Bit they can get into Wisconsin? Marquette? Duke? STANFORD??
Stop with the excuses.
You didn't include Arizona, but I will. Arizona = weather and women. Do I need to say more? Maybe a bb tradition? Colorado was also mentioned in the article. It's where my daughter dreams of moving to. I've been there, it's a beautiful state, winters are not as harsh as here, and if you like mountains or if you like things that are legal there that are not legal here, which ALOT of young people do, then come on guys, some young kids are going to want to go to a place like Colorado.
One and doners. Do we even want them? Seriously. How many Titles have they helped Kentucky win? How many titles have our hockey one and doners helped us win? If we become good enough like UNC and Duke are, and limit the # of one and doners, they can be a good thing. But at the stage we are at, they wouldn't help us, they'd hurt us more, imo. I could be wrong. I'm sure the buzz of landing one or two of the top recruits might help in getting some of the 51-151 ranked players that are more likely to stick around awhile? But it's hard for me, as a fan, to buy into the idea of hot young recruits just using the U as a stepping stone to the NBA. How many one and doners even finish a single year of college? Can you honestly claim that the U did anything to contribute to their success as a player if they are only here for one year to show off their skills to NBA scouts?
Now, as for the schools you mentioned...
Stanford? Let's see, one of the most highly respected academic institutions IN THE WORLD. Walk into a job interview with a Degree from Stanford on your resume, and it's almost an automatic hire. I wouldn't doubt it if it's more desirable than having an Ivy League Degree? Why? Because Ivy league degrees are just as often BOUGHT, and Ivy league grads are far more often arrogant and full of themselves. Their parents were rich or influential and they feel privileged and deserving of the world's adoration and obedience. I've always got the impression that Stanford grads are more of like Blue Collar geniuses, the ones who actually worked hard to get their good grades. And do I need to even mention the weather factor? Stanford = Cali = no snow or cold???
Duke? Come on, a lot of the guys who are leaving to go to Duke, are thinking that they are only going to be there for one year, so best chance to get to the Final Four in their one year in cbb, is to go to a place like Duke or UNC. And there are a ton of jobs in that Duke/UNC area, too, so it's not a bad thing to have on your resume that you played for either of those schools, and if you stay and/or return and get your degree from either, they are considered very good schools. And it's possible that Wisconsin could be added to this list as well.
Wisconsin? Well, we all know that people from Iowa and Wisconsin move to Minnesota for what? Because they are fans of the Gophers? HELL NO!!! For JOBS. Or as Mike Pence would say, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. So they raise their kids here, in Minnesota, while maintaining their hatred of the Gophers and their love of the Hawkeyes or Badgers or Marquette/ISU maybe? And we are surprised that their children grow up wanting to leave Minnesota and go play for ISU, Iowa, Marquette or Wisconsin? Come on people. We Gopher fans know there are divided loyalties here in Minnesota, because so many come here just for the jobs, but we are Gopher fans likely because we actually were not only born here and raised here, but our parents probably were, too, or when our parents moved here, they became Gopher fans, so we were raised up in Gopher loving homes, and hence either because of our parents, or just our loyalty to our state, or maybe simply our location meant we gave the Gophers a chance and they won us over somehow, but we then forget that not everyone here in Minnesota loves the Gophers. Which for recruiting is just fine. We need to get over this obsession with needing to keep the local boys home. In basketball, in modern history, meaning post Dutcher Era, what have local boys done for Gopher BB? Who have the best Gopher BB players been, and where did they come from? The whole Pride on Ice sh1t has forever stained the Gopher fandom, not all, but too many, with the idea that we must keep our locals home. Well, that and maybe the Lindsey Whalen/Paul Molitor effect? But Janel McCarville was from Wisconsin, was she not? Kyle Okposo was from Minnesota and bolted half way through his 2nd season while Phil Kessel did it the right way and left after the season, so we could bring in someone to replace him, and he and his superstar sister were from where? Minnesota? NO!!! Wisconsin. Leo Nomellini was from Germany I think? Norman Borlaug was from Iowa. Ernest O Lawrence and Al Nier were from South Dakota, Bobby Bell and Carl Eller were from where? North Carolina? Bobby Jackson wasn't from Minnesota, was he? Oh, but Kris Humphries was a Minnesotan, as was Adam Boone and Joel Pryzbilla, all 3 SAVIORS who brought us Basketball glory, right? They all led us to Conf Titles, right? No? They didn't? But out of stater Bobby Jackson did? Say it isn't so? Where was Thomas Vanek from? Where was Ryan Potulny from? How well did our 100% Minnesota Rosters of the Doug Woog era do? Did they ever bring us any Natl Titles? Herbie had non-Minnesotans on the rosters of his 3 Title winning teams, did he not? Lou Nanne was a friggin Canadian even. He's STILL contributing towards making UMn a better place.
So lets just let this whole "gotta keep the locals home" bs go.
This is the age of the internet and cheap airfare and cheap gas/fuel. It's also the age of big TV contracts and big time college sports budgets, and full time head coaches who don't need regular jobs on the side, and can hire tons of staff members, many with connections from where they grew up or played or coached prior to coming to UMn. I mean, just look at our football roster.
2019 roster
11 from Georgia, including Bateman, Smith & Brooks
9 from Illinois, including Autman-Bell
6 from Florida, including Bryce Williams
6 from Ohio
6 from Wisconsin
5 from Texas, including both Winfields
5 from Michigan, including Bryce W and Herbers
2 from Maryland, including Ibrahim
2 from Canada
2 from Kentucky, including Morgan
1 from Oregon, Demetrius Douglas
1 from Louisiana, Coney Durr
1 from Pennsylvania, Treyson Potts
1 from Australia, Faalele
3 from Missouri
2 from Nevada
1 from Indiana
1 from California
2 from South Dakota
1 from Virginia
1 from Iowa
That is 68 non-Minnesotans and don't quote my numbers, I did this research quickly and surely forgot to mention significant players. I work 80 hours a week during the fall, and am lucky to get to watch the games, gotta listen to them more often than not, and spend my summers outdoors. Am also an all-around sports fan, so when the football team has a down year, I pay more attention to the hockey or bb teams in the winter when I'm off from work. This year the fb team had a great year and I'm more focused on it now, but basically what I'm meaning to say is, I don't recognize half to 2/3rds of the names on the fb team's roster. That tells me that they are not scoring the TDs or making the plays on defense. So the vast majority of the 40 Minnesotans on the roster, well, I don't recognize their names, and understand that alot of them are just frosh or are lineman and get mentioned less. Some I recognize from the little I pay attention to recruiting. But my point is, outside of Tyler Johnson, Carter Coughlin, Kamal Martin, Sam Renner, Thomas Barber, Seth Green and Sam Schlueter, which is 7 out of 40, I either don't recognize the rest of the Minnesotans names, or don't hear them enough. Zack Annexstad I know of, but he may never play another down for the Gophers, or at least I hope he never does, I mean, I hope Morgan never gets injured and that some young hotshot eventually takes Morgan's spot and that ZA transfers out and leads NDSU to FCS title #10 or something?
Think of it, our QB, all of our RBs basically, all but 1 of our top WRs, our biggest and most promising lineman, our TE, our Kicker and Punter, our best guy on defense, they are all NOT from Minnesota.
So why don't we get over this whole "gotta keep the homies home" thing?
20 years from now when Pitino/or his replacement, has the Gophers going to their Nth straight Final Four, whoever our coach is will STILL not be able to keep all of the homies home. Why? Because the weather in the SW will always be glorious for those who can handle the heat, and Duke/UNC will always suck in fb(for the most part) but be obsessed with cbb and be rocking the ACC, and Wisconsin and Iowa will always be able to steal their own from out of the state they or their parents went to just for the better jobs, and alot of young kids will still always like the idea of getting out to see the world, and/or maybe, getting out from underneath the watchful eye of their parents/family. It's as simple as that. Not saying getting to a Final Four/having a better coach, might not help in avoiding EVER getting guys like Hurt/Harris/Greenlee on the roster and being able to get the occasional one and doner that can help us actually get to the Final Four that one year, just saying, lets care more about getting the best/right players for our system and culture and guys who WANT TO COME HERE.
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