Which Gophers did you miss on badly - you thought XYZ Gopher would be much better or much worse?

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Here are a few that I thought were going to be much better than they turned out:

Michael Bauer - when this kid came in as a freshman I thought he had Sam Jacobson potential. He could score from all aspects of the game - outside, mid-range, in transition, around the rim, etc. Slowly but surely as his career went on he became a glorified three-point shooter, completely mitigating his athleticism. He still had a solid career, but early on I thought he was a future first round pick.

Bakary Konate - I wasn't as bullish as @Jason Groth who I think tabbed him as the most important recruit since Joel P :), but I thought based on his offers at the time that he'd be a poor man's Courtney James at worst. Instead he was a poor man's, well, not even sure. Big miss on my end.

Kyle Sanden/Kevin Loge Combo - These two guys came in around the time Joel P was doing his thing (pre-quitting) and I thought we were set at Center for a many years. Sanden had a solid but not great career, I believe he hit a great buzzer beater against Cinci, but he was really just average. Loge I think shot a finger off his hand and never had an impact before leaving the U quickly.

Here are a few that turned out way better than I expected:

Dusty Rychart - far and away my biggest miss on the upside. I remember watching him in a Howard Pulley game the summer going into his freshman season and he was far and a way the worst player on the court. I couldn't believe we recruited him. By the time his career was over he cemented himself in my Top 5 Gophers All Time. Wow what a player he was!!

Ja'Son Stamper - I thought he was undersized and lacked much skill, but his effort and heart were Rychart/Richard Coffey level. He's an underappreciated Gopher and I missed on his impact.

Jordan Murphy - I was excited to get him but no way did I have any inclination he'd be as good as he turned out. I think we got him after he decommitted to VCU and I think he's one of the most under-appreciated Gopher greats of all time. An absolute legend, and sadly the type of player we'd never be able to keep for 4 years in today's landscape.

I'll probably think of more on each end of the spectrum, but would love to hear other's takes as well.

Go Gophers!!
 

Oldies but goodies:

Oto Osenieks - thought he would become our Toni Kukoc

Chip Armelin - very athletic, I thought he was a diamond in the rough Tubby could develop. He ended up having a nice senior year at Southern Miss (16 ppg)

Lawrence Westbrook - he averaged something absurd like 40 points per game in HS so I thought he was going to come in and be a phenom for us
 

eker0016 said:
Oldies but goodies:

Oto Osenieks - thought he would become our Toni Kukoc

Chip Armelin - very athletic, I thought he was a diamond in the rough Tubby could develop. He ended up having a nice senior year at Southern Miss (16 ppg)

Lawrence Westbrook - he averaged something absurd like 40 points per game in HS so I thought he was going to come in and be a phenom for us
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I mean Lawrence Westbrook ended up pretty good from what I remember.

Sampson and Joe Coleman were two guys I thought would be better than they ended up being. Same with Jelly Fam Washington.
 

Beerculees said:
I mean Lawrence Westbrook ended up pretty good from what I remember.

Sampson and Joe Coleman were two guys I thought would be better than they ended up being. Same with Jelly Fam Washington.
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Yeah especially his senior year he was good...I'm saying I thought he would be a first team all B10 kind of guy.
 

Beerculees said:
I mean Lawrence Westbrook ended up pretty good from what I remember.

Sampson and Joe Coleman were two guys I thought would be better than they ended up being. Same with Jelly Fam Washington.
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Yes, Jelly Fam! An Oldie (but no so goodie) Thanks for bringing his name up. I needed a good chuckle.
 




eker0016 said:
Oldies but goodies:

Oto Osenieks - thought he would become our Toni Kukoc

Chip Armelin - very athletic, I thought he was a diamond in the rough Tubby could develop. He ended up having a nice senior year at Southern Miss (16 ppg)

Lawrence Westbrook - he averaged something absurd like 40 points per game in HS so I thought he was going to come in and be a phenom for us
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This is my pick as well. I thought he was going to be another Jon Diebler.
 






I know he wasn't a highly rated recruit but I thought Michael Hurt would be better. He wasn't going to be as good as Mathew but man he was pretty bad and didn't get better.
I watched him a few times in high school and was really impressed- moved pretty well, good size, and could shoot 3's. I was thinking poor man's Chris Mullin ;)

Finished as the Minnesota Mr. Basketball runner-up his senior season to Gophers teammate Amir Coffey
 

LesBolstad said:
I know he wasn't a highly rated recruit but I thought Michael Hurt would be better. He wasn't going to be as good as Mathew but man he was pretty bad and didn't get better.
I watched him a few times in high school and was really impressed- moved pretty well, good size, and could shoot 3's. I was thinking poor man's Chris Mullin ;)

Finished as the Minnesota Mr. Basketball runner-up his senior season to Gophers teammate Amir Coffey
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I believe he was runner up to Coffey for Mr. basketball and yeah, he was a big flop.
 





Vincent Grier was a major, happy, surprise. Bill Duffy was a major disappointment, but huge success after he transferred from the Gophers. He came here lauded as one of the top recruits from California. But Jim Dutcher wasn’t able to get much more than a point a game from him. He transferred to Santa Clara after a year and became a star, getting drafted by Denver as their fourth pick. He became one of the top sports agents in the world, representing a bunch of NBA Hall of Famers. So while he was disappointing as a Gopher, he’s been a huge success in life. https://boardroom.tv/boardroom-qa-bill-duffy/
 

Jelly was my all-time miss. He was player of the year in NYC and should have been much better. Never really made it after going lower level so it wasn’t just coaching here. The east coast teams who cooled on him knew what was going on.
 

bga1 said:
Devron Bostick for me. Watched him in summer ball before his first year with Tubby and he was amazing. Had a sweet stroke, crazy athleticism and could beat you off the dribble or go long.
He was lazy on defense and got in Tubby's dog house and never got out.
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Devron for me too--- that summer at the Sal was some really good basketball and he was as good as anyone there. Pre-NIL-- after he won the championship he was walking out and his team-mates all had a Howard Pulley Pro-am championship t-shirt and i commented to him that he lost his already and he said he couldn't take it cuz the NCAA would find out. . He had a few games here and there to tease you and then he would give up a back door cut or something and be gone for a couple of weeks.
He tore up a knee earlier this year and said he was giving up the tourneys and leagues he was still playing in-- I think still in the Racine area
 

Minnesconsin fan said:
Devron for me too--- that summer at the Sal was some really good basketball and he was as good as anyone there. Pre-NIL-- after he won the championship he was walking out and his team-mates all had a Howard Pulley Pro-am championship t-shirt and i commented to him that he lost his already and he said he couldn't take it cuz the NCAA would find out. . He had a few games here and there to tease you and then he would give up a back door cut or something and be gone for a couple of weeks.
He tore up a knee earlier this year and said he was giving up the tourneys and leagues he was still playing in-- I think still in the Racine area
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Yea, I thought he was going to really do well for the Gophers. He had the tools, nice guy too, I played in a league with him a while back now (maybe 6 or 7 years ago) until the league disbanded. Kenosha/Racine area.
 

LesBolstad said:
I know he wasn't a highly rated recruit but I thought Michael Hurt would be better. He wasn't going to be as good as Mathew but man he was pretty bad and didn't get better.
I watched him a few times in high school and was really impressed- moved pretty well, good size, and could shoot 3's. I was thinking poor man's Chris Mullin ;)

Finished as the Minnesota Mr. Basketball runner-up his senior season to Gophers teammate Amir Coffey
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I think most of the reason we signed Michael, was to ultimately get the big prize, his kid brother Matthew. (damn Krzyzewski got in the way)
 

pharmacygopher said:
Jeff Hagen the freshman vs Jeff Hagen the senior were night and day. That was my undergrad time so was fun to watch.

Rodney Williams. So athletic but never found that next level
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I remember that he was ranked as the third pick by NBA Draft.net heading into his junior year.

I remember Barkley having a discussion about another superb athlete who played buckets and the guy said, “Chuck, he runs and jumps like a deer!!! How come he can’t be a better hooper?”

Bakley smiled and said, “Man, have you ever seen how a deer shoots???”
 



Gopherbbdude said:
Ralph Sampson III(or what ever number he was) I thought he was gonna be good....wrong
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Yeah, this would be my pick. I remember that monster game he had as a sophomore in a early season tournament, and then he just fell off the face of the earth after that.
 


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