STrib: Gophers men's basketball team can't wait to unveil redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts

[BleedGopher]

per Marcus:

Kadyn Betts arrived with the Gophers as a four-star recruit who skipped his senior year of high school to to get a head start on his college basketball career.

A 6-8, 215-pound Colorado native, Betts redshirted in his first year with Gophers coach Ben Johnson. But being on the sidelines didn't keep him from taking advantage of his freshman year.

"This last season was huge for me in being able to grow all the parts of my game," Betts told the Star Tribune. "Almost every single day I was able to get my body bigger. I've been able to get my shot down and became more of an elite shooter. I worked on my ball handling and grew my knowledge of the game."

Betts physically resembles a Big Ten forward now after gaining strength and putting on 15 pounds to his athletic frame since last summer. He wants to get to 225 pounds by the start of next season, when his talent could be enough to get him in the Gophers' rotation as a redshirt freshman.

The U coaching staff noticed Betts challenging teammates more and more offensively on the scout team in practice at the end of the season. And "we were like, 'Wow we got something here,' " Johnson said.

"He had spurts where he looked good," Johnson said. "You can see him physically being able to score on guys because his body's matured. Because he took advantage of the weight room. You can see him understanding how to get open and how hard you got to cut and move and read screens. So, he had practices where he played really well."

Gophers men's basketball team can't wait to unveil redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts

The 6-8 Colorado native would have been a high school senior this year but came to the U and redshirted.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[short ornery norwegian]

can't remember where I saw it, but I ran across another story recently that said Betts was one of the better outside shooters on the roster.

if it's not just hype.......then Betts at least has the potential to replace what the Gophers are losing in Henley. and hopefully he wants to be here - and doesn't have an AAU coach whispering in his ear......

 

[MNVCGUY]

can't remember where I saw it, but I ran across another story recently that said Betts was one of the better outside shooters on the roster.

if it's not just hype.......then Betts at least has the potential to replace what the Gophers are losing in Henley. and hopefully he wants to be here - and doesn't have an AAU coach whispering in his ear......

If he is one of the better outside shooters on the team he would be more of a replacement for Battle than Henley.

 

[GopherBlood777]

I remember when these articles were about Ihnen getting ready to play the 2 spot for the upcoming season, ahhh memory lane. Really hoping Marcus didn't jynx the kid now, if Betts gets hurt we all campaign for a new gopher hoops beat reporter. Cya Marcus!

 

[Dakota2]

If he is one of the better outside shooters on the team he would be more of a replacement for Battle than Henley.

In theory, yes, but in limited attempts Henley wound up with a slightly higher percent from three.

Here's a thought. Maybe Betts actually was good in practice and Battle wondered about playing time?

 

[MonikerSchmoniker45]

I just listened to his interview on the "Locked On" podcast. His favorite thing about the facilities is that he can go to the gym whenever he wants. Said he went in the other night at 10:30 to get shots up.

 

[The SF Rock]

I would gamble we are better off with Betts than both Battle and Henley. I also expect Ihnen and Fox battling for starting spots. I already don’t miss Battle.

 

[bga1]

can't remember where I saw it, but I ran across another story recently that said Betts was one of the better outside shooters on the roster.

if it's not just hype.......then Betts at least has the potential to replace what the Gophers are losing in Henley. and hopefully he wants to be here - and doesn't have an AAU coach whispering in his ear......

I love his attitude as expressed in that article. Betts is serious about putting in the work to be good.

 

[T-Bonegopher]

can't remember where I saw it, but I ran across another story recently that said Betts was one of the better outside shooters on the roster.

if it's not just hype.......then Betts at least has the potential to replace what the Gophers are losing in Henley. and hopefully he wants to be here - and doesn't have an AAU coach whispering in his ear......

If I remember correctly doesn’t he have some family here. Hopefully that keeps him grounded.

 

[mngolf]

per Marcus:

Kadyn Betts arrived with the Gophers as a four-star recruit who skipped his senior year of high school to to get a head start on his college basketball career.

A 6-8, 215-pound Colorado native, Betts redshirted in his first year with Gophers coach Ben Johnson. But being on the sidelines didn't keep him from taking advantage of his freshman year.

"This last season was huge for me in being able to grow all the parts of my game," Betts told the Star Tribune. "Almost every single day I was able to get my body bigger. I've been able to get my shot down and became more of an elite shooter. I worked on my ball handling and grew my knowledge of the game."

Betts physically resembles a Big Ten forward now after gaining strength and putting on 15 pounds to his athletic frame since last summer. He wants to get to 225 pounds by the start of next season, when his talent could be enough to get him in the Gophers' rotation as a redshirt freshman.

The U coaching staff noticed Betts challenging teammates more and more offensively on the scout team in practice at the end of the season. And "we were like, 'Wow we got something here,' " Johnson said.

"He had spurts where he looked good," Johnson said. "You can see him physically being able to score on guys because his body's matured. Because he took advantage of the weight room. You can see him understanding how to get open and how hard you got to cut and move and read screens. So, he had practices where he played really well."

Gophers men's basketball team can't wait to unveil redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts

The 6-8 Colorado native would have been a high school senior this year but came to the U and redshirted.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

Pieces of this article that stood out to me. This feels like hype. (see bolded above)

 

[cjbfbp]

Pieces of this article that stood out to me. This feels like hype. (see bolded above)

I guess we'll know in 11 months give or take or earlier if he gets injured in summer practice.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

In theory, yes, but in limited attempts Henley wound up with a slightly higher percent from three.

Here's a thought. Maybe Betts actually was good in practice and Battle wondered about playing time?

Agreed. I've said it over and over and over. Battle isnt a good shooter. He was below team average (on a bad shooting team) in both 2s and 3s. This weird idea from so many that Battle is a great shooter will never make sense to me. He shot a lot...but he shot poorly.

Battle: 44.7% on 2s, 31.1% on 3s
Team: 49.2% on 2s, 32.5% on 3s

If Battle didnt take a shot all season, the Gophers would have shot a better %. Thats a fact.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Agreed. I've said it over and over and over. Battle isnt a good shooter. He was below team average (on a bad shooting team) in both 2s and 3s. This weird idea from so many that Battle is a great shooter will never make sense to me. He shot a lot...but he shot poorly.

Battle: 37.1% on 2s, 31.1% on 3s
Team: 49.2% on 2s, 32.5% on 3s

If Battle didnt take a shot all season, the Gophers would have shot a better %. Thats a fact.

In fairness to Battle, he shot much better during the 21-22 season than he did during the 22-23 season which I think is where a lot of fans get hung up.

He had a really rough shooting year last year. Whether that was due to the foot injury or something else there is no doubt that he really struggled.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

In fairness to Battle, he shot much better during the 21-22 season than he did during the 22-23 season which I think is where a lot of fans get hung up.

He had a really rough shooting year last year. Whether that was due to the foot injury or something else there is no doubt that he really struggled.

He shot better for sure. Combine the two years and he's a below average D1 shooter. He was below team average on 3% his first year as a Gopher as well. He doesnt do much else besides shoot. Below average defender, passer, rebounder. Just dont think he is worth the worry. Maybe he lights it up at tOSU. Good for him if he does.

 

[MNVCGUY]

He shot better for sure. Combine the two years and he's a below average D1 shooter. He was below team average on 3% his first year as a Gopher as well. He doesnt do much else besides shoot. Below average defender, passer, rebounder. Just dont think he is worth the worry. Maybe he lights it up at tOSU. Good for him if he does.

Yep, his offense has to be replaced but I don't think it is the impossible task that some do. He was a mess most of last year, maybe he figures out how to fit better at Ohio State.

Will be interesting to see if Betts can be a big part of the replacement.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Yep, his offense has to be replaced but I don't think it is the impossible task that some do. He was a mess most of last year, maybe he figures out how to fit better at Ohio State.

Will be interesting to see if Betts can be a big part of the replacement.

Betts provides hope. A redshirt year might have been the best thing for him.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Betts provides hope. A redshirt year might have been the best thing for him.

I don't think there is any doubt that the year with the program as opposed to his senior year of high school should have him way ahead of the typical player at his age. He will still be young but hopefully he can step in and be a key part of the rotation in the upcoming season.

 

[Dakota2]

I don't think there is any doubt that the year with the program as opposed to his senior year of high school should have him way ahead of the typical player at his age. He will still be young but hopefully he can step in and be a key part of the rotation in the upcoming season.

Betts is going to be a big piece going forward. That may start by mid-season this coming year or during his sophomore year. A lot depends on how much Ihnen has and to a lesser degree on Fox.

If Ihnen and Fox are steady, good, or better, Ben has the luxury of going more with older guys and bringing Betts along gradually. If Ihnen, especially, hasn't got much then Betts will be thrown in the fire early like our frosh were this year.

I would expect Christie to be more ready from Day 1 because of higher high school competition in Illinois.

 

[cjbfbp]

Agreed. I've said it over and over and over. Battle isnt a good shooter. He was below team average (on a bad shooting team) in both 2s and 3s. This weird idea from so many that Battle is a great shooter will never make sense to me. He shot a lot...but he shot poorly.

I attribute this phenomena to people not weighting all events equally and instead giving great weight to the best performances because they are more memorable. For example, some people here over the years have maintained that Pitino was about as successful of a coach as Tubby. That's flat out absurd if you view the whole record but the reason they give is that Pitino had one conference season that was significantly better than any of Tubby's.

With Battle, he had some games where he was extremely hot and scored a bunch of points (possibly more than anyone else on the team could have) but he had more dud performances this past season than good ones.

 

[Scottsdale Gopher]

Agreed. I've said it over and over and over. Battle isnt a good shooter. He was below team average (on a bad shooting team) in both 2s and 3s. This weird idea from so many that Battle is a great shooter will never make sense to me. He shot a lot...but he shot poorly.

Battle: 44.7% on 2s, 31.1% on 3s
Team: 49.2% on 2s, 32.5% on 3s

If Battle didnt take a shot all season, the Gophers would have shot a better %. Thats a fact.

Your last sentence here is not as cut-and-dried as you think. Almost all players see their shooting percentages go down as their usage rate goes up. Battle's usage rate last year was 22.8% in big minutes. That's a lot of shots to redistribute on last season's poor roster. I wouldn't have any confidence that Garcia and Cooper would shoot at the same level as Battle with higher usage, let alone any of the freshmen, which is what you are declaring would be the case.

As others have pointed out, it seems pretty likely his injury affected him more than was made public. Battle's ORTG and eFG% barely changed in his first season after transferring and then both tanked last season.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Your last sentence here is not as cut-and-dried as you think. Almost all players see their shooting percentages go down as their usage rate goes up. Battle's usage rate last year was 22.8% in big minutes. That's a lot of shots to redistribute on last season's poor roster. I wouldn't have any confidence that Garcia and Cooper would shoot at the same level as Battle with higher usage, let alone any of the freshmen, which is what you are declaring would be the case.

As others have pointed out, it seems pretty likely his injury affected him more than was made public. Battle's ORTG and eFG% barely changed in his first season after transferring and then both tanked last season.

If you took Battle's shots out of the equation--the percentages would rise. True of False? True. Got it!

He also took less shots last year than Gopher Year 1. So did his usage rate go up? And his minutes went down so it likely wasnt fatigue. Plus a slightly easier SOS in Year 2. If you take his average as a Gopher, his 3pt % for 2 seasons was lower than the team average for those two seasons. Thats simply a fact.

 

[Scottsdale Gopher]

If you took Battle's shots out of the equation--the percentages would rise. True of False? True. Got it!

He also took less shots last year than Gopher Year 1. So did his usage rate go up? And his minutes went down so it likely wasnt fatigue. Plus a slightly easier SOS in Year 2. If you take his average as a Gopher, his 3pt % for 2 seasons was lower than the team average for those two seasons. Thats simply a fact.

So your plan is to increase shooting percentages by simply not shooting... I look forward to your career as a coach.

We're talking about two different things: I'm not claiming he was an above average shooter, I'm saying that his shots have to be replaced and historically (there are piles and piles of data on this) shooting percentages fall as usage rates rise. Replacing his shots increases other players' usage rates, and they would almost certainly shoot worse as a result.

An extreme example: Ramberg shot almost 70% this year. Why didn't we just give Battle's shots to him? Surely our overall shooting percentage would have gone up!

 

[Oatmeal Savage]

Pieces of this article that stood out to me. This feels like hype. (see bolded above)

I saw those too. I'm going to put words in Ben's mouth "he's showing some potential, but don't count on him to be a consistent contributor this coming year."

 

[The SF Rock]

The coming year, especially conference games are a ways off. Time to improve a lot more.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

So your plan is to increase shooting percentages by simply not shooting... I look forward to your career as a coach.

We're talking about two different things: I'm not claiming he was an above average shooter, I'm saying that his shots have to be replaced and historically (there are piles and piles of data on this) shooting percentages fall as usage rates rise. Replacing his shots increases other players' usage rates, and they would almost certainly shoot worse as a result.

An extreme example: Ramberg shot almost 70% this year. Why didn't we just give Battle's shots to him? Surely our overall shooting percentage would have gone up!

If you replaced his shots with the average of the team--which is the only way to do it--the percentages would have been better. You don't get to choose who shoots them--necessarily. The entire team would have, on average, taken those shots. The higher the usage rate, the more likely they would be to take the shot.

Its not like Battle was grinding his way to the rim through traffic and taking only contested 3s. He missed A LOT of wide open 3s. He averaged 1 free throw per game. He wasnt contested.

That data you mention is interesting because as he took less shots this year, his percentages fell. So we'll reference that data but not apply it to his situation--where he was a below average shooter compared to his teammates for the entire season.

Anyway, we can start a new thread discussing how Battle actually is a good shooter. But this thread is about Betts.

 

[GoodasGold]

"He had spurts where he looked good," Johnson said.

Hoping he can transform those spurts into more sustained occurrences and ever-lengthening interludes.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Pieces of this article that stood out to me. This feels like hype. (see bolded above)

You should expect 1 article/month til sept. Sept. Article will be Ben and team confident going into new season

 

[eker0016]

If you replaced his shots with the average of the team--which is the only way to do it--the percentages would have been better. You don't get to choose who shoots them--necessarily. The entire team would have, on average, taken those shots. The higher the usage rate, the more likely they would be to take the shot.

Its not like Battle was grinding his way to the rim through traffic and taking only contested 3s. He missed A LOT of wide open 3s. He averaged 1 free throw per game. He wasnt contested.

That data you mention is interesting because as he took less shots this year, his percentages fell. So we'll reference that data but not apply it to his situation--where he was a below average shooter compared to his teammates for the entire season.

Anyway, we can start a new thread discussing how Battle actually is a good shooter. But this thread is about Betts.

So in this scenario where Battle plays the same number of minutes but takes 0 shots all season, do other teams still assign him the same amount of defensive attention?

 

[Holy Man]

Betts provides hope. A redshirt year might have been the best thing for him.

No offense intended, but this sounds like the beginning of a "hope based on a player we have no idea what he can do" discussion. We have had a lot of those over the years. On the surface, the hope seems based on a "since we haven't seen him, he might not be bad." I've done it before, but it's not great analysis.

 

[The SF Rock]

If you replaced his shots with the average of the team--which is the only way to do it--the percentages would have been better. You don't get to choose who shoots them--necessarily. The entire team would have, on average, taken those shots. The higher the usage rate, the more likely they would be to take the shot.

Its not like Battle was grinding his way to the rim through traffic and taking only contested 3s. He missed A LOT of wide open 3s. He averaged 1 free throw per game. He wasnt contested.

That data you mention is interesting because as he took less shots this year, his percentages fell. So we'll reference that data but not apply it to his situation--where he was a below average shooter compared to his teammates for the entire season.

Anyway, we can start a new thread discussing how Battle actually is a good shooter. But this thread is about Betts.

Betts > Battle 2023-24.

You should expect 1 article/month til sept. Sept. Article will be Ben and team confident going into new season

I’m confident also with the addition of 2 more quality guards. Carrington, Mitchell, plus 2 portals and maybe a “P” alphabet G. There are 2 of them I believe.