Kerwin Walton losing playing time

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eker0016

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I wonder if he is a possibility to transfer back to MN. It seemed like he was interested in MN but wasn't sold on Pitino (fair).

He's only played 15, 17, 7 minutes in his last 3 games and hasn't scored in his last two. This is after winning a starting job partway through last year. His shooting has regressed from 44% to 38%.

Obviously, we have a ton of season left to play out and guys get hurt/go through slumps etc. But it makes me wonder if he would consider coming home if this trajectory continues.
 

eker0016 said:
I wonder if he is a possibility to transfer back to MN. It seemed like he was interested in MN but wasn't sold on Pitino (fair).

He's only played 15, 17, 7 minutes in his last 3 games and hasn't scored in his last two. This is after winning a starting job partway through last year. His shooting has regressed from 44% to 38%.

Obviously, we have a ton of season left to play out and guys get hurt/go through slumps etc. But it makes me wonder if he would consider coming home if this trajectory continues.
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He’ll be here next week 😙
I can see some guys coming back when they realize this is legit and has a coach who will improve their game
 

Under the current transfer rules are coaches allowed to have contact with players on other teams?
 


Possibly. We'll see where the rest of the season goes.
 



I understand the desire to get a second chance on some of these kids that chased the bright lights, but if they are not playing well, we may want to use the spot on some other kid. We are not the graveyard for old Minnesota High School players.

I fully understand bringing in kids that may not have developed yet out of high school and are tearing it up at a lower level. It is a dream come true for them to get to step up to the Gophers.

It is different if a high school star is not playing well at some other P5. We would not be pushing for the U to take a bench guy from some other P5 school if he wasn't from Minnesota.

I think the narrative is much better to tell a kid they may have to develop for a few years at a lower level school before they can get a shot at playing for the Gophers. It is worse to have kids that turn down the Gophers offer to think they can always fall back to the U if it doesn't work out at the other school. Offers from the U have to be valued with the idea that you lose that opportunity if you go to another P5 school.
 

alchemy2u said:
I understand the desire to get a second chance on some of these kids that chased the bright lights, but if they are not playing well, we may want to use the spot on some other kid. We are not the graveyard for old Minnesota High School players.

I fully understand bringing in kids that may not have developed yet out of high school and are tearing it up at a lower level. It is a dream come true for them to get to step up to the Gophers.

It is different if a high school star is not playing well at some other P5. We would not be pushing for the U to take a bench guy from some other P5 school if he wasn't from Minnesota.

I think the narrative is much better to tell a kid they may have to develop for a few years at a lower level school before they can get a shot at playing for the Gophers. It is worse to have kids that turn down the Gophers offer to think they can always fall back to the U if it doesn't work out at the other school. Offers from the U have to be valued with the idea that you lose that opportunity if you go to another P5 school.
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He'd probably be playing as well as our current crop of transfers were before they joined us if he was able to feast on A-10, Patriot or Colonial league competition. Though I see your overall point.
 

I take him in a second. Worse case scenario he is the 7th or 8th man and is the zone buster… dude can shoot. New coach in NC might not be a good fit now… if Johnson had interest in Dainja he would for sure have interest in Walton…
 



Come on home! 3 and D type, Johnson would get the most out of him. Bring Dawson too and let's look at Mr. Carlson. Then after we beat sparty Tre will decomitt and sign with Ben!
 

I never saw Walton play in a game but I watched him practice frequently when I ran around the track above the gym floor. Practice is obviously way different than a game but I was pretty surprised that a blue blood like NC was interested in him. I'm sure the offer was very ego boosting and I don't blame him for taking it, particularly with Pitino's questionable local reputation, but I thought it was a mistake. He could have been a featured player here and that was not going to happen at NC.

If he wants to come back here, I think Johnson should take him.
 


eker0016 said:
He's only played 15, 17, 7 minutes in his last 3 games and hasn't scored in his last two. This is after winning a starting job partway through last year. His shooting has regressed from 44% to 38%.
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Why would we be interested in a player who is clearly backsliding?


It's a joke, people.


Come on home Kerwin, we'd be happy to have you.
 



jamiche said:
I never saw Walton play in a game but I watched him practice frequently when I ran around the track above the gym floor. Practice is obviously way different than a game but I was pretty surprised that a blue blood like NC was interested in him. I'm sure the offer was very ego boosting and I don't blame him for taking it, particularly with Pitino's questionable local reputation, but I thought it was a mistake. He could have been a featured player here and that was not going to happen at NC.

If he wants to come back here, I think Johnson should take him.
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As I recall, Kerwin was the classic high but not super high rated player who got noticed late, didn't commit early, and became a high major target late in the cycle because he was still available, they had a scholarship and a need to fill. That works well for some guys who are looking for the bright lights, and maybe not so well for guys who have an oversized view of their own ability.

Kerwin was a Gopher target pretty early, and could have been a fan favorite here. He also had a decent freshman year if recall. If he is in Ben's mold as a person, his ability would allow him to contribute a lot to the program. You're right, if he wants back, he should get a good look.
 

Spottedmuskie said:
Come on home! 3 and D type, Johnson would get the most out of him. Bring Dawson too and let's look at Mr. Carlson. Then after we beat sparty Tre will decomitt and sign with Ben!
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I'd love for Walton to come back by Carlson has really struggled. I really thought he was going to be the prototypical Wisconsin Badger 4, but he has struggled at every turn. He isn't a shooter at all (total of 11 3PA (1 make)). I thought he was going to be a really good college basketball player, but at this point, I don't know if I would offer him a scholarship.
 

alchemy2u said:
I understand the desire to get a second chance on some of these kids that chased the bright lights, but if they are not playing well, we may want to use the spot on some other kid. We are not the graveyard for old Minnesota High School players.

I fully understand bringing in kids that may not have developed yet out of high school and are tearing it up at a lower level. It is a dream come true for them to get to step up to the Gophers.

It is different if a high school star is not playing well at some other P5. We would not be pushing for the U to take a bench guy from some other P5 school if he wasn't from Minnesota.

I think the narrative is much better to tell a kid they may have to develop for a few years at a lower level school before they can get a shot at playing for the Gophers. It is worse to have kids that turn down the Gophers offer to think they can always fall back to the U if it doesn't work out at the other school. Offers from the U have to be valued with the idea that you lose that opportunity if you go to another P5 school.
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I agree with you but.... Ben Johnson transferred the the U after choosing a different B1G team out of high school. He has no qualms about the U being the soft landing spot for misfit MN high school ballers.
 

alchemy2u said:
I understand the desire to get a second chance on some of these kids that chased the bright lights, but if they are not playing well, we may want to use the spot on some other kid. We are not the graveyard for old Minnesota High School players.

I fully understand bringing in kids that may not have developed yet out of high school and are tearing it up at a lower level. It is a dream come true for them to get to step up to the Gophers.

It is different if a high school star is not playing well at some other P5. We would not be pushing for the U to take a bench guy from some other P5 school if he wasn't from Minnesota.

I think the narrative is much better to tell a kid they may have to develop for a few years at a lower level school before they can get a shot at playing for the Gophers. It is worse to have kids that turn down the Gophers offer to think they can always fall back to the U if it doesn't work out at the other school. Offers from the U have to be valued with the idea that you lose that opportunity if you go to another P5 school.
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I hate that I agree with this so much, because on paper it would be amazing to have Walton, Dainja, etc etc etc come back... The importance of establishing culture/expectations/confidence this early with CBJ just can't be overstated! We're not a fall-back school, and that standard is first set from within the program!
 

TurfGopher said:
I agree with you but.... Ben Johnson transferred the the U after choosing a different B1G team out of high school. He has no qualms about the U being the soft landing spot for misfit MN high school ballers.
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The difference is that the U wasn't really an option for him out of high school. He would have come to the U as a freshman if it was. That said, I would have been shocked had he taken Dainja with the issues he would present (well known in the MN basketball scene), but for some kids where they went just ends up not being a fit and Ben would welcome them back. I think Ben and staff will be able to discern the difference between the kid who will fit and play well, but wasn't a fit wherever they went, and a kid who just isn't really a player. I don't think he would make the mistake Monson did, who just welcomed kids back who really just weren't that good.
 

jamiche said:
I never saw Walton play in a game but I watched him practice frequently when I ran around the track above the gym floor. Practice is obviously way different than a game but I was pretty surprised that a blue blood like NC was interested in him. I'm sure the offer was very ego boosting and I don't blame him for taking it, particularly with Pitino's questionable local reputation, but I thought it was a mistake. He could have been a featured player here and that was not going to happen at NC.

If he wants to come back here, I think Johnson should take him.
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100% all this.
 

alchemy2u said:
I understand the desire to get a second chance on some of these kids that chased the bright lights, but if they are not playing well, we may want to use the spot on some other kid. We are not the graveyard for old Minnesota High School players.
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Don’t tell Ben that.
alchemy2u said:
I fully understand bringing in kids that may not have developed yet out of high school and are tearing it up at a lower level. It is a dream come true for them to get to step up to the Gophers.

It is different if a high school star is not playing well at some other P5. We would not be pushing for the U to take a bench guy from some other P5 school if he wasn't from Minnesota.

I think the narrative is much better to tell a kid they may have to develop for a few years at a lower level school before they can get a shot at playing for the Gophers. It is worse to have kids that turn down the Gophers offer to think they can always fall back to the U if it doesn't work out at the other school. Offers from the U have to be valued with the idea that you lose that opportunity if you go to another P5 school.
Click to expand...
 

Tucker32 said:
The difference is that the U wasn't really an option for him out of high school. He would have come to the U as a freshman if it was. That said, I would have been shocked had he taken Dainja with the issues he would present (well known in the MN basketball scene), but for some kids where they went just ends up not being a fit and Ben would welcome them back. I think Ben and staff will be able to discern the difference between the kid who will fit and play well, but wasn't a fit wherever they went, and a kid who just isn't really a player. I don't think he would make the mistake Monson did, who just welcomed kids back who really just weren't that good.
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Why wasn't it an option for him?
 

It's a long season, 3 games might not mean anything, if it continues into February then the topic might be relevent.
 

Tucker32 said:
The difference is that the U wasn't really an option for him out of high school. He would have come to the U as a freshman if it was. That said, I would have been shocked had he taken Dainja with the issues he would present (well known in the MN basketball scene), but for some kids where they went just ends up not being a fit and Ben would welcome them back. I think Ben and staff will be able to discern the difference between the kid who will fit and play well, but wasn't a fit wherever they went, and a kid who just isn't really a player. I don't think he would make the mistake Monson did, who just welcomed kids back who really just weren't that good.
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Yeah I figured that was the case, but often private school kids choose elite private colleges for the cache. I don't know anything about Dainja but he went to a better program and its possible BJ was shooting his shot. Monson & Pitino both rolled the dice on MN born transfers with mostly poor results. MN sports is rampant with "one of us" bias.
 

Unregistered User said:
Why would we be interested in a player who is clearly backsliding?


It's a joke, people.


Come on home Kerwin, we'd be happy to have you.
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I haven’t commented in a while but thought I would. I talked to Kerwin this morning and offered him some encouragement. The coaching change has eaten into his minutes. He is a very nice kid, really quiet and knock down shooter (of course we all know that). Carolina is 5 individual players whereas from what I have seen the gophers look like a team. I’m pretty sure that Mom wanted him home but Dad wanted him at Carolina (also Pitino’s recruiting reputation hurt us on this one).
 

Bakary Konate’s Hands said:
I haven’t commented in a while but thought I would. I talked to Kerwin this morning and offered him some encouragement. The coaching change has eaten into his minutes. He is a very nice kid, really quiet and knock down shooter (of course we all know that). Carolina is 5 individual players whereas from what I have seen the gophers look like a team. I’m pretty sure that Mom wanted him home but Dad wanted him at Carolina (also Pitino’s recruiting reputation hurt us on this one).
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My discussion about maybe not wanting a player that is not doing well at another school was a generic response and not in reference to KW, I do not know the details. The new coach may have a different vision for Kerwin than what was sold to him when he went to NC. I am all for giving the kid an opportunity, I just do not want kids to think of the U as a fall back school.

You want kids to take the original offer from the U seriously and know it doesn't just hang around just in case they need it later.
 


alchemy2u said:
My discussion about maybe not wanting a player that is not doing well at another school was a generic response and not in reference to KW, I do not know the details. The new coach may have a different vision for Kerwin than what was sold to him when he went to NC. I am all for giving the kid an opportunity, I just do not want kids to think of the U as a fall back school.

You want kids to take the original offer from the U seriously and know it doesn't just hang around just in case they need it later.
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If young man realizes the grass isn't greener and wants to come home and he can help gophers, silly to reject him.
 



Kerwin was horribly slow in his initial decision to Cheat U. Looks like he’s struggling again with making the decision. I have no idea what his personality is like but externally seems really indecisive. The article above is pretty kind to him.
 

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