Give me some Rajon

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SelectionSunday

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We could use a difference-maker like Rajon Rondo!;)

Any chance Tubby will ever coerce a stud like that to come to Minnesota? Hope so.
 

SelectionSunday said:
We could use a difference-maker like Rajon Rondo!;)

Any chance Tubby will ever coerce a stud like that to come to Minnesota? Hope so.
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Not unless he's a Minnesota kid.

I think Rajon has eclipsed the big three. Right now he owns the court.
 

If this Apple Valley youngster turns out as good as they say he's going to be, it's mandatory we keep him in state. Those are the ones we absolutely can't let get away. I expect to get those kids with Tubby. We can't have a repeat of Brew's shortcomings, losing the national-recruit studs (Floyd, Henderson) from within the borders.
 

SelectionSunday said:
If this Apple Valley youngster turns out as good as they say he's going to be, it's mandatory we keep him in state. Those are the ones we absolutely can't let get away. I expect to get those kids with Tubby. We can't have a repeat of Brew's shortcomings, losing the national-recruit studs (Floyd, Henderson) from within the borders.
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I was just going to mention Tyus Jones, you beat me to it. He must be REALLY good. I would think it's going to be very tough to keep him here.
 

"I would think it's going to be very tough to keep him here."

I agree. However, that's one of the main reasons we hired a guy of Tubby's pedigree & stature, and why we're (as we should be) paying him a big salary. I expect us to get the true cream-of-the-crop in-state players, whether we're going up against Duke, Kansas, Wisconsin, MSU, etc., for their services.
 


jamiche said:
Not unless he's a Minnesota kid.

I think Rajon has eclipsed the big three. Right now he owns the court.
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Rondo was KY native hence his interest in UK and Louisville.

He played his senior HS year at Oak Hill VA but is a Louisville native.
 

SelectionSunday said:
"I would think it's going to be very tough to keep him here."

I agree. However, that's one of the main reasons we hired a guy of Tubby's pedigree & stature, and why we're (as we should be) paying him a big salary. I expect us to get the true cream-of-the-crop in-state players, whether we're going up against Duke, Kansas, Wisconsin, MSU, etc., for their services.
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There are approx $2.3M reasons why Tubby should be able to get him.
 

Unless Tubby is funding the practice facility I don't think what he makes is going to influence a player.
 

I disagree with needing to hold the borders. It is unfair to look to Tubby to sign certain high ranked players. What he needs to do is recruit equivalent talent year in and year out. if Tubby can land a top 25 every couple years and a top 50 every year, I don't care where they come from.

High ranked Minnesota kids are a hard thing to recruit. They don't grow up with a passion for the "U". Witness the recent discussion on the football board about the benefits of going to Stanford over Minnesota because it is a better school.

That argument doesn't happen in Iowa or Wisonsin, let alone Kentuxky or North Carolina. I suspect Gopher hockey fans don't make the same argument either.

This is what Tubby and Brew both go up against when recruiting top local talent.
 



I don't care where they come from, either. But I think in a sport like basketball (where you only need 2 or 3 studs) and in a state like Minnesota, it's very important the head coach be able to land the very, very best in-state kids. Not the borderline Big Ten-talent kids, but the elite ones like the El-Amins, Jacobsons, Przybillas, Aldrichs, Rickerts, Humphries', Aldrichs and Leuers. We got some of those kids, others we didn't.

Tubby is a proven commodity with an impressive track record. I certainly expect us to get more of these type talents, not less. It's Tubby's job to get the program to the point where the best in-state kids would be idiots not to come here, and that means the Gophers becoming a legitimate factor in the Big Ten (competing for conference titles) and NCAA Tournament (winning games instead of sliding into a bubble spot) every year. I think Tubby will get us to that point.
 

Will Tubby's style of play attract a " Rondo " type of stud player? I wonder how much of that factored into Joseph's decision.
 

SelectionSunday said:
I don't care where they come from, either. But I think in a sport like basketball (where you only need 2 or 3 studs) and in a state like Minnesota, it's very important the head coach be able to land the very, very best in-state kids. Not the borderline Big Ten-talent kids, but the elite ones like the El-Amins, Jacobsons, Przybillas, Aldrichs, Rickerts, Humphries', Aldrichs and Leuers. We got some of those kids, others we didn't.

Tubby is a proven commodity with an impressive track record. I certainly expect us to get more of these type talents, not less. It's Tubby's job to get the program to the point where the best in-state kids would be idiots not to come here, and that means the Gophers becoming a legitimate factor in the Big Ten (competing for conference titles) and NCAA Tournament (winning games instead of sliding into a bubble spot) every year. I think Tubby will get us to that point.
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Do you think the "Tubby Smith" name is still carrying the same weight with in state recruits as it did when he first arrived? Also, since he arrived did the level of talent in the state seem to decrease, thus "holding the borders" lessen in it's importance? I really hope you're right about getting us to that point, but those top programs, MSU, Purdue, OSU are tough to displace or equal. I haven't even mentioned Wisconsin and Illinois. The more I see of things, the tougher the task looks for Tubby. Sorry for being negative, but man, seems like we're always looking up at 4 or 5 teams. You mention the names above and that's over a course of how many years? My point being some states push out that much talent in a year or two.
 

Blizzard said:
Will Tubby's style of play attract a " Rondo " type of stud player? I wonder how much of that factored into Joseph's decision.
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I think you meant Tubby's PERCEIVED style of play.

The Findlay Prep HS coach (Peck) CLEARLY pushed Cory Joseph away from Minnesota and towards Texas.
 



fan of Ray Williams said:
Do you think the "Tubby Smith" name is still carrying the same weight with in state recruits as it did when he first arrived? Also, since he arrived did the level of talent in the state seem to decrease, thus "holding the borders" lessen in it's importance? I really hope you're right about getting us to that point, but those top programs, MSU, Purdue, OSU are tough to displace or equal. I haven't even mentioned Wisconsin and Illinois. The more I see of things, the tougher the task looks for Tubby. Sorry for being negative, but man, seems like we're always looking up at 4 or 5 teams. You mention the names above and that's over a course of how many years? My point being some states push out that much talent in a year or two.
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Gophers must get up into Top 3 teams in Big 10 - right now that's Mich St, Ohio St, and Purdue or Wisky. Schools like Illinois and Michigan are looking at up those teams also.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Gophers must get up into Top 3 teams in Big 10 - right now that's Mich St, Ohio St, and Purdue or Wisky. Schools like Illinois and Michigan are looking at up those teams also.
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I agree FOT, but I also think they have a ton more in state talent to tap in helping them reach the top.
 


You make some excellent points, Ray. It is not easy to climb up the Big Ten ladder, as we're finding out. The Gopher program is in worlds better shape than it was right before Tubby arrived, but we've yet to crack the top 5 in Tubby's first three years. There are a lot of quality programs in the Big Ten we're chasing, as you pointed out.

To answer your question. ...

Do you think the "Tubby Smith" name is still carrying the same weight with in state recruits as it did when he first arrived?

My completely honest answer would be probably not. But that's nothing that a couple back-to-back top 3-4 finishes in the Big Ten and/or a Sweet 16 (or better) NCAA run couldn't fix in a hurry. I think these next two seasons are critical. We need to prove we can finish at worst in the 3-5 range instead of hangin' out in the 6-8 range every season. At some point, the elite kids in the state will want to see evidence the Gophers can become an elite program. I still think Tubby can get us there, but we need to avoid seasons like last year's (off-court) disaster. We were treading water once the White-Mbakwe stuff happened, and Al's situation simply compounded it.
 


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