UPDATED (6/14): Matt Thomas commits to Iowa State

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oleboy41 said:
I haven't even followed this kids recruitment much but it seemed clear a while ago that MN stopped recruiting him and that MN was the favorite up until that point to the point that he may have committed. This isn't a case of MN losing out but more of MN moving on
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I hadn't heard any of that, and I never once thought he was close to committing. I have also never heard that Minnesota moved on. Was that GI insider info or something?
 

oleboy41 said:
I haven't even followed this kids recruitment much but it seemed clear a while ago that MN stopped recruiting him and that MN was the favorite up until that point to the point that he may have committed. This isn't a case of MN losing out but more of MN moving on
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I do not believe it was ever the case that Matt was close to committing, or that Minnesota was even a favorite. Minnesota may have backed off of late (not sure that was truly the case), but if anything it was because the three other schools were clearly out front. Matt will be a good one for whoever he picks.
 


UWOle said:
I do not believe it was ever the case that Matt was close to committing, or that Minnesota was even a favorite. Minnesota may have backed off of late (not sure that was truly the case), but if anything it was because the three other schools were clearly out front. Matt will be a good one for whoever he picks.
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Yea I may have just repeated something heard confidentially but whatever. I do know that supposedly he was very close to committing to MN some months ago and that he hasn't heard from MN in a while. Whatever though, I don't really care either way as basketball recruiting outside of the top 50 is a crapshoot
 

Plinnius said:
Yes.
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Was it really? If so, who is providing this "inside information?" It always seems to turn out to be completely off base. I never got the impression that we led for Matt Thomas. Seemed like it was always ISU if anything.
 


Occam's razor. Which is more plausible - that the Gophers "cooled" on a prospect from a neighboring state with offers from both in-state BCS programs among at least 9 total BCS offers? Or that said prospect decided he liked the Gophers less-than-optimally when given the chance to decide amongst those several offers?
 

dpodoll68 said:
Occam's razor. Which is more plausible - that the Gophers "cooled" on a prospect from a neighboring state with offers from both in-state BCS programs among at least 9 total BCS offers? Or that said prospect decided he liked the Gophers less-than-optimally when given the chance to decide amongst those several offers?
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I'm sticking with answer B. Only Ryan James himself could change my answer.
 





As I see it, there are two possibilities:

A. The Gophers "cooled" on Thomas, and didn't recruit him very hard or
B. The Gophers did a hor$e#%t job recruiting Thomas.

Option A is only acceptable if they get a player of equal or more talent. Option B is never acceptable. I worry that Option B is much more likely.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Occam's razor. Which is more plausible - that the Gophers "cooled" on a prospect from a neighboring state with offers from both in-state BCS programs among at least 9 total BCS offers? Or that said prospect decided he liked the Gophers less-than-optimally when given the chance to decide amongst those several offers?
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Likely, the Gophers cooled after getting vibes that they were not going to get Matt. Prefer recruits who are honest and let the schools move on to other possibilities.
 

"Cooled" on him means they weren't interested in taking him anymore. If he called Tubby today and said he wanted to commit, there is no doubt whatsoever that Tubby would accept. Nonetheless, it is possible that they stopped recruiting him (not "cooling" on him) because they realized they weren't going to get him and wanted to direct more productive efforts elsewhere.

I also take issue with the implication that he was "poorly" recruited, whatever that means. Sometimes you can recruit a kid to the best of your abilities, and he still is just not going to come. A kid deciding to go elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean that he was "poorly" recruited.
 

dpodoll68 said:
"Cooled" on him means they weren't interested in taking him anymore. If he called Tubby today and said he wanted to commit, there is no doubt whatsoever that Tubby would accept. Nonetheless, it is possible that they stopped recruiting him (not "cooling" on him) because they realized they weren't going to get him and wanted to direct more productive efforts elsewhere.

I also take issue with the implication that he was "poorly" recruited, whatever that means. Sometimes you can recruit a kid to the best of your abilities, and he still is just not going to come. A kid deciding to go elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean that he was "poorly" recruited.
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you're speaking like you have insider information. Others say the exact opposite of you which is that MN certainly could have gotten his pledge but chose to back off. I don't know what's what but I'm wondering what you're basing your definitive statements on
 



oleboy41 said:
you're speaking like you have insider information. Others say the exact opposite of you which is that MN certainly could have gotten his pledge but chose to back off. I don't know what's what but I'm wondering what you're basing your definitive statements on
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I'm not speaking from anything other than common sense. Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player who is great at a skill particularly lacking on this team (outside shooting)? Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player with nine BCS offers? You combine those two facets into one and the same player, and it makes absolutely zero sense. I don't believe for a second that Minnesota "chose to back off". I believe Thomas could've been close to committing at one point. It is totally plausible. It is not plausible that Minnesota "chose to back off". We're not talking about Kentucky, Duke or North Carolina. We're talking about Minnesota. I don't buy it.

No one speaking to this highly-unlikely scenario has any insider information either. You want to believe them, because you don't want to face the fact that Minnesota holds little cachet to very many recruits with options, and certainly not very many outside Minnesota.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm not speaking from anything other than common sense. Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player who is great at a skill particularly lacking on this team (outside shooting)? Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player with nine BCS offers? You combine those two facets into one and the same player, and it makes absolutely zero sense. I don't believe for a second that Minnesota "chose to back off". I believe Thomas could've been close to committing at one point. It is totally plausible. It is not plausible that Minnesota "chose to back off". We're not talking about Kentucky, Duke or North Carolina. We're talking about Minnesota. I don't buy it.

No one speaking to this highly-unlikely scenario has any insider information either. You want to believe them, because you don't want to face the fact that Minnesota holds little cachet to very many recruits with options, and certainly not very many outside Minnesota.
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I'm a realist, and I also don't care enough to delude myself about any of this stuff, lol. Just know that when you admittedly have no insider info yet you hold a stance in direct opposition to what's been reported by someone who does have insider knowledge and has been consistently proven to be a very reliable source, you look silly. Entitled to your opinion, sure. But to present the opinion as fact when its not based on anything solid is a pet peeve of mine.
 

oleboy41 said:
I'm a realist, and I also don't care enough to delude myself about any of this stuff, lol. Just know that when you admittedly have no insider info yet you hold a stance in direct opposition to what's been reported by someone who does have insider knowledge and has been consistently proven to be a very reliable source, you look silly. Entitled to your opinion, sure. But to present the opinion as fact when its not based on anything solid is a pet peeve of mine.
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Who are you talking about? Ryan James, presumably? You mean his Gophers sources might tell him a little white lie that would slant the PR in favor of the Gophers? No, I can't believe that would be true.

I don't look silly at all, actually. Saying that the Gophers don't want a Wisconsin guy with 9 BCS offers (Wisconsin and Marquette among them) and outstanding shooting skills is what's silly.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Who are you talking about? Ryan James, presumably? You mean his Gophers sources might tell him a little white lie that would slant the PR in favor of the Gophers? No, I can't believe that would be true.

I don't look silly at all, actually. Saying that the Gophers don't want a Wisconsin guy with 9 BCS offers (Wisconsin and Marquette among them) and outstanding shooting skills is what's silly.
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Agreed - it is silly. Talk to Tubby about that.

How do you poorly recruit someone? To get the answer, I'd start by asking Matt Thomas.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
This top three is the same that's been talked about for quite a while now on Thomas... don't think it's anything knew, perhaps just an update that there's been no change in the most likely landing spots.

With respect to Virginia, you've got to remember their strong connections to the state of Wisconsin. It was only 22 months ago that the Gophers lost out on Paul Jesperson to Virginia.

ISU is going to be a player in recruiting for the time being... they're now a tourney team who had signature victories a year ago and are sending kids to the NBA.

Minnesota's recruiting successes need to be drastically improved if they want to consistently compete for top-half finishes in the Big Ten, but I wouldn't get too worked up about Matt Thomas' preferences over Minnesota.
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GW you can stand by your quote all you want but your entire post is flawed. We all know Jespersen went to Virginia but saying Virginia now has strong Wisconsin connections? Maybe......but they have one player from WI. does that make Minnesota a major player in Virginia for bringing in Buggs? Or maybe Texas since that is his home town?

Also yes ISU had a good season last year......much to do off of a player who signed with Tubby. Royce lead that team in scoring, rebounds and assists. tubby had a great team lined up with Trevor and Royce. He couldn't avoid Trevor getting hurt and couldn't hold royces hand so he wouldn't steal and push around mall cops.

Can you name one player on ISU's roster right now that you would take in front of MBakwe, Williams or A. Hollins?
 

XMan said:
GW you can stand by your quote all you want but your entire post is flawed. We all know Jespersen went to Virginia but saying Virginia now has strong Wisconsin connections? Maybe......but they have one player from WI. does that make Minnesota a major player in Virginia for bringing in Buggs? Or maybe Texas since that is his home town?
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Are you suggesting Tony Bennett's only connection to Wisconsin is Paul Jespersen??
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm not speaking from anything other than common sense. Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player who is great at a skill particularly lacking on this team (outside shooting)? Why on Earth would Minnesota "choose to back off" on a player with nine BCS offers? You combine those two facets into one and the same player, and it makes absolutely zero sense.
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It not like this is the first time Tubby would have done such a thing. Remember Trey Zeigler's recruitment? Offered him and then soured on him after just a month.
 

Plinnius said:
It not like this is the first time Tubby would have done such a thing. Remember Trey Zeigler's recruitment? Offered him and then soured on him after just a month.
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Sure he did. It was like the time Katy Perry was all up on my junk, pressuring me into getting married, kids, white picket fence, the whole nine yards. I was like, "Whoa, slow down, let's get to know each other first." Eventually I just decided that she just made too much money, and that her breasts were just too big and too perfect. The thought of staring at/playing with those every day for the rest of my life? Gross.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Sure he did. It was like the time Katy Perry was all up on my junk, pressuring me into getting married, kids, white picket fence, the whole nine yards. I was like, "Whoa, slow down, let's get to know each other first." Eventually I just decided that she just made too much money, and that her breasts were just too big and too perfect. The thought of staring at/playing with those every day for the rest of my life? Gross.
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Even JohnnyGopher is full of sh*t now?
 

Plinnius said:
Even JohnnyGopher is full of sh*t now?
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I'm not out to kill the messenger. I'm sure many have heard things like "the Gophers stopped recruiting him" for various players during the Tubby era. For obvious reasons, some people want to jump to the conclusion that the Gophers didn't want the player, rather than the other way around. Again, which is more plausible? The Gophers didn't want a player who had offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA? Or that a player with offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA didn't want to play for the Gophers? I mean, good God man, it's common sense.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm not out to kill the messenger. I'm sure many have heard things like "the Gophers stopped recruiting him" for various players during the Tubby era. For obvious reasons, some people want to jump to the conclusion that the Gophers didn't want the player, rather than the other way around. Again, which is more plausible? The Gophers didn't want a player who had offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA? Or that a player with offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA didn't want to play for the Gophers? I mean, good God man, it's common sense.
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I'm not sure that you understand what others are saying. You seem to be assuming that Tubby uses common sense when it comes to recruiting. I can't find much evidence to support that notion. There is a complete lack of any plan when it comes to this staff's recruiting strategy. They offer someone, then it comes to light that there is no contact being made to the player, and it is assumed that they "cooled" on him. Or, it could just be that this staff is that incompetent when it comes to the recruiting game. Call me a "tubby hater" but the man doesn't seem to recruit with any plan whatsoever.
End of rant.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm not out to kill the messenger. I'm sure many have heard things like "the Gophers stopped recruiting him" for various players during the Tubby era. For obvious reasons, some people want to jump to the conclusion that the Gophers didn't want the player, rather than the other way around. Again, which is more plausible? The Gophers didn't want a player who had offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA? Or that a player with offers from Arizona, Duke, Michigan St., and UCLA didn't want to play for the Gophers? I mean, good God man, it's common sense.
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The issue here is that many of us have accepted that Tubby's recruiting makes no sense while you still want it to. It made no sense to throw all our PG eggs in the Cory Joseph basket with Mav as your only plan B. It made no sense to recruit Andre Ingram. It never makes sense. Tubby waits until a guy has 30 offers to start recruiting him and then stops 3 weeks later. HE recruits Thomas hard, is the favorite, then decides to go in another direction without a guy ready to commit waiting.
 

For a guy whose recruiting makes no sense, he has signed a lot of good players here.

Sequence since the end of the season:

Action: Trevor gets his waiver and comes back for another year.
Reaction: Tubby is the man and everything will come up roses for the next year and beyond.

Action: Tubby decides to not kick a player off the team so Lockett can come aboard.
Reaction: Tubby doesn't want to win at all costs, and he'll never win anything of significance here.

Action: A recruit who may or may not have had Minnesota as his leader at one point decides to narrow his list to 3 finalists (all of which are better-to-much-better basketball programs than Minnesota, both now and historically). He desperately wanted to sign here, but Tubby didn't want anything to do with him.
Reaction: Tubby is completely clueless, he has no idea what he's doing with recruiting, and he'll never win anything of significance here. Nothing he does makes any sense whatsoever.

Sound about right?
 

XMan said:
GW you can stand by your quote all you want but your entire post is flawed. We all know Jespersen went to Virginia but saying Virginia now has strong Wisconsin connections? Maybe......but they have one player from WI. does that make Minnesota a major player in Virginia for bringing in Buggs? Or maybe Texas since that is his home town?

Also yes ISU had a good season last year......much to do off of a player who signed with Tubby. Royce lead that team in scoring, rebounds and assists. tubby had a great team lined up with Trevor and Royce. He couldn't avoid Trevor getting hurt and couldn't hold royces hand so he wouldn't steal and push around mall cops.

Can you name one player on ISU's roster right now that you would take in front of MBakwe, Williams or A. Hollins?
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Will Clyburn will be a first round pick next year, and i'd guess he'll be higher drafted than Mbakwe. And i'd take Korie Lucious over A. Hollins.
 

TC-Monkey said:
Will Clyburn will be a first round pick next year, and i'd guess he'll be higher drafted than Mbakwe. And i'd take Korie Lucious over A. Hollins.
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NBADraft.Net disagrees with you.

Trevor Mbakwe is projected 13th in the 2013 draft. Will Clyburn is not mentioned.

Although you didn't bring him up, Rodney Williams is projected to go 40th in 2013. Still no Clyburn either.
 


Korie Lucious over Hollins? I think you asked every coach in the Big Ten to chose between the two. Everyone picks Hollins.
Tubby for his reputation and salary should out recruit Iowa State and Virgina.
 

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