Freshman Potential

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dingo

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While watching Rodney play, I got into a discussion last night with my dad about who was the last Gopher freshman to have this much potential?

Somebody who came to the team, that was raw but played the right way and you can only imagine how good he will be if he stays four years. We debated Rickert, Humphries, Q Lewis, but finally settled on... Sam Jacobson

They both have the athletic ability to bring down the house as freshman and the skills that you can see starting to develop. Lets hope Rodney turns out to be the player Sam was.

Any other players that come to mind?
 


Rickert was extremely good as a freshman. As a freshman he was clearly the best player on a decent team- right from the start of the season.

Rodney looks great but let's be realistic.
 


If we expanded the definition of "freshman" to "first-year Gopher," I'd say Bobby Jackson had the same ability to amp up the crowd that RW has displayed so far.
 



Halsey Hall said:
Ray Williams and Mark Olberding
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I think Ray was a JC guy, but certainly was a star in his first year. Olberding was probably the best freshman big man I have ever seen. What would the hype machine have done with Mark if he was around in the new millenium?
 

Winnipegopher said:
Rickert was extremely good as a freshman. As a freshman he was clearly the best player on a decent team- right from the start of the season.

Rodney looks great but let's be realistic.
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I agree, but here's the thing: Rodney has natural abilities Rickert never even came close to. If he hones those skills, he'll leave Rickert in the dust.
 

Lou Hudson...

...was great as a sophomore--his first year of competition. He played back in the days of freshman ineligibility.
 



I think Rodney displays a dimension that hasn't been seen by a Gopher freshman, maybe ever. His freakish athleticism makes him a very intriguing prosepct. I just hope he has the proper people in his ear telling him to stay for at least three years. He's built a little like Kevin Durant.
 


Sam Jacobson had a great freshman year. But, he never got any better.
 

I think Sam's the best comparison. Both can jump out of the gym, both quickly were crowd favorites because of their high flying. Rodney's going to have his freshman moments like everyone else, but at least through 2 games (against poor competition) it appears he's a candidate to take some of Paul's minutes away.
 



I'm reluctant to say Sam because he never really improved and Rodney is already improving. I'll go with Rickert.
 

Sam didn't improve?

Sam never improved? Boy, I wouldn't go that far. He was a very good 4-year performer in the Big 10, one that by the time he finished was good enough to get selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft. Sam's improvement wasn't as visible as Eric Harris' (major struggles his first two years), but I saw quite a bit of improvement from Sam's freshman year to his senior year.
 

"Rodney has natural abilities Rickert never even came close to" and Rickert had natural abilities that Rodney can't match. They are different players.

Rickert was 6' 10" could score inside and shoot the three. From day one he was the best player on the Gophers. He came in billed as a future All-American and played like one as a freshman. You guys are forgetting how good he was.

I wonder how good Rickert could have been with Tubby.
 

Winnipegopher said:
"Rodney has natural abilities Rickert never even came close to" and Rickert had natural abilities that Rodney can't match. They are different players.

Rickert was 6' 10" could score inside and shoot the three. From day one he was the best player on the Gophers. He came in billed as a future All-American and played like one as a freshman. You guys are forgetting how good he was.

I wonder how good Rickert could have been with Tubby.
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Rickert could shoot from outside but never had the footspeed or quickness to be a legit inside/out thread in the NBA and lacked the strength to play inside. There's a reason why he's never sniffed the NBA
 

"Rickert could shoot from outside but never had the footspeed or quickness to be a legit inside/out thread in the NBA and lacked the strength to play inside. There's a reason why he's never sniffed the NBA "

I agree but you wouldn't have made the same comment when he was a freshman.
 

true but that's only because most hoped he could add enough weight to play the 4 at the NBA level. NBA 4's either are great athletes or strong and he was neither.
 

oleboy41 said:
true but that's only because most hoped he could add enough weight to play the 4 at the NBA level. NBA 4's either are great athletes or strong and he was neither.
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he could take a punch though.
 

I agree but we are speaking about Rickert as a freshman.


PS Back to the original thread, the last freshman we talked about a freshman with freaky athletic skills and a ton of potential was.....

Rico Tucker.

I too, am excited about Williams but it is very early.
 

Winnipegopher said:
I agree but we are speaking about Rickert as a freshman.


PS Back to the original thread, the last freshman we talked about a freshman with freaky athletic skills and a ton of potential was.....

Rico Tucker.

I too, am excited about Williams but it is very early.
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I was tracking you until you compared Williams to Rico Tucker. Other than that, you've made some good points. To follow up on Rickert, he was very very good as a freshman. The problem was he didn't continue to improve. He was basically the same player as a sophomore that he was as a freshman. Williams has a higher ceiling, imo. Whether he gets there or not remains to be seen. One thing I will say is this: Rickert was a much better overall jump shooter and maybe more skilled. But athletically, Rickert doesn't even compare.
 

this is random, but don't you wonder how good a lot of our former Monson players would/could have been under Tubby? Humphries, Rickert, Mo, Burleson...even a guy like KP. just a thought...
 

players with Tubby

I know they would have all been better defensive players! The Jury is still out on developing a players offense. I'll give him a few years before I judge the offensive improvement.

I think that may have been one reason Kentucky was on him. I don't think it was that his recruiting was so much sub-par, he had quite a few McDonald's all americans. It was that most of them never improved to become All-americans at least on the offensive end. The best NBA players from Kentucky during this time are known for their defense: Rhondo, Prince, Magloire.

I am not ripping on Tubby. I love Tubby! His specialty is defense and playing hard.
 

MRJ,

In no way am I comparing Williams to Rico Tucker.

I am, however, comparing the hyperbole concerning Williams, to what used to be said about Tucker. I am also very excited about Williams but will reserve full judgment until the big Ten season.

I wish we had access to the archives as there were people actually worried about Rico leaving early for the NBA.

PS Here are Rico's stats for his first two games as a freshman:

-had his second consecutive double figure scoring game with 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3 pt. FG) in 18 minutes vs. Furman in Great Alaska Shootout first round (11/24) • scored 11 points, was 9-of-10 from the line, dished out two assists, two blocks and four steals in his Golden Gopher debut in 15 minutes vs. Lipscomb (11/21).

Hmm 11 points in 15 and 18 minutes. Those numbers look pretty similar to me.
 

Winnipegopher said:
MRJ,

In no way am I comparing Williams to Rico Tucker.

I am, however, comparing the hyperbole concerning Williams, to what used to be said about Tucker. I am also very excited about Williams but will reserve full judgment until the big Ten season.

I wish we had access to the archives as there were people actually worried about Rico leaving early for the NBA.

PS Here are Rico's stats for his first two games as a freshman:

-had his second consecutive double figure scoring game with 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3 pt. FG) in 18 minutes vs. Furman in Great Alaska Shootout first round (11/24) • scored 11 points, was 9-of-10 from the line, dished out two assists, two blocks and four steals in his Golden Gopher debut in 15 minutes vs. Lipscomb (11/21).

Hmm 11 points in 15 and 18 minutes. Those numbers look pretty similar to me.
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Fair enough. I was never high on Rico Tucker in any way, shape or form. But I see your point.
 

Winnipegopher said:
Rickert was extremely good as a freshman. As a freshman he was clearly the best player on a decent team- right from the start of the season.

Rodney looks great but let's be realistic.
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Sam J I would say. Rickert was a great offensive talent from the get go but short on natural athletic ability. He did not have the strength or quickness to go to the next level. Humphries had great talent but didn't know squat about team basketball. Jackson was a JUCO or he would be the obvious choice.
 

dingo said:
While watching Rodney play, I got into a discussion last night with my dad about who was the last Gopher freshman to have this much potential?

Somebody who came to the team, that was raw but played the right way and you can only imagine how good he will be if he stays four years.
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Lots of people are answering this in this sense of players who were also somewhat stylistically similar to Rodney, and have lots of good suggestions. But if you don't limit it that way, and just answer the question as written above, I would say Pryz. Rickert really wasn't that raw. But with Pryz, you could see the natural talent and where it could take him. Too bad he quit.
 

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