Niko’s roster construction


I'm not in here trying to be a wet blanket; I definitely see the potential. I just think people are underestimating the jump in competition from the ASUN to the B1G. I found nine players that transferred out of the ASUN in the previous two years. This is per Rivals -- if I've missed anyone I could update this -- and every player that "went up" a level or more in competition saw a decrease in performance.

Transfer YearPlayerPositionSchool YearPrevious SchoolNew SchoolPrevious PERNew PER
2023Sean DurugordonSFJuniorAustin PeaySiena17.720.8
2023Elijah Hutchins-EverettCJuniorAustin PeaySeton Hall17.512.6
2023Mike MarshCSeniorJacksonvilleOklahoma State20.512.5
2024Langdon HattonCSeniorBellarmineIndiana17.916.5
2024Tucker AndersonPFSophomoreCentral ArkansasUtah State16.612.7
2024Leland WalkerPGJuniorEastern KentuckyFAU18.810.6
2024Zach AndersonSFSenior*Florida Gulf CoastGeorge Mason17.611.4
2024Chaz LanierSGSenior*North FloridaTennessee24.619.5
2024Jalen BlackmonSGSeniorStetsonMiami21.113.1

I think Turner is a great use of a scholarship. But I'm concerned about how many minutes we plan to play him next season.
I think it may be a case of a player being overlooked because he was out of shape/overweight. Once he got to college, he gets nutrition and diet guidance. All of sudden that talent shows through as his physical conditioning improves. Now that he's in shape, he gets the attention of Power 5 coaches. Not sure about the athletes you mention above, but his story gives me hope that he might be the exception to this trend. Good for him
 


FWIW, someone ranked the incoming top 25 BIG transfers. Indiana showed 5 and Michigan 4 players. Bobby Durkin was ranked #22. At a glance, NU, R, PSU and Nebraska all drew blanks .
 



We need our players to get sponsorships on their jerseys. May I suggest Du Nord Vodka coaster night or Boston Scientific stent promotion night. Every jersey can have custom decals and sponsors for different games. When you buy a jersey, you can buy a decal to go on it from your favorite sponsor and the money could go directly to the DTA. Each decal would incorporate Goldie plus the sponsors logo.
 

How many spots remaining?
1 Isaac Asuma 6-3 FR GOPHERS 5.6 ppg 2.9 reb
2 Grayson Grove 6-9 FR GOPHERS redshirted
3 Kai Shinholster. incoming Freshman
4. Jaylin Crocker-Johnson 6-8 Soph from Colorado St avg 9 ppg 4.4 Reb Announced 4/1/25
5. BJ Omot 6-8 JR from California Bears avg 10.8 ppg 3 reb Announced 4/2/25
6. Bobby Durkin 6-7 Soph from Davidson avg 13.5 ppg 5.9 reb Announced 4/7/25
7. Robert Vaihola 6-8 JR from San Jose St avg 7.5 ppg 7.5 reb. Announced 4/9/25
8. Langston Reynolds 6-4 JR from Northern Colorado avg 16.0 ppg 5.6 reb. Announced 4/13/25
9. Chansey Willis Jr 6-2 JR from Western Michigan avg 16.8 ppg 4.3 Reb. Annouced 4/14/25
10. Nehemiah Turner FR 6-10 from University of Central Arkansas avg 8.5 ppg on season but 18.5 last 10 games with high of 37 - 4.2 reb Announced 4-23-25
11.
The eight guys with scoring averages (so far) total 87.7 incoming points per game.
Proposed new Men's Scholarship limit is 15. It was 13 for men. No walk-ons allowed beyond 15 scholarships.
 






I never want to hear MN cry poor.
2024 $928M Big Ten vs $840M SEC revenue
$63.2M divided 12 Big Ten schools vs $52.5M 14 SEC schools
2025 projection $75M div 16 Big Ten schools
 


I never want to hear MN cry poor.
2024 $928M Big Ten vs $840M SEC revenue
$63.2M divided 12 Big Ten schools vs $52.5M 14 SEC schools
2025 projection $75M div 16 Big Ten schools
In the State of excessive taxation the government always cries poor. It's only fitting that the mother school cry poor as well.
 



I never want to hear MN cry poor.
2024 $928M Big Ten vs $840M SEC revenue
$63.2M divided 12 Big Ten schools vs $52.5M 14 SEC schools
2025 projection $75M div 16 Big Ten schools

More helpful to list the athletic budgets of the Big Ten schools and then combine with a list of athletic budgets of the SEC schools.
 



More helpful to list the athletic budgets of the Big Ten schools and then combine with a list of athletic budgets of the SEC schools.
...and the NIL/Collective payments made to each program, and a breakdown of each athlete. :)
 

Updated

Depth Guard added
3 open spots.

GUARDS
1-Willis (PG-with ability to play along side a guy like Asuma)
2-Asuma (PG-wtih ability to play along side Willis)
3-Reynolds (SG)
4-Stephens (SG)
5-Shinholster (SG)

WINGS
6-Durkin (more of that true SF)
7-BJ (SF who can get some minutes at the 2 as well)
8-JCJ (PF who can get some minutes at the 3. And 5 in a pinch)

BIGS
9-Vaihold-
10-Nehemiah Turner
11-Grove
12-Reader (Walk on)

3 spots to go. Im looking to add another wing type for sure. Who knows in todays landscape what you can get pieces beyond that.
 


Nico taking nothing for Chance!

Added Chance Stephens to play either Chasey!

Will there be any more players with Chance as a first name?
 

How many spots remaining?
Here's the corrected version. Thanks for setting me straight folks. I put them in order of how many years they've been in college, not adjusting for red shirting etc. Just because they are a senior on here doesn't mean that they don't have more than 1 year of eligibility. Seems like they all have about 8 years of eligibility these days. The cap is 15 now but includes walk ons which would mean we have 3 spots left but I stand to be corrected:

Freshmen
SG
Kai Shinholster 6’5 88* HS 170#

Sophomores
CG
Chansey Willis 6’2 91* T 190#
PG Isaac Asuma 6’3 90* HS 196#
PF Grayson Grove 6’9 86* HS 220#
PF Nehemiah Turner 6’10 N/A* 265#

Juniors
F
Erick Reader 6’8 W/O 215#
SG Chance Stephens 6’3 78* HS 185#
SF Bobby Durkin 6’7 93* T 220#
PF Jaylen Crocker-Johnson 6’8 89* T 230#

Seniors
SG
Langston Reynolds 6’4 88* T 205#
PF Robert Vaihola 6’8 88* T 245#
SF BJ Omot 6’8 90* T 195#
 
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Here's what I have. I believe the cap is 15 now but includes walk ons which would mean we have 3 spots left but I stand to be corrected:

Freshmen
SG
Kai Shinholster 6’5 88* HS 170#

Sophomores
CG
Chansey Willis 6’2 91* T 190#
PG Isaac Asuma 6’3 90* HS 196#
PF Grayson Grove 6’9 86* HS 220#
PF Nehemiah Turner 6’10 N/A* 265#
SF BJ Omot 6’8 90* T 195#
PF Jaylen Crocker-Johnson 6’8 89* T 230#

Juniors
F
Erick Reader 6’8 W/O 215#
SG Chance Stephens 6’3 78* HS 185#
SF Bobby Durkin 6’7 93* T 220#

Seniors
SG
Langston Reynolds 6’4 88* T 205#
PF Robert Vaihola 6’8 88* T 245#
Thanks for arranging it that way. It is great to see a team that has a present AND a future. Yes we have to keep them, but I am convinced that if a guy likes the coach and his future here, he is much easier to retain for the next year.
 

Here's what I have. I believe the cap is 15 now but includes walk ons which would mean we have 3 spots left but I stand to be corrected:

Freshmen
SG
Kai Shinholster 6’5 88* HS 170#

Sophomores
CG
Chansey Willis 6’2 91* T 190#
PG Isaac Asuma 6’3 90* HS 196#
PF Grayson Grove 6’9 86* HS 220#
PF Nehemiah Turner 6’10 N/A* 265#
SF BJ Omot 6’8 90* T 195#
PF Jaylen Crocker-Johnson 6’8 89* T 230#

Juniors
F
Erick Reader 6’8 W/O 215#
SG Chance Stephens 6’3 78* HS 185#
SF Bobby Durkin 6’7 93* T 220#

Seniors
SG
Langston Reynolds 6’4 88* T 205#
PF Robert Vaihola 6’8 88* T 245#
Grove redshirted I believe so he would be considered a freshman again. Also, isn't JCJ and Omot juniors?
 

Thanks for arranging it that way. It is great to see a team that has a present AND a future. Yes we have to keep them, but I am convinced that if a guy likes the coach and his future here, he is much easier to retain for the next year.
Plus the influx of dollars available. All the great players will eventually settle in BigTen/SEC/B12.
 



I'm not in here trying to be a wet blanket; I definitely see the potential. I just think people are underestimating the jump in competition from the ASUN to the B1G. I found nine players that transferred out of the ASUN in the previous two years. This is per Rivals -- if I've missed anyone I could update this -- and every player that "went up" a level or more in competition saw a decrease in performance.

Transfer YearPlayerPositionSchool YearPrevious SchoolNew SchoolPrevious PERNew PER
2023Sean DurugordonSFJuniorAustin PeaySiena17.720.8
2023Elijah Hutchins-EverettCJuniorAustin PeaySeton Hall17.512.6
2023Mike MarshCSeniorJacksonvilleOklahoma State20.512.5
2024Langdon HattonCSeniorBellarmineIndiana17.916.5
2024Tucker AndersonPFSophomoreCentral ArkansasUtah State16.612.7
2024Leland WalkerPGJuniorEastern KentuckyFAU18.810.6
2024Zach AndersonSFSenior*Florida Gulf CoastGeorge Mason17.611.4
2024Chaz LanierSGSenior*North FloridaTennessee24.619.5
2024Jalen BlackmonSGSeniorStetsonMiami21.113.1

I think Turner is a great use of a scholarship. But I'm concerned about how many minutes we plan to play him next season.
Don't worry- Nico only recruits kids with Sean Dungeondragon type potential
 


Thanks for arranging it that way. It is great to see a team that has a present AND a future. Yes we have to keep them, but I am convinced that if a guy likes the coach and his future here, he is much easier to retain for the next year
Grove redshirted I believe so he would be considered a freshman again. Also, isn't JCJ and Omot juniors?
Oh, I didn't want to figure out how many years they have remaining, more how many years they've been around. It seems nowadays players get about 8 years....this list was more of how many years of experience do they have. Sorry about that. But yes, you are correct. This is my way of distinguishing between Shinholster and Grove.
 
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Grove redshirted I believe so he would be considered a freshman again. Also, isn't JCJ and Omot juniors?
You are correct that I had them in the incorrect spot! Thanks for noticing. I put them in what academic class they should be in which makes Omot a senior. I wanted it to be less of an eligibility list and more of an experience list. It's fixed now:) Thanks for letting me know I was a source of fake news!
 

Thanks for arranging it that way. It is great to see a team that has a present AND a future. Yes we have to keep them, but I am convinced that if a guy likes the coach and his future here, he is much easier to retain for the next year.
Given the choice of last year where you knew the whole roster was going to turnover or one like this where there is at least the chance of retaining the majority it is an easy choice for the second option.

Hopefully revenue sharing makes it easier to retain guys from year to year. There will always be transfers in this current day and age but would be awesome if there was more stability in rosters from year to year again. The off the charts roster churn in college basketball has gotten ridiculous.
 




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