Johnson says Isaiah Ihnen would've likely started at the 2

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Too slow with no handles. Plus he did well rebounding the ball at times. Not sure why this would have been the thought process with him.
 

Go Gophs said:
Too slow with no handles. Plus he did well rebounding the ball at times. Not sure why this would have been the thought process with him.
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Yep, coaches probably totally missed his ability to handle the ball and his quickness. How foolish of them to think they could do that?
 









So was his injury caused in part by trying to play out of position? I would think it would be pretty tough for a big guy recovering from one knee injury to try and play down to a position requiring more quickness than before. Just some wild speculation here.
 

bga1 said:
True. But I don't take Ben to be a BSer. I think he pretty much says what he thinks. I'm not sure what the benefit of him saying Isaiah could play or start at the 2 if he couldn't.
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Perhaps to motivate someone on the squad who is also lengthy. A certain newcomer this year. What he was referring to is a trend he feels is prevalent in college and pro basketball.

Edit: came from this question

Q. You've brought in a lot of size and length with this class. Can you speak to the versatility that you've seen thus far.

Ben Johnson: "Yeah, that was a key component when we were going into year two with recruiting. We were really going to start, Isaiah was going to start at the two at 6'10". He's versatile.

"Our blueprint was kind of that: If you have versatile pieces that are able to play a variety of styles, to me, not only is that the way that kind of college is trending but pro is trending, and it's an exciting style. It gives a coach a little bit more freedom if you do have injuries, if you have those versatile components.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
So - just out of curiosity -
Cooper - Ihnen - Battle - Fox - Garcia??

could you get away playing that lineup on defense?

It would have been interesting to see.
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I think that team would’ve played zone and pack line with that much length. Other teams would’ve had to guard us too.
 



Pitino misused him, in germany he was playing only on the perimeter. I think that the coaches probably know what they are doing.
 


harti said:
Pitino misused him, in germany he was playing only on the perimeter. I think that the coaches probably know what they are doing.
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And, if you listened to the Fox podcast with Ihnen...Ihnen confirmed he was misled as a freshman by Pitino. In recruiting, Pitino said he was going to use him like Coffey with a chance or opportunity to see if he could play the point. Didn't happen...as a result Ihnen was bitter as a freshman.

Ihnen is a perimeter player. Asking him to play inside is taking all his potential to be spectacular and making him unhappy and ordinary playing inside.

It would be pretty foolish of Ben to make those comments if he is rooting for Ihnen to heal and play next year. Ben said Ihnen was going to junkyard dog opposition point guards on defense. So, it is also consistent with what he said this summer.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
So was his injury caused in part by trying to play out of position? I would think it would be pretty tough for a big guy recovering from one knee injury to try and play down to a position requiring more quickness than before. Just some wild speculation here.
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He explained how he got his injuries on his interview on Parker Fox's podcast.

Last year, he was doing defensive drills and Thorson got on him for being lazy. When he went again, he went harder and he planted his foot but it skipped off the floor a bit (the spot where he planted might've been a little wet) and his knee gave out.

This year, he got the ball on a fastbreak during 5 on 5. He landed on a defender's foot after the lay up and his knee gave out.
 

60's Guy said:
And, if you listened to the Fox podcast with Ihnen...Ihnen confirmed he was misled as a freshman by Pitino. In recruiting, Pitino said he was going to use him like Coffey with a chance or opportunity to see if he could play the point. Didn't happen...as a result Ihnen was bitter as a freshman.

Ihnen is a perimeter player. Asking him to play inside is taking all his potential to be spectacular and making him unhappy and ordinary playing inside.

It would be pretty foolish of Ben to make those comments if he is rooting for Ihnen to heal and play next year. Ben said Ihnen was going to junkyard dog opposition point guards on defense. So, it is also consistent with what he said this summer.
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We saw plenty of Ihnen on the perimeter and it wasn't good. He looked better once he moved to the post, and most posters on here agreed with that.

Johnson moving him back to guard is ridiculous, and is likely another move by Ben to fill a position he has recruited poorly, and to 'keep a player happy' by playing him where he wants to play and not where he should be playing.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
We saw plenty of Ihnen on the perimeter and it wasn't good. He looked better once he moved to the post, and most posters on here agreed with that.

Johnson moving him back to guard is ridiculous, and is likely another move by Ben to fill a position he has recruited poorly, and to 'keep a player happy' by playing him where he wants to play and not where he should be playing.
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We all got opinions...your analysis is different than mine and Ben's. Totally, disagree with your conclusion of why Ben was playing Ihnen on the perimeter. I think Ben evaluates talent very well.
He recruits guys early who blowup from anonymous to highly rated. Talent evaluation is not Ben's shortcoming.
 

Woof. Bad sign.

I really hope this is a bit of hyperbolic coach speak because while Ihnen looks like he's capable of being a skilled 4, he hasn't shown anything to suggest he should be playing the 3 much less the 2.

Ihnen should be considered a 4 who can (hopefully) stretch the defense. He isn't quick enough, he doesn't dribble well enough and he isn't a good enough shooter to log significant minutes at the 2.
 

60's Guy said:
We all got opinions...your analysis is different than mine and Ben's. Totally, disagree with your conclusion of why Ben was playing Ihnen on the perimeter. I think Ben evaluates talent very well.
He recruits guys early who blowup from anonymous to highly rated. Talent evaluation is not Ben's shortcoming.
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I like Ben but we don't really know that. We didn't bring in a ton of talent last year. I don't blame him for that but we certainly can't check that "talent evaluator" box yet.

As far as this coming year, I really like the class but we'll see.

We are firmly in the "we'll see" category when it comes to most things with Ben.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I like Ben but we don't really know that. We didn't bring in a ton of talent last year. I don't blame him for that but we certainly can't check that "talent evaluator" box yet.

As far as this coming year, I really like the class but we'll see.

We are firmly in the "we'll see" category when it comes to most things with Ben.
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I very much agree with that. I'm basing it on Ben went with his own conviction in his evaluation
in recruiting Christie, Henley and Evans before anybody else was. And, as time went on then others thought they were good recruits too.
I'm hoping Thiam was a favor to somebody and he never saw him play. :)
I also thought the early guys he got from small school transfers last year had abilities he identified and utilized.
But ya, we can't check the box, I agree, but I see hope
 

Tucker32 said:
And, they know more than fans on a message board about where a kid can play.
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Yeah, usually. Coaches make mistakes all the time (less often than fans) but it seems like a message board is a reasonable place for fans to discuss those areas where they disagree with the coaches. Ben's not fragile, he can take people disagreeing with him on occasion and he probably does write it off as noise (as he should).

I don't believe Ben even really believes what he said. I think he was exaggerating to make a point about Ihnen's versatility. That said, if he does believe that, it seems perfectly reasonable for a fan to think that a 6'10" player who has never shown the ability to dribble, move, or shoot at an elite level would not be a fit at the 2.

If the answer is always "he's a coach, so he knows more", well, why do talk about any of their decisions good or bad?
 

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