Louisville center Matz Stockman transferring to Minnesota

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die hard gopher said:
I think I would have preferred a front court of something like

PF: Murphy, Race or high level 18 recruit
C: Curry, Oturu

instead of this

PF: Murphy, Curry
C: Oturu, Stockman

Not exactly stoked about this.
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not sure how this prevents us from getting Race in that class...
 

CoMn said:
Like I have been saying, a center is what we need most in 2018-2019.
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OK, but this one? I'm sure the Pitinos (both of them) know far more about this guy and his potential than any of us, but I agree with another poster that it does seem rather early to pull the trigger on a prospect that, on the face of the evidence, appears to be pretty underwhelming at this point especially if he can play only one year. There were at least a handful or more of sit-out big men who have demonstrated that they can contribute significantly at this level.

This sounds like a favor for dad. Too bad Pitino doesn't have a younger coaching brother who might do something similar with Gaston.
 


It addresses a lack of diversity on the team. Somewhere, Kimberly Hewitt must be applauding.
 



RatherBeGolfing said:
Here's he thing: basically it was going to come down to a grad transfer wing or a regular transfer center for this open spot. Depending on if you were all in on next year or thought more long term, that probably influenced which position you preferred to be addressed. I was fine with either and could understand either. That being said, this isn't exactly the guy I was hoping for
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Honestly I bet we would have been a tough sell for a grad transfer. If you are going to go somewhere for just one year you want to play. For Springs it made perfect sense because our backcourt was really thin. Going into next year we have solid depth throughout the roster and a lot of established players and in all likelihood all 5 starters already in place. So a grad transfer is more than likely looking at a 6th man role at best coming here. I am sure the staff looked for someone that would have been a perfect fit for the upcoming season but that may have been a pretty daunting task.
 

Surprised he didn't transfer to St. Olaf to play for Koz. Would fit right in.

Um Ya Ya!
 

SelectionSunday said:
Would give them a solid rotation of 9, though "play 8, trust 7" wouldn't be the end of the world.
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Actually, "play 8, trust 7" was the end of the world after one of those seven was injured in this postseason.

Based on what Pitino and Lynch have said about Fitzgerald they sound reasonably confident that he will be a significant contributor next season (unless he gets hurt again, of course). I have to believe that Richard wouldn't pull the trigger on this transfer if he wasn't reasonably confident about Fitzgerald (but, then again, dad was involved).

My guess is that Harris can't be any worse than Dupree was for the first half of his freshman season and Dorsey took a long time to get any consistency as well. Nevertheless, those guys each contributed far more than Hurt in his entire freshman season.
 

If the staff can develop this kid over the next couple of years, it would be one more selling point with Matthew Hurt.
 




Another #pollyanna take on this is that Pitnio may feel Bakary can get better and become that ideal back up center. Bakary really isn't that far off imo. Just needs to become more consistent and play within himself.
 

MadtownGopher said:
If the staff can develop this kid over the next couple of years, it would be one more selling point with Matthew Hurt.
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Why? Do you have inside information that he has been dreaming of starting his college career with a Norwegian bench warmer?
 

I do not know any more about this guy than any of you. But, this feels similar to when we recruited Gaston and Bakary - and, that is not a good feeling. Who knows, maybe Matz will be good for the Gophers. I was just thinking, what would the NCAA think if Gaston now announced a transfer to Louisville? OK - not so much these two, but future exchanges. Filling needed holes on each other's rosters. Opening up opportunities. Louisville becoming a minor league club for Minnesota. :)
 




die hard gopher said:
I think I would have preferred a front court of something like

PF: Murphy, Race or high level 18 recruit
C: Curry, Oturu

instead of this

PF: Murphy, Curry
C: Oturu, Stockman

Not exactly stoked about this.
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You can still start Curry at center in 2018-19 with or without Stockman, and this also doesn't preclude us from landing a nice power forward recruit like Race Thompson or Isaiah Mucius for 2018. I think the only thing this changes is that maybe we won't take a second center in addition to Oturu in 2018, instead maybe taking one in 2019 after Stockman is gone.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
How so? They won't play together and Hurt is not a center.
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Further evidence the staff can develop big men. Developing Reggie into the B1G defensive player of the year is already on their resume. If they could turn this Stockman kid into a legit B1G center, particularly on the offensive end, then I think it further solidifies the staffs ability to develop big men. Neither Reggie nor this Stockman kid were heralded out of high school, so they can sell Hurt on their ability to get the most out of their players.
 

die hard gopher said:
I was told that he would have two years to play after sitting out a year. He only played 4 games his freshman year so maybe he got a medical RS?
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Marcus Fuller quote in the strib:

The 7-foot, 240-pound Norway native will have one year of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2017-18 season.
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I hope he has two years of eligibility left.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Further evidence the staff can develop big men. Developing Reggie into the B1G defensive player of the year is already on their resume. If they could turn this Stockman kid into a legit B1G center, particularly on the offensive end, then I think it further solidifies the staffs ability to develop big men. Neither Reggie nor this Stockman kid were heralded out of high school, so they can sell Hurt on their ability to get the most out of their players.
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I wouldn't say the staff developed Reggie that much. He was a shot blocker in high school and Illinois State. What part of his game has developed?
 


die hard gopher said:
I think I would have preferred a front court of something like

PF: Murphy, Race or high level 18 recruit
C: Curry, Oturu

instead of this

PF: Murphy, Curry
C: Oturu, Stockman

Not exactly stoked about this.
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Doesn't take us out of the running for Thompson, Thompson is a 3/4 type, he would compliment these guys very well
 

MadtownGopher said:
Further evidence the staff can develop big men. Developing Reggie into the B1G defensive player of the year is already on their resume. If they could turn this Stockman kid into a legit B1G center, particularly on the offensive end, then I think it further solidifies the staffs ability to develop big men. Neither Reggie nor this Stockman kid were heralded out of high school, so they can sell Hurt on their ability to get the most out of their players.
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Mo Walker too. Granted he was sidelined for most of his first two years here with Tubby.
 

GopherPlaya said:
I wouldn't say the staff developed Reggie that much. He was a shot blocker in high school and Illinois State. What part of his game has developed?
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Guessing Reggie and the staff would disagree with you. Going from the MVC to the B1G is quite a big leap. I am sure he worked on a lot of different things during his redshirt season. And I think most people were pretty surprised at how well he played offensively. I don't think he was known for that part of his game coming in.
 

GopherPlaya said:
I wouldn't say the staff developed Reggie that much. He was a shot blocker in high school and Illinois State. What part of his game has developed?
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Reggie was much, much better offensively as the season went on imo
 

bemidjigopher said:
Doesn't take us out of the running for Thompson, Thompson is a 3/4 type, he would compliment these guys very well
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Exactly. I don't see any harm in adding a center for 2018-2019. Our only options are Curry and a freshman so why not add an experienced guy.
 

Angrygopher1 said:
He will help Reggie by practicing against a really tall guy and a year of practicing against Reggie will make him much better also. I also expect Mike Hurt will be much improved next year. Our guards need to get Hurt involved in the offense during the preseason so they can gain confidence in each other. At times late last year it seemed they were playing keep away with Hurt, he would be wide open and would rotate the ball too the other side.
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Players know who can play...they practice together every day.
 

He will help Reggie by practicing against a really tall guy and a year of practicing against Reggie will make him much better also. I also expect Mike Hurt will be much improved next year. Our guards need to get Hurt involved in the offense during the preseason so they can gain confidence in each other. At times late last year it seemed they were playing keep away with Hurt, he would be wide open and would rotate the ball too the other side.
 

Can't coach height...most centers aren't developed until jr/sr year in college if not longer.

I think the thing most are missing is that this kid probably doesn't fit with the Louisville offensive system of run, shoot, run, shoot, run, shoot. Where we play a lot of half court offense where a back to the basket center, especially one that can pass, will get action and touches.
 

it should be looked at as a low risk low reward situation. You get a guy who uses a scholarship for 2 years, plays for one, and then is gone. He is likely a backup and will help ease Oturo's freshman year. He's not a flashy pick up by any means but you need reliable backups and hopefully that is what he will be.

Others said it best...you likely weren't going to get a high profile grad transfer this year. A 2018 spring recruit was a possibility but I'm not sure what the big guy situation looks like there. I'm sure the staff explored other transfer possibilities.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Guessing Reggie and the staff would disagree with you. Going from the MVC to the B1G is quite a big leap. I am sure he worked on a lot of different things during his redshirt season. And I think most people were pretty surprised at how well he played offensively. I don't think he was known for that part of his game coming in.
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At the end of year he was better but his offensive game def doesn't look develop. He doesn't have any post moves and alot of his points came off drop offs. His footwork on O is still bad. He was great but most of that was due to his defensive capabilities which have always been there.
 

fryguy22 said:
I'm nitpicking a little, because I don't think you're making bad points overall, but we definitely have 6 proven guys next year before counting Fitz and the FR (or BK who I think is serviceable).

Mason
McBrayer
Coffey
Murphy
Lynch
Curry
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You are correct. I feel better...I was going on a previous post that referred to 5 guys and didn't mention Curry and I forgot to include Curry making 6 in my concern. I think this will turn out very well. But, I do hope we stay healthy none the less. Should be fun! This new guy will help in 2018-19, I'm confident about that.
 

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