Inquiry: what's the lowdown on incoming freshmen?

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sweetpetegilcud

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I did not follow the recruiting news as closely as most years. Can anyone give me a rundown on the incoming freshmen class. I've read a little about the friend of the Josephs from Canada and the kid from Nebraska. Anyone expected to make an impact this year? Where did our recruiting class rank both in the Big 10 and nationally? Thanks.
 

sweetpetegilcud said:
I did not follow the recruiting news as closely as most years. Can anyone give me a rundown on the incoming freshmen class. I've read a little about the friend of the Josephs from Canada and the kid from Nebraska. Anyone expected to make an impact this year? Where did our recruiting class rank both in the Big 10 and nationally? Thanks.
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In order:

Austin Hollins - the best of the freshmen.
Maurice Walker - next best but needs to get in shape.
Elliott Eliason - may redshirt but will be a quality big man.
Maverick Ahanmisi - decent player but underrated.
Oto Osenieks - good but must pass NCAA Clearinghouse.
Eric Stark - walk-on but quality guard.

Gopher recruits rated 7th or 8th in Big 10, maybe Top 40 or 50 nationally.
 

I'll paste what I wrote about the freshmen from another thread. This is from last night at HP.

As for the freshmen, I thought Austin Hollins was really, really impressive. Silky smooth on offense. Not just with the jumper, but also getting to the basket. He seems to absorb contact well and finish. He plays pretty solid D too. My best comparison would be a poor man’s version of Buford. The others were less impressive. Eliason started off dreadfully but showed he has potential. He’s tall, but not physical or particularly athletic. And whoever said he has good hands is dreaming. He dropped the ball/got stripped at least four or five times. And several times he was in good position on the block only to travel. He’s definitely a work in progress. Hard to believe but with two 7-footers on the floor Pat Madison Magic got outrebounded. The report on Maverick Ahanmisi is as bad as advertised. PMM won the tip and Maverick immediately passed the ball to – the referee. Yep, he misidentified the referee as one of his teammates. Off his back and out of bounds. Good start. From there he missed an open put back under the basket and got beat several times on D. The one shot he made bounced hard off the back rim and spun awkwardly into the hoop. From what I saw, he’s not very quick, doesn’t shoot well and is a liability on defense. I actually missed Kevin Payton for a second.
 

BigMan'sGame said:
I'll paste what I wrote about the freshmen from another thread. This is from last night at HP.

As for the freshmen, I thought Austin Hollins was really, really impressive. Silky smooth on offense. Not just with the jumper, but also getting to the basket. He seems to absorb contact well and finish. He plays pretty solid D too. My best comparison would be a poor man’s version of Buford. The others were less impressive. Eliason started off dreadfully but showed he has potential. He’s tall, but not physical or particularly athletic. And whoever said he has good hands is dreaming. He dropped the ball/got stripped at least four or five times. And several times he was in good position on the block only to travel. He’s definitely a work in progress. Hard to believe but with two 7-footers on the floor Pat Madison Magic got outrebounded. The report on Maverick Ahanmisi is as bad as advertised. PMM won the tip and Maverick immediately passed the ball to – the referee. Yep, he misidentified the referee as one of his teammates. Off his back and out of bounds. Good start. From there he missed an open put back under the basket and got beat several times on D. The one shot he made bounced hard off the back rim and spun awkwardly into the hoop. From what I saw, he’s not very quick, doesn’t shoot well and is a liability on defense. I actually missed Kevin Payton for a second.
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Johnny Gopher (and others) have posted favorable reamrks about Eliason and Ahanmisi.

I'll trust their judgement and ignore yours.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Johnny Gopher (and others) have posted favorable reamrks about Eliason and Ahanmisi.

I'll trust their judgement and ignore yours.
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To be fair, I haven't seen a favorable comment out of 6-7 GopherHolers re: Ahanmisi yet. I hope the kid turns out to be a player, but most people that have seen him play haven't come away impressed.

Not that I put much stock in many GHer's opinions, but it's worth noting.
 


ShowinGoldyLove said:
To be fair, I haven't seen a favorable comment out of 6-7 GopherHolers re: Ahanmisi yet. I hope the kid turns out to be a player, but most people that have seen him play haven't come away impressed.

Not that I put much stock in many GHer's opinions, but it's worth noting.
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I've read several in the past week or so. None said he was great, just that he was decent (as I did)
 

sweetpetegilcud said:
I did not follow the recruiting news as closely as most years. Can anyone give me a rundown on the incoming freshmen class. I've read a little about the friend of the Josephs from Canada and the kid from Nebraska. Anyone expected to make an impact this year? Where did our recruiting class rank both in the Big 10 and nationally? Thanks.
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The class contains 5 players, 3 of which had solid offers: SG Hollins, C Eliason, and C/PF Walker. The other 2 commits were off the radar in prep school players PG Ahanmisi and PF Osenieks.

I don't think any of freshman will make an impact this year if by "impact" you mean start (barring injury). I think Hollins will see time off the bench as will Walker (if he gets his weight down). Eliason has been expected to redshirt. Osenieks is still not 100% to actually get in to school due to clearinghouse issues which are common for foreign players.

From the early reports I've seen, it appears that Eliason may be a little better than expected and that Walker might not be living up to his offer list/ranking, but it's extremely early to make real judgments.

Not sure about where the Gophers ranked nationally, but it was not good. The Gophers probably brought in the 7th or 8th best class in the Big Ten which is just pathetic.

Tubby deserves somewhat of a pass for this class because of unexpected transfers (Carter and Cobbs) and off the court issues (Mbakwe and White). That said, there was no excuse to not have a legitimate backup plan beyond Cory Joseph and the Spring recruiting of Walker, Osenieks, and Ahanmisi seemed (from my point of view) desperate.

In my opinion, the 2011 class is absolutely crucial for the future success of the program especially now that we know Royce White won't be back. The Gophers must bring in a top 25 class that ranks in the top 4-5 in the Big Ten.
 

EG#9 said:
The class contains 5 players, 3 of which had solid offers: SG Hollins, C Eliason, and C/PF Walker. The other 2 commits were off the radar in prep school players PG Ahanmisi and PF Osenieks.

I don't think any of freshman will make an impact this year if by "impact" you mean start (barring injury). I think Hollins will see time off the bench as will Walker (if he gets his weight down). Eliason has been expected to redshirt. Osenieks is still not 100% to actually get in to school due to clearinghouse issues which are common for foreign players.

From the early reports I've seen, it appears that Eliason may be a little better than expected and that Walker might not be living up to his offer list/ranking, but it's extremely early to make real judgments.

Not sure about where the Gophers ranked nationally, but it was not good. The Gophers probably brought in the 7th or 8th best class in the Big Ten which is just pathetic.

Tubby deserves somewhat of a pass for this class because of unexpected transfers (Carter and Cobbs) and off the court issues (Mbakwe and White). That said, there was no excuse to not have a legitimate backup plan beyond Cory Joseph and the Spring recruiting of Walker, Osenieks, and Ahanmisi seemed (from my point of view) desperate.

In my opinion, the 2011 class is absolutely crucial for the future success of the program especially now that we know Royce White won't be back. The Gophers must bring in a top 25 class that ranks in the top 4-5 in the Big Ten.
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Gophers only had 1 scholarship (saved for Cory Joseph) in the spring. Transfers changed that.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
In order:

Austin Hollins - the best of the freshmen.
Maurice Walker - next best but needs to get in shape.
Elliott Eliason - may redshirt but will be a quality big man.
Maverick Ahanmisi - decent player but underrated.
Oto Osenieks - good but must pass NCAA Clearinghouse.
Eric Stark - walk-on but quality guard.

Gopher recruits rated 7th or 8th in Big 10, maybe Top 40 or 50 nationally.
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One guy you're missing from that list is Chris Halvorsen, another Walk-On (transferring from Valpo) who is 6-foot-8 and averaged 14.9 points per game as a senior playing in the Henry Sibley frontcourt next to Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz, Lafayette's Jake Kreuser, and Grayson CC's Mike Rostampour. Apparently he's pretty athletic, but who knows what kind of contributions he may make.
 



Correct me if I'm wrong GopherD, but Halverson has to sit out a year (being a transfer), whereas all the others are eligible to play immediately.
 

GopherD said:
One guy you're missing from that list is Chris Halvorsen, another Walk-On (transferring from Valpo) who is 6-foot-8 and averaged 14.9 points per game as a senior playing in the Henry Sibley frontcourt next to Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz, Lafayette's Jake Kreuser, and Grayson CC's Mike Rostampour. Apparently he's pretty athletic, but who knows what kind of contributions he may make.
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Chris is athletic and fun to watch... has a little Rodney in him. Not sure if he can shoot, doesn't appear so. (fan of Ray- Yes, I believe he has to sit)

Eric Stark- Is smooth, great stroke, had no problem bring the ball up under pressure and made good passes. Seems like a smart player, I wouldn't be surprised if he matches minutes with Ahanmisi in the preseason/early games of the year.
 


For what it's worth, here's my rundown of the incoming frosh.

-Elliot looks like a good prospect, but I don't see any way he could contribute this year, and he's iffy for next year. His hands are not good, he doesn't have much shooting touch, and he just generally seems a bit uncoordinated right now. However, it's obvious that he has two things you can't teach, height and hustle. He works very hard, and he's got some real length. It might take a few years before he becomes a contributor, but I'm confident he will.

-Austin looks good at finishing in traffic, and has a nice stroke, plus, he plays hard on D. I don't know how his offense will translate. Offense is hard to judge in Pulley. However, finishing in traffic is a skill few Gophers possess right now. I think he's also probably a year away from meaningful minutes, but he's by far the most impressive of the five.

- Oto, no idea, haven't seen him play.

- Mo Walker, ditto.

-Maverick, well, I'm just not to excited about Maverick. I've seen him twice, and not seen a "decent performance" yet. He isn't particularly athletic, I've not been at all impressed with his defense, he turns the ball over, he can't get in the lane, and his shot was almost Nurumbi like at points. Maybe he's a nice kid, and maybe he can be a glue guy. But if he can't get a shot, and can't hit the shots he gets against the D played in Pulley, it's not a good sign. I'd much, much, much rather have a ton of other guys from Pulley, including a D-IIIer like Sutherland than Ahanmisi right now. Again, I hope I'm wrong. That's just my impression.
 




GopherD said:
One guy you're missing from that list is Chris Halvorsen, another Walk-On (transferring from Valpo) who is 6-foot-8 and averaged 14.9 points per game as a senior playing in the Henry Sibley frontcourt next to Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz, Lafayette's Jake Kreuser, and Grayson CC's Mike Rostampour. Apparently he's pretty athletic, but who knows what kind of contributions he may make.
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Halvorsen isn't a freshman nor can he play this season (as a transfer) unless he gets a waiver like Royce and Trevor would need to play elsewhere.
 

Just wondering but where is Mo Walker? Is he on campus and just not in the Pulley League?
 

MN1nAZ said:
Is Chip Armelin a 6'3" SG also in the walk-ons?
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Oregon may be leading Minnesota and UTEP now. Clipped from Oregon fan website:

Chip Armelin (Sulphur, LA) is a 6’3 shooting guard who averaged 23 points a game as one of the state’s best scorers in Louisiana the past three years but after giving up AAU events for football before his senior season and not getting his name out for colleges before that Armelin went un-noticed this past signing period and looked as if he was going to play junior college ball to get that exposure he lost in high school.

Oregon was originally trying to bring in one more player for the 2010 class but after finding out Ex-Memphis Tiger Roburt Sallie couldn’t get into Oregon’s grad program due to academic issues and Kevin Noreen and Oregon agreeing to part ways in terms of recruiting the Ducks seemed done. Then the staff learned of Armelin and his interest.

“My AAU coach was telling me he thought Oregon needed another guard and heard they might have been interested in me and then a few weeks went by with nothing and then last week I got a call from a coach at Oregon and we’ve been talking non stop since,” explained Armelin.

Newly hired assistant Kevin McKenna had seen Armelin play while McKenna was head coach at Indiana State and when he got to Oregon it was decided the Ducks would take a look.

“I got a call from Coach McKenna saying they were going to recruit men and then Coach Brian Fish and I have been talking and I sent my transcripts over to them and it checked out and I got word just a few days ago they wanted to bring me into Eugene this week for an official visit,” says Armelin. “The coaches said I don’t have an offer right now but said that if the visit goes well and everything they want to see checks out I will get one.”

Armelin is an interesting prospect that is a 2nd team all-state player three years running at the 5A level who averaged 20 ppg over three years of varsity experience while averaging 23 a game as a senior.

“This past fall and summer I decided to play football and that hurt my exposure from the AAU circuit and then the AAU team I played on before that didn’t get out to many big tournaments and because of that I didn’t get the looks I felt I should be getting.”

Armelin is also hearing from Minnesota and UTEP as a late addition for the 2010 class.

Armelin is arriving into Eugene late Tuesday and hopes to leave with an Oregon offer after the visit.

“I really hope the Ducks offer as it sounds like a great chance to compete and get a good education and on top of all that they need a shooter and I think I could help that role,” explained Armelin.
 





Friend Of Tubby said:
Johnny Gopher (and others) have posted favorable reamrks about Eliason and Ahanmisi.

I'll trust their judgement and ignore yours.
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Ahanmisi is what he is: A last-second effort to fill a much-needed roster spot at PG. He is NOT underrated at all. He's simply not all that good. As for the rest of the players, I agree 100 percent with the first response on this thread by Friend of Tubby.
 

BigGopherFan said:
Ahanmisi is what he is: A last-second effort to fill a much-needed roster spot at PG. He is NOT underrated at all. He's simply not all that good. As for the rest of the players, I agree 100 percent with the first response on this thread by Friend of Tubby.
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He's actually NOT even a PG. His primary role in HS was SG. He is a "combo" guard (plays 1 and 2) just like Justin Cobbs was/is.

The Gopher PG are Al Nolen and Devoe Joseph plus Bryant Allen (after football season).
 


Observation: This class sounds like it's long on "walking" and short on "running/athletic ability."

That being said, if Nolen isn't back running this team next season, they will NOT make the NCAA tourney. My prediction, so mark it down and give me grief at the end of the season if I'm wrong (as I know you will).

Joseph is NOT a legitimate PG and should go back to his SG role with back up duties at PG in IMHO. As for 2011-12 season, Tubby and Co better hit that recruiting trail, hard especially at the JUCO level.
 

"Joseph. ... should go back to his SG role with back up duties at PG."

I agree. Gophers' best lineup will have Al at the point and Devoe at the 2. If it doesn't happen right away, Al will be back in the starting lineup in short order. The Gophers need Al in the starting lineup & Devoe is much more suited for the 2. Easy solution for Tubby. I like that guard combo.
 

SelectionSunday said:
"Joseph. ... should go back to his SG role with back up duties at PG."

I agree. Gophers' best lineup will have Al at the point and Devoe at the 2. If it doesn't happen right away, Al will be back in the starting lineup in short order. The Gophers need Al in the starting lineup & Devoe is much more suited for the 2. Easy solution for Tubby. I like that guard combo.
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That is easily the best option for the Gophers. Allows you to put Blake at the 3, and have Rodney possibly be your 6th man. However, it does mean more minutes for a freshman back up PG, as Devoe can't play the entire game. You can back up Blake with Rodney, Devoe with Blake and Hollins, and Al with Devoe. But when Devoe needs a break, it will be Ahnamisi or Stark in the game.

HOWEVER, it is still not the best lineup for Devoe Joseph. Devoe is begining to improve greatly at PG, and if he wants to play in the NBA, he needs to show that he can play PG in order to avoid the Randy Foye syndrome. He does this by spending a year almost exclusivley at PG.

That being said, if Devoe stays an additional year (which I believe he will, barring an overly unreal performance this year, but ya never know.) then Al graduates (or simply runs out of eligability, one of the two) and Devoe becomes the starting PG. With the Gophers current targets for 2011 all SG/SF prospects and no legitimate starting PG's on the roster other than Devoe and Al. Devoe is the likely starting PG in 2011, just need to find a decent back up for him.
 

scher215 said:
That is easily the best option for the Gophers. Allows you to put Blake at the 3, and have Rodney possibly be your 6th man. However, it does mean more minutes for a freshman back up PG, as Devoe can't play the entire game. You can back up Blake with Rodney, Devoe with Blake and Hollins, and Al with Devoe. But when Devoe needs a break, it will be Ahnamisi or Stark in the game.
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That's why the loss of Justin Cobbs hurts the G depth so drastically. If the Football team doesn't make a bowl game, I think Bryant Allen plays more significant backup minutes than Stark or Ahnamisi next year.
 

Scher, you make excellent points. I would just say I'm more concerned about what's best for the Gopher team, not what's best for Devoe Joseph or any one player. Devoe is likely to get plenty of PG minutes in the next couple years to prove himself at that position; I don't see a problem there. I'm just of the opinion he's a much better 2 than a PG, and we have a very experienced, capable and proven (though rusty) PG in Al.

I think Tubby will get creative and find some breathers for Devoe, but I still think in order for this Gopher team to surprise us a little bit (finish in the top 3) both Devoe and Al have to play major minutes. I expect very little out of Allen, Ahanmisi and Stark. Just not realistic to expect much from those guys backing up our two primary PGs, certainly not during the Big Ten season.
 

I haven't seen Ahanmisi play, but from the reports I've heard, I may be in the same boat as you there. Not really an option because of his age but Sutherland is pretty damn good. I would be a little sad to see him leave my college where he dominates every game though.

jmag21 said:
I'd much, much, much rather have a ton of other guys from Pulley, including a D-IIIer like Sutherland than Ahanmisi right now. Again, I hope I'm wrong. That's just my impression.
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