Souhan: The wait for Evans and Christie could feel long as a Minnesota winter, but Johnson should be viewed similarly. He was hired to recruit.

BleedGopher

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Per Souhan:

As with Lindsay Whalen and the women's program, when you hire an inexperienced coach primarily because of their potential recruiting prowess, you have no choice but to wait for results.

Whalen is in her fifth season, and the talent has arrived. She's starting four freshmen and a sophomore, including a future star in Mara Braun. Whalen is making obvious progress.

The wait for Evans and Christie could feel long as a Minnesota winter, but Johnson should be viewed similarly. He was hired to recruit, and his best recruits will arrive next season.

Until Evans and Christie arrive, fans may find themselves glancing at their watches, or calendars, during games.


Go Gophers!!
 






Exactly. Ben Johnson is bringing in a level of talent that we haven't seen in a very long time. People who complain about talent in years prior are now clamoring to blow it up before we even get our first 5* player in two decades on the court.

Pull yourselves together.
 



Jimbo is conveniently forgetting about something called free agency (the portal). I’m not assuming for a second the freshmen will stick around to complete their eligibility. Ditto for Battle. He’s a competitive guy, he might want to go somewhere his senior year where he can win. Everything is basically 1-year contracts now.
 



Exactly. Ben Johnson is bringing in a level of talent that we haven't seen in a very long time. People who complain about talent in years prior are now clamoring to blow it up before we even get our first 5* player in two decades on the court.

Pull yourselves together.
Where?

Yes, the 2 kids next year SHOULD be good. But Tubby had recruits as good or better, Dan Monson did too and so did Pitino.

You are going to need more than 2 kids that anyone else any good wants to make yourself a good team.
 

Jimbo is conveniently forgetting about something called free agency (the portal). I’m not assuming for a second the freshmen will stick around to complete their eligibility. Ditto for Battle. He’s a competitive guy, he might want to go somewhere his senior year where he can win. Everything is basically 1-year contracts now.
My guess is that Battle will be gone for sure. And I don't blame him. People will be calling about Payne also. He looks legit.
 

My guess is that Battle will be gone for sure. And I don't blame him. People will be calling about Payne also. He looks legit.

Your guess is incorrect, he's not going anywhere.

Who are 'people' going to call? That would be tampering / NCAA violation. PP isn't going anywhere either.
 

Just a reminder that some outlets have Evans as a 4 star and a bit of a project.

I mean, I'm a Minnesota Sports fan so Evans may or may not be the messiah.
 



Jimbo is conveniently forgetting about something called free agency (the portal). I’m not assuming for a second the freshmen will stick around to complete their eligibility. Ditto for Battle. He’s a competitive guy, he might want to go somewhere his senior year where he can win. Everything is basically 1-year contracts now.
Fortunately Battle/Garcia have already used their free transfer along with Cooper. Very unlikely they will transfer again at this stage of their career. The freshman are another story, but we saw how it worked out with the Pitino exodus. Not many guys got into better situations after transferring.
 

Where?

Yes, the 2 kids next year SHOULD be good. But Tubby had recruits as good or better, Dan Monson did too and so did Pitino.

You are going to need more than 2 kids that anyone else any good wants to make yourself a good team.

Tubby never brought in a player as highly touted as Evans. And along with the Christie and the four that are currently getting a lot of experience? Absolutely on par with Tubby's best two recruiting classes of 2008/2009.
 

Jimbo is conveniently forgetting about something called free agency (the portal). I’m not assuming for a second the freshmen will stick around to complete their eligibility. Ditto for Battle. He’s a competitive guy, he might want to go somewhere his senior year where he can win. Everything is basically 1-year contracts now.
Which makes sitting on 2 scholarships all the more indefensible.
 

Tubby never brought in a player as highly touted as Evans. And along with the Christie and the four that are currently getting a lot of experience? Absolutely on par with Tubby's best two recruiting classes of 2008/2009.
Royce White was higher rated and more touted for sure, but he of course was a complete tool and never played here.
 

Which makes sitting on 2 scholarships all the more indefensible.
If the roster stands pat after this season, we will actually have a full roster with the incoming recruits. Samuels eligibility expires and we move Ramberg back to walk on status, we should have all 13 filled.
 

Royce White was higher rated and more touted for sure, but he of course was a complete tool and never played here.
Plenty of time and laptops still remain : ) dear god I hope not
 


Royce White was higher rated and more touted for sure, but he of course was a complete tool and never played here.

That's why I didn't acknowledge him. I'm referring to guys that actually played on the team.
 

Jimbo is conveniently forgetting about something called free agency (the portal). I’m not assuming for a second the freshmen will stick around to complete their eligibility. Ditto for Battle. He’s a competitive guy, he might want to go somewhere his senior year where he can win. Everything is basically 1-year contracts now.

I'm assuming these guys knew that they were committing to a rebuild. We finished last in the Big Ten this previous year and Ben still got Evans and Christie. I'd guess that a big part of his pitch is early playing time. And I'm also willing to bet that there are players who like the idea of laying the foundation of a team/program rather than walking into a perennial winner that simply reloads.
 


If the roster stands pat after this season, we will actually have a full roster with the incoming recruits. Samuels eligibility expires and we move Ramberg back to walk on status, we should have all 13 filled.
Yes. But the days of the roster ever standing pat are gone. There is almost zero chance of that happening.
 




Jim, one of the original Three Stoogehans.
 
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Per Souhan:

As with Lindsay Whalen and the women's program, when you hire an inexperienced coach primarily because of their potential recruiting prowess, you have no choice but to wait for results.

Whalen is in her fifth season, and the talent has arrived. She's starting four freshmen and a sophomore, including a future star in Mara Braun. Whalen is making obvious progress.

The wait for Evans and Christie could feel long as a Minnesota winter, but Johnson should be viewed similarly. He was hired to recruit, and his best recruits will arrive next season.

Until Evans and Christie arrive, fans may find themselves glancing at their watches, or calendars, during games.


Go Gophers!!
This years recruits will be gone next season. T T probably to Wisconsin ? Where he'll become all Big Ten.
 




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