Gaston, Konate and Mason

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short ornery norwegian said:
Let me try and express something: I'm willing to give Pitino some time to develop a team, but I am getting really tired of hearing hype about recruits who don't pan out. I remember how excited people were when Tubby landed RSIII and Rodney Williams - but they did not develop into the type of game-changing players they were predicted to be.

I'm at a point now where, every time I read about how good recruit X or recruit Y is going to be, I find myself wondering, when will one of these guys really pan out? There were people on this board talking up Squirrel Morris - but when I got to watch him play, I couldn't believe this was the guy that people were excited about. When are the Gophs going to land some player who comes in and really elevates the program? Just once, I would like to see a recruit live up to the hype - or even out-perform the hype. To put it another way, when does this program catch a break?
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So what do you expect people to discuss? No one can have any optimism on any recruits. Just go away and find some other teams to b!cht about. We are getting real tired of hearing you gripe.
 

I think next year is essentially year one for Rich Pitino.

This first class seemed rushed. Mason is a player, I think we all agree, but hard to say how defenses will handle him next year.
The other two guys I don't know about. Both might show promise, but it's such a guess to say they'll turn into anything.

Bob Martin showed promise.
Elliott Eliason showed promise.
RS3 showed promise.

More times than not, the players by their senior year really aren't what most hoped.
It's like a 1 in 10 chance that the players who show promise really turn into what you hope or anything close to it.
 



Ghaston just had the worse stretch of basketball I have seen this year. Long long ways to go.
 


Let me try this again:

my point is NOT that the recruits are all "busts" - it's that (in my opinion - you are free to disagree) - many of the recruits are not as good as advertised. Other teams bring in FR who are impact players - the Gophers bring in FR, and the "fans" keep telling us that they need time to develop. Why are other teams able to bring in FR who can play right away, while the Gophers bring in FR who "need time to develop." Is that Pitino's master plan - or are these the best players he can convince to come to the U?

Maybe next year will be different - maybe next year's FR will step right in and make a big difference in the program. That would be nice. I'm just at a point now where I have a hard time believing the hype about incoming players, because it's been a long bleepin' time since the Gophs brought in a FR who made me say "wow, this kid is going to be great."

Believe me- I want to be positive - I want to root for the Gophers - but I need to see some positive signs.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Let me try this again:

my point is NOT that the recruits are all "busts" - it's that (in my opinion - you are free to disagree) - many of the recruits are not as good as advertised. Other teams bring in FR who are impact players - the Gophers bring in FR, and the "fans" keep telling us that they need time to develop. Why are other teams able to bring in FR who can play right away, while the Gophers bring in FR who "need time to develop." Is that Pitino's master plan - or are these the best players he can convince to come to the U?

Maybe next year will be different - maybe next year's FR will step right in and make a big difference in the program. That would be nice. I'm just at a point now where I have a hard time believing the hype about incoming players, because it's been a long bleepin' time since the Gophs brought in a FR who made me say "wow, this kid is going to be great."

Believe me- I want to be positive - I want to root for the Gophers - but I need to see some positive signs.
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I share some of your frustration. The last freshman that probably was an immediate impact player was Royce White who didn't play. Rodney flashed quite a bit as a freshman and Andre Hollins had his moments as well. Neither really ever made a leap beyond a "nice player to have on your team" level. That said the freshman brought in this year, especially Bakary, were brought in for what they could become not what they are now. Their is such a limited supply of big men that are both skilled and athletic that it's tough for anyone outside of a handful of teams to consistently land them. That leaves a coach with a choice: grab the skilled, slow guy who can do some good things but will never be able to do other things or grab the raw, athletic guy who is not the player the skilled guy is initially, but can do some things naturally that the skilled guy will never be able to do. I am honestly not sure where Gaston fits on this spectrum because he's already the age of many Juniors/Seniors so you'd think the upside is limited there. I think Pitino's vision for the program includes having a guy capable of blocking shots and running the floor at the C position and it's the special player who can do both those things and also either have a nice post up game or a consistent jumper.
 

rivergopher said:
Ghaston just had the worse stretch of basketball I have seen this year. Long long ways to go.
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Here's my question. Why did he not redshirt? Team was 11-7(0-5) when he first saw action and he has 56 minutes total. You know he's raw and will take some time to develop, why throw away a year of eligibility?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Let me try this again:

my point is NOT that the recruits are all "busts" - it's that (in my opinion - you are free to disagree) - many of the recruits are not as good as advertised. Other teams bring in FR who are impact players - the Gophers bring in FR, and the "fans" keep telling us that they need time to develop. Why are other teams able to bring in FR who can play right away, while the Gophers bring in FR who "need time to develop." Is that Pitino's master plan - or are these the best players he can convince to come to the U?

Maybe next year will be different - maybe next year's FR will step right in and make a big difference in the program. That would be nice. I'm just at a point now where I have a hard time believing the hype about incoming players, because it's been a long bleepin' time since the Gophs brought in a FR who made me say "wow, this kid is going to be great."

Believe me- I want to be positive - I want to root for the Gophers - but I need to see some positive signs.
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The answer to your question will be solved more easily in the future when local decide they want to be Gophers with greater frequency. That's your very best chance to get an impact -right away player - is with a guy who wants to stay and be the hometown hero. That hasn't happened here for some time. It's going to take some good recruiting, good coaching and good luck to change that. Maybe Jarvis and Hurt will start a trend. Maybe Amir will be the big time guy to make that change. I think Pitino with the style of play and the recruiting energy he has shown is as good of a shot as we will have.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Let me try this again:

my point is NOT that the recruits are all "busts" - it's that (in my opinion - you are free to disagree) - many of the recruits are not as good as advertised. Other teams bring in FR who are impact players - the Gophers bring in FR, and the "fans" keep telling us that they need time to develop. Why are other teams able to bring in FR who can play right away, while the Gophers bring in FR who "need time to develop." Is that Pitino's master plan - or are these the best players he can convince to come to the U?

Maybe next year will be different - maybe next year's FR will step right in and make a big difference in the program. That would be nice. I'm just at a point now where I have a hard time believing the hype about incoming players, because it's been a long bleepin' time since the Gophs brought in a FR who made me say "wow, this kid is going to be great."

Believe me- I want to be positive - I want to root for the Gophers - but I need to see some positive signs.
Click to expand...

I can kind of see your point if the program was established. Remember that Pitino tried for some big time recruits last year and missed because of having no track record. He had to reach for a couple of talented, raw big guys that weren't able to join the team until late and of course they were not yet ready. This roster is short on the type of players that Pitnio needs to run his style. He lost two players that he was counting on to player and add depth. He has been shifting player into different positions all season. Now is the time to be patient, not throw up your hands. You can't say that Mason has made a big impact. Last year, a new player by the name of Mathieu made a big impact.
 


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