Jamison Battle heading to Ohio State?

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Good for Battle!! He left the Gophers on his own accord, in control of his own destiny and is in a good financial position. He owes the Gophers nothing and did the best he could, both for the team and the fans.

If he were my son, I would commend him for his decision and say well done son. Enjoy the experience.
 

Gophers_4life said:
You mean other than spitting in Minnesota fans faces by transferring within the conference?
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The Minnesota fans spat in his face first. I was really surprised at the number of fans that turned on him this year. What happened to him was not his fault it was coaching and if I was him, between the fans turning on him and the coaches setting him up to fail, I would love to drop a 20 pt game or two on the U, just to say hey it wasn’t me.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Good for Battle!! He left the Gophers on his own accord, in control of his own destiny and is in a good financial position. He owes the Gophers nothing and did the best he could, both for the team and the fans.

If he were my son, I would commend him for his decision and say well done son. Enjoy the experience.
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But… he’s not our kid. We’re fans for cripes sake. Hopefully he has a long and successful career AFTER next season. Screw him when he’s our competition, especially when maybe he could make a difference for our team.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
The Minnesota fans spat in his face first. I was really surprised at the number of fans that turned on him this year. What happened to him was not his fault it was coaching and if I was him, between the fans turning on him and the coaches setting him up to fail, I would love to drop a 20 pt game or two on the U, just to say hey it wasn’t me.
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Battle hasn't developed his off hand and is easy to guard, simple as that. Hoping the team and coach take it personally and would love to see Battle go 0-20 because he was part of the problem whether it was his fault or not.
 


MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
Battle hasn't developed his off hand and is easy to guard, simple as that. Hoping the team and coach take it personally and would love to see Battle go 0-20 because he was part of the problem whether it was his fault or not.
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You shouldn’t be so upset then if you believe that, because he will make OSU worse.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
The Minnesota fans spat in his face first. I was really surprised at the number of fans that turned on him this year. What happened to him was not his fault it was coaching and if I was him, between the fans turning on him and the coaches setting him up to fail, I would love to drop a 20 pt game or two on the U, just to say hey it wasn’t me.
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What happened to him was coaching? Okay.
How about he can’t score when defender is in his face. He’s slow. And doesn’t defend at all. And his first season, was that great coaching? I wish him well though.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
The Minnesota fans spat in his face first. I was really surprised at the number of fans that turned on him this year. What happened to him was not his fault it was coaching and if I was him, between the fans turning on him and the coaches setting him up to fail, I would love to drop a 20 pt game or two on the U, just to say hey it wasn’t me.
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Agree he was played out of position BUT he missed too many WIDE open shots… WIDE open that’s on him just like it was with Gabe…. When you miss too many WIDE open shots it doesn’t matter if in the pre-game introductions you are announced as the starting 1,2,3,4 or 5 you are missing wide open looks… the coaches ran the same plays for him this year as last year and YES by playing the 3 he was guarded by someone different than if he played the 4 which made it tougher for him to do things.. however he was guarded by some of those same type players last year because the Gophers were brutal last year inside… Battle did not have a good year YES part how he was used but also he flat out didn’t shoot well.. I wish him luck seems like a good kid and I hope he gets paid..
 





12 points per game, 37% shooting, and no defense to speak of.

I seriously can't believe anyone really cares.
 


smh...it really is sad how toxic this board has become. Every thread has to turn into a fight.

Battle 2 years ago did a lot of good things and was clearly our best player.

Battle last year really struggled. Whether that was the injury, having to play the 3, or some other factor he was a mess most nights and as others have pointed out he missed a lot of open shots, shots that it felt like he made most of the time in his first year here.

If Battle needs to play the 4 to be successful then it makes sense for him to move on because I think most here would agree (if it is possible to get anyone to agree on this board) that Garcia and Payne need to be on the court as much as possible next season.

Sucks that he is possibly transferring in conference, but it is what it is at this point. Would have been glad to have him back next year, but he was not the same player last season so maybe a change of scenery is what he needs.
 





Gopher Teeth said:
The Minnesota fans spat in his face first. I was really surprised at the number of fans that turned on him this year. What happened to him was not his fault it was coaching and if I was him, between the fans turning on him and the coaches setting him up to fail, I would love to drop a 20 pt game or two on the U, just to say hey it wasn’t me.
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Fans turned on him?? Huh? Did they boo him at games?

Players aren't even supposed to read social media comments/message boards during the season. Waste of their time and distraction.

So that makes zero sense.


As if the fans could ever dictate playing time or scheme/strategy. Give me a break.



So then that leaves Ben. The guy who brought him into the Big Ten.

And you repay him by transferring in-conference. Sheesh. What a loser move
 


MNVCGUY said:
smh...it really is sad how toxic this board has become. Every thread has to turn into a fight.

Battle 2 years ago did a lot of good things and was clearly our best player.

Battle last year really struggled. Whether that was the injury, having to play the 3, or some other factor he was a mess most nights and as others have pointed out he missed a lot of open shots, shots that it felt like he made most of the time in his first year here.

If Battle needs to play the 4 to be successful then it makes sense for him to move on because I think most here would agree (if it is possible to get anyone to agree on this board) that Garcia and Payne need to be on the court as much as possible next season.

Sucks that he is possibly transferring in conference, but it is what it is at this point. Would have been glad to have him back next year, but he was not the same player last season so maybe a change of scenery is what he needs.
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I don't necessarily agree here. There would have been enough minutes to play Payne at the 5, Battle at the 4, and Garcia at both.

A good team has depth at all positions. Purdue, for example, has managed to keep multiple all conference type players happy at the 5 over the last handful of years (Swanigan, Williams, Edey) at the same time. We should have been set next year at the 4 and 5 and focused on other positions in the portal.

A bad team plays players out of position out of desperation or bad roster construction (or injuries). Now we are trying to convince ourselves our 2 win team is better off without a guy that would have been on many pre-season all conference honorable mention lists to start last year. Ironically teams that finished ahead of us in conference are now willing to take on our baggage apparently.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
You shouldn’t be so upset then if you believe that, because he will make OSU worse.
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I'm not upset if a guy with limited skills doesn't want to be here. He might thrive somewhere else where he can be a one trick pony, but his actions lead me to believe he doesn't have the mental toughness to help turn this program around.
 


golfing18now said:
A bad team plays players out of position out of desperation or bad roster construction (or injuries). Now we are trying to convince ourselves our 2 win team is better off without a guy that would have been on many pre-season all conference honorable mention lists to start last year. Ironically teams that finished ahead of us in conference are now willing to take on our baggage apparently.
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The reality is that we have no idea if we will be better or worse off without Battle. We know the mix last year didn't work and Battle's struggles definitely didn't help. That said, he was also one of our better offensive players so that scoring will have to come from somewhere else.

I also don't think for a second that Johnson wanted Battle to leave and would have continued to try and make it work with him here had he stayed.

Obviously those trying to paint him as a bad player are being ridiculous but he also wasn't a superstar and on the whole his 22-23 season was very disappointing after the way he played in 21-22.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The reality is that we have no idea if we will be better or worse off without Battle. We know the mix last year didn't work and Battle's struggles definitely didn't help. That said, he was also one of our better offensive players so that scoring will have to come from somewhere else.

I also don't think for a second that Johnson wanted Battle to leave and would have continued to try and make it work with him here had he stayed.

Obviously those trying to paint him as a bad player are being ridiculous but he also wasn't a superstar and on the whole his 22-23 season was very disappointing after the way he played in 21-22.
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Battle can be a great addition to a team when you only need him taking 6-8 shots a game. The problem for us is that his role was to take around 14-16 a game and he isn't efficient enough at that volume. I'm not sure Battle would have been willing to take a lesser role for the Gophers if needed, but who knows. His shots going to other players in more advantageous situations can be beneficial to this team. I think that is all anyone is arguing for when stating we are better off without Battle. Everyone recognizes he has major conference abilities.
 

MNVCGUY said:
smh...it really is sad how toxic this board has become. Every thread has to turn into a fight.

Battle 2 years ago did a lot of good things and was clearly our best player.

Battle last year really struggled. Whether that was the injury, having to play the 3, or some other factor he was a mess most nights and as others have pointed out he missed a lot of open shots, shots that it felt like he made most of the time in his first year here.

If Battle needs to play the 4 to be successful then it makes sense for him to move on because I think most here would agree (if it is possible to get anyone to agree on this board) that Garcia and Payne need to be on the court as much as possible next season.

Sucks that he is possibly transferring in conference, but it is what it is at this point. Would have been glad to have him back next year, but he was not the same player last season so maybe a change of scenery is what he needs.
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I agree on it getting toxic. You make good points, and the one thing I would add is that I think Willis was our best player two years ago and he was the primary reason Battle had a good year. He put Battle in good position through his passing, and he consistently drew attention that no other perimeter player did this year. People keep saying Battle played out of position this year, but he really played the same exact position offensively. However, last year Wilis often got the top perimeter defender on him, and this year that was Battle before Cooper or Henley.

Defensively is where he was weakest and stood out. In the typical starting lineup, he was put on the weakest of three opposing players to guard between Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and himself. Ola-Joseph was most flexible defender. Battle couldn't guard anyone. That really wasn't any different than last year either - they hid him defensively both years.

The difference this year was there was no replacement for Willis on the perimeter, so Battle had the top defender on him.
 

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
I'm not upset if a guy with limited skills doesn't want to be here. He might thrive somewhere else where he can be a one trick pony, but his actions lead me to believe he doesn't have the mental toughness to help turn this program around.
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Agreed.
 

Why are people taking it so personal, it appears to be a business decision. If I had my degree and was offered good money for a skill set I had you better believe I would jump at the chance. Plus you have most expenses paid.
 

Tucker32 said:
I agree on it getting toxic. You make good points, and the one thing I would add is that I think Willis was our best player two years ago and he was the primary reason Battle had a good year. He put Battle in good position through his passing, and he consistently drew attention that no other perimeter player did this year. People keep saying Battle played out of position this year, but he really played the same exact position offensively. However, last year Wilis often got the top perimeter defender on him, and this year that was Battle before Cooper or Henley.

Defensively is where he was weakest and stood out. In the typical starting lineup, he was put on the weakest of three opposing players to guard between Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and himself. Ola-Joseph was most flexible defender. Battle couldn't guard anyone. That really wasn't any different than last year either - they hid him defensively both years.

The difference this year was there was no replacement for Willis on the perimeter, so Battle had the top defender on him.
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Good call on Willis, his style of play probably did help Battle quite a bit. Cooper was a very good passer but not nearly as good at breaking a defense down and didn't require the same attention that Willis did.
 


Tucker32 said:
I agree on it getting toxic. You make good points, and the one thing I would add is that I think Willis was our best player two years ago and he was the primary reason Battle had a good year. He put Battle in good position through his passing, and he consistently drew attention that no other perimeter player did this year. People keep saying Battle played out of position this year, but he really played the same exact position offensively. However, last year Wilis often got the top perimeter defender on him, and this year that was Battle before Cooper or Henley.

Defensively is where he was weakest and stood out. In the typical starting lineup, he was put on the weakest of three opposing players to guard between Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and himself. Ola-Joseph was most flexible defender. Battle couldn't guard anyone. That really wasn't any different than last year either - they hid him defensively both years.

The difference this year was there was no replacement for Willis on the perimeter, so Battle had the top defender on him.
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Great post!

The toxicity comes from the fact that some posters so badly want to get rid of Ben (which isn't happening this year anyway) that everything needs to be Ben's fault. For sure, a lot of things do sit on his decisions. However, Battle, while a nice roster piece, is not going to be a big loss if we get guys that fit. He was not good at all last year and didn't look to have a great attitude from what I saw.
 

bga1 said:
Great post!

The toxicity comes from the fact that some posters so badly want to get rid of Ben (which isn't happening this year anyway) that everything needs to be Ben's fault. For sure, a lot of things do sit on his decisions. However, Battle, while a nice roster piece, is not going to be a big loss if we get guys that fit. He was not good at all last year and didn't look to have a great attitude from what I saw.
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Judicious use of the ignore feature reduces the toxicity of the board exponentially. There are a handful of one trick ponies, but even the most hardened opponents of Ben usually make reasoned points, occasionally drifting into spinning something that doesn’t make sense into an argument. I don’t think it’s nearly as toxic as some of you.
 

DanvilleGopher said:
~ and what about that Pro career he was looking into?
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Tucker32 said:
I agree on it getting toxic. You make good points, and the one thing I would add is that I think Willis was our best player two years ago and he was the primary reason Battle had a good year. He put Battle in good position through his passing, and he consistently drew attention that no other perimeter player did this year. People keep saying Battle played out of position this year, but he really played the same exact position offensively. However, last year Wilis often got the top perimeter defender on him, and this year that was Battle before Cooper or Henley.

Defensively is where he was weakest and stood out. In the typical starting lineup, he was put on the weakest of three opposing players to guard between Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and himself. Ola-Joseph was most flexible defender. Battle couldn't guard anyone. That really wasn't any different than last year either - they hid him defensively both years.

The difference this year was there was no replacement for Willis on the perimeter, so Battle had the top defender on him.
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Totally agree. The notion that he had a significantly less productive year because he didn't play the 4 - whatever that means nowadays - is just looking for another way to blame Ben Johnson (seems like there are enough already). Battle was on the floor because he was one of their five best players and one of their best shooters, but that's not an argument for sitting Garcia or Payne more. Nor would it have made Battle a better rebounder, screener, shot blocker, or interior defender. Calling him a 4, or a 3, or a 2, doesn't affect who is matching up against him. Having other more effective perimeter shooters does.
 

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