Marcus: St. Thomas already making its case as Minnesota's best Division I men's basketball team

Rhode is a very good player and had he wanted to, could’ve decommitted and gotten more P5 offers, but chose to stay loyal to Tauer.
That being said, it’s crazy to take him over Garcia and Battle short term. Battle is obviously working out the foot injury but his season last year against B1G comp and his years at GW prove he’s superior. Garcia is also way better than many are giving him credit for. Rhode would play for us no doubt, but he’d struggle with the size, speed, and strength of the B1G just like most freshman guards that are not top 50 players. I think he’d be better than Henley though. Not sure he’d be much better than a healthy Carrington though. Carrington would be tearing up the Summit too.
I think you're probably right about Garcia and Battle, so let me say it this way, I'd trade Rohde for one of them. I think they are just way too redundant.

I think our team would be better this year trading Garcia for Rohde.
 

Lifelong gopher fan (was our state's only team), but went to UST (so obviously have to / want to support the program)
It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
 

I think you're probably right about Garcia and Battle, so let me say it this way, I'd trade Rohde for one of them. I think they are just way too redundant.

I think our team would be better this year trading Garcia for Rohde.
We don’t agree on the trade. The redundancy is a fair argument with Battle being slower than we hoped. I had heard he was quicker with weight loss, but it hasn’t really shown. Whether that’s injury related or just where he is at is moot. Right now I think trading Rhode for Battle would be better than Rhode for Garcia. He’s been good the last 5 games for us in rebounding and defending while Battle has struggled shooting wise. Still don’t think it makes our team better imo.
 

We don’t agree on the trade. The redundancy is a fair argument with Battle being slower than we hoped. I had heard he was quicker with weight loss, but it hasn’t really shown. Whether that’s injury related or just where he is at is moot. Right now I think trading Rhode for Battle would be better than Rhode for Garcia. He’s been good the last 5 games for us in rebounding and defending while Battle has struggled shooting wise. Still don’t think it makes our team better imo.
Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.
 

It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
You think it's convenient? I've had to post on here for over a decade all for this big moment. I get to question the direction of the worst team in the Big 10.

I am beginning to think I wasted a decade.
 


St. Thomas is going to become a powerhouse by getting the Gophers in-state leftovers.

lol.
 

It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
I believe the Michigan state fan you're referring to is Selection Sunday. He's a staple here and the furthest thing from a troll. You might wanna try gopher illustrated if you want a more troll-free board.
 


It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
Lots of people are gopher fans who didn’t go to the U - your logic would literally eliminate 90+% of their market.
 



Lots of people are gopher fans who didn’t go to the U - your logic would literally eliminate 90+% of their market.
I had season tickets for years (part of my covert op) and the vast majority of people I knew who were big fans were not alumni. Some of my friends from school also had season tickets but most of my friends with season tickets were life long Gopher fans who went to other schools.

It's actually part of what made the WCHA so fun. I know a lot of people who are Gopher fans for football and UMD or SCSU fans for hockey. It's kind of weird but not unusual.
 

I had season tickets for years (part of my covert op) and the vast majority of people I knew who were big fans were not alumni. Some of my friends from school also had season tickets but most of my friends with season tickets were life long Gopher fans who went to other schools.

It's actually part of what made the WCHA so fun. I know a lot of people who are Gopher fans for football and UMD or SCSU fans for hockey. It's kind of weird but not unusual.
Ultra deep cover, love your commitment.
 

Does St Thomas not have its own fan site? Every time I go on GH there's a new thread/conversation about the Tommies. Build your own fan site or start a St Thomas thread in the Other Sports section on GH and talk about it there.
 

Does St Thomas not have its own fan site? Every time I go on GH there's a new thread/conversation about the Tommies. Build your own fan site or start a St Thomas thread in the Other Sports section on GH and talk about it there.
It was posted by Bleedgopher who is obviously also a Badger operative.

Honest question, why did you click on it?
 



Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.
TBF on Ihnen, the guard/wing talk wasn’t just Ben. It was there when he was recruited.
As for Battle, the purpose of losing weight was to try and be a wing and have bette r prospects at a pro career. Ideally a small ball 4 is probably ideal, but I’m not giving hope on him as a wing too. His ball handling isn’t elite to where he will use it to be deceptive/create, but it’s strong enough to get to the basket when he’s at an advantage. Problem for this roster, is he’s relied on the create more than he should.

We shall see soon and with the product currently I can see the argument you make.
 

TBF on Ihnen, the guard/wing talk wasn’t just Ben. It was there when he was recruited.
As for Battle, the purpose of losing weight was to try and be a wing and have bette r prospects at a pro career. Ideally a small ball 4 is probably ideal, but I’m not giving hope on him as a wing too. His ball handling isn’t elite to where he will use it to be deceptive/create, but it’s strong enough to get to the basket when he’s at an advantage. Problem for this roster, is he’s relied on the create more than he should.

We shall see soon and with the product currently I can see the argument you make.
Oh yeah, it's not just Ben. I think Ihnen was recruited to play the 4. He simply does not handle the ball well enough (or shoot it well enough) to even consider playing him at the 3. If a coach, any coach, plays him significant minutes at the 3 much less the 2, they are lost (IMO).

I get the idea of trying to make Battle into a wing. I just think it was a really bad idea. I think his best chance of playing in the league is as a small ball 4. Make no mistake, he'll struggle a ton guarding 4's and rebounding at the next level, but not nearly as much as he would at being a wing.

I think making him into a wing takes away all of his favorable mismatches and does not create any new ones for him.
 

Interesting that his first offer was to play in the Big East for DePaul and he turned it down in order to go to St Thomas.
Didn't DePaul have a recent coaching change? Like Ajhany Lee with Kansas, Kansas State Minnesota and Stanford perhaps the DePaul offer came early and dried up? Or maybe it's like every Sizzle kid getting a TCU or a Florida offer when really those schools weren't interested. Recruiting a fickled business
 

This is likely the worst Gopher team of any of our lifetimes. If it's not the worst, it's top 3. Being "better" than that isn't hard, even for a team from the Summit League. It doesn't mean it will be th case over the long-term.
Idk 03-04, 06-07, 15-16 were all pretty bad. 17-18 as well Will see how it finishes
 

Didn't DePaul have a recent coaching change? Like Ajhany Lee with Kansas, Kansas State Minnesota and Stanford perhaps the DePaul offer came early and dried up? Or maybe it's like every Sizzle kid getting a TCU or a Florida offer when really those schools weren't interested. Recruiting a fickled business
From what I understand with Rohde, he was a late developer and the DePaul type offers came after he was all-in on St Thomas. My guess is that immediate PT was a selling point.
 



It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
Dipshit Alert… again.. 🤦🏽‍♂️
 



Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.ma
Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.
Agree. I am already worried about next year can Payne and Evans play together?
 

Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.ma
Honestly, I think the much bigger problem with Battle is that they are trying to make him a wing and he is really a small ball 4. I think he matches up much better with PFs.

He is not quick enough or good enough ball handler to play the wing position regardless of weight loss.

This is actually one of my concerns with Ben. He talked about Ihnen playing the SG position and I thought that was just coach speak. Ihnen should not be playing anywhere except the 4 or 5. He seems to think of you are a plus shooter for a 4 that makes you a 3. I hope that's not true.
Agree. I am already worried about next year can Payne and Evans play together?
 


Agree. I am already worried about next year can Payne and Evans play together?
Don’t you worry, MNJay tells me Payne is pure jump shooter. He saw him hit a free throw and maybe a jumper for Sizzle or once in elementary school. He will start to space the floor to maybe beyond the charge arch under the rim so evans can go to work there next year without rubbing elbows with a fellow big.
 

Don’t you worry, MNJay tells me Payne is pure jump shooter. He saw him hit a free throw and maybe a jumper for Sizzle or once in elementary school. He will start to space the floor to maybe beyond the charge arch under the rim so evans can go to work there next year without rubbing elbows with a fellow big.
Payne played for MN Select FWIW. Carrington for Sizzle and JOJ played for D1
 

It finally comes out. You went to St. Thomas. That explains it.

Just like another guy (I forgot, who was it?) who bashes the Gophers on here was finally outed as a Michigan State fan.

It was also convenient to deny that you're Badger fans like I suspected.

Hey fans of other teams are welcome on here. But don't blame me for calling you on your deception, smearing, trolling, etc.
I’d also ask, do you root for pro sports teams? If so how… could it be location? Or did you co to some mythical university MN Vikings (local example) which qualifies you to be a Vikings fan since you went to the school.
 

Honestly, UST would give the U a heck-of-a-game this year. They definitely would play harder! Coyle should honestly schedule them….. he won’t. Even-though, it would be very good for Revenue $$. It would create actual interest in Mpls / St. P NCAA Hoops (TV). AND the best part is the Gophers would have to show up and play!! (and if they lost, so be it, shows that they need to start improving fast.)
 




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