UPDATED 6/2: Joey King a Gopher, on full scholarship!

Rakeem or bust for me. I would rather see us bank that last scholly than offer it to Randall. I'm surprised we haven't seen either Oto or Mav transfer as well. If we get Rakeem, you would think Oto's minutes would be severely limited.
 

Son of a, we used a scholarship on a mediocre PF with three year's of eligibility left? What a waste.

A little harsh on a kid who, like you said, has only played one year- lots of kids do less their freshman year and end up developing into solid (or better) contributors. Don't write him off before he's played a game.
 

Drake fans have mixed opinions about King leaving. Many of them think he was a poor teammate. http://www.drakenation.com/Topic89027-8-1.aspx

Sure, King has upside, he might end up great and he might end up sucking ... that is the bottom line. He WAS NOT a good teammate. If you talk to any players, they like Joey but thought he was an immature little pussy. He and Micah were best friends ... nuff said. F him ... I'm glad he's gone.

It is a FACT that Joey King needs to improve his IQ.

Everything that I had heard and seen from him suggests that he's kind of a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#.

Coach has chosen his words very carefully: " The good news is the guys that are left are 100 percent bought in.” Obviously JK thinks he knows the game better than the new staff.
 

Hope he is as good of a shooter as advertised. If he is, at 6'9 he should be a solid addition even if his interior skills are a bit lacking. It's almost impossible to defend a 6'9 dude that shoots lights out.
 

Don't know if Randall is any good, but if he signs with Gophers I'd guess there's a good chance he'll be eligible immediately with all the crap surrounding Rutgers/Mike Rice situation. Man, do we need a PF for 2013-14, and with King's signing it sure appears Buckles is now out of the mix.
 


Don't know if Randall is any good, but if he signs with Gophers I'd guess there's a good chance he'll be eligible immediately with all the crap surrounding Rutgers/Mike Rice situation. Man, do we need a PF for 2013-14, and with King's signing it sure appears Buckles is now out of the mix.

Curious...thoughts why Joey King effects Buckles? Seems more likely to me reality set in...it's June and King is the best we can do for one of our two forwards. Buckles will be the other one. If Randall was/is the guy signing then I would/will be disappointed. King and Buckles are the two best options available. We announced one of the two into our loop.
 

Buckles is still expected to come here. Lets make that more apparent than it seems to be. He has some stuff to get taken care of, than he'll try to get a waiver. There's no timetable, but if it happens, it can still wait a few months.
 





Sounds a lot like Gopherhole any time someone leaves our program or chooses another school over us.

There is no expertise anywhere that compares to the expertise displayed by our GH experts, be whether the kid is coming to us or leaving us.
 

I'm skeptical. Not only are the rumors of Joey King being a less than desirable character very real and true (I've since heard that he has gotten better), but what position is he going to play? Because it won't be PF in the B1G. SF is the most likely position for him; but then we have Austin, Wally, Smith, McNeil splitting time there in a 3 guard set. If we aren't running a three guard set or if we are you still have experienced Oto and Buggs at that SF/stretch 4 position. This is a bit of a head scratcher. I know a lot of posters here are in love with the kid because he is from Minnesota and can shoot, but seriously, this kid is not a difference maker.
 

I will say this but don't connect the lines too hard. Joey King is a less physical Royce White and slightly less of a emotional disorder. I have some connections to the EV programm, 0 with JK, but I did watch many of his games. Can handle the ball, shoot it and was a physical mismatch in high school. Haven't seen if he put weight on to be a similar player in college, but I will say his game is very similar to RW in that he likes the ball in his hand, can hit a jump shot with a hand in his face a d also has the ability to get to the hoop with slower 4s on him.

Intriguing prospect for the gophers.
 

I'm skeptical. Not only are the rumors of Joey King being a less than desirable character very real and true (I've since heard that he has gotten better), but what position is he going to play? Because it won't be PF in the B1G. SF is the most likely position for him; but then we have Austin, Wally, Smith, McNeil splitting time there in a 3 guard set. If we aren't running a three guard set or if we are you still have experienced Oto and Buggs at that SF/stretch 4 position. This is a bit of a head scratcher. I know a lot of posters here are in love with the kid because he is from Minnesota and can shoot, but seriously, this kid is not a difference maker.

He's a PF and will play there in the B1G. He's not a difference maker, he's a role player.

It's the bottom of the ninth and Kirby isn't available. You go with what you have.
 



I'm skeptical. Not only are the rumors of Joey King being a less than desirable character very real and true (I've since heard that he has gotten better), but what position is he going to play? Because it won't be PF in the B1G. SF is the most likely position for him; but then we have Austin, Wally, Smith, McNeil splitting time there in a 3 guard set. If we aren't running a three guard set or if we are you still have experienced Oto and Buggs at that SF/stretch 4 position. This is a bit of a head scratcher. I know a lot of posters here are in love with the kid because he is from Minnesota and can shoot, but seriously, this kid is not a difference maker.

Can you elaborate with your PF remark? How many Big Ten PF's will give him that much trouble? We had Rodney Williams playing PF last year quite a bit and he's smaller than King (more athletic though, of course). I guess I'm struggling to see how King can't play PF in Pitino's system. Of course a guy like Payne wouldn't be a good matchup, but I don't see a lot of Adrien Payne's in the big ten.
 


Can you elaborate with your PF remark? How many Big Ten PF's will give him that much trouble? We had Rodney Williams playing PF last year quite a bit and he's smaller than King (more athletic though, of course). I guess I'm struggling to see how King can't play PF in Pitino's system. Of course a guy like Payne wouldn't be a good matchup, but I don't see a lot of Adrien Payne's in the big ten.

Rodney really didn't play tons of PF last year as compared to the year before, but sure you're right. What Rodney lacks in size (I'll give Rodney 6'7" in shoes and King 6'9" although that may be a stretch) he makes up for in unreal leaping ability (gives him the ability to block bigger players shots and get rebounds over them) in addition to maneuvering around them with his advantage in agility. If you have seen King play you know he is nowhere near as strong as Rodney was last year, 10xs as slow, and obviously doesn't have anywhere near the leaping ability. So what Rodney lacks in size he gets away with by having other advantages. Unless you want NW's frontcourt King is not the player we NEED when we already have the same player in Oto (I'll give King the edge on offense). It's kind of a waste of a scholarship in my eyes.
 

The staff must like King. They wouldn't sign him just because there's nobody left to sign & the clock is ticking. You take a guy with one year like Malik Smith in that case, not a guy you'd be stuck with for 3 years. Plus he doesn't seem to be a measurable upgrade from Oto at this time anyhow. No, the staff must like his combination of length & shooting touch. A solid depth player would be my guess.
 


Rodney really didn't play tons of PF last year as compared to the year before, but sure you're right. What Rodney lacks in size (I'll give Rodney 6'7" in shoes and King 6'9" although that may be a stretch) he makes up for in unreal leaping ability (gives him the ability to block bigger players shots and get rebounds over them) in addition to maneuvering around them with his advantage in agility. If you have seen King play you know he is nowhere near as strong as Rodney was last year, 10xs as slow, and obviously doesn't have anywhere near the leaping ability. So what Rodney lacks in size he gets away with by having other advantages. Unless you want NW's frontcourt King is not the player we NEED when we already have the same player in Oto (I'll give King the edge on offense). It's kind of a waste of a scholarship in my eyes.

Oto has been terrible. If this is our replacement for Oto with a player with size who has actually proven he can make outside shots in Division 1 games then I'm all for it.
 

Rodney really didn't play tons of PF last year as compared to the year before, but sure you're right. What Rodney lacks in size (I'll give Rodney 6'7" in shoes and King 6'9" although that may be a stretch) he makes up for in unreal leaping ability (gives him the ability to block bigger players shots and get rebounds over them) in addition to maneuvering around them with his advantage in agility. If you have seen King play you know he is nowhere near as strong as Rodney was last year, 10xs as slow, and obviously doesn't have anywhere near the leaping ability. So what Rodney lacks in size he gets away with by having other advantages. Unless you want NW's frontcourt King is not the player we NEED when we already have the same player in Oto (I'll give King the edge on offense). It's kind of a waste of a scholarship in my eyes.
10x as slow? This isn't big Mo we're talking about here. I think you'll be surprised with his athleticism.
 




Was hoping they'd get King in here one way or another. This guy will make some big shots for this team; write that down.

Welcome back, Joey.
 

I will say this but don't connect the lines too hard. Joey King is a less physical Royce White and slightly less of a emotional disorder. I have some connections to the EV programm, 0 with JK, but I did watch many of his games. Can handle the ball, shoot it and was a physical mismatch in high school. Haven't seen if he put weight on to be a similar player in college, but I will say his game is very similar to RW in that he likes the ball in his hand, can hit a jump shot with a hand in his face a d also has the ability to get to the hoop with slower 4s on him.

Intriguing prospect for the gophers.

Joey King and Royce White are almost polar opposites. King is a shooting forward, an average athlete, and a poor ball-handler. White is a poor shooter, a bull of an athlete, and as good of a ball-handler for his size and bulk that you'll ever find.

King is a taller, less-athletic Michael Bauer.
 

Joey King and Royce White are almost polar opposites. King is a shooting forward, an average athlete, and a poor ball-handler. White is a poor shooter, a bull of an athlete, and as good of a ball-handler for his size and bulk that you'll ever find.

King is a taller, less-athletic Michael Bauer.
Yuck!
 



Bauer would have had a great Gopher career if not for his injuries. If King is close to a healthy, pre injury Bauer, I'd take him.

Currently, Bauer is second in Minnesota history with 191 three point field goals. After watching anyone not named Dre Hollins clank 3pter after 3pter, I cannot be happier that we have a player like King come in. Bauer was a skinny athlete with a great shooting touch and leaping ability that allowed him to block shots. Had he been able to develop other parts of his game like ball handling he might have been able to play the sf spot. He was a solid gopher contributor and has played for years overseas in decent leagues.

At minimum, King will be a zone buster off the bench, and maybe more.

Payne will probably be playing center for Michigan st. PF's he would have to potentially guard next year: A. White, Vanleh (Ind), G. Robinson, C. Hale (Purd), N. Hayes (Wisc), L. Ross. They are all more quick than physical. It is no longer the big ten of old where we had bruisers like John Thomas and Courtney at the 4 and 5.
 

also keep in mind Pitino's desired brand of defense. He's not trying to pack it in and limit shot opportunities, he's trying to force turnovers. The guards will rotate over to take a swipe at the ball anytime a power forward puts it on the floor and rely on the other guards to utilize their quickness to cover the shooters left open.
 




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