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GopherChaos

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I usually really like gopher players and obviously cheer for them and want them to do well, but I feel oddly emotionally proud of these guys, the staff included. Transfer home or up a level and everybody (including some Gopher fans) shits on them with little to no expectations to even be competitive. But they are making the most of it and really taking advantage of the Covid year. I am excited about the future.
 

I'd liked what I heard about some of the transfers, especially LL's defense, but you never know what you have until you see them against high-major competition. Their performance, however, is far beyond what could have been reasonably expected. These guys can play.
 

One thing this is telling me is that the “second tier” Minnesota high school recruits are pretty good too. If you miss out on the Suggs and Hurts and Jones, you can win with the next bunch. I’m not saying Pitino completely ignored them, but I think Ben knows there are a lot of good options right here. And I’m THRILLED that he is putting a premium on shooting ability.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I'd liked what I heard about some of the transfers, especially LL's defense, but you never know what you have until you see them against high-major competition. Their performance, however, is far beyond what could have been reasonably expected. These guys can play.
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It has also helped that PW took an enormous step. He was a decent wing player (Big 10 rotation-level player) but I didn't see us getting this from him.
 

I just love this team. What heart! What skill! What teamwork! What coaching! And Ben did it without three assistants and Fox, Ihnen, Curry, Battle, Ramberg and Stephens. And we only have 12 scholarship players to begin with....just WOW!
 


CoMn said:
I just love this team. What heart! What skill! What teamwork! What coaching! And Ben did it without three assistants and Fox, Ihnen, Curry, Battle, Ramberg and Stephens. And we only have 12 scholarship players to begin with....just WOW!
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Ben found a way to tweak his "system" to hide the weaknesses of Daniels, Thompson and even Sutherlin.

Good coaches have a smart system and get their players to buy in. Great coaches are able to bend that system (without it losing its structure) to their personnel.

What Ben has done this year is remarkable.
 

GopherChaos said:
I usually really like gopher players and obviously cheer for them and want them to do well, but I feel oddly emotionally proud of these guys, the staff included. Transfer home or up a level and everybody (including some Gopher fans) shits on them with little to no expectations to even be competitive. But they are making the most of it and really taking advantage of the Covid year. I am excited about the future.
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Lots and lots of gopherholers shit on the Ben Johnson hire and most of the guys he brought in.

What they've done so far has been nothing short of incredible. Being a first year season ticket holder....and being in the Barn....real fans have shown their appreciation. Even in the Michigan State and the Iowa losses.....fans have given the team well deserved applause for their fight.
 

stocker08 said:
Lots and lots of gopherholers shit on the Ben Johnson hire and most of the guys he brought in.

What they've done so far has been nothing short of incredible. Being a first year season ticket holder....and being in the Barn....real fans have shown their appreciation. Even in the Michigan State and the Iowa losses.....fans have given the team well deserved applause for their fight.
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Except for the ones who think not showing a vaccine card and ID is more important than being there in person to root for these awesome kids and coaches...
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Ben found a way to tweak his "system" to hide the weaknesses of Daniels, Thompson and even Sutherlin.

Good coaches have a smart system and get their players to buy in. Great coaches are able to bend that system (without it losing its structure) to their personnel.

What Ben has done this year is remarkable.
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3D Chess
 





Feels in many ways like that first Monson team after the nuclear bomb went off with Jan Gangle-gate. A mix-match collection thrown together under less than ideal circumstances, impossible not to root for them. These guys play hard
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Except for the ones who think not showing a vaccine card and ID is more important than being there in person to root for these awesome kids and coaches...
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You DO remember the attendance at The Barn for the last decade or so was also well, well below what we are accustomed to, yes? Try to temper your anger and rage and enjoy what these young men are doing this year, appreciate some optimism for the future of the program.
 



Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Feels in many ways like that first Monson team after the nuclear bomb went off with Jan Gangle-gate. A mix-match collection thrown together under less than ideal circumstances, impossible not to root for them. These guys play hard
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I was thinking about that today. The difference, of course, is that Monson's first team had a 5-star recruit and future 15-year NBA player on the roster.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I was thinking about that today. The difference, of course, is that Monson's first team had a 5-star recruit and future 15-year NBA player on the roster.
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Who are you referring to? Rickert wasn't on the first Monson team. Am I forgetting something?
 



WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Except for the ones who think not showing a vaccine card and ID is more important than being there in person to root for these awesome kids and coaches...
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There was one poster who announced with great fanfare last week that he was returning his tickets, demanding a refund and ending his donations to the annual campaign because of the mask and vaccination policy. Based on his excited posts on the game thread, it appears he was there yesterday. Pretty funny.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
It has also helped that PW took an enormous step. He was a decent wing player (Big 10 rotation-level player) but I didn't see us getting this from him.
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That just goes to show that players don't have to be defined by what they were coming out of high school/prep or even what they were as college sophs. Some players can get a hell of a lot better with age, experience, hard work, and through being in the right situation. And some players don't get that much better with time (and we've seen some of those too). To be fair, Willis has had more time than most to develop but he's made the most of that time.
 


Bordergopher said:
One thing this is telling me is that the “second tier” Minnesota high school recruits are pretty good too. If you miss out on the Suggs and Hurts and Jones, you can win with the next bunch. I’m not saying Pitino completely ignored them, but I think Ben knows there are a lot of good options right here. And I’m THRILLED that he is putting a premium on shooting ability.
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How do you define a second-tier Minnesota high school recruit? If only nationally highly rated players (Suggs, Hurt, Holmgren) count as first tier, then no Minnesota coach is likely to get them here right now.

To my knowledge, there are only 3 Minnesota bred scholarship players on this team right now. I'm no friend of Pitino, but he didn't ignore Treyton Thompson. Obviously, Jamison Battle was a huge miss coming out of high school but he was unrated by a number of the services, was a 2 star by Verbal Commits, and received no P5 offers. He was exactly the kind of high school recruit that would have disappointed most posters if he had been offered and accepted. Sutherlin apparently received no DI offers and went the JUCO route. Recruits like the latter two players aren't likely to be recruited out of high school by any Big Ten coach. These are the kind of players you get from the transfer portal after they have proven themselves elsewhere. Another one in this category is Pine Island's Brock Finstuen (might have been better transfer choice than Sutherlin actually) who went the JUCO-Pacific-Cleveland State route.
 

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