Making things worse this year is that because of the imbalance, most of our guys are playing out of position- as noted above
Realistic expectations for 2023-24?
- Thread starter TonyLiebert
- Start date
1 - Cooper
2 - Carrington
2/3 - Christie
3 - Henley
3 - Betts
4 - Battle
4 - Garcia
4 - Ola-Joseph
4 - Ihnen
4 - Fox
4 - Thompson
5 - Payne
5 - Evans
-Gopher weather guy
I agree. Here is what I want to see:
1 - Cooper--Still on the team but mostly playing the 2 to spell Christie and Carrington
2 - Carrington-Splitting time at 2 with Christie and Cooper
2/3 - Christie-Splitting time at 2 with Cooper and Carrington(maybe some time at the 3)
3 - Henley-Henley and Betts splitting time at the 3(maybe some Christie)
3 - Betts-Henley and Betts splitting time at the 3(maybe some Christie)
4 - Battle-He's a 4
4 - Garcia-He's a 4 and can play some 5 if situation permits.
4 - Ola-Joseph-A 4 but bench most of the season
4 - Ihnen-If healthy he plays behind Garcia and Battle
4 - Fox-Applies for Social Security after finishing his PHD. Been in school like 11 years now. -Pick up portal player (PG) to replace Fox
4 - Thompson-Good luck at the school you transfer too. Portal PG of 2/3 to take his place
5 - Payne-Starting at 5. Splits time with Evans if Evans is ready.
5 - Evans-Splits time at the 5 with Payne when ready.
First ten games of the season I see this for our top 9 guys:
Starters:
Portal PG
Carrington
Henley
Garcia
Payne
next 4:
Cooper
Christie
Battle
Evans
We'll see
2 - Carrington
2/3 - Christie
3 - Henley
3 - Betts
4 - Battle
4 - Garcia
4 - Ola-Joseph
4 - Ihnen
4 - Fox
4 - Thompson
5 - Payne
5 - Evans
-Gopher weather guy
I agree. Here is what I want to see:
1 - Cooper--Still on the team but mostly playing the 2 to spell Christie and Carrington
2 - Carrington-Splitting time at 2 with Christie and Cooper
2/3 - Christie-Splitting time at 2 with Cooper and Carrington(maybe some time at the 3)
3 - Henley-Henley and Betts splitting time at the 3(maybe some Christie)
3 - Betts-Henley and Betts splitting time at the 3(maybe some Christie)
4 - Battle-He's a 4
4 - Garcia-He's a 4 and can play some 5 if situation permits.
4 - Ola-Joseph-A 4 but bench most of the season
4 - Ihnen-If healthy he plays behind Garcia and Battle
4 - Fox-Applies for Social Security after finishing his PHD. Been in school like 11 years now. -Pick up portal player (PG) to replace Fox
4 - Thompson-Good luck at the school you transfer too. Portal PG of 2/3 to take his place
5 - Payne-Starting at 5. Splits time with Evans if Evans is ready.
5 - Evans-Splits time at the 5 with Payne when ready.
First ten games of the season I see this for our top 9 guys:
Starters:
Portal PG
Carrington
Henley
Garcia
Payne
next 4:
Cooper
Christie
Battle
Evans
We'll see
Two more 1s and another 2/3 to replace them will do the trick, you say. Doesn't matter who, what quality, just balance the roster. If Samuels had a year left, you would only need two more to replace Ihnen, Fox, and TT. LOL.
GopherWeatherGuy
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Yes, that's how far away this roster is. Obviously they have to be better quality than Samuels, who I said wasn't a B1G player the minute he signed.
That's why we have 1 B1G win over the last year, and why we routinely get blown out.
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I think that's a fair assessment. Battle and Garcia will be starters as long as they are on the roster though. I'm not as high on Henley yet either. He has talent, but he has a long ways go to.
Gopherfan84
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I was pretty much out on Henley a 1/3 of the way through. He’s won be back with his last 4-5 games. Doubt he makes those types of jumps all the time, but if he can make a similar one by next fall he will easily be a serviceable 2 as a sophomore
Blackhammer
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Betts, Carrington, Mr Portal , really ? and Carrington and Henley starting over Cooper?Joseph not in your rotation? Think you’re dreaming but that’s being a fan.
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He's a project, if he can develop a basketball IQ, which he has very little of now, he can be good. I think he's another year away yet. Even in his 'good games' he has stretches where he looks really, really bad, like the first half of the last game.
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I don't want to speak for Big Dawg, but the problem with the roster is where everyone 'should' be playing. Ola-Joseph has been productive on offense this year, but he would be behind Garcia and Battle, who all should be playing the 4. That would push him out of the rotation.
JOJ has played pretty well most of the year. He's one I would hate to see leave. Best fr imo.
Gopherfan84
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His defensive IQ is what I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in. Offensively he’s still aggressive in the wrong spots, but he took a jump defensively. If he takes that type on the offensive end on his shot selection, he’ll be serviceable (5th best starter). He’s at least a year away like you said from being better than that imo too.
Did you actually look at the roster turnover at Mississippi State?
60% of their scoring comes from 4 returning players.
They brought in a decent tranfer gaurd that contributes.
Their other two transfers that play significantly, have stat lines almost identical to Jaden Henley. And another that compares to Taurus Samuals.
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I think there's a sneaky chance Christie starts at a wing spot and is effective.
I'll go this way for next year:
Cooper
Christie (Could easily be Carrington or Henley)
Battle
Garcia
Payne
Rotation
Carrington
Henley
Ihnen
JOJ
Evans
Fox
No Time
Betts
Thompson (Ideally Portal Guard)
I actually don't mind this roster. I really don't mind this roster if you add a starting caliber ball-handler. Back on the faith train.
I'll go this way for next year:
Cooper
Christie (Could easily be Carrington or Henley)
Battle
Garcia
Payne
Rotation
Carrington
Henley
Ihnen
JOJ
Evans
Fox
No Time
Betts
Thompson (Ideally Portal Guard)
I actually don't mind this roster. I really don't mind this roster if you add a starting caliber ball-handler. Back on the faith train.
Gopherfan84
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Tonight’s game was not a good example. He was rough on D
We didn't get blown out tonight.
Your total obsession with how many 3s and 4s we have on the roster is hilarious. If Garcia and Battle were both in the running for All Big Ten, nobody would be wailing for Greta about 35 forwards.
Gopherfan84
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Considering the amount of injuries we had at that position, we are lucky we had that many
Gopherfan84
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Many freshman guards are “blah” in the B1G. It’s an old man’s league.
Lol. "We didnt get blown out tonight." By Penn Fucking State. At home.
We've fallen so low someone can post this as praise and mean it.
We are not all little children crying because we want something. Some are capable of recognizing a good effort and team improvement, which showed tonight.
GopherWeatherGuy
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We didn't get blown out at home by a historically worse basketball program, who has a coach in the same year as ours, who is now 6 games ahead of us in the conference. What an accomplishment.
And having so many 4s on the team is exactly why the matchups were so ridiculous last night. Our guards were terrible and Garcia was guarding Pickett, and Ola-Joseph was guarding Njie at the beginning of the game.
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Give me your top 9? I'm curious.
Cooper
Christie (Could easily be Carrington or Henley)
Battle
Garcia
Payne
This is our current lineup (minus Christie) and we are getting destroyed. If this is our lineup next season (unless Christie is all american as a freshman) we will go 1-19 in conference again.
Gopher Teeth
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Christie is not ready for B1G play. He is too skinny and he is not a speed guy. He also has a ways to go on D, the games I have seen of him he is getting blown by.
Can we really say that we have a "Top 9?" Not from where I'm sitting. Top 5 maybe.
Wet_Blanket_Guy
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Think if Garcia and Battle turned into KG and Kevin Durant, we wouldn’t need guards at all.
This is a bad argument and my comment is over the top. In order for our guys (Garcia and battle) to get to all Big Ten levels, they would need competent guards to reprieve pressure off them and get them the ball in the right place at the right time. Better low post entries, better outlet passes… you can’t trot out a complete dumpster fire at the fiat positions and think you will have two guys being all conference.
Gopher_In_NYC
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Thompson is obviously being shown the door
by being a pine brother nowIt’s more likely that one of the injured twosome hangs it up, rather than both returning IMO.
If Fox returns next season, he would have to beat out Battle, Garcia, Ihnen, Payne, Evans, JOJ. I do not see him beating out any of those players for playing time.
Thompson is obviously being shown the door
It’s more likely that one of the injured twosome hangs it up, rather than both returning IMO.
Nah- that's 3-4 wins easy.
This points out that there is just no way Ben can stand pat. He has to go get a couple of guards that make an impact. I actually think Christie will make an impact as a shooter, but we need speed. The way we play defense is just unacceptable. It's really the worst defensive team I can remember here.
Look, we get it. The Gophers are historically bad this season; clearly the worst team in the conference and one of the absolute worst P6 teams (rivaled by only Cal, Louisville, and South Carolina). Anyone paying attention also understands that this roster is very unbalanced. We don't need you to keep reinforcing these messages.
Unless you are an obsessive compulsive with a one-track mind who is completely lacking in any ability to see or talk about anything not contained in the above paragraph, I'd suggest that you move on. To say that you're becoming a colossal bore would be an understatement. You passed that threshold some time ago.
GopherWeatherGuy
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What else would you like to talk about during the worst 2 year stretch in program history? This board is already dead, and I’m one of the few posters who still care about the program.
If you don’t want to talk about the current state of the program and how it’s unacceptable to be this bad, and why the future is bleak until significant changes are made, then feel free to ignore me.