Taurus Samuels Commits to Gophers!!

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Gopherfan84 said:
He did inherit. Hunter was committed and would've required a release from Iowa State. That power over players makes them talk to the coach. It guaranteed Otz a place in the room. He took full advantage. He also lost him after one year....

Definition of obtuse​


1a: not pointed or acute : BLUNT
b(1)of an angle : exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees
(2): having an obtuse anglean obtuse triangle— see TRIANGLE ILLUSTRATION
cof a leaf : rounded at the free end
2a: lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect : INSENSITIVE, STUPIDHe is too obtuse to take a hint.
b: difficult to comprehend : not clear or precise in thought or expressionIt is also, unfortunately, ill-written, and at times obtuse and often trivial.— Shirley Hazzard
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Hope. Had to recruit him to stay.

Look up the definition of WRONG and read it. A few times. Then look in a mirror.
 



ecoperson said:
You're talking apples to oranges unless you are comparing recruitment for the same player head to head. TJ wanted Garcia bad. Ben won the battle. Who is the better recruiter?
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Minnesota is the only place Garcia can get a waiver to play next season. Makes a bit of a difference.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Minnesota is the only place Garcia can get a waiver to play next season. Makes a bit of a difference.
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Sounds like you are just making excuses for Otzelberger... or are you now saying that individual circumstances DO need to be factored into evaluation? Hmm...
 



Added a 6-10 Atlantic Ten two time defensive player of the year along with a bunch of other talented transfers earlier. AJ Green still a possibility as well. I do think our High School class is not that far from theirs. Iowa State has simply brought it a great deal more talent last two years imo
 
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different coaches can have different approaches and different priorities.

unless the two schools are directly competing for the same recruit, I don't give a rat's buttocks what Iowa State is doing.

I'm a Gopher fan. I care about the Gophers.

If you think the Iowa State coach is a 'better' coach, you have the right to that opinion.

of course, then we have to define what you mean by 'better.'

but all of this back and forth is pointless.

unless you think someone is going to applaud you for "winning the argument."

good luck with that.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
different coaches can have different approaches and different priorities.

unless the two schools are directly competing for the same recruit, I don't give a rat's buttocks what Iowa State is doing.

I'm a Gopher fan. I care about the Gophers.

If you think the Iowa State coach is a 'better' coach, you have the right to that opinion.

of course, then we have to define what you mean by 'better.'

but all of this back and forth is pointless.

unless you think someone is going to applaud you for "winning the argument."

good luck with that.
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I jumped in to give an opinion on recruiting so far. In has far as coaching I think Ben will do just fine. Another opinion I think it’s easier to recruit at ISU than here. At least has been.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
different coaches can have different approaches and different priorities.

unless the two schools are directly competing for the same recruit, I don't give a rat's buttocks what Iowa State is doing.

I'm a Gopher fan. I care about the Gophers.

If you think the Iowa State coach is a 'better' coach, you have the right to that opinion.

of course, then we have to define what you mean by 'better.'

but all of this back and forth is pointless.

unless you think someone is going to applaud you for "winning the argument."

good luck with that.
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Yeah, the comparison thing to ISU is getting tiresome. Some similarities in their situations but it isn't like we hired Ben instead of TJ so comparing them the way some do is pointless.
 

Blackhammer said:
Don’t think Otzelberger needs excuses. Frankly while I like Ben ,TJ has destroyed him recruiting wise.
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Done better? Sure although sample size is incredibly small. Destroyed is probably a little unfair.
TJ
Year 1: Hunter, Brockington, Gabe, we’re the big 3.
Year 2: King, Limpsey, and Watson for preps. Transfer Portal: PF from VCU, PG from Temple, W from St Bonnie’s. Green would be huge and I expect him to go there.

Ben
Year 1: Battle, Willis, and Loewe
Year 2: Preps: Carrington, Payne, Henley, Ola Joseph. Portal: Dawson, Cooper, and Samuels

Year 1: TJ won total, Ben won the portal. Battle is better than Brockington, Willis better than Gabe. TJ keeping Hunter was huge.
Year 2. Portal is close. TJ will get the nod if he gets Green. Ben probably has it now. Preps will be close. Watson is probably better than Henley or Ola Joseph, but Payne and Carrington are equal to King and Limpsey. Payne might be the best player.

It’s a lot closer than it appears. I will give TJ the coaching nod for last year. Their defense was phenomenal.
 



Blackhammer said:
Added a 6-10 Atlantic Ten two time defensive player of the year along with a bunch of other talented transfers earlier. AJ Green still a possibility as well. I do think our High School class is not that far from theirs. Iowa State has simply brought it a great deal more talent last two years imo
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Willis, Battle, Fox, Garcia, and Cooper are all good portal aqisitions given where our program was and what we needed to build it.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Done better? Sure although sample size is incredibly small. Destroyed is probably a little unfair.
TJ
Year 1: Hunter, Brockington, Gabe, we’re the big 3.
Year 2: King, Limpsey, and Watson for preps. Transfer Portal: PF from VCU, PG from Temple, W from St Bonnie’s. Green would be huge and I expect him to go there.

Ben
Year 1: Battle, Willis, and Loewe
Year 2: Preps: Carrington, Payne, Henley, Ola Joseph. Portal: Dawson, Cooper, and Samuels

Year 1: TJ won total, Ben won the portal. Battle is better than Brockington, Willis better than Gabe. TJ keeping Hunter was huge.
Year 2. Portal is close. TJ will get the nod if he gets Green. Ben probably has it now. Preps will be close. Watson is probably better than Henley or Ola Joseph, but Payne and Carrington are equal to King and Limpsey. Payne might be the best player.

It’s a lot closer than it appears. I will give TJ the coaching nod for last year. Their defense was phenomenal.
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Our portal haul was better than that year 1. In Fox Ben got a guy who was sought by dozens of good schools. The fact he was injured and didn't play takes nothing away from our success in landing him.
 

Dakota2 said:
Our portal haul was better than that year 1. In Fox Ben got a guy who was sought by dozens of good schools. The fact he was injured and didn't play takes nothing away from our success in landing him.
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Yeah I feel the same. What Ben and TJ have both proven is that they are good at finding quality fits in the portal. Good for both parties future success. Samuels is a an example of getting a guy who will graduate again, is willing to play a role the staff needs and is a good basketball player.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Yeah I feel the same. What Ben and TJ have both proven is that they are good at finding quality fits in the portal. Good for both parties future success. Samuels is a an example of getting a guy who will graduate again, is willing to play a role the staff needs and is a good basketball player.
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I expect Samuels to compete well for PG minutes. Assuming Cooper is the starter is premature.
 

Blackhammer said:
Don’t think Otzelberger needs excuses. Frankly while I like Ben ,TJ has destroyed him recruiting wise.
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My post was in direct response to a poster who moves the goal posts to suit their philosophy at the time. And I will agree to disagree on TJ 'destroying' Ben on the recruiting front until we see them go head to head on a recruit. The only common recruit thus far was Garcia and Ben won that battle.
 

ecoperson said:
My post was in direct response to a poster who moves the goal posts to suit their philosophy at the time. And I will agree to disagree on TJ 'destroying' Ben on the recruiting front until we see them go head to head on a recruit. The only common recruit thus far was Garcia and Ben won that battle.
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I’m not moving the goalposts at all. That’s what you and others are trying to do especially with your last sentence that’s completely made up. ISU has 2 MN players committed for next season that are higher ranked than any of Ben’s recruits. They both have MN offers, TJ didn’t win those battles?
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I’m not moving the goalposts at all. That’s what you and others are trying to do especially with your last sentence that’s completely made up. ISU has 2 MN players committed for next season that are higher ranked than any of Ben’s recruits. They both have MN offers, TJ didn’t win those battles?
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Weird Payne is ranked as the 2nd best player (unless you factor in the composite which he is 7th because ESPN has him ranked 14th) and Carrington won Mr. Basketball
 
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
I’m not moving the goalposts at all. That’s what you and others are trying to do especially with your last sentence that’s completely made up. ISU has 2 MN players committed for next season that are higher ranked than any of Ben’s recruits. They both have MN offers, TJ didn’t win those battles?
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Those rankings are woefully outdated. Any rankings that doesn't have Payne as number 1 or 2 in the state is bad. Any casual viewer that has watched them all will agree. Fair to debate Carrington, King, and Watson. They could be in different order and you wouldn't hear a ton of arguing from most. I'd probably put Watson last of the three personally. TJ won the battle for King no doubt. I don't know if we would've taken Watson. We seemed to go for Joseph who was better last summer. This winter Watson was good again.
 

Bayfield Gopher said:
I expect Samuels to compete well for PG minutes. Assuming Cooper is the starter is premature.
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What have you seen in Samuels' numbers or any of his games on youtube that make you think he could potentially be a better player than Cooper?

Cooper seems bigger, better with the ball in his hands, better shooter, better rebounder and better defender.

I think Samuels could be a reliable guy to handle the ball and bring some energy off the bench but if he beats Cooper out as our starting PG, I think it's going to be a long season. That's not a knock on Samuels, I just think Cooper was probably our most important portal player.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What have you seen in Samuels' numbers or any of his games on youtube that make you think he could potentially be a better player than Cooper?

Cooper seems bigger, better with the ball in his hands, better shooter, better rebounder and better defender.

I think Samuels could be a reliable guy to handle the ball and bring some energy off the bench but if he beats Cooper out as our starting PG, I think it's going to be a long season. That's not a knock on Samuels, I just think Cooper was probably our most important portal player.
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Yeah I think Samuels is a better defender. Otherwise I'm rolling with Cooper. That being said my sample size is two games for each of them.
 

Gopherfan84 said:
Yeah I think Samuels is a better defender. Otherwise I'm rolling with Cooper. That being said my sample size is two games for each of them.
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It's the two games you've seen and the numbers. The numbers pretty strongly favor Cooper (even as a defender).
 

Bayfield Gopher said:
I expect Samuels to compete well for PG minutes. Assuming Cooper is the starter is premature
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In his press conference/interview a week ago before Samuels committed, he said the roster was pretty much complete but he was thinking about adding a combo guard depth piece that could help Talon out a little bit and it was clear he was talking about Samuels or the Merrimack guy.

Not saying it's impossible but I would be shocked if Samuels is starting over Cooper.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Their cupboards weren't different, they were nearly identical. TJ 'inherited' 2.4 ppg of production, BJ 'inherited' 2.8, which didn't end up playing.

TJ recruited his way to a sweet 16 team in the best conference. Ben recruited his way to a last place team in a slightly weaker conference.

For those who want to make excuses about Ben not having a track record, isn't that the problem with hiring him in the first place? Doesn't he have a track record of being an assistant?

What was Micah Shrewsberry's track record as a head coach? How about Mike Woodson's track record in college? What was Tommy Lloyd's track record as a head coach? TJ's teams at UNLV weren't even very good, shouldn't have that hurt his track record?
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Bingo. What Otzelberger accomplished in his first season after inheriting a dumpster fire was impressive.

But even saying that, I was encouraged by the way Ben’s first team competed last season. He showed some coaching chops. Now he needs to go get some true “dudes”, and then win with ‘em. … dudes like Battle.
 
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SelectionSunday said:
Bingo. What Otzelberger accomplished in his first season after inheriting a dumpster fire was impressive.

But even saying that, I was encouraged by the way Ben’s first team competed last season. He showed some coaching chops. Now he needs to go get some true “dudes”, and then win with ‘em. … dudes like Battle.
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Do you think the incoming freshmen are dudes? Or will be?
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What have you seen in Samuels' numbers or any of his games on youtube that make you think he could potentially be a better player than Cooper?

Cooper seems bigger, better with the ball in his hands, better shooter, better rebounder and better defender.

I think Samuels could be a reliable guy to handle the ball and bring some energy off the bench but if he beats Cooper out as our starting PG, I think it's going to be a long season. That's not a knock on Samuels, I just think Cooper was probably our most important portal player.
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We have a very small sample size for both players and will have to wait until Fall to see who is the top dog. I watched the Stanford game and Samuels probably had his best offensive game. 22pts, 7/13 FG, 7/8 FT's, 6 Reb, 2 Asst, 3 TO. Its been a while since I watched but I thought his D was solid.

It seems as if the majority assume that Cooper will be the PG. And that could be the case but I guess that Samuel will give it his best shot and make Ben's choice as difficult as possible.
 

RockChalk said:
I would be careful comparing Johnson to Otzelberger. The Cyclones won 2 games the year before. What he did in the toughest conference in college BB was a big WOW.
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I mean he went 7-11 in said league and was 3-10 before he got some of softer teams on the schedule. Cyclones bid was built on the run they had in the non con and then they got some good fortune in the draw with LSU firing Will Wade the night before and Johnny Davis playing at about half strength for a Wisconsin team that struggled beat Colgate, lost at home to Nebraska and had an early exit in the BTT
 

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