Maverick Ahanmisi To Make Minnesota Visit

Donate To GopherHole
PJ Hill

At this point, the recruitment of Maverick seems to mirror what Thad Matta did when he brought PJ Hill to Ohio State about three years ago. Remember that scenario? No one knew why Thad, the master recruiter, was bringing in an unknown/underrecruited point guard, who was only known in Minnesota basketball circles. Basically Thad was thin in the backcourt and he needed insurance; Hill was nothing spectacular for the Buckeyes, but did provide another ball handler, insurance for foul trouble, etc. With the uncertainty with Nolen, the likelihood of Cobbs transferring, I'm guessing that Maverick's being brought on in much the same manner as PJ Hill was.

Hopefully Maverick develops into a success story such as Steve Kerr or Jared Dudley (my personal favorite recruiting story), but if he merely provides another option to bring the ball up the court if Nolen/Joseph/Hoffarber are injured/ineligible/etc., that's good enough from my perspective.
 

I would rather take a 2 year gamble on a juco PG then a 4 year gamble on a no star combo guard.
 

It is true that many late recruits wash out, but many early recruits wash out, too. Predicting the future for teenagers is iffy at best.

I have confidence in Tubby and trust his judgement. If Tubby wants Maverick, and Maverick wants to be a gopher, then he deserves the opportunity to show what he can do before labeling him a wash out.
 

EverTheSkeptic said:
It is true that many late recruits wash out, but many early recruits wash out, too. Predicting the future for teenagers is iffy at best.

I have confidence in Tubby and trust his judgement. If Tubby wants Maverick, and Maverick wants to be a gopher, then he deserves the opportunity to show what he can do before labeling him a wash out.
Click to expand...

Hah! That's just it! Tubby Smith doesn't WANT Maverick. He NEEDS Maverick. There us a huge difference.
Cory Joseph was Plan A
Justin Cobbs was Plan B
Al Nolen was Plan C
Maverick WhateverHisNameIs is now Plan D
 

BGF, there is an interesting item in those ESPN ratings. Go a little farther down the list and you see Jarrod Polson at a 72, PG, verbal to Kentucky.
 


I agree with JohnnyGopher, this is a move right out of the Bill Walker playbook.

Thought we were done with the helluvagolfer era recruiting.
 

With the list of schools Maverick had recruiting him, I admit this makes me nervous, but let's give the kid a chance to prove himself before some of us write him off. Not saying that Tubby can do no wrong, but if he wants to give him a scholarship then I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully it's not a complete reach. If he ends up in a Gopher uniform, I will be rooting for him.
 

stand back

and just kinda take a look and the stats, maybe the next Westy? Not that that's a good thing
 

boom

BigGopherFan said:
Limar Wilson, yikes! He transferred to Division II Tarleton State and averaged 4 ppg.
Click to expand...

BleedGopher said:
per Monter's update:

Engen Nurumbi left the Minnesota in January of 2007 and sat out last season. He is leading Grand Canyon in scoring (15.2), rebounds (7.0), blocked shots (1.4) and steals (1.6). Nurumbi is shooting 46.1% from the field, 46.2% from three-point range and 54.3% from the line. The Antelopes are off to a 6-7 start.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

We passed on Jordair Jett who has an espn scouts grade of 90 & is a strong 6'-2" 200lbs. He has improved his game greatly from when Tubby and staff evaluated him 1 1/2 years ago. Jett passes extremely well and plays above the rim. He will be a better D1 player then Justin Cobbs and now we are going to sign an unknown Maverick Ahanmisi?
 



Marcus Fuller has some more information and quotes:

Gophers hoping to sign California guard
By Marcus Fuller on May 4, 2010

It hasn't been easy for Gophers coach Tubby Smith and his staff to sign a point guard in the late recruiting period after top target Cory Joseph signed with Texas last week.

But Smith might have found one with fifth-year senior Maverick Ahanmisi of Stoneridge Prep in Tarzana, Calif. The 6-foot-2 Ahanmisi said he was looking forward to his official visit to Minnesota on Wednesday.

"My interest in the Gophers is very strong," Ahanmisi told me today. "Hopefully, everything goes well when I visit. It would be an honor to play and be coached by Coach Smith."

For Gophers fans who aren't familiar with Ahanmisi, he averaged 20 points a game while leading Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., to a 25-3 record in 2008-2009. He scored 41 points in a state playoff game as a true senior.

Ahanmisi played a very limited schedule at Stoneridge Prep this past season. That's why he wasn't highly recruited, even though his teammate was Kentucky recruit and five-star forward Enes Kanter.

Kanter's name was relatively unknown during the high school season, but he jumped to the No. 1 center spot by Rivals.com and Scout.com after he had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the international team in the Nike Hoop Summit in April. The Gophers hope Ahanmisi's talent was also overlooked as well.

Ahanmisi did shine at some spring AAU tournaments for Bob Gottlieb's Branch West AAU team, which has featured players such as Wisconsin's Marcus Landry and Washington State's Taylor Rochestie. Gottlieb is the father of former Oklahoma State guard and current ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb.

The elder Gottlieb said he first spoke with Minnesota assistant Ron Jirsa about Ahanmisi a month ago. Smith also talked with him last week. Gottlieb didn't know much about Smith's current point guard situation, but he heard from the Gophers that there would be playing time for Ahanmisi when freshman Justin Cobbs transfers.

"There's no question Maverick will help, whether he comes off the bench at the point or the off guard," Gottlieb said. "If he's forced into the starting role, then he's somebody that can help on the offensive end. He's got great defensive instincts. He picks off a lot of passes. He's very bright and a very quick learner."

Gottlieb added, "He's the best end-of-game scorer that I've had in 45 years of coaching. He's great in the open court and in a half-court offense. He sees the court very well."

Ahanmisi said Smith told him he would likely come off the bench initially. That means that Smith seems to be counting on senior-to-be Al Nolen returning from academic ineligibility to start at point guard. That also means Nolen's replacement to end this season, Devoe Joseph, moves to shooting guard.

"Tubby Smith said I'll be helping as a backup, but there's always that possibly (to start) with hard work and determination," Ahanmisi said.

-- Ahanmisi said his mother is Filipino and his father is Nigerian. He said he last visited the Philippines when he was 11 and that he speaks Filipino (Tagalog dialect) most of the time with his mother's side of the family.

-- Ahanmisi was a former Boise State recruit, but he didn't get his academic information into the NCAA Clearinghouse in time to be eligible to play on scholarship to start his freshman school year. His father didn't want to pay the full tuition while waiting for the paperwork to go through, so Ahanmisi went to prep school, according to Gottlieb. He was a good student. That should clear up concerns that he won't be able to make it academically at Minnesota.

-- Findlay Prep scrimmaged Stoneridge Prep this year in March. Ahanmisi had 15 points in that game, but Joseph wasn't playing.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/05/gophers-hoping-to-sign-califor.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Cobbs was plan B and Nolen was plan C??

BigGopherFan said:
Hah! That's just it! Tubby Smith doesn't WANT Maverick. He NEEDS Maverick. There us a huge difference.
Cory Joseph was Plan A
Justin Cobbs was Plan B
Al Nolen was Plan C
Maverick WhateverHisNameIs is now Plan D
Click to expand...
 

Bleed, thanks for the article by Marcus. I am surprised Stoneridge played a "limited schedule". His AAU coach had nice words for him, but that's to be expected. Sounds as if he pretty good already defensively which will be a huge plus in his favor to get some PT (If he signs). I see he scored 15 against Findlay, but no Cory that scrimmage. Maybe Gopher Warrior could weigh in on this kid. He might not since he's probably too ecstatic about the recruiting class Buzz brought in, although I thought GW said the kid always seemed to do well against other kids that were highly thought of.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Bleed, thanks for the article by Marcus. I am surprised Stoneridge played a "limited schedule". His AAU coach had nice words for him, but that's to be expected. Sounds as if he pretty good already defensively which will be a huge plus in his favor to get some PT (If he signs). I see he scored 15 against Findlay, but no Cory that scrimmage. Maybe Gopher Warrior could weigh in on this kid. He might not since he's probably too ecstatic about the recruiting class Buzz brought in, although I thought GW said the kid always seemed to do well against other kids that were highly thought of.
Click to expand...

Stoneridge Prep plays a limited schedule because CIF (Calif HS) teams are prohibited from playing Stoneridge due to them being banned by CIF for using ineligible players.

Stoneridge plays mostly in prep school tournaments back East.
 



These "Prep Schools" seem to be taking the place of Junior Colleges. The obvious plus is the kid doesn't lose any of his 4 years of eligibility.
 

My favorite noter about Mav was:

Gottlieb added, "He's the best end-of-game scorer that I've had in 45 years of coaching. He's great in the open court and in a half-court offense. He sees the court very well."

Its been a long time since we have been in an end-of-game situation and felt comfortable that we had a go-to guy for that time. If this kid is that type of guy, I'm in.
 

NurumbiCongo said:
We passed on Jordair Jett who has an espn scouts grade of 90 & is a strong 6'-2" 200lbs. He has improved his game greatly from when Tubby and staff evaluated him 1 1/2 years ago. Jett passes extremely well and plays above the rim. He will be a better D1 player then Justin Cobbs and now we are going to sign an unknown Maverick Ahanmisi?
Click to expand...

EXCELLENT POINT!!
 

BigGopherFan said:
EXCELLENT POINT!!
Click to expand...

Actually, it's an Undetermined point.

The 90 for Jett and 72 for Ahanmisi are meningless at this point.

Jett is a fine player. So is Ahanmisi. The rating services have seen more of Jett than Ahanmsi.

Not a single recruiting analyst listed Gerald Fitch among their top recruits in 2000. Not listed at all. No stars, no points, nothing.

Fitch was a 4-year starter at UK and ranks highly on All-Time Pts list at UK.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Actually, it's an Undetermined point.

The 90 for Jett and 72 for Ahanmisi are meningless at this point.

Jett is a fine player. So is Ahanmisi. The rating services have seen more of Jett than Ahanmsi.

Not a single recruiting analyst listed Gerald Fitch among their top recruits in 2000. Not listed at all. No stars, no points, nothing.

Fitch was a 4-year starter at UK and ranks highly on All-Time Pts list at UK.
Click to expand...

Again, we are banking on the exception, not the rule. You will always find the exceptions to the rule.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom