Q&A: De La Salle's Sacar Anim: "I love the Barn. Great atmosphere."

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I find it odd that Sacar Anim is a four star on ESPN and not rated at all on rivals.
 

die hard gopher said:
Sacar is the #26 SG. Rodney was the #7 SF and #42 overall.
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Didn't Rodney drop to like #97 overall in the final rankings?

Edit: I'm way off. You did your research!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I'm torn on Sacar. I really like him, but I'm still just not sure how he translates to the next level. I think the comparison to Joe Coleman is pretty decent, but I feel like Sacar's perimeter skills are a little better at a similar stage. With all the 3-guard lineups being used in college hoops today, I think he could have a role in that third guard spot. I know UW has looked at him, but I'm wondering if they're trying to decide to offer Sacar or Billy Wampler from Eau Claire. They are very different players, but both are probably SFs or third guards.

In both Pulley games I saw this weekend, Sacar was the most productive player on their team, despite being part of the lineup with the "stars" of the team (i.e. Johnson, Illikainen and Coffey). Both games were blowouts, but he scored 13 in the first and 14 in the second (in about 10 minutes). His points in the first game were on several really nice slashes to the bucket and activity on the offensive glass, while 12 of his 14 in the second were from downtown (he made 4 of 6 in the game). His shooting mechanics are still a little strange, such that I would say becoming a consistent perimeter shooter is probably what he needs to work on the most, but he does a lot of other things well on both ends. He's always been a good defender, but he's much more of a scorer now with his ability to slash to the bucket and also get offensive rebounds. He's a good athlete as well, which translates into being good in transition and finishing around the hoop. I wonder if he's one of those guys who gets a number of offers once that first one comes. Should be interesting to see what happens with his recruitment this summer.
 

bc2211 said:
Didn't Rodney drop to like #97 overall in the final rankings?

Edit: I'm way off. You did your research!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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yep, you were thinking of rivals. Rodney was also #6 SF and 34 overall on scout while Royce was #19, 32 and 34 on scout, rivals and espn.
 



UWOle said:
I'm torn on Sacar. I really like him, but I'm still just not sure how he translates to the next level. I think the comparison to Joe Coleman is pretty decent, but I feel like Sacar's perimeter skills are a little better at a similar stage. With all the 3-guard lineups being used in college hoops today, I think he could have a role in that third guard spot. I know UW has looked at him, but I'm wondering if they're trying to decide to offer Sacar or Billy Wampler from Eau Claire. They are very different players, but both are probably SFs or third guards.

In both Pulley games I saw this weekend, Sacar was the most productive player on their team, despite being part of the lineup with the "stars" of the team (i.e. Johnson, Illikainen and Coffey). Both games were blowouts, but he scored 13 in the first and 14 in the second (in about 10 minutes). His points in the first game were on several really nice slashes to the bucket and activity on the offensive glass, while 12 of his 14 in the second were from downtown (he made 4 of 6 in the game). His shooting mechanics are still a little strange, such that I would say becoming a consistent perimeter shooter is probably what he needs to work on the most, but he does a lot of other things well on both ends. He's always been a good defender, but he's much more of a scorer now with his ability to slash to the bucket and also get offensive rebounds. He's a good athlete as well, which translates into being good in transition and finishing around the hoop. I wonder if he's one of those guys who gets a number of offers once that first one comes. Should be interesting to see what happens with his recruitment this summer.
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Good information. How has his dribbling progressed from the last time you saw him? Can he beat good defenders off of the dribble? Is one hand especially weak?
 

Thanks for the info UWOle. Always appreciate your evaluations. Kinda funny how arguably our best info on the skills of MN's top players comes from a UW fan. It's nice that you and OSU (forgot the rest of his username) actually contribute useful information, unlike just about the rest of the non-Gopher fans on here who either come to brag or defend their team.
 

Pitino is not extremely interested in Anim. Unless things change, an Gopher offer is not in the cards.
 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2SIPdZTaTMU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Howard Pulley Action
 



die hard gopher said:
Umm, every gopher fan wants good players no matter where they are from. Its just that we feel we would have a better chance with the in-state guys then an out of state player hence why we feel Jarvis and Alex are must gets. If they wouldn't want to come here, 2 guys that have lived here there whole lives and presumably would have been fans of the gophers at a young age, than why would somebody half way across the country want to come here. Its not that hard to figure out.
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Nor is it that simple. By your definition the Gophers should have stopped recruiting once it was clear the Big Three weren't coming here. Proximity to home is a factor but not even necessarily a positive. If I had grown up within blocks of the University, I might want to try something different. Who knows why a kid wants to stay or wants to leave. I get nervous that people view players first as Minnesotans and then as players. Terms like "must gets".....what does that even mean?

In Anim's case, he doesn't have a real impressive offer list. Not trying to take a shot at him. He very well might develop into a solid college player.
 

Sacar really needs to work on his outside shooting . Needs to get a shooting coach and rework his form. Very good slasher, finisher and defender. Needs to get a lot closer to textbook form in order to keep defenders honest.
 

golfing18now said:
Nor is it that simple. By your definition the Gophers should have stopped recruiting once it was clear the Big Three weren't coming here. Proximity to home is a factor but not even necessarily a positive. If I had grown up within blocks of the University, I might want to try something different. Who knows why a kid wants to stay or wants to leave. I get nervous that people view players first as Minnesotans and then as players. Terms like "must gets".....what does that even mean?

In Anim's case, he doesn't have a real impressive offer list. Not trying to take a shot at him. He very well might develop into a solid college player.
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Actually we mostly did stop recruiting players of their caliber when they decided that they weren't coming here and we then we settled for mid to lower 4 stars and then 3 stars. We typically don't heavily recruit 5 stars unless they are in state guys. And yes it is not always that simple but more times then not it is and you should have the best chance with in state players and then midwest players and then guys from across the country.
 





per Marcus:

But Anim has been the biggest surprise so far, leading Howard Pulley in scoring with 12 points a game. The 6-4, 185-pound guard's best offer is Northern Iowa, but he's hearing from more major conference programs.

Wisconsin's interest is growing. Colorado called this week. Pitino wants to see more but likes him, Anim said.

"I talk with (Gophers assistant and former DeLaSalle star) Ben Johnson a lot," Anim said. "Over the last couple months, I've been building a relationship with Coach Pitino. Up until July, he wants to see if I'm the best fit for them."

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/c...rce=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 

When did all this "Building relationships" way of thinking begin? You hear this from virtually every recruit that they're "building a relationship with the coaching staff". I was obviously never good enough to get recruited but I didn't particularly care who my coach was or what my relationship was with him. I didn't need/want him to be my mentor/friend. Is my way of thinking just completely off?
 

LongLiveMilesTarver said:
When did all this "Building relationships" way of thinking begin? You hear this from virtually every recruit that they're "building a relationship with the coaching staff". I was obviously never good enough to get recruited but I didn't particularly care who my coach was or what my relationship was with him. I didn't need/want him to be my mentor/friend. Is my way of thinking just completely off?
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Yes you are very off.
That's what great recruiters do, build relationships.
A kid has to trust the coach with 4 years of his basketball future, they have to be on the same page and be clear about the vision they have for each others future.
If I was a recruit I would love to be able to have honest and open dialogue with my coach.
Some kids travel across the country to play ball, they might need a mentor/father figure to help em keep there head on straight.

Also even if you don't land a recruit, building relationships with him and his basketball community can help you in future recruits in the area or that community and if the recruit ever decides to transfer because things didn't work out at his school of choice, they would probably consider you because you did a good job making that connection.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

But Anim has been the biggest surprise so far, leading Howard Pulley in scoring with 12 points a game. The 6-4, 185-pound guard's best offer is Northern Iowa, but he's hearing from more major conference programs.

Wisconsin's interest is growing. Colorado called this week. Pitino wants to see more but likes him, Anim said.

"I talk with (Gophers assistant and former DeLaSalle star) Ben Johnson a lot," Anim said. "Over the last couple months, I've been building a relationship with Coach Pitino. Up until July, he wants to see if I'm the best fit for them."

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/c...rce=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
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Maybe I'm way off, but I feel like Anim would sign on the dotted line the second we gave him an offer. This is gonna be either a four or five man class would not complain if he was one of them. Wonder if that would help with Jarvis?
 

Anim

I would also add if you look at top 20 players they don't stay home unless "home" is a blue blood school about 90% of the time. That means Tyus and Vaughn were highly likely to leave. When you consider Vaughn was at a prep in Nevada that makes it even more likely he is gone. We had shots at Travis and Macura. I will only get nervous about future prospects if we don't get Illikainen, J Johnson, or Makong (spelling?). It sounds like Anim is a lot like Austin, better driver than Austin, similar defender, but poorer shooter. Could be a great get for Pitino's system.
On the other hand, I am beginning to wonder if we are trading a lot of athletism for skills with the recent recruits though? It was hard watching Coleman and Rodney shoot bricks and teams pack it in so I know we need a balance of shooters and athetes as we arent in the position to get those 5* guys who are both.


die hard gopher said:
Actually we mostly did stop recruiting players of their caliber when they decided that they weren't coming here and we then we settled for mid to lower 4 stars and then 3 stars. We typically don't heavily recruit 5 stars unless they are in state guys. And yes it is not always that simple but more times then not it is and you should have the best chance with in state players and then midwest players and then guys from across the country.
Click to expand...
 




Anim will need to greatly improve is mid to long range shooting accuracy. His perimeter shot mechanics are poor prior to his release. Will need to cash from 3 to set up his slash for 2 game at next level. Best bet would be to retool form. If he had a quality jumper he would have a boat load of offers.
 


The Brain Trust said:
Anim will need to greatly improve is mid to long range shooting accuracy. His perimeter shot mechanics are poor prior to his release. Will need to cash from 3 to set up his slash for 2 game at next level. Best bet would be to retool form. If he had a quality jumper he would have a boat load of offers.
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Agreed, and that's something the Gopher staff could really work on with him if he came here. But in terms of worthy of a gopher offer, it has to happen IMO because of the fact that he's easily the best defender in the state, can slash at will, and is athletic and versatile enough to play both the 2 and the 3 in college.
 

GameDay said:
Agreed, and that's something the Gopher staff could really work on with him if he came here. But in terms of worthy of a gopher offer, it has to happen IMO because of the fact that he's easily the best defender in the state, can slash at will, and is athletic and versatile enough to play both the 2 and the 3 in college.
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I like Anim, but we already have two defense first wings in McNeil and Morris. We need another wing besides Lofton who can shoot the three. If we can add a three level scorer, I can see Anim as the second wing in the class.
 

GameDay said:
Agreed, and that's something the Gopher staff could really work on with him if he came here. But in terms of worthy of a gopher offer, it has to happen IMO because of the fact that he's easily the best defender in the state, can slash at will, and is athletic and versatile enough to play both the 2 and the 3 in college.
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Sacar might actually commit quickly to the U , Pitino might think he is in the good with a better 2 guard prospect. Sacar's lack of offers allows Pitino to hold off on a borderline recruit... Could RS him and work on his J for a year.
 

So Amin and Lofton (last season) shot about the same 3P% and Amin is a brick layer and Lofton is Dan Majerle 2.0.

Brilliant.
 


My basic thoughts are that if you're under 6'5" you need be 2 of the following 3 things: great athlete, good shooter, good ball handler with ability to play point. When you're only 1 of those you're going to be a fringe prospect unless you're great at one of them. It's hard to be a guard if you're not a reliable ball handler and not a shooter that needs to be respected. He could develop into a solid player but it will take time
 

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