Gaston Diedhiou commits to Gophers

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The steal and breakaway with a flush finish at 1:45 was fun to watch.

AO54 said:
some more highlights
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z9eGkt3etkE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Apparently this board needs a Canarias Academy Insider
 

bemidjigopher said:
Nebraska PG is an Aussie, I don't think anyone had heard of him or Pettaway for that matter until this year. As for Louisville Russ Smith two star Dieng was a two star, I agree it's a gamble, but lets see how it plays out, at a school like Minnesota you gotta win with three stars and some guys who you gamble on that stay for four years before you can go out and get the blue chippers
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Dieng was a top 50 guy.
 

I remember an interview where Pitino said if he had open scholarships, he wouldn't sign someone just to have a body. If he offered this guy and accepts his commitment, it means he wants him. End of discussion.
 


mplarson7 said:
I remember an interview where Pitino said if he had open scholarships, he wouldn't sign someone just to have a body. If he offered this guy and accepts his commitment, it means he wants him. End of discussion.
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Perhaps we should close this thread as there appears to be nothing further to discuss regarding this recruit.
 

Never heard of the dude until twenty minutes ago or so, but after the little I've seen/read of him, I have to say I'm excited about this. Will be interesting to see if he ends up at PF or C.
 

When I first saw that we signed him I was a little weary being nothing has been said about him until today. But after watching those videos he definitely is an intriguing big guy. Guys that big and move like that don't grow on trees. He is a little raw but some of those post moves looked pretty smooth and he seems to have a nice right hand baby hook so I don't think he's that far away from having a good offensive game.
 

Sparlimb said:
Sounds about right. Looks like a project, smells like a project, hope he's not a project but a budding all-conference player...

We're going to see if he's a player. The ONLY thing we can do is wait and see and trust the coach right now. We'll see how it all turns out.
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Sometimes projects turn out to be something worthwhile. It would be nice if we, or any team, could recruit nothing but sure things.
 



We have 13 scholarship spots on the roster and usually only 7-9 of those actually contribute. I'm totally fine rolling the dice once in a while on a player like Gaston who has great physical potential. His videos are intriguing an I will defer to Coach P's judgements when it comes to recruiting.
 

mplarson7 said:
I remember an interview where Pitino said if he had open scholarships, he wouldn't sign someone just to have a body. If he offered this guy and accepts his commitment, it means he wants him. End of discussion.
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This is exactly what I mean when I say, "So many experts, so little expertise".. In the words of Bob Dylan..."Idiot Wind!"
 

This guy looks a lot more aggressive on the board than anyone we have currently on the roster. I'm excited to see him next year!
 

Section201 said:
LOL. I must have missed the part where the other 11 or 13 B1G coaches were hot on this guys trail.
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If we're only going to recruit guys where we have to beat out 11 other B1G teams for a commitment, we may as well fold the program.
 



You must have also missed the part where the rest of the BT coaches offered tons of others players on our roster... oh, wait...

Maybe a player can be good without being recruited by the rest of the BT. I mean, it only happens all the time when players from outside of the Midwest are recruited.

Section201 said:
LOL. I must have missed the part where the other 11 or 13 B1G coaches were hot on this guys trail.
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Nine pages in 12 hours on a player no one had even heard of before today. Kudos!
 

mplarson7 said:
I remember an interview where Pitino said if he had open scholarships, he wouldn't sign someone just to have a body. If he offered this guy and accepts his commitment, it means he wants him. End of discussion.
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Well no coach is going to admit he is just looking for live bodies. This guy looks like a project and he will not play much next year . Bugg's 2011 mix tape looks better than his. Who he was offered by is much more reliable than mix tapes. Not naive enough to think this kid is big ten ready and that no one except Pitino knew about him. Pitino like his potential and is in need a of front court bodies after next season and a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush.
 

The Brain Trust said:
Well no coach is going to admit he is just looking for live bodies. This guy looks like a project and he will not play much next year . Bugg's 2011 mix tape looks better than his. Who he was offered by is much more reliable than mix tapes. Not naive enough to think this kid is big ten ready and that no one except Pitino knew about him. Pitino like his potential and is in need a of front court bodies after next season and a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush.
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+1
 

The Brain Trust said:
Well no coach is going to admit he is just looking for live bodies. This guy looks like a project and he will not play much next year . Bugg's 2011 mix tape looks better than his. Who he was offered by is much more reliable than mix tapes. Not naive enough to think this kid is big ten ready and that no one except Pitino knew about him. Pitino like his potential and is in need a of front court bodies after next season and a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush.
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+1
 

Gaston looks like a player that can run the floor, alter shots, and get off the floor quickly. Meaning he could bring athleticism to the front court. Sounds like a Pitino system player to me. Isn't this the type of player this board was clamouring for last year?
 

I am very excited for this kid.. runs the floor quick with the dribble, nice right hand baby hook u need as a post player. It would be nice if this kid can play alittle 4 and josh martin really wants to play the 3.
 

The Brain Trust said:
This guy looks like a project and he will not play much next year
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If he can't contribute next year as a mature 21 year of age, weighting 240 pounds at our weakest position it would be very disappointing.

He looks much more aggressive than Buggs, at PF that matters... don't play nervous, go rip **** up... protect the rim and rip it down on the other end.
 

Got a little more info about Gaston from a coach at another university that has looked at him. For the people that are concerned about his offer list, I was told that if he played at a prep school in the US last year, he would have an offer list similar to Cekovsky, the kid that signed with Maryland. As far as playing goes, it sounds like he is athletic enough to play the 4 and 5. Can create interesting possibilities on the defensive end of the court.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
If he can't contribute next year as a mature 21 year of age, weighting 240 pounds at our weakest position it would be very disappointing.
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Some of these African guys have only been playing basketball 4 or 5 years (as opposed to U.S. kids who have been playing 10+ years by the time they enter college). Then there's the part about adapting to life as a student in the U.S., the language, etc. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if he's more of a post player than a forward in Pitino's system, and hopefully we won't need more minutes from the post next year. I'd see no disappointment at all in giving him a redshirt year.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
If he can't contribute next year as a mature 21 year of age, weighting 240 pounds at our weakest position it would be very disappointing.

He looks much more aggressive than Buggs, at PF that matters... don't play nervous, go rip **** up... protect the rim and rip it down on the other end.
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I believe our weakest position will be the 3 next season. I'm not sure how good a comparison it is, but Richard Coffey came to the Gophers at 24. Let's see how this plays out.
 

WanderingGopher said:
Some of these African guys have only been playing basketball 4 or 5 years (as opposed to U.S. kids who have been playing 10+ years by the time they enter college). Then there's the part about adapting to life as a student in the U.S., the language, etc.
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Right now we have no idea how many years he has been playing basketball, how well he speaks English (for example doesn't Gorgue speak 5 or 6 languages?) no need to speculate his adjustment period at this point.

More of a post player than a forward in Pitino's system? Where do you come up with this nonsense? Power forwards don't play the "post/low block"? That's news to me.
 

joshvanklomp said:
Nine pages in 12 hours on a player no one had even heard of before today. Kudos!
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I have to question the "no one." From the expert analysis, some of the posters must live in the Canary Islands ... or at least spent spring break there ... or at least flew over them.
 


Mulligan said:
I have to question the "no one." From the expert analysis, some of the posters must live in the Canary Islands ... or at least spent spring break there ... or at least flew over them.
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Hear, hear. Same thing could be said about the "experts" that have already written him off as a project that won't play next year.
How about we trust our coach and welcome this kid aboard.
 

Solid size and athleticism. Let's hope he can contribute by year two. I am completely in favor of a redshirt season or allowing him to play. His age shouldn't determine the outcome. His knowledge and skills should.
 

How many of you knew how good Mathieu would be? I sure didn't think he would turn out to be one of our most valuable players. So who knows what role Gaston will play?
 

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