Jaden Henley committed!

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tjgopher said:
Again, we are probably getting caught up in labels. But, the Gophers started 3 guards every single game last year. I could see Henley playing the exact position that EJ Stephens did last all of last year. Henley would just be four inches taller. And, he'd be a guard in a three-guard lineup, likely on the floor with four total perimeter players.
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They started those 3 guards out of necessity last year, and Battle was essentially the 4. If Fox was healthy, he would have started and Stephens or Loewe would have came off of the bench.

Henley is not in the mold of Stephens or Loewe or Carrington. He is in the mold of Battle, Ihnen, and a shorter version of Garcia, which are his closest comparisons on the team. Henley is already an inch taller than Battle and he may not be done growing yet.

If Henley becomes a good player, he'll be a backup wing to Battle/Garcia, then replace them when they move on.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
They started those 3 guards out of necessity last year, and Battle was essentially the 4. If Fox was healthy, he would have started and Stephens or Loewe would have came off of the bench.

Henley is not in the mold of Stephens or Loewe or Carrington. He is in the mold of Battle, Ihnen, and a shorter version of Garcia, which are his closest comparisons on the team. Henley is already an inch taller than Battle and he may not be done growing yet.

If Henley becomes a good player, he'll be a backup wing to Battle/Garcia, then replace them when they move on.
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Henley quicker than Battle or Ihnen, if he's a legit 6'7" he's closer to a Coffey type than those two. Battle Ihnen are more 4/3 types. Henley more of a 3/2
 

Fleckoff said:
Henley quicker than Battle or Ihnen, if he's a legit 6'7" he's closer to a Coffey type than those two. Battle Ihnen are more 4/3 types. Henley more of a 3/2
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Based on what? Ihnen was a 4* recruit based off of his length and athleticism. Henley said last week he's now nearly 6'8" as he continues a grow. He's pretty much an Ihnen clone and will be a 3/4 for the Gophers.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Based on what? Ihnen was a 4* recruit based off of his length and athleticism. Henley said last week he's now nearly 6'8" as he continues a grow. He's pretty much an Ihnen clone and will be a 3/4 for the Gophers.
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Based on everything that isn't height... Have you seen him play? He's literally a shooting guard that hit a massive growth spurt lately. He's comfortable with the basketball, great in transition, shoots it well, and is an amazing on-the-ball defender.

Ben Johnson has mentioned multiple times wanting to recruit guards with length (think Gabe Brown @ MSU). Henley is exactly that and will fulfill that role for the Gophers.
 

@GWG You keep saying that! Over and over and... OVER.
Magic was a 6'9" PG! Our own Amir Coffey was/is a GUARD. Henley's position will be determined by what he can do--NOT his height.
I understand that he has grown around 6" in a year or two, so he has needed to rely on his handles to make an impact on the court--almost his whole life!
It has been a while, but I do not remember ball-handling to have been a strength of Ihnen's game!
Ultimately, we will all need to wait and see what the kid can do and I, for one, will be eager to find out.
 


topos said:
Based on everything that isn't height... Have you seen him play? He's literally a shooting guard that hit a massive growth spurt lately. He's comfortable with the basketball, great in transition, shoots it well, and is an amazing on-the-ball defender.

Ben Johnson has mentioned multiple times wanting to recruit guards with length (think Gabe Brown @ MSU). Henley is exactly that and will fulfill that role for the Gophers.
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Gabe Brown is a 6'7"/6'8" SF who starts with two other guards, which is what Battle is supposed to be on this team, and is what I said Henley could be.

CYW5 BornGoph said:
@GWG You keep saying that! Over and over and... OVER.
Magic was a 6'9" PG! Our own Amir Coffey was/is a GUARD. Henley's position will be determined by what he can do--NOT his height.
I understand that he has grown around 6" in a year or two, so he has needed to rely on his handles to make an impact on the court--almost his whole life!
It has been a while, but I do not remember ball-handling to have been a strength of Ihnen's game!
Ultimately, we will all need to wait and see what the kid can do and I, for one, will be eager to find out.
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LOL, ok Henley is Magic Johnson now......John Leuer was a 6'0" guard at the beginning of HS and grew to 6'10". What position did he play again in college? The pros?

Henley is already bigger than Coffey and Battle and still growing. He's the same height as Fox and Ola Joseph, and will maybe approach Ihnen. Coffey was always considered a guard at his height, his ball skills were significantly better than Henley's at this age. Nothing in Henley's play so far shows that he needs to be a guard long term, especially now at his height.
He was always going to be a project with only one other major offer, who's the same height and has similar skills as other 3/4 wings on our team.

Having a bigger wing with ball skills is a good thing. I don't know why stating what Henley isn't going to be long term with the Gophers, a guard, bothers so many on here?
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Gabe Brown is a 6'7"/6'8" SF who starts with two other guards, which is what Battle is supposed to be on this team, and is what I said Henley could be.



LOL, ok Henley is Magic Johnson now......John Leuer was a 6'0" guard at the beginning of HS and grew to 6'10". What position did he play again in college? The pros?

Henley is already bigger than Coffey and Battle and still growing. He's the same height as Fox and Ola Joseph, and will maybe approach Ihnen. Coffey was always considered a guard at his height, his ball skills were significantly better than Henley's at this age. Nothing in Henley's play so far shows that he needs to be a guard long term, especially now at his height.
He was always going to be a project with only one other major offer, who's the same height and has similar skills as other 3/4 wings on our team.

Having a bigger wing with ball skills is a good thing. I don't know why stating what Henley isn't going to be long term with the Gophers, a guard, bothers so many on here?
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He's literally winning MVP awards at all-star events playing.................GUARD
 


topos said:
He's literally winning MVP awards at all-star events playing.................GUARD
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So? Against what level of competition? Players outgrow their high school positions all of the time in D1 basketball and football. It's very normal.

If Henley ever starts or plays at guard regularly, feel free to come back here and rip me.
 





Gopher_In_NYC said:
Some people are incapable of admitting they were wrong - normally they are called children
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Hey....it is important that we nail down Henley's position now otherwise Johnson isn't going to know what to do with him when he gets to campus.....I mean is he a guard....is he a forward....we can't leave coach hanging.....we have to get this sorted out. :)
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Based on what? Ihnen was a 4* recruit based off of his length and athleticism. Henley said last week he's now nearly 6'8" as he continues a grow. He's pretty much an Ihnen clone and will be a 3/4 for the Gophers.
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Not sure how anyone who has watched gopher basketball recently can look at a player’s height only and think they know their position. Amir Coffey was a 6’7” guard, Jordan Murphy was a 6’6” post, and ihnen is a 6’8” stretch 4(?). 3 guys in the 6’6” - 6’8” range with incredibly different play styles and roles, and saying that Henley is “pretty much an Ihnen clone” since he’s about the same height is a pretty unfounded statement.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Hey....it is important that we nail down Henley's position now otherwise Johnson isn't going to know what to do with him when he gets to campus.....I mean is he a guard....is he a forward....we can't leave coach hanging.....we have to get this sorted out. :)
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Hey now, from what I hear from some(one) here, Johnson is so lazy there's no guarantee that he will figure it out without us helping out.
 

skyman31 said:
Not sure how anyone who has watched gopher basketball recently can look at a player’s height only and think they know their position. Amir Coffey was a 6’7” guard, Jordan Murphy was a 6’6” post, and ihnen is a 6’8” stretch 4(?). 3 guys in the 6’6” - 6’8” range with incredibly different play styles and roles, and saying that Henley is “pretty much an Ihnen clone” since he’s about the same height is a pretty unfounded statement.
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Height is not the only reason I've given. I've said before I don't think Ihnen is a true PF either. Dawson Garcia and Treyton Thompson are not centers because they are 6'11". Chet is not a center because he's 7'0". It's a combination of height and skill and projection.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Height is not the only reason I've given. I've said before I don't think Ihnen is a true PF either. Dawson Garcia and Treyton Thompson are not centers because they are 6'11". Chet is not a center because he's 7'0". It's a combination of height and skill and projection.
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Nobody gives a crap. We are going to have five guys on the floor who can run, gun, rebound, and punish on defense.
 

CYW5 BornGoph said:
@GWG You keep saying that! Over and over and... OVER.
Magic was a 6'9" PG! Our own Amir Coffey was/is a GUARD. Henley's position will be determined by what he can do--NOT his height.
I understand that he has grown around 6" in a year or two, so he has needed to rely on his handles to make an impact on the court--almost his whole life!
It has been a while, but I do not remember ball-handling to have been a strength of Ihnen's game!
Ultimately, we will all need to wait and see what the kid can do and I, for one, will be eager to find out.
Click to expand...
When a kid grows that much that quickly, does he need to re-establish his dribble? I mean the ball would need to be bounced harder to go higher..right?🤔. Asking for a friend.
 

Maybe he ends up being more of a player like Michael Bauer with better handles?
 


Fleckoff said:
Henley quicker than Battle or Ihnen, if he's a legit 6'7" he's closer to a Coffey type than those two. Battle Ihnen are more 4/3 types. Henley more of a 3/2
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Battle for sure, but Ihnen, I don't know, Ihnen might be the quickest player the Gophers have this year.
 

jovs said:
Battle for sure, but Ihnen, I don't know, Ihnen might be the quickest player the Gophers have this year.
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Ihnen routinely got burned on defense when asked to play on the perimeter and that was before the torn ACL, he's not a very agile player, grant it he may have made progress under this staff pre injury, but I'll believe it when I see it
 

Fleckoff said:
Ihnen routinely got burned on defense when asked to play on the perimeter and that was before the torn ACL, he's not a very agile player, grant it he may have made progress under this staff pre injury, but I'll believe it when I see it
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Agree. He definitely wasn’t comfortable guarding on the perimeter. He struggled guarding stretch 4s at times
 

pretty soon there won’t even be any positions anymore. Ben Johnson wants all of his players to guard all positions. like it or not, basketball is becoming a position less sport. It’s silly to argue about what position guys are. (For the record, Henley is a GUARD not a forward)
 

Fleckoff said:
Ihnen routinely got burned on defense when asked to play on the perimeter and that was before the torn ACL, he's not a very agile player, grant it he may have made progress under this staff pre injury, but I'll believe it when I see it
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Are you sure that those deficiencies weren't in his basketball skill set rather than athleticism. He was a very highly rated recruit, one of Pitino's higher rated ones and it sure wasn't based on his basketball skills. Agreed the ACL may change things but hopefully not.
 

I noticed that Ihnen looked noticeably bigger on the bench this season. i thought he was very skinny his freshman year, so hopefully his time off has added good weight/muscle.
 

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