Tyus Jones to Duke.

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Okafor is not coming to Minnesota. We all hope Tyus will come, and he actually might, but there is no way Okafor commits.
 

From Shama:

Hopkins coach Ken Novak Jr. talking about Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, considered by some authorities to be the best sophomore point guard in the country: “He’s kind of like one of those kids like Ricky Rubio (and) Royce White that don’t care if they score. Not searching for numbers, just playing for the beauty of the game, playing to win games. He’s a kid that people just love to watch. Why? Because he’s selfless. ..”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 

Curious - why do so many here think that Tyus will NOT be a Gopher? Tyus follows the Gophers, he has good connections with the team, and he seems to be a fan of the team. If he comes here the arena will be sold out each and every night, he would have a mega following of fans, and there seems to be no reason why he couldn't help lead the team to a Sweet-16 victory or better, beginning his first season, particularly if Vaugh also comes to the U.

Sure, there are other, currently-bigger programs, but this is a move that puts HIS team on the map. Teams like OSU, MSU, Duke, they're already on the map - other people put them there; no one has done that with the Gophers for decades - this is a golden opportunity. This is not like football, where you need at least 10 other solid teammates to dominate one side of the ball. One player alone can carry an entire basketball team on his shoulders. This is Tyus.

If he didn't follow the Gophers, wasn't a fan, I'd agree that he would be thinking of elsewhere. That's not how Tyus is behaving, however, and for that reason I have confidence.
 

cncmin said:
Curious - why do so many here think that Tyus will NOT be a Gopher? Tyus follows the Gophers, he has good connections with the team, and he seems to be a fan of the team. If he comes here the arena will be sold out each and every night, he would have a mega following of fans, and there seems to be no reason why he couldn't help lead the team to a Sweet-16 victory or better, beginning his first season, particularly if Vaugh also comes to the U.

Sure, there are other, currently-bigger programs, but this is a move that puts HIS team on the map. Teams like OSU, MSU, Duke, they're already on the map - other people put them there; no one has done that with the Gophers for decades - this is a golden opportunity. This is not like football, where you need at least 10 other solid teammates to dominate one side of the ball. One player alone can carry an entire basketball team on his shoulders. This is Tyus.

If he didn't follow the Gophers, wasn't a fan, I'd agree that he would be thinking of elsewhere. That's not how Tyus is behaving, however, and for that reason I have confidence.
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If you were an 18 year old kid that had the pick of schools you might find a reason to leave Minnesota.


Maybe you would like to go to a school that had a practice facility.
 

Section201 said:
If you were an 18 year old kid that had the pick of schools you might find a reason to leave Minnesota.


Maybe you would like to go to a school that had a practice facility.
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Yeah, you might. But I'd like to see a statistical correlation between having a practice facility and increased player development relative to not having one.

The practice facility is good for one thing and one thing only - recruiting. Otherwise, it's a giant waste of money and precious land. It's sad that college athletics has come to the point where basketball teams need a separate practice facility, where men's and women's teams cannot share the same arenas and fields, and when coaches are the highest-paid employees at the colleges.
 


cncmin said:
Yeah, you might. But I'd like to see a statistical correlation between having a practice facility and increased player development relative to not having one.

The practice facility is good for one thing and one thing only - recruiting. Otherwise, it's a giant waste of money and precious land. It's sad that college athletics has come to the point where basketball teams need a separate practice facility, where men's and women's teams cannot share the same arenas and fields, and when coaches are the highest-paid employees at the colleges.
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Nobody has ever said that we need separate men's and women's practice facilities. Actually, the women used to play in the Pavilion until they started actually being semi-successful and moved into Williams (kind of opposite of what you implied). The biggest thing is having courts that are always open/available for players looking to work on their shot/game. Williams isn't always open. For example, this week it's been tied up by the MSHSL Basketball Championships. I personally think that this is the best venue for the HS tournament but if a Gopher wanted to work on his/her jump shot on Wednesday (I know the men were in TN but hypothetically) they would have been turned away at the door. It's kind of about recruiting but only because as a player if you had the choice between a university's facilities that you had access to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and one that you had access to 24/7 the decision is fairly obvious. Beyond that though, I can't give you numbers (I'm way too lazy) but odds are it can't hurt a teams success (teams not named Northwestern or Minnesota tend to have had success in the Big 10 the past 10 years).

As far as coaches being well compensated, let's not be naive. I know it's fun to hate on the money tied up in sports, both professional and "amateur," but seriously. He's one of the public faces of the University, basketball (along with football and hockey to some extent) fund the rest of the athletic department, and success in sports has a causal effect on donations to the university in general. Bottom line, he's being paid a lot because when successful he's the best possible fundraiser that the athletic department, and university has.
 







North Country said:
Nobody has ever said that we need separate men's and women's practice facilities. Actually, the women used to play in the Pavilion until they started actually being semi-successful and moved into Williams (kind of opposite of what you implied). The biggest thing is having courts that are always open/available for players looking to work on their shot/game. Williams isn't always open. For example, this week it's been tied up by the MSHSL Basketball Championships. I personally think that this is the best venue for the HS tournament but if a Gopher wanted to work on his/her jump shot on Wednesday (I know the men were in TN but hypothetically) they would have been turned away at the door. It's kind of about recruiting but only because as a player if you had the choice between a university's facilities that you had access to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and one that you had access to 24/7 the decision is fairly obvious. Beyond that though, I can't give you numbers (I'm way too lazy) but odds are it can't hurt a teams success (teams not named Northwestern or Minnesota tend to have had success in the Big 10 the past 10 years).

As far as coaches being well compensated, let's not be naive. I know it's fun to hate on the money tied up in sports, both professional and "amateur," but seriously. He's one of the public faces of the University, basketball (along with football and hockey to some extent) fund the rest of the athletic department, and success in sports has a causal effect on donations to the university in general. Bottom line, he's being paid a lot because when successful he's the best possible fundraiser that the athletic department, and university has.
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Williams Arena isn't the only place they practice they also practice where the football hall of fame is don't remember what it is called.
 





MadtownGopher said:
Little late on that. Or is this different than the other player of the year award he got about a week ago?
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This one is new. I linked a couple of other POY awards he got last week (ESPN MN POY, Gatorade POY, PiPress POY, etc.)...I believe the AP POY was just announced today.

Go Gophers!!
 

Section201 said:
If you were an 18 year old kid that had the pick of schools you might find a reason to leave Minnesota.


Maybe you would like to go to a school that had a practice facility.
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Hell, I'd go with the big payday and sign with Kentucky. Why wait until the pros for your first contract...
 

RoyalGopher said:
Okafor is not coming to Minnesota. We all hope Tyus will come, and he actually might, but there is no way Okafor commits.
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Okafor is a Chicago kid, reading the new coaching threads on the Illinois message boards there is a bit of discussion about recruiting the top Chicago kids. I had to laugh at the thought of one of those kids comming to Minnesota and playing for Tubby.
 


From Marcus' last article:

"It's nice to see that they're a program on the rise," said Apple Valley sophomore point guard Tyus Jones, the Gophers' No. 1 recruiting target. "It's good to see that they're improving and working hard."
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Jones, who has scholarship offers from Duke, Ohio State and Michigan State, is eager to see how Hollins continues to develop in Smith's system.
"He was their go-to guy," Jones said. "He was putting the ball in the basket. It was good for them. It was good to see that. Whether it's Minnesota or any other college, I always watch my position real closely. When that (point guard) has success it helps me see what my role could be."
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MadtownGopher said:
From Marcus' last article:
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Two great quotes to read. Many say that he is just considering MN to appease the home town fans, but I really doubt that. Not saying he comes here, but I think he is truly considering it.

You can't tell me he doesn't notice that Minnesotans get turned away from his high school games. HIGH SCHOOL GAMES. Imagine the fan fare there would be if he attended college here?? The non-existant final four run proved that fans will care and be amazing with the right players, coaches and winning. The results don't count, but the noise and intimidation potential of the barn cannot be vacated like the results can. I think, and not over stating this one bit, Tyus Jones could become the greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin, even if he is only one and done.
 

scher215 said:
I think, and not over stating this one bit, Tyus Jones could become the greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin, even if he is only one and done.
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You are overstating it, stop it.
 

scher215 said:
I think, and not over stating this one bit, Tyus Jones could become the greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin, even if he is only one and done.
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scher215, we've had the #1 pick in the draft (Mychal Thompson), an NBA HOFer (Kevin McHale), the BTs first ever league MVP and Defensive POY in the same year that led us to a FF (Bobby Jackson), a stud big man that played on the famous 1972 Olympic Team (Jim Brewer), an All-American that went on to have an 11-year NBA career including earning a ring (Trent Tucker), etc.

I agree that Tyus has potential to do a lot of great things and be a state legend for life, but what would you say would equate to him being the "greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin"?

Go Gophers!!
 



BleedGopher said:
scher215, we've had the #1 pick in the draft (Mychal Thompson), an NBA HOFer (Kevin McHale), the BTs first ever league MVP and Defensive POY in the same year that led us to a FF (Bobby Jackson), a stud big man that played on the famous 1972 Olympic Team (Jim Brewer), an All-American that went on to have an 11-year NBA career including earning a ring (Trent Tucker), etc.

I agree that Tyus has potential to do a lot of great things and be a state legend for life, but what would you say would equate to him being the "greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin"?

Go Gophers!!
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Maybe not by a wide margin, but Anthony Davis was the rivals #2 player and #1 at his position and he had a college career, one season, of national player of the year, freshman of the year, defensive player of the year, will likely be the #1 pick in the draft, national champion etc. etc. etc. (I wouldn't include NBA success as Gopher success though either)

Tyus Jones is currently #7 overall and I see no reason what so ever that Tyus couldn't accomplish everything Davis did at UK at the U, and if he did, he'd be the best Gopher player ever IMO. Personally, I think Tyus is a once in a lifetime type of player. He has qualities that cannot be taught to any player, he just has them, there is a reason many rave about him when he is a 2014 recruit and say that he would start for many many programs as a Sophomore in high school.

Tyus isn't Royce White, he isn't Khalid El-Amin, he isn't Cole Aldrich, IMO, he is far and away better and more skilled than any of them. Put the right talent around him here (Looking at you Rashad Vaughn and other 2014's) and this kid really could be the best player in the country as a freshman.
 

The obvious difference is that Anthony Davis is 6'10 with the wingspan of a condor, who has been called a once-in-a-generation talent and drawn comparisons to Bill Russell. He was 1-10 last night and arguably had the biggest impact of any player in the game. If your comeback is that Jones is capable of the same thing (passing, leadership), I can accept it to an extent. But it's almost impossible for a 6'1 guard to match what a 6'10 beast like Davis is capable of in terms of impact on a game.

Look, Jones is very good, way beyond his years. But I think you've gone overboard with this post.

p.s. Jones is more skilled than White and Aldrich. He may be more skilled than El-Amin, but they are both in the same neighborhood.
 

The thing that makes Davis particularly amazing is that he had an extraordinarily late growth spurt. Most guys who are 6'8" plus were always the tallest guy on the team and got used to playing with their back to the basket basically from the time they entered organized basketball. For Davis, he was a guard and was never particularly very tall for his age, until he went from 6'3" to 6'10" in the span of months two years ago. He is more or less a PG in a PF's body. He has somehow taken most of the PG skills he had acquired over time and supplemented them with his newfound big man skills, in a freakishly athletic big man's body. Unless Tyus grows 7-8 inches in the next year and turns into a hellacious SF/PF, I see no feasible way he can even approach the caliber of Davis' 1 year in college.
 

Facts34 said:
The obvious difference is that Anthony Davis is 6'10 with the wingspan of a condor, who has been called a once-in-a-generation talent and drawn comparisons to Bill Russell. He was 1-10 last night and arguably had the biggest impact of any player in the game. If your comeback is that Jones is capable of the same thing (passing, leadership), I can accept it to an extent. But it's almost impossible for a 6'1 guard to match what a 6'10 beast like Davis is capable of in terms of impact on a game.

Look, Jones is very good, way beyond his years. But I think you've gone overboard with this post.

p.s. Jones is more skilled than White and Aldrich. He may be more skilled than El-Amin, but they are both in the same neighborhood.
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I think I see what scher is saying. A PG and a C can have huge impacts without scoring, they just do it differently. Davis did it by playing stellar defense and rebounding. A PG can do the same thing by playing stellar defense (making life difficult for the other team's PG) and running an efficient offense. You look at Ricky Rubio's stat sheet and you think he's nothing special, but then you see the Timberwolves falling apart without him. I think that's what Tyus could be like for the Gophers.
 


scher215 said:
Two great quotes to read. Many say that he is just considering MN to appease the home town fans, but I really doubt that. Not saying he comes here, but I think he is truly considering it.

You can't tell me he doesn't notice that Minnesotans get turned away from his high school games. HIGH SCHOOL GAMES. Imagine the fan fare there would be if he attended college here?? The non-existant final four run proved that fans will care and be amazing with the right players, coaches and winning. The results don't count, but the noise and intimidation potential of the barn cannot be vacated like the results can. I think, and not over stating this one bit, Tyus Jones could become the greatest player to ever wear the maroon and gold by a wide margin, even if he is only one and done.
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I agree we should re-name Williams Area after him, change the M&G to his favorite colors and take down all those jerseys on the wall that nobody has ever heard of and put his up. Anyone who doesn't see Tubby should be recruiting around a 15 year-old is clueless. If we don't sign Tyus I'm going to have to make sure I don't go by any tall building or have any sharp objects in the house.

Go Gophers!
 

mattw1067 said:
Then why is he ranked #7 in his class?
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I'm confused as to the "Second Coming of Christ" sentiment regarding Tyus, too. I understand that he is a fantastic player, but there are 6 guys ranked higher than him so far in his own recruiting class. The people who say we'd be unstoppable with him are forgetting that there are teams that regularly pull in Top 10 recruits, and then go on to have mediocre seasons. Top players != top teams. They help, but they're not a guarantee.
 

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