BleedGopher
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per The Athletic's Mailbag:
Does Minnesota need to hire a Penny Hardaway-type coach to keep the local talent from leaving the state? While there is plenty of local talent, the top Minnesota recruits rarely stay and play for the Gophers. (I’m not a Minnesota fan, just curious.) — Dan K.
I’m old enough to have written a mini-column for the Chicago Tribune with the following premise: If Tubby Smith can’t win big at Minnesota, no one can.
Welp!
I’m overly fascinated by Minnesota’s men’s basketball potential. This probably has to do with me covering the program for a few years in the early 2000s and definitely, definitely not with me wanting an excuse to visit the Surly and Fulton taprooms. The in-state crop of hoops talent was not altogether bad back then and now has grown exponentially. It’s a pro sports market, ultimately, but I always felt like a contending Gophers basketball team could galvanize the area. Williams Arena, when jam-packed and frothing, is as loud a building as I’ve been in. And millions have been poured into state-of-the-art athletic facilities for practice, nutrition and athlete maintenance, etc. So why hasn’t this sleeping giant awakened?
(Well, for one thing, “sleeping giant” probably overstates it. The program has reached four Sweet 16s, ever, and the one in 1997 was vacated. But we digress.)
Minnesota failing to hoard all or most of the great Minnesota players is not a phenomenon specific to Minnesota. My preceding parenthetical thought explains why: Great players will be recruited by great programs, no matter where they live, and it’s tough to win recruiting battles when there’s blood in the water and the likes of Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga and North Carolina start swimming around. Never mind a Jalen Suggs or a Chet Holmgren, both of whom attended high school three miles from Williams Arena. Matthew Hurt’s brother played for Minnesota. Like, on-the-roster-when-Matthew-was-making-his-choice played for Minnesota. Matthew Hurt now plays for Mike Krzyzewski. So it goes.
Future pros want to see you’re developing future pros. To Dan’s point, of course, a future pro has to be on campus to develop. But I don’t know if Minnesota finding its Juwan Howard or Penny Hardaway is a realistic pursuit. The best fit for the alum-hire model is J.B. Bickerstaff, who I fondly remember for politely chastising us after we failed to interview him following one particularly lackluster loss. “I had some shit to say,” J.B. told us the next day. It was great. But anyway, Bickerstaff is a sitting NBA head coach. Is he interested even a little in college ball? If not, is there another option? Let’s say Richard Pitino decided to travel to Nepal in search of total enlightenment and left the profession today. I’m guessing calls go to guys like Utah State’s Craig Smith and Colorado State’s Niko Medved first. Maybe an Adrian Autry, if athletic director Mark Coyle dips into his Syracuse past.
Minnesota’s best bet to lure future Suggses and Holmgrens is employing a coach who wins a ton of games with less celebrated talent, who takes a couple of really good players and makes them great. I think of Illinois as an almost perfect analogy here. Same complaints about in-state recruits getting poached. Same lackluster on-court results. Then Brad Underwood arrives and persuades guys like Ayo Dosunmu and Adam Miller to come to Champaign. They’re both high-end recruits but neither is a one-and-done. In his third year, Dosunmu evolves into an All-American who might sneak into the first round of the NBA Draft. And Illinois now offers proof positive for its next homegrown five-star target.
A school has to find the right coach to execute that plan, yes. Still, the Hardaway/Howard path might not be a feasible path to take for Minnesota.
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
Does Minnesota need to hire a Penny Hardaway-type coach to keep the local talent from leaving the state? While there is plenty of local talent, the top Minnesota recruits rarely stay and play for the Gophers. (I’m not a Minnesota fan, just curious.) — Dan K.
I’m old enough to have written a mini-column for the Chicago Tribune with the following premise: If Tubby Smith can’t win big at Minnesota, no one can.
Welp!
I’m overly fascinated by Minnesota’s men’s basketball potential. This probably has to do with me covering the program for a few years in the early 2000s and definitely, definitely not with me wanting an excuse to visit the Surly and Fulton taprooms. The in-state crop of hoops talent was not altogether bad back then and now has grown exponentially. It’s a pro sports market, ultimately, but I always felt like a contending Gophers basketball team could galvanize the area. Williams Arena, when jam-packed and frothing, is as loud a building as I’ve been in. And millions have been poured into state-of-the-art athletic facilities for practice, nutrition and athlete maintenance, etc. So why hasn’t this sleeping giant awakened?
(Well, for one thing, “sleeping giant” probably overstates it. The program has reached four Sweet 16s, ever, and the one in 1997 was vacated. But we digress.)
Minnesota failing to hoard all or most of the great Minnesota players is not a phenomenon specific to Minnesota. My preceding parenthetical thought explains why: Great players will be recruited by great programs, no matter where they live, and it’s tough to win recruiting battles when there’s blood in the water and the likes of Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga and North Carolina start swimming around. Never mind a Jalen Suggs or a Chet Holmgren, both of whom attended high school three miles from Williams Arena. Matthew Hurt’s brother played for Minnesota. Like, on-the-roster-when-Matthew-was-making-his-choice played for Minnesota. Matthew Hurt now plays for Mike Krzyzewski. So it goes.
Future pros want to see you’re developing future pros. To Dan’s point, of course, a future pro has to be on campus to develop. But I don’t know if Minnesota finding its Juwan Howard or Penny Hardaway is a realistic pursuit. The best fit for the alum-hire model is J.B. Bickerstaff, who I fondly remember for politely chastising us after we failed to interview him following one particularly lackluster loss. “I had some shit to say,” J.B. told us the next day. It was great. But anyway, Bickerstaff is a sitting NBA head coach. Is he interested even a little in college ball? If not, is there another option? Let’s say Richard Pitino decided to travel to Nepal in search of total enlightenment and left the profession today. I’m guessing calls go to guys like Utah State’s Craig Smith and Colorado State’s Niko Medved first. Maybe an Adrian Autry, if athletic director Mark Coyle dips into his Syracuse past.
Minnesota’s best bet to lure future Suggses and Holmgrens is employing a coach who wins a ton of games with less celebrated talent, who takes a couple of really good players and makes them great. I think of Illinois as an almost perfect analogy here. Same complaints about in-state recruits getting poached. Same lackluster on-court results. Then Brad Underwood arrives and persuades guys like Ayo Dosunmu and Adam Miller to come to Champaign. They’re both high-end recruits but neither is a one-and-done. In his third year, Dosunmu evolves into an All-American who might sneak into the first round of the NBA Draft. And Illinois now offers proof positive for its next homegrown five-star target.
A school has to find the right coach to execute that plan, yes. Still, the Hardaway/Howard path might not be a feasible path to take for Minnesota.
College basketball: Unsung All-Americans, Minnesota, Illini
How can Minnesota keep talent at home? How many Mountain West teams get in? Brian Hamilton answers these and other questions.
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
