Scholarship Count 24-25 Season (Portal Availability) - 1 Currently Available

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skiumah1

skiumah1

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Big games left to finish the year and really looking forward to the BTT at Target Center, but taking a look at the offseason and scholarship count to get an idea of what the portal may look like for us / can get / needs.

I am showing that if everyone came back, we would be using 10 schollies, then adding 2 in Asuma and Grove, totaling 12. So 1 open scholarship for a potential portal target. (Very likely we'll have more than that with a guy or two transferring out but for hypotheticals we'll start here)

*Noting Fox as a guy that is moving on.

ON Scholarship for next year as of now:

Hawkins 1
Mitchell 2
Asuma 3
Carrington 4
Christie 5
Keinys 6
Betts 7
JOJ 8
Ihnen 9
Grove 10
Payne 11
Garcia 12
Transfer Target 13

Reader - WALK ON
Purcell - WALK ON
 

Maybe hold a spot open for just in case.
 


Ihnen seems like a great kid, and was the only one to stick with the team during the coaching change.
That said, 6 years of a full ride scholarship for basketball seems a little outrageous for a guy buried on the bench. I wonder if he’ll stay on scholarship next year.
 

Gold Vision said:
Ihnen seems like a great kid, and was the only one to stick with the team during the coaching change.
That said, 6 years of a full ride scholarship for basketball seems a little outrageous for a guy buried on the bench. I wonder if he’ll stay on scholarship next year.
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Seems like one where it'd be nice to mutually agree to part ways or something. Transfer down to a small conference.
 


Gold Vision said:
Ihnen seems like a great kid, and was the only one to stick with the team during the coaching change.
That said, 6 years of a full ride scholarship for basketball seems a little outrageous for a guy buried on the bench. I wonder if he’ll stay on scholarship next year.
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I was very surprised he didn’t go through senior day yesterday.
 
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Gold Vision said:
Ihnen seems like a great kid, and was the only one to stick with the team during the coaching change.
That said, 6 years of a full ride scholarship for basketball seems a little outrageous for a guy buried on the bench. I wonder if he’ll stay on scholarship next year.
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I thought it was telling yesterday. Ihnen had a great opp when he took it baseline to slam it home, and (apparently) didn't have the confidence to just elevate and do it. Second half, fairly similar scenario for Max Christie, and he didn't hesitate. With his length, if CBJ could ever get Ihnen going, man. . .
 

dlnavra said:
I thought it was telling yesterday. Ihnen had a great opp when he took it baseline to slam it home, and (apparently) didn't have the confidence to just elevate and do it. Second half, fairly similar scenario for Max Christie, and he didn't hesitate. With his length, if CBJ could ever get Ihnen going, man. . .
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He definitely doesn't elevate much, next year his recovery might be that much further along or not change at all. Transferring is going to be tough because of citizenship issues. It's his choice if he plays or not, doubt he transfers.
 

dlnavra said:
I thought it was telling yesterday. Ihnen had a great opp when he took it baseline to slam it home, and (apparently) didn't have the confidence to just elevate and do it. Second half, fairly similar scenario for Max Christie, and he didn't hesitate. With his length, if CBJ could ever get Ihnen going, man. . .
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But he has never been that guy. He always seems to have that thought process of hovering out around the 3 point line.
 



looking at the above list, IF the Gophers do not add another transfer, then it becomes imperative that they get something out of Keinys, Betts, JOJ and Ihnen.

I don't think it's necessary to use 13 scholarships every year - but if you go with fewer than 13, you can't afford to have guys on the bench who contribute nothing. if Betts can play, he needs to show something. likewise with Keinys. and JOJ and Ihnen need to figure out what the coach expects from them - and try to provide that.

at the end of the season, there needs to be a "come-to-Jesus" meeting between Johnson and JOJ.
if JOJ is only going to play a few minutes a game, the Gophers would be better off letting him walk and trying to bring in a transfer who could make a bigger contribution.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
looking at the above list, IF the Gophers do not add another transfer, then it becomes imperative that they get something out of Keinys, Betts, JOJ and Ihnen.

I don't think it's necessary to use 13 scholarships every year - but if you go with fewer than 13, you can't afford to have guys on the bench who contribute nothing. if Betts can play, he needs to show something. likewise with Keinys. and JOJ and Ihnen need to figure out what the coach expects from them - and try to provide that.

at the end of the season, there needs to be a "come-to-Jesus" meeting between Johnson and JOJ.
if JOJ is only going to play a few minutes a game, the Gophers would be better off letting him walk and trying to bring in a transfer who could make a bigger contribution.
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Oooof. That would be a shot to culture.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
looking at the above list, IF the Gophers do not add another transfer, then it becomes imperative that they get something out of Keinys, Betts, JOJ and Ihnen.

I don't think it's necessary to use 13 scholarships every year - but if you go with fewer than 13, you can't afford to have guys on the bench who contribute nothing. if Betts can play, he needs to show something. likewise with Keinys. and JOJ and Ihnen need to figure out what the coach expects from them - and try to provide that.

at the end of the season, there needs to be a "come-to-Jesus" meeting between Johnson and JOJ.
if JOJ is only going to play a few minutes a game, the Gophers would be better off letting him walk and trying to bring in a transfer who could make a bigger contribution.
Click to expand...
Yup. We can’t have 4 forwards that can’t crack the lineup. We need to make some space for an impact transfer.

JOJ is by far the least of those 4 I’d want to move on from. He’s shown he can contribute at this level and has B1G athleticism.
 



IMO, assuming everyone returns we need a 5 and a 3 in that order.
 

Someone mentioned in another thread that it would be nice get a 6'6" guy who can drive and score at the rim. Maybe that's something Cam Christie can add to his game. He'd be even more of a weapon on offense if he can punish aggressive closeouts on his jump shots by pump faking and driving to the hoop, same with defenders chasing him over the top of screens to keep him from getting space to shoot 3's. Hawkins doesn't have the size to score in close, and Mitchell maybe doesn't have the athleticism. Even just some 6'2" shooting guard who hits 30% from 3 but can put pressure on the defense by driving might add an element to our offense that we don't really have right now, especially if you can use Garcia to draw opposing bigs out of the paint. Idk if maybe Taison Chatman could fill that role if he leaves Ohio State, and the coaching staff still feels he has the ability to play at this level despite not really doing anything this year.

Also eager to see what level of transfer Ben is able to get now that he can sell a likely top half Big Ten team and an NCAA tournament appearance next season, instead of just trying to get out of last place.
 

I would still be surprised if we return everybody, even from our starting five. It's just the nature of college basketball unfortunately. But as others have said, we also will need to see something from the back end of this rotation. Right now we have a handful of guys that didn't make much of a contribution.
 

My big hope is that guys don't drag their feet on making their intentions for 24-25 known. On the football side the key guys were pretty quick to tweet about coming back. Sad that we are in a day and age where that is necessary but it is the reality of college athletics right now.

We know there will be some movement. But hopefully the main guys will all want to run it back and see if they can build on the success from this year and take it to another level.

We can all see the potential of this team, and there is another level that is attainable as guys like Payne and Christie specifically continue to develop and get better. Those two could be monsters next year if they continue on their current trajectories.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
IMO, assuming everyone returns we need a 5 and a 3 in that order.
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If everyone eligible returns, we have no open scholarships. I'd say it's a safe bet we'll have 2-3 more in addition to Fox though.
 

Gold Vision said:
Yup. We can’t have 4 forwards that can’t crack the lineup. We need to make some space for an impact transfer.

JOJ is by far the least of those 4 I’d want to move on from. He’s shown he can contribute at this level and has B1G athleticism.
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I hope JOJ can get his confidence back and work on his D. He has next league talent and would help immensely. Definitely should not give up on him. Betts needs to show something, at least maybe coming off the bench in a high energy role like Fox.
 

jovs said:
He definitely doesn't elevate much, next year his recovery might be that much further along or not change at all. Transferring is going to be tough because of citizenship issues. It's his choice if he plays or not, doubt he transfers.
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I think he is capable of elevating more than he showed in that game but he has to bring to ball with him. He still has problems controlling the ball and he seems to know that which limits his confidence in those drive and dunk situations.
 


MNVCGUY said:
My big hope is that guys don't drag their feet on making their intentions for 24-25 known.
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Amen! The offseason after Pitino's departure was excruciating. One by one, guys peeled themselves off for what seemed like weeks. Last offseason the departures moved pretty quickly though.
 

I think Fox returns if Ben wants him to return.

With respect to Ihnen - There is no reason Ben needs to keep him after this year unless he believes there is still potential for him to get to the next level. He has been matriculating since fall of 2019. He isn't really contributing and I assume he has a degree. After 4 years I am not sure who can be offended if his Scholarship is pulled. I thank him for his time at the U. If he needed help I would put some effort in to help him find a job but otherwise its time.
 

CPTMidnight said:
I think Fox returns if Ben wants him to return.

With respect to Ihnen - There is no reason Ben needs to keep him after this year unless he believes there is still potential for him to get to the next level. He has been matriculating since fall of 2019. He isn't really contributing and I assume he has a degree. After 4 years I am not sure who can be offended if his Scholarship is pulled. I thank him for his time at the U. If he needed help I would put some effort in to help him find a job but otherwise it’s time.
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This year is Ihnen’s 5th year on scholarship. He also graduated last spring. I think the program has been extremely loyal to him Even if they decide to move on this year.
 

The 1 guy I am somewhat under the radar worried about leaving is Hawkins. I don't know how much loyalty he has to us, and he might just be a Top 10 type transfer (money-wise) if he were to enter the portal.

He is a MUST KEEP guy. I hope he wants to stay here, and I hope we can pay him.
 

skiumah1 said:
The 1 guy I am somewhat under the radar worried about leaving is Hawkins. I don't know how much loyalty he has to us, and he might just be a Top 10 type transfer (money-wise) if he were to enter the portal.

He is a MUST KEEP guy. I hope he wants to stay here, and I hope we can pay him.
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All of our top five guys are a transfer risk in the awful new world of cash and free transfer. That’s just what we live with now. Saddest part is for the little guys this might be the last shot at a big payday. Not many 5-8 guys in the NBA.
 

jovs said:
You don't force a local kid off the team unless you want to kill recruiting local kids.
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This is such a Minnesota response, and why we will always be bad. Can’t force a guy off the team who has played like garbage down the stretch (he has) because he is local. Hate to break it to you, we already miss most of the state’s top talent…this won’t change a thing.
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Hate to break it to you, we already miss most of the state’s top talent…this won’t change a thing.
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Just the opposite.

Which state did Garcia, Christie, Payne, Carrington, Fox come from?

Those are CBJ's guys. Probably the one thing that has saved his job is that, yes, he did get them and doing fine.
 

Holy Man said:
All of our top five guys are a transfer risk in the awful new world of cash and free transfer. That’s just what we live with now. Saddest part is for the little guys this might be the last shot at a big payday. Not many 5-8 guys in the NBA.
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He can mage a very good living compared to the overwhelming majority of the populace playing overseas.

Be not afraid.
 

SHGopher said:
Just the opposite.

Which state did Garcia, Christie, Payne, Carrington, Fox come from?

Those are CBJ's guys. Probably the one thing that has saved his job is that, yes, he did get them and doing fine.
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I've never understood the obsession with "Minnesota ties" as some sort of mandate for recruiting players and/or hiring coaches.

Truthfully, the three biggest additions to this year's team (Mitchell/Hawkins/Christie) were all from outside of Minnesota and the biggest addition by subtraction in the eyes of many (Battle) was from Minnesota. Now that could have been the opposite but that's the point. It doesn't matter where a kid went to high school. Is this provincialism a fear that we can't get players from outside Minnesota?

I think half this board would rather lose with Minnesota kids than win with out of state kids. I don't get it.
 

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