Our 4 Roster Unknowns

The SF Rock

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We have have question marks for 23-24 currently on the roster.
Purcell. Is he a 1, a combo, or a 2? Did he practice with the team? He was injured and red shirted. Anyone know anything?
Betts. Redshirted. Practiced. Strength and conditioning. 6’8” forward. I see a high ceiling.
Ihnen. Potential as high as Garcia. Maybe more.
Fox. Another injury recovery. If 100% I prefer him to Battle.
I’m ready for info on them or to be raked over the GH coals.
Of course Christie or Mitchell were not on the roster.
 

We have have question marks for 23-24 currently on the roster.
Purcell. Is he a 1, a combo, or a 2? Did he practice with the team? He was injured and red shirted. Anyone know anything?
Betts. Redshirted. Practiced. Strength and conditioning. 6’8” forward. I see a high ceiling.
Ihnen. Potential as high as Garcia. Maybe more.
Fox. Another injury recovery. If 100% I prefer him to Battle.
I’m ready for info on them or to be raked over the GH coals.
Of course Christie or Mitchell were not on the roster.

Wait, just to clarify, you think Ihnen has potential as high as Garcia or higher?

Go Gophers!!
 

Don't know if Purcell is someone that will ever be in the playing time mix or if he is just a back of the bench kind of guy.

The other 3 - Betts, Fox, Ihnen are massive wild cards heading into 23-24. Those that have already thrown in the towel on Johnson assume that all 3 are going to be worthless but the reality is that we have no clue what each is going to bring to the table in the upcoming season.

For 23-24 we have a core of Garcia, Payne, JOJ, and Carrington.
Unknowns on the current roster - Betts, Ihnen, and Fox (could also include Purcell I guess)
New faces - Christie and Mitchell so far with more to be added.

Next year's team is going to look very different than the one from 22-23.....hopefully that will also lead to better results on the court.
 

We have have question marks for 23-24 currently on the roster.
Purcell. Is he a 1, a combo, or a 2? Did he practice with the team? He was injured and red shirted. Anyone know anything?
Betts. Redshirted. Practiced. Strength and conditioning. 6’8” forward. I see a high ceiling.
Ihnen. Potential as high as Garcia. Maybe more.
Fox. Another injury recovery. If 100% I prefer him to Battle.
I’m ready for info on them or to be raked over the GH coals.
Of course Christie or Mitchell were not on the roster.
Purcell - I don't think he can handle the ball well enough to be considered a PG. I don't think he gets much run on the team, maybe could be a decent defensive player because he has size and is an ok athlete.

Betts - I think probably similar to you. He will have a hard time seeing the floor next season because of Garcia, Fox, Ihnen, and Olo-Joseph all being 4s. From what I've seen of him, I see him as a stretch 4 (good shooter, good athlete) but he doesn't handle the ball real well.

Ihnen - Opinions really vary on him. He is a good defensive player. All I know about him is pre-injury, he doesn't handle the ball well and he's just an okay shooter. I think most of his minutes should come at the 4/5 but I'm worried they'll come at the 3. I think he'll probably be our best post defender.

Fox - I don't know anything about him, seems like a high energy guy who can rebound and run the floor. We could use it, we seem lethargic at times and his skillset could pair well with some of other 4/5s.
 

Wait, just to clarify, you think Ihnen has potential as high as Garcia or higher?

Go Gophers!!
This..... All of this .. a guy who hasn't seen game time in 2+ years and after 2 knee surgeries has the potential to be better than our best player .. and I thought my shine was good... Please pass a nipper my way rockraven
 



This..... All of this .. a guy who hasn't seen game time in 2+ years and after 2 knee surgeries has the potential to be better than our best player .. and I thought my shine was good... Please pass a nipper my way rockraven
My money is still on your shine.
 


Potential. Has a meaning short of guaranteed. Pre 23 injury CBJ was very high on him. Especially high on adding defense as I recall. He is practicing. Building confidence in his knees and his skills. I guess full contact comes soon. An obvious different skill set than Garcia and will contribute in other ways. We all love the way Garcia developed as the season went on. This is Ihnen season 3. There should be intangible benefits from that. I knew this would light up most of you. 😎 But not trolling. I believe it from the potential view point. I am an optimist.
 



Potential. Has a meaning short of guaranteed. Pre 23 injury CBJ was very high on him. Especially high on adding defense as I recall. He is practicing. Building confidence in his knees and his skills. I guess full contact comes soon. An obvious different skill set than Garcia and will contribute in other ways. We all love the way Garcia developed as the season went on. This is Ihnen season 3. There should be intangible benefits from that. I knew this would light up most of you. 😎 But not trolling. I believe it from the potential view point. I am an optimist.
Addressing bolded above: If a historically bad 2 yr BIG coach-(yes, Ben is one of, if not the worst, 2 yr BIG coach in history) is high on a guy-I don't give that much value. Building confidence in his knees? What does that even mean? "Will contribute in other ways"-Such as?? Should be intangible beni's-Such as?? Potential poiont of view. Nope, that IS your point of view. I disagree with your point of view. I am hoping that Ihnen can contribute to a successful gophers team on the court and stays healthy. If Ihnen somehow ends up better than an all conference potential NBA player this coming season it will be the biggest story in the BIG this season.
 

Addressing bolded above: If a historically bad 2 yr BIG coach-(yes, Ben is one of, if not the worst, 2 yr BIG coach in history) is high on a guy-I don't give that much value. Building confidence in his knees? What does that even mean? "Will contribute in other ways"-Such as?? Should be intangible beni's-Such as?? Potential poiont of view. Nope, that IS your point of view. I disagree with your point of view. I am hoping that Ihnen can contribute to a successful gophers team on the court and stays healthy. If Ihnen somehow ends up better than an all conference potential NBA player this coming season it will be the biggest story in the BIG this season.
Losers don’t become winners very often. That takes massive changes not resistance to change.
 





Addressing bolded above: If a historically bad 2 yr BIG coach-(yes, Ben is one of, if not the worst, 2 yr BIG coach in history) is high on a guy-I don't give that much value. Building confidence in his knees? What does that even mean? "Will contribute in other ways"-Such as?? Should be intangible beni's-Such as?? Potential poiont of view. Nope, that IS your point of view. I disagree with your point of view. I am hoping that Ihnen can contribute to a successful gophers team on the court and stays healthy. If Ihnen somehow ends up better than an all conference potential NBA player this coming season it will be the biggest story in the BIG this season.
Kind of like nobody could have predicted Jack Gibbens would become the heart of the Gopher football defense a couple years ago.
 


Kind of like nobody could have predicted Jack Gibbens would become the heart of the Gopher football defense a couple years ago.

Wasn’t Gibbens the leading FCS tackler in the country?

Ihnen is a career 2/2 guy before the two major knee surgeries.

Edit: Ihnen a career 3/3 guy. Gibbens had more tackles in 2019 than Ihnen has scored points in a season.
 
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It'd be interesting to look at the names of some guys that have come back from 2 Knee Surgeries and how they did. I know Curry had a tough time.
 

It'd be interesting to look at the names of some guys that have come back from 2 Knee Surgeries and how they did. I know Curry had a tough time.
If we needed them to be star players that would be a very dicey proposition coming off of back to back knee injuries. But as role players I would think the odds are very good that they can provide quality minutes as part of the rotation.

Heck, Curry was able to log over 25 minutes a game in his final season.

The crazy part is that both could provide much more. All we can do right now is guess until we actually get to see them on the court. Hopefully both can stay healthy and get the chance to show what they can do.
 


Addressing bolded above: If a historically bad 2 yr BIG coach-(yes, Ben is one of, if not the worst, 2 yr BIG coach in history) is high on a guy-I don't give that much value. Building confidence in his knees? What does that even mean? "Will contribute in other ways"-Such as?? Should be intangible beni's-Such as?? Potential poiont of view. Nope, that IS your point of view. I disagree with your point of view. I am hoping that Ihnen can contribute to a successful gophers team on the court and stays healthy. If Ihnen somehow ends up better than an all conference potential NBA player this coming season it will be the biggest story in the BIG this season.
Where does Clem Haskins rank in your analysis as worst second year Big ten coaches ever?
 



I have said several times Ihnen has the most potential on the team. 1st question: Is he brand new healthy and willing to trust his body? If not, end of story. 2nd question: Is he allowed to be a perimeter player on offense? I easily see the "potential" for him to be the equivalent of a first year Jamison Battle offensive Gopher contributor on the perimeter. He can be very good in multiple ways and positions on defense. BUT, he needs to find the confidence to play like that as a Gopher...he has the talent to do it....no, he hasn't done it and he's probably his own worst critic. And again, he needs the opportunity...as a post he's gonna only be okay.
But, I do believe spectacular is in him. (If he's healthy)
 

If Ihnen and/or Fox are 100% there may not be a better front court in the conference. Garcia, Payne, JOJ, Betts, Ihnen, and Fox. Likely forgot someone. Get us the guards! I’ll take Wilson, but the rest got to be B1G guards.
 


If Ihnen and/or Fox are 100% there may not be a better front court in the conference. Garcia, Payne, JOJ, Betts, Ihnen, and Fox. Likely forgot someone. Get us the guards! I’ll take Wilson, but the rest got to be B1G guards.
Holy smokes, Rockraven. You aren’t by any chance related to the poster that was always mentioning Evans’ wingspan, are you?
 

Holy smokes, Rockraven. You aren’t by any chance related to the poster that was always mentioning Evans’ wingspan, are you?
Lol! No not me. I never expected a huge impact from a freshman C. After these last two years I’m living in the now. I want a competitive B1G team this year. There is a good chance we are with the right portal guards. I’m not looking past Mitchell but we need at least 2 more portal guards plus the freshman Christie.
 

Where does Clem Haskins rank in your analysis as worst second year Big ten coaches ever?
Behind Ben. Clem season 1. 9-19, 2-16 in BIG SOS 19th, S2. 10-18, 4-14 BIG SOS 30th. Ben S1. 13-17, 4-16 BIG SOS 38th, S2. 9-22, 2-17 BIG SOS 48th. Clem went to the tourney year 3. Of course I'll take your bet that Ben goes to the tourney in year three. Let's $1000? Clem doubled his win total from y1 to y2. Ben did the opposite. What was Clem before he came to MN? Oh yeah, A College Head Coach. Imagine that. Ben also has an extra tool that Clem didn't have. The portal.
 





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