Gophers offer Joe Coleman of Hopkins High School

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Coleman is a much different player than Taylor.

But, yes, they both are powerful athletes. Coleman is bigger and much more explosive. He's a wing. Taylor is a point. Stronger, incredibly smart, a playmaker/distributor, and a better shooter.
 

leftyslefty said:
he compares well with Jordan Taylor at the same stage, good athlete who takes it in strong but outside game needs some polish. I don't think Bucky is unhappy with Taylor....
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As mentioned by a couple other posters, there are very few similarities between Jordan Taylor and Joe Coleman. One of those similarities is that neither was a great shooter as a HS junior. Jordan has since changed the mechanics of his shot, and appears to be developing into a respectable mid-range shooter. His 3-point shooting has also been better of late after a very slow start to the season (33% would be just fine for him for now). Coleman does not make or even take many perimeter shots right now.

As far as differences go, Coleman is a much better athlete (i.e. run and jump ability), but is not nearly as strong. Coleman is also an inch or two taller, but Taylor is a true PG whereas Coleman is more like a SF at this point. Jordan's skills and height did not necessitate that he make dramatic improvements to be ready for D1 college basketball. If Joe does not grow several more inches, he is going to need to really develop his shooting and ball-handling to be a high major SG. He certainly has all the physical tools and he sounds like a great kid, hopefully things work out for the young man.
 

I'm surprised there isn't more excitement about this offer. I know Joe hasn't shown much until this year but he was behind major talent last year and has put up very good/great numbers so far this year on a number one ranked team. If Tubby and Co. have seen enough of him to offer already we must know something others don't. I'm excited for another athletic slasher to join the squad. Athleticism is something we've been missing over the years (except maybe this year) and to get it from a local recruit is even better. We need to be stronger and more athletic to compete for a top finish in the Big Ten. He also sounds like a kid that dreams of playing in the Barn like many of us did as kids and he has a good head on his shoulders to boot (good grades, being recruited by Harvard). Come on Gopherholers get excited!
 

I saw Joe play in a Fall League this past fall. Simply put, he is extremely talented athletically, physically strong, and can finish very well with both hands. In the game I saw, he had 7-8 dunks, evenly split with each hand. While his ballhandling and shooting can be improved, I agree with earlier posters that made the comparison to Rodney in that he is an athletically gifted individual who needs some polish. I am excited about the offer and I believe he will be a solid 4-year contributor.

As for recruiting a shooter, the kid we signed for next year (Austin Hollins) is supposed to be a threat from deep...
 

Juicer, looks as if Hollins is 10 for 13 behind the arc so far this year. I looked on his teams home page and found also that O.J. Mayo's younger brother is also on the team, which I didn't know and found interesting. http://www.ghsreddevilbasketball.com/ Be aware of the music if you do go to the link.
 


Is there some video of this kid? I like the offer but might like it even more if I see him play.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Juicer, looks as if Hollins is 10 for 13 behind the arc so far this year. I looked on his teams home page and found also that O.J. Mayo's younger brother is also on the team, which I didn't know and found interesting. http://www.ghsreddevilbasketball.com/ Be aware of the music if you do go to the link.
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The stats are for 5 games but GHS is 9-2 now. Mayo has been on a scoring tear and Hollins has been steadily in double figures (upper teens) most games.
 





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