But he probably should've gotten more minutes, and definitely would've played/helped out on Ben's 2nd team (give how pathetic our guard play was that year).
 

Add to that impressive list the MN high school graduates that are playing in the NCAA tournament that didn't chose UofM or chose to transfer to other schools. WI has 5 (2 starters), Michigan State has Tre Holloman, 20 minutes/game, and Michigan has 1 Will Tschetter, 20 minutes/game. If all those players were gophers, only Garcia would be starting from the gopher's current roster.
 

dbmn said:
Add to that impressive list the MN high school graduates that are playing in the NCAA tournament that didn't chose UofM or chose to transfer to other schools. WI has 5 (2 starters), Michigan State has Tre Holloman, 20 minutes/game, and Michigan has 1 Will Tschetter, 20 minutes/game. If all those players were gophers, only Garcia would be starting from the gopher's current roster.
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Add Heide at Purdue and McAndrews at Creighton (I'm sure there are others too).
 


GopherJack said:
All well-known to me except Thiam. Did he get any (many) minutes with us? What's his back story?
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He played one year at a Florida junior college and came off the bench there but was a good shooting and scoring guard in that role, especially for a freshman. Unfortunately, he was surprisingly terrible during the infrequent occasions he played during his one year here.
 

Thiam was energetic, but looked to score every time he touched the ball. Literally, every time.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
He played one year at a Florida junior college and came off the bench there but was a good shooting and scoring guard in that role, especially for a freshman. Unfortunately, he was surprisingly terrible during the infrequent occasions he played during his one year here.
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Surprisingly terrible is a good assessment. I have nightmares of him playing. I recall saying that i had never seen a D1 guard that literally could not dribble. He was best known. for bouncing the ball off his foot every time he put it on the floor. Seemed athletic enough....LOL
 






Louisville lost but they have J'Vonne Hadley who scored 13 points today.

Iowa State plays tomorrow with Curtis Jones as their leading scorer. Also have Nate Heise and Demarion Watson
 

Kerwin Walton has 6 made threes for Texas Tech.

Edit: Up to 8 now. I know he isn’t a former gopher but other MN kids being talked about
 
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Gopher-in-Keno said:
Sorry if this was mentioned already, Pharrel Payne with 25 points and 10 boards off the bench!
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I'm guessing the team would have been just a wee bit better with Hawkins and Payne....too bad. That's no defense of Ben, it's just the lay of the land in college basketball. You have to pay to play.
We will have a solid coach. We need to get him the needed financial backing to get and keep players.
 


bga1 said:
I'm guessing the team would have been just a wee bit better with Hawkins and Payne....too bad. That's no defense of Ben, it's just the lay of the land in college basketball. You have to pay to play.
We will have a solid coach. We need to get him the needed financial backing to get and keep players.
Click to expand...
Watching Hawkins last night it was a reminder of how massive a loss he was. He alone would not have solved all the issues on this team last year but he would have solved a lot of them, especially on offense. Plus he would have been a great guy for Asuma to learn under.

Would have been interesting to see how this team would have done if it had a roster that included Hawkins and Payne along with guys like Patterson and Femi. That could have been a pretty solid squad and might even have won enough to keep Johnson around for a little while longer.
 

bga1 said:
I'm guessing the team would have been just a wee bit better with Hawkins and Payne....too bad. That's no defense of Ben, it's just the lay of the land in college basketball. You have to pay to play.
We will have a solid coach. We need to get him the needed financial backing to get and keep players.
Click to expand...
If Hawkins, Payne and Christie stay they’re probably a tournament team.

But for the long run future of the program this is provably the better outcome.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Watching Hawkins last night it was a reminder of how massive a loss he was. He alone would not have solved all the issues on this team last year but he would have solved a lot of them, especially on offense. Plus he would have been a great guy for Asuma to learn under.

Would have been interesting to see how this team would have done if it had a roster that included Hawkins and Payne along with guys like Patterson and Femi. That could have been a pretty solid squad and might even have won enough to keep Johnson around for a little while longer.
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Hahahahahaha.

I knew it. You've outed yourself. Still want Johnson to drag this program down even lower.
 


bga1 said:
I'm guessing the team would have been just a wee bit better with Hawkins and Payne....too bad. That's no defense of Ben, it's just the lay of the land in college basketball. You have to pay to play.
We will have a solid coach. We need to get him the needed financial backing to get and keep players.
Click to expand...
I agree. No matter who the coach or what the year, there will always be things that could have gone differently. With Pitino it was the injuries and the Reggie Lynch suspension. I hope the new guy gets more support, monetarily and morally from the Administration. I also hope the new guy can come in and develop an identity for the program quickly! Looking forward to new beginnings.
 



Gopher-in-Keno said:
I agree. No matter who the coach or what the year, there will always be things that could have gone differently. With Pitino it was the injuries and the Reggie Lynch suspension. I hope the new guy gets more support, monetarily and morally from the Administration. I also hope the new guy can come in and develop an identity for the program quickly! Looking forward to new beginnings.
Click to expand...
Pitino also had Kevin Dorsey get in trouble, and Jarvis Johnson never play. Coffey season ending injury. He seemed to gamble on character and was a bit snake bitten by injury.
 

Scottsdale Gopher said:
While we sit and wait for the Gophers to name their new head coach and dream of returning to the NCAA Tournament, here are the former Gophers whose teams are playing in it.

Elijah Hawkins - Texas Tech
Hawkins spent the season in Lubbock as the starting PG and put up numbers similar to his season in Minnesota, with assists and minutes per game both down slightly. The Red Raiders were 25-8 this season, finishing 2nd in the Big 12, and losing in the semis of the conference tournament. Texas Tech is the three seed in the West.

Isaiah Ihnen - Liberty
Unfortunately, Ihnen suffered a season-ending injury just before Christmas. In the 11 games prior to getting hurt, he averaged 10 points per game in just 18 minutes, shooting 55.7 / 38.9 / 66.7. The Flames were 28-6 this season, winning the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. Liberty is the 12 seed in the East.

Pharrel Payne - Texas A&M
Payne saw slightly fewer minutes in College Station than with the Gophers, though he put up similar counting stats. The Aggies were 22-10 this season, finishing fifth in the SEC and losing in the second round (their first game) to rival Texas. A&M is the four seed in the South.

Abdoulaye Thiam - High Point
Thiam took a reduced role at High Point this season after starting 65 games for them over the previous two seasons. As a result, his stats are down considerably, averaging six points in 14 minutes per game. The Panthers were 29-5 this season, winning the Big South regular season and tournament titles. High Point is the 13 seed in the Midwest.
Click to expand...

First Round Update:

Elijah Hawkins vs. UNC-Wilmington
Nearly a triple double (14p 10a 9r) in 40 minutes. Texas Tech wins 82-72. Next up: Drake

Isaiah Ihnen vs. Oregon
DNP - Injured. Liberty loses 52-81.

Pharrel Payne vs. Yale
25 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. Texas A&M wins 80-71. Next up: Michigan

Abdoulaye Thiam vs. Purdue
6 points in 9 minutes. High Point loses 63-75.
 

Payne's journey ends.....Hawkins moves on to the sweet 16.
 

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