STrib: Will the Gophers ever be able to win a recruiting battle with Duke?

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

You could look at Duke landing three top Minnesota high school players in five years as more of an Apple Valley pipeline than having control over the state.

But it does send a strong message when truly elite in-state prospects like Tre Jones, ones that could potentially help a program become a Final Four contender leave home – following the same path.

Richard Pitino has built the Gophers into a Big Ten title contender and top-20 team. He landed three of the state’s top players in the 2018 class with Daniel Oturu, Jarvis Thomas and Gabe Kalschuer. There’s a reason fans are feeling Gophers fever excited for the upcoming season.

But is it realistic to expect Pitino to beat out a Hall of Famer like Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for recruits? I mean, Coach K just nabbed the No. 1 prospect in the world, Marvin Bagley III, on Monday night.

http://m.startribune.com/will-the-g...ng-battle-with-duke/440565623/?section=sports

Go Gophers!!
 

We have in the past. Flipped Humphries from Duke, beat Arizona for Rickert, can be done
 

Was Gary Trent really a battle? I thought we didn't go after him all that hard once the big boys came calling. Isn't he also not really a native Minnesotan? I thought he'd only been here 3 or 4 years.
 

It's all about a culture of winning. Develop it and we'll be in on all the best local players no matter how elite. If we don't, it's polite lip service from the five stars and maybe hitting once in a while. No matter how good it gets, today's game makes it virtually impossible to keep them all at home. The culture of winning will take at least four years of sustained success (this is year 2) to establish, and likely require continuing into the Pitino transition whenever that may happen. I think we are on the way, but there are a lot of variables no one can predict. I'm hoping the local guys committed to the program are significant in establishing that culture as it will help drive a "stay at home" mentality among Minnesota's best players.
 



Cayman said:
Was Gary Trent really a battle? I thought we didn't go after him all that hard once the big boys came calling. Isn't he also not really a native Minnesotan? I thought he'd only been here 3 or 4 years.
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Trent enrolled at Apple Valley as an 8th grader, moving there with his dad from Indiana. I don't think the Gophers ever believed they had a realistic shot at him.
 

Coach K is 70. Recruits better be one and done if they want to play for K.
 

Winnipegopher said:
Coach K is 70. Recruits better be one and done if they want to play for K.
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However he is the master of the one and done and has it all figured out how soft an academic program can be made softer yet under his watch. Duke is a farm club for basketball not a college.
 

Holy Man said:
It's all about a culture of winning. Develop it and we'll be in on all the best local players no matter how elite. If we don't, it's polite lip service from the five stars and maybe hitting once in a while. No matter how good it gets, today's game makes it virtually impossible to keep them all at home. The culture of winning will take at least four years of sustained success (this is year 2) to establish, and likely require continuing into the Pitino transition whenever that may happen. I think we are on the way, but there are a lot of variables no one can predict. I'm hoping the local guys committed to the program are significant in establishing that culture as it will help drive a "stay at home" mentality among Minnesota's best players.
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yep. And truthfully I don't know if we have to beat the Dukes of the world to win. If you're not a 'blue blood' the path is talented guys that are maybe fringe NBA prospects. That's how Villanova and others have won. Others find great talent just below the top tier like when Michigan had 4 or 5 NBA guys in I think 2 classes that weren't 1 and done types. A guy like Washington may fit that mold.
 



#2Gopher said:
However he is the master of the one and done and has it all figured out how soft an academic program can be made softer yet under his watch. Duke is a farm club for basketball not a college.
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Wish we were them.
 


The truth is that it's exceedingly difficult to win a recruiting battle with Duke - difficult for anyone.
 

Sometime within the next 2-5 years coach K will retire and there will be a brief shake up depending on who they bring in as their next coach. During that shake up we will probably get any top level player we want to stay home that doesn't want to go to Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona, or UNC
 



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