Summer Practice

[cjbfbp]

The problem now is it’s more than just some successful teams. It’s most teams currently.

Do you have a citation for the claim that "most teams" carry 10 or 11 scholarship players? Did you or someone else do a thorough study of this? The majority of people who post on this site provide little or no evidence to support their claims. Why should I believe that you're any different from them?

 

[jovs]

Wisconsin added two transfers I think. One was the freshman point guard (from UW Green Bay I think) and the other was a Wisconsin native who was a good shooter and a teammate of Ryan Larson's at Wofford.

You are right, they added Klesmit from Wofford

 

[Gopherfan84]

I have a hard time believing that #12 and #13 on the depth chart entering the year have been promised much anywhere. There has to be and is a middle ground between walk ons who expect nothing and guys who expect a key roles.

I think roster construction right now is a challenge because we lost everyone when BJ was hired, so I understand we may not be able to recruit transfers to fill the bench without the promise of minutes. Long term, however, there is no excise for not building depth with project players who come in as freshman and earn minutes as a role player in years 3-4. Some will be misses, some will transfer, but some will prove invaluable

The part is bold is harder and more rare now a days. That’s the issue. Those level of recruits go to lower levels now and transfer up later or stay and get drafted (David Roddy). It’s harder to find than you think. Blame the kids or whatever, but it’s just a fact.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Do you have a citation for the claim that "most teams" carry 10 or 11 scholarship players? Did you or someone else do a thorough study of this? The majority of people who post on this site provide little or no evidence to support their claims. Why should I believe that you're any different from them?

Then don’t believe me. My information on that comes from the numerous amount of podcasts that I listen to with college basketball analysts and writers. Goodman, Dauster, Rothstein, and others have said this. Ben Johnson said this. Eric Musselman talked about it years ago. What we are seeing now though are schools with robust NIL collectives are filling all 13. The idea that paying guys will keep them happy if they aren’t playing. That is what Muss and Creighton did this year. It’s something worth watching.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I doubt we'll pick up another guard from the transfer portal. Now is not the time to decide to do that. Any good (or even decent) ones left would be very difficult to get.

I didn't do an exhaustive study of the matter but I did go through the portal (alphabetically) about a week ago and looked at about a dozen shooting guards who were listed as uncommitted and not freshmen. None of them showed much of anything at their former schools.

I literally said most of this after that select sentence you chose to respond to.

 

[bc2211]

The part is bold is harder and more rare now a days. That’s the issue. Those level of recruits go to lower levels now and transfer up later or stay and get drafted (David Roddy). It’s harder to find than you think. Blame the kids or whatever, but it’s just a fact.

I hear what you are trying to say, but my point is that I don’t think Minnesota, as a program, can win consistently coming into the year with a 10 man roster. “Hard” isn’t a good enough reason to throw away scholarships. The NIL and playing time at lower levels may appeal to guys that may have once happily sat on a bench in the big ten, however, the pool of high school talent has only grown. There are worthwhile players out there.

 

[ecoperson]

I hear what you are trying to say, but my point is that I don’t think Minnesota, as a program, can win consistently coming into the year with a 10 man roster. “Hard” isn’t a good enough reason to throw away scholarships. The NIL and playing time at lower levels may appeal to guys that may have once happily sat on a bench in the big ten, however, the pool of high school talent has only grown. There are worthwhile players out there.

After all of the conversations on the GopherHole about wasting scholarships on Michael Hurt, Gaston Diedhiou, Abdoulaye Thiam, and Danny Ogele, you think that finding quality players for your 12th and 13th scholarship is easy at a school like MN today?

As I wrote earlier today, decent players aren't going to go sit on the bench biding their time for a few years with the HOPE of playing time in the future. It takes a special person to accept a schollie as a deep bench player. They need to fully accept their role. If there are any delusions about actually seeing the court, they can be more trouble than they are worth.

Any players recruited for those last couple of 'ships are going to be practice or garbage time players at best because players with real talent still have the dream that they can make it to the league. If they don't feel like they can showcase their skills at a high major, they will go to a mid major to get on the court. The NBA has proven time and again over the last 20 years that they will find the talent so players are no longer reliant on biding their time on the bench of a high major. Many/most programs are using these last scholarships to reward walk-ons who have paid their own way for a couple of years.

The lack of red-shirts today is another indication of how things have changed in this area. Red-shirting was a common practice for the last couple of scholarships to help develop players that might need a little more seasoning. Red shirting has become a rare tool over the last decade.

 

[bga1]

After all of the conversations on the GopherHole about wasting scholarships on Michael Hurt, Gaston Diedhiou, Abdoulaye Thiam, and Danny Ogele, you think that finding quality players for your 12th and 13th scholarship is easy at a school like MN today?

As I wrote earlier today, decent players aren't going to go sit on the bench biding their time for a few years with the HOPE of playing time in the future. It takes a special person to accept a schollie as a deep bench player. They need to fully accept their role. If there are any delusions about actually seeing the court, they can be more trouble than they are worth.

Any players recruited for those last couple of 'ships are going to be practice or garbage time players at best because players with real talent still have the dream that they can make it to the league. If they don't feel like they can showcase their skills at a high major, they will go to a mid major to get on the court. The NBA has proven time and again over the last 20 years that they will find the talent so players are no longer reliant on biding their time on the bench of a high major. Many/most programs are using these last scholarships to reward walk-ons who have paid their own way for a couple of years.

The lack of red-shirts today is another indication of how things have changed in this area. Red-shirting was a common practice for the last couple of scholarships to help develop players that might need a little more seasoning. Red shirting has become a rare tool over the last decade.

Or maybe it's a kid who thinks they can play at the highest level but have been overlooked? I just don't see the risk in filling the roster is- as long as you get guys with good character. Worst case- the guy you never would have had....leaves after a year. The problem with Diedhou and to a much lesser degree, Hurt was, they stayed 4 years. Transfers don't do that.

 

[ecoperson]

Or maybe it's a kid who thinks they can play at the highest level but have been overlooked? I just don't see the risk in filling the roster is- as long as you get guys with good character. Worst case- the guy you never would have had....leaves after a year. The problem with Diedhou and to a much lesser degree, Hurt was, they stayed 4 years. Transfers don't do that.

I hear you... I really do. I just think that it is hard to find a transfer of value for the last couple of slots. Transfers are typically leaving for better opportunity. Sitting on the bench is rarely viewed as a better opportunity.

I am sure that there are sleazeball coaches who promise these kids playing time but I bet that bites them in the rear 9 times out of 10 when the player rides the pine and begins carping.

If you can find some talented MN kid who loved the U as a child and who is:

-willing to forego minutes at their current school to ride the bench and live out their dream of playing at Williams AND
-has some genuine talent AND
-offers that talent at a position of need THEN

I say that you wholeheartedly pursue it. If the stars don't align perfectly, I am OK if the staff waits to find a better fit and, if necessary, just provides a scholarship to Ramburg.

 

[bga1]

I hear you... I really do. I just think that it is hard to find a transfer of value for the last couple of slots. Transfers are typically leaving for better opportunity. Sitting on the bench is rarely viewed as a better opportunity.

I am sure that there are sleazeball coaches who promise these kids playing time but I bet that bites them in the rear 9 times out of 10 when the player rides the pine and begins carping.

If you can find some talented MN kid who loved the U as a child and who is:

-willing to forego minutes at their current school to ride the bench and live out their dream of playing at Williams AND
-has some genuine talent AND
-offers that talent at a position of need THEN

I say that you wholeheartedly pursue it. If the stars don't align perfectly, I am OK if the staff waits to find a better fit and, if necessary, just provides a scholarship to Ramburg.

I'm with you. I just want them to try and I would expect they are. I remain disappointed that Ben didn't fill another one back when there was more inventory, and I think his explanation (hard to keep them happy) is bogus. That said, I like Ben and he will work through some inevitable errors. This year, recruiting is off to a great start and I hope he gets us free of dependence on the spring transfer market- picking guys to upgrade in exceptional situations rather than wholesale reloading.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I hear you... I really do. I just think that it is hard to find a transfer of value for the last couple of slots. Transfers are typically leaving for better opportunity. Sitting on the bench is rarely viewed as a better opportunity.

I am sure that there are sleazeball coaches who promise these kids playing time but I bet that bites them in the rear 9 times out of 10 when the player rides the pine and begins carping.

If you can find some talented MN kid who loved the U as a child and who is:

-willing to forego minutes at their current school to ride the bench and live out their dream of playing at Williams AND
-has some genuine talent AND
-offers that talent at a position of need THEN

I say that you wholeheartedly pursue it. If the stars don't align perfectly, I am OK if the staff waits to find a better fit and, if necessary, just provides a scholarship to Ramburg.

I know he's probably moved on with his life but I'd even support bringing back Curry in a Udonis Haslem kind of role. There could be worse ways to spend another year in your mid 20s. . .

 

[cjbfbp]

Then don’t believe me. My information on that comes from the numerous amount of podcasts that I listen to with college basketball analysts and writers.

That doesn't mean much to me. There are countless numbers of blowhards with microphones spreading misinformation in almost any field you can think of today. Show me someone who has actually studied this and documented it and then I'll probably believe you. Musselman is a head coach of a high level program. I'm pretty confident that he doesn't spend his precious time studying something like this.

 

[Gopherfan84]

That doesn't mean much to me. There are countless numbers of blowhards with microphones spreading misinformation in almost any field you can think of today.

Again please feel free to not believe it. Guys like Dauster and Goodman are extremely well respected by coaches in the profession for a reason. Call them blowhards all you want. How/who do you get your information from?

Show me someone who has actually studied this and documented it and then I'll probably believe you. Musselman is a head coach of a high level program. I'm pretty confident that he doesn't spend his precious time studying something like this.

I know people who have worked with Musselman. This is the exact kind of stuff he looks at. He’s always trying to be innovative and ahead of the curve. This is from people who have worked with him, but feel free to not believe that either. The coaching community talks about roster management constantly. It’s one of the biggest parts of their jobs. They all know most of the same X’s and O’s. Roster management and putting rosters together is a way the greats differentiate. The other is being a good teacher and developing who they get.

 

[60's Guy]

I hear you... I really do. I just think that it is hard to find a transfer of value for the last couple of slots. Transfers are typically leaving for better opportunity. Sitting on the bench is rarely viewed as a better opportunity.

I am sure that there are sleazeball coaches who promise these kids playing time but I bet that bites them in the rear 9 times out of 10 when the player rides the pine and begins carping.

If you can find some talented MN kid who loved the U as a child and who is:

-willing to forego minutes at their current school to ride the bench and live out their dream of playing at Williams AND
-has some genuine talent AND
-offers that talent at a position of need THEN

I say that you wholeheartedly pursue it. If the stars don't align perfectly, I am OK if the staff waits to find a better fit and, if necessary, just provides a scholarship to Ramburg.

I don't believe very many successful coaches promise playing time. Kids all think they are using you to take their next step to the NBA.... You promise them a fair opportunity to compete. No way you are slotting guys to the bench before the season or you are recruiting the wrong guys. I totally disagree it would be hard to recruit 13,14 guys at the University of Minnesota offering them a fair chance to compete. A coach will be wrong every year if he decides who his starters are in the summer. Kids step up. Competition makes some kids go way beyond where you thought they'd be....Dusty Rychart is the best Gopher example of somebody who will surprise you by how much he can contribute given an opportunity. Fair opportunity is all kids want. Kids know when they get beat out.

How does it work for PJ to say: My job is to recruit somebody better than you to take your job.
Your job is to change your best each day and not let it happen. Ben says: I'm only recruiting 11 guys because I don't want anybody unhappy. But the problem is if one or two more guys get hurt then Battle and Garcia will be pissed because we suck. Maybe Ben has great luck and his iron 7 stay healthy all year.

What I think has changed is the necessity to play 9 -10 guys rather than the 7 Ben prefers.
You only play 7 and you end up like Richard...guys go down and the bottom falls out because nobody has been prepared to step up/in. Or some years you have no candidates because of roster management...recruiting too few quality candidates because you don't think you can manage the locker room. Don't coach then. Texas Tech, Houston, Arkansas, Saint Francis...bunch of successful teams play 10, recruit 13 plus.

Also, kids today want to be part of something bigger...they are fine with 10 guys playing, they prefer it....you do need to communicate roles!!! But to have 5 to 7 guys who never play means you either recruited poorly or you have a bad plan.

I'm definitely not recruiting someone I know is going to be a bench player. Practice decides that
but I want to recruit guys who are going to force me to play them. Get 13 guys like that and you'll be in the NCCA hunt every year.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I don't believe very many successful coaches promise playing time. Kids all think they are using you to take their next step to the NBA.... You promise them a fair opportunity to compete. No way you are slotting guys to the bench before the season or you are recruiting the wrong guys. I totally disagree it would be hard to recruit 13,14 guys at the University of Minnesota offering them a fair chance to compete. A coach will be wrong every year if he decides who his starters are in the summer. Kids step up. Competition makes some kids go way beyond where you thought they'd be....Dusty Rychart is the best Gopher example of somebody who will surprise you by how much he can contribute given an opportunity. Fair opportunity is all kids want. Kids know when they get beat out.

How does it work for PJ to say: My job is to recruit somebody better than you to take your job.
Your job is to change your best each day and not let it happen. Ben says: I'm only recruiting 11 guys because I don't want anybody unhappy. But the problem is if one or two more guys get hurt then Battle and Garcia will be pissed because we suck. Maybe Ben has great luck and his iron 7 stay healthy all year.

What I think has changed is the necessity to play 9 -10 guys rather than the 7 Ben prefers.
You only play 7 and you end up like Richard...guys go down and the bottom falls out because nobody has been prepared to step up/in. Or some years you have no candidates because of roster management...recruiting too few quality candidates because you don't think you can manage the locker room. Don't coach then. Texas Tech, Houston, Arkansas, Saint Francis...bunch of successful teams play 10, recruit 13 plus.

Also, kids today want to be part of something bigger...they are fine with 10 guys playing, they prefer it....you do need to communicate roles!!! But to have 5 to 7 guys who never play means you either recruited poorly or you have a bad plan.

I'm definitely not recruiting someone I know is going to be a bench player. Practice decides that
but I want to recruit guys who are going to force me to play them. Get 13 guys like that and you'll be in the NCCA hunt every year.

I do think many coaches promise a lot of crap to lock up a kid. Pitino was notorious for it. Good coaches don’t promise it like you stated. The problem again is that kids look for paths for immediate playing time. Not many are totally interested in going to a place to compete with somebody is the spot is already being well taken care of. A lot of this blame can go on coaches and handlers who advice kids to avoid competition. Basketball is different than football in that sense although we see it in football too ( look at our running back room.). I think if continue to improve and we can show examples of kids staying the course (If Thompson takes a big leap for example) then we can sell it to kids that it’s worth the investment. Being able to find some money (NIL) would help too. Again blame the generation if you want, blame whatever you want, but it’s currently a reality in recruiting for college hoops right now. Ben is working his way to being able to take 12 guys eventually I think and he is preaching development but it’ll take some time for kids and their “advisors” to truly understand the benefit. Trust me I’m a pro redshirt, sit a year to play, and sit out on a transfer year guy. Kids today are not for a variety of reasons.

 

[combes1]

Many coaches are leaning towards having 12 and leaving one scholarship open. Mid year transfers are a bigger thing now and open scholarships are valuable. Dainja is an example.

 

[Drake University Gopher]

I’m confused about this thread… are we still talking about practice (insert Allen Iverson reference joke here)? Also I love a good debate about the need for primary and/or peer reviewed sources regarding college flipping basketball. Classic.

 

[bc2211]

After all of the conversations on the GopherHole about wasting scholarships on Michael Hurt, Gaston Diedhiou, Abdoulaye Thiam, and Danny Ogele, you think that finding quality players for your 12th and 13th scholarship is easy at a school like MN today?

As I wrote earlier today, decent players aren't going to go sit on the bench biding their time for a few years with the HOPE of playing time in the future. It takes a special person to accept a schollie as a deep bench player. They need to fully accept their role. If there are any delusions about actually seeing the court, they can be more trouble than they are worth.

Any players recruited for those last couple of 'ships are going to be practice or garbage time players at best because players with real talent still have the dream that they can make it to the league. If they don't feel like they can showcase their skills at a high major, they will go to a mid major to get on the court. The NBA has proven time and again over the last 20 years that they will find the talent so players are no longer reliant on biding their time on the bench of a high major. Many/most programs are using these last scholarships to reward walk-ons who have paid their own way for a couple of years.

The lack of red-shirts today is another indication of how things have changed in this area. Red-shirting was a common practice for the last couple of scholarships to help develop players that might need a little more seasoning. Red shirting has become a rare tool over the last decade.

As I’ve posted above, I’m advocating for using scholarships on incoming freshman, not transfers. Transfers aren’t coming to sit 12Th or 13th on the depth chart.

And I don’t think it’s easy, but I think it’s necessary. As 60s pointed out, there is not a lot of risk. The problem with your examples from the Pitino era is that Pitino consistently failed to develop anyone. IMO any collegiate coach must be able to develop/improve skills or they are nearly worthless. The players don’t need to become all big ten, but they need to be players who can function within an offensive or defensive scheme, and do one thing dependably (shoot, handle, defend) if the minutes become available.

People keep saying “it’s hard” or takes “special players” or even “lies”, and I just don’t buy that as an excuse to carry 10 players on a roster.

 

[cjbfbp]

Again please feel free to not believe it. Guys like Dauster and Goodman are extremely well respected by coaches in the profession for a reason. Call them blowhards all you want. How/who do you get your information from?

I know people who have worked with Musselman. This is the exact kind of stuff he looks at. He’s always trying to be innovative and ahead of the curve. This is from people who have worked with him, but feel free to not believe that either. The coaching community talks about roster management constantly. It’s one of the biggest parts of their jobs. They all know most of the same X’s and O’s. Roster management and putting rosters together is a way the greats differentiate. The other is being a good teacher and developing who they get.

I don't think you're getting this because you don't appear to think quantitatively and you're also a little weak on distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. You said "most teams" do a particular thing. That's states a quantitative benchmark. There are about 355 D1 teams. If one says that most teams have a particular characteristic, that would mean that around 180 or more of those teams should have that characteristic in order to make that claim.

I asked for evidence where someone has documented this. I'm pretty confident that you won't find that evidence because I doubt such a study has ever been done. Doing that research would be too time consuming for answering a question that doesn't have much practical value. Probably the only group that might be interested in that is the NCAA and they probably could accomplish that study more easily than anyone else. The things you mentioned about Musselman and his staff have absolutely no relevancy to answering that question. What you mentioned simply addresses the efforts of that coaching staff in managing their own rosters.

If you had sad "a lot" of teams carry only 10 or 11 roster players, then I wouldn't have too much trouble believing that because "a lot" is an indefinite amount. To a head coach of an SEC team, "a lot" could mean as few as half (7) of the teams in the SEC.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I don't think you're getting this because you don't appear to think quantitatively and you're also a little weak on distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. You said "most teams" do a particular thing. That's states a quantitative benchmark. There are about 355 D1 teams. If one says that most teams have a particular characteristic, that would mean that around 180 or more of those teams should have that characteristic in order to make that claim.

I asked for evidence where someone has documented this. I'm pretty confident that you won't find that evidence because I doubt such a study has ever been done. Doing that research would be too time consuming for answering a question that doesn't have much practical value. Probably the only group that might be interested in that is the NCAA and they probably could accomplish that study more easily than anyone else. The things you mentioned about Musselman and his staff have absolutely no relevancy to answering that question. What you mentioned simply addresses the efforts of that coaching staff in managing their own rosters.

If you had sad "a lot" of teams carry only 10 or 11 roster players, then I wouldn't have too much trouble believing that because "a lot" is an indefinite amount. To a head coach of an SEC team, "a lot" could mean as few as half (7) of the teams in the SEC.

I literally work with and do data analysis as a major part of my job. I also am educated and understand research and studies. You are correct that I don’t have nor am I going to spend time looking for a study done. What I do is listen to college basketball podcasts regularly on my drive to work (35 mins one way approx.). That is 70 minutes of drive time 5 days a week and I listen to podcasts at 1.5x speed. The claims I make that most don’t use all their scholarships is from the guys I’ve mentioned before who have done that research and looked it up. Do I believe most sit on 11? No, but they’ve not been filling their scholarships for many years now. It’s not new and it’s the current norm (yes more than half) in mens college basketball right now. With the fluidity and amount of teams in D1 mens college basketball rosters I cannot give you more specific measurements than “a lot” because I don’t have that off the top of my head and I’m not going to do that like you mentioned. Again feel free to disregard my comments. I only share what I hear from “blowhards” who report on it for a living.

 

[BleedGopher]

Go Gophers!!

 

[50PoundHead]

Just apply all coach cliches and you’ll have what the media would have provided this early in the process.

I know they are all blue collar gym rats, but I just hope they are leaving it all on the floor.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Well, most things tend to even out. If too many coaches leave themselves with a short bench and get burned due to excessive injuries, then other coaches will see that and react by trying to use more scholarships.

after all, as some people on here have noted....this is Ben Johnson's 2nd year as a D-1 Head Coach. He's still learning. he will make mistakes, and he'd better learn from those mistakes if he wants to keep being a D-1 Head Coach.

but, for now, I say give him the room to do things his way and see how it works. If it doesn't work, I think the U of MN still has an AD who can get involved if necessary.

 

[GopherBlood777]

Well, most things tend to even out. If too many coaches leave themselves with a short bench and get burned due to excessive injuries, then other coaches will see that and react by trying to use more scholarships.

after all, as some people on here have noted....this is Ben Johnson's 2nd year as a D-1 Head Coach. He's still learning. he will make mistakes, and he'd better learn from those mistakes if he wants to keep being a D-1 Head Coach.

but, for now, I say give him the room to do things his way and see how it works. If it doesn't work, I think the U of MN still has an AD who can get involved if necessary.

Is Omersa still available? : )

 

[Hates Monikers]

Is Omersa still available? : )

I know that's a joke, and you wouldn't take him now. But he was a gamble from the start and is the perfect kind of kid for the 13th scholarship as a high school recruit.

Could you say to Alonzo Dodd or Ahnjay Lee, "You can see from your offers that coaches think you need to have more/better _______ or are too _______ to play high major right now. But we like your potential a lot. Let's make a deal to try it here for a year. After the season we can talk and see where you're at and if we both like your future here."

Some of these guys develop; some don't. Some are willing to take a chance at a higher level and some would prefer to play right away at St. Thomas. I know scholarships are technically for four years, but players leave due to these types of discussions every year. And you're not lying to anybody.

 

[GopherBlood777]

I know that's a joke, and you wouldn't take him now. But he was a gamble from the start and is the perfect kind of kid for the 13th scholarship as a high school recruit.

Could you say to Alonzo Dodd or Ahnjay Lee, "You can see from your offers that coaches think you need to have more/better _______ or are too _______ to play high major right now. But we like your potential a lot. Let's make a deal to try it here for a year. After the season we can talk and see where you're at and if we both like your future here."

Some of these guys develop; some don't. Some are willing to take a chance at a higher level and some would prefer to play right away at St. Thomas. I know scholarships are technically for four years, but players leave due to these types of discussions every year. And you're not lying to anybody.

I would immediately take Omersa to fill a scholarship this year. Literally nothing to lose, unless he desires to see the floor consistently, then maybe not so much.

 

[MennoSota]

I know that's a joke, and you wouldn't take him now. But he was a gamble from the start and is the perfect kind of kid for the 13th scholarship as a high school recruit.

Could you say to Alonzo Dodd or Ahnjay Lee, "You can see from your offers that coaches think you need to have more/better _______ or are too _______ to play high major right now. But we like your potential a lot. Let's make a deal to try it here for a year. After the season we can talk and see where you're at and if we both like your future here."

Some of these guys develop; some don't. Some are willing to take a chance at a higher level and some would prefer to play right away at St. Thomas. I know scholarships are technically for four years, but players leave due to these types of discussions every year. And you're not lying to anybody.

Dodd is signed to play at Texas A&M-Commerce, a D2 school moving up this year to D1. The Strib had an article in the Sunday paper on kids not getting offers due to the portal. Dodd was mentioned and it said he's going to Texas A&M-Commerce.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Dodd is signed to play at Texas A&M-Commerce, a D2 school moving up this year to D1. The Strib had an article in the Sunday paper on kids not getting offers due to the portal. Dodd was mentioned and it said he's going to Texas A&M-Commerce.

I like Dodd, but he’s got a lot to improve on to be a HM PG. Doesn’t handle or shoot the ball well enough. I’d rather take a flier on the Whitlock from DE than Dodd.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I would immediately take Omersa to fill a scholarship this year. Literally nothing to lose, unless he desires to see the floor consistently, then maybe not so much.

I don’t think Jarvis likes basketball that much. Probably not worth it

 

[Gopherfan84]

I know that's a joke, and you wouldn't take him now. But he was a gamble from the start and is the perfect kind of kid for the 13th scholarship as a high school recruit.

Could you say to Alonzo Dodd or Ahnjay Lee, "You can see from your offers that coaches think you need to have more/better _______ or are too _______ to play high major right now. But we like your potential a lot. Let's make a deal to try it here for a year. After the season we can talk and see where you're at and if we both like your future here."

Some of these guys develop; some don't. Some are willing to take a chance at a higher level and some would prefer to play right away at St. Thomas. I know scholarships are technically for four years, but players leave due to these types of discussions every year. And you're not lying to anybody.

It’s illegal for the one year deal but coaches run guys off a lot. That can hurt t your relationships locally though. Lee would’ve been an interesting one, but we already have so much frontcourt depth and will probably add more than just Betts this year. We need guards, but Dodd aint it in my opinion.