Gopher Basketball
Over the next two years, the Golden Gophers will be welcoming five players onto their roster who are consensus Top 100 recruits for their respective classes in Devoe Joseph, Trevor Mbawke, Ralph Sampson III, Royce White, and Rodney Williams. I thought it would be interesting to compare these players to their peers in the rankings from the five years previous to their high school class.
Devoe Joseph-#98 RSCI Hoops, class of ´08
2007 Jeff Brooks, Penn State-This forward garnered limited playing time for the Nittany Lions during his freshman season.
2006 Da´Sean Butler*, West Virginia-Has been a standout for the Mountaineers, averaging in double figures in points each of his first two years.
2005 Darren Collison, UCLA-Has been a key component in UCLA´s revival, backing up Jordan Farmar as a freshman and starting at point guard the past two seasons, contributing significantly to the three consecutive Final Fours for the Bruins. A preseason All-American this year.
2004 Alex Thompson, Iowa-Had two non-descript seasons for the Hawkeyes before transferring to Iowa State. Came off the bench for the Cyclones last year, this is his senior season.
2003 Karron Clarke, Miami (Fla.)-Transferred after his freshman season with the Canes to DePaul, where he completed his eligibility last season. Was a solid contributor to the Blue Demons during the remainder of his career.
“¢Butler was ranked #99 in his class, he was referenced since there was a tie at #97 between two other players.
Big Ten Notables in the Neighborhood: J.J. Hardy, Indiana (#93, 2004); Patrick Ewing Jr. (#97, 2003)
Trevor Mbakwe-#91 RSCI Hoops, class of ´07
2006 Gilbert Brown, Pitt-This super athletic swingman was a valuable player off the bench for the Panthers last year after redshirting his first year on campus and will be expected to step into the starting lineup on this veteran team expected to contend for the national title.
2005 Kenneth Cooper, Oklahoma State-Cooper was a solid frontcourt player, primarily in a reserve role for the Cowboys but decided to transfer after his sophomore year to Louisiana Tech, where he will be eligible this season.
2004 Anthony Morrow, Georgia Tech; DeAaron Williams, Wisconsin(tie)-Morrow had a very solid career for the Rambling Wreck, contributing all four years and leading them in scoring during his sophomore and senior seasons; Williams is one of the rare recruiting misses for Bo Ryan. Williams played sparingly as a freshman, transferred to a junior college, and ended his career at Northern Kentucky, a Division-II school.
2003 Daon Merritt, Richmond-Merritt was a valuable bench player for Richmond, but after some off-court issues, he decided to transfer to South Alabama following his sophomore season. He settled into the starting point guard spot during his two seasons at South Alabama, leading them to the NCAA tournament his senior year.
2002 Mario Moore, Vanderbilt; Matt Kiefer, Purdue-Moore was a very solid player through his first three years with Vandy, keying a Sweet 16 run during his sophomore year, but had a tough senior season which dissolved into poor production on the court and dissatisfaction with the coaches. Kiefer was a bright spot on some otherwise dismal Purdue squads, serving as a capable power forward/center for the Boilermakers.
Big Ten Notables in the Neighborhood: Trevon Hughes (#88, class of ´06)
Ralph Sampson III-#64 RSCI Hoops, class of ´08
2007 Chase Stanback, UCLA-After a season spent in reserve on a deep UCLA team, Stanback chose to transfer to UNLV. He´ll be a sophomore in 2009-10.
2006 Haseem Thabeet, UConn-A major reason that the Huskies are considered national title contenders this season is Thabeet. A presence defensively who is still developing his offensive game, he will likely be a lottery pick when he leaves college.
2005 Reginald Delk, Mississippi State-Tony´s nephew joined his uncle´s former college coach at Louisville, where he will be eligible this season after sitting out last year. He was a two year starter at Mississippi State, averaging 9 points per game with the Bulldogs.
2004 Andray Blatche, NBA-After a year at prep school in 2005, Blatche declared for the NBA draft in 2005 where he was selected by the Washington Wizards. He developed into a solid reserve off the bench last year for the Wizards.
2003 Dorrell Wright, NBA-Wright followed the same course as Blatche, heading to a prep school for another year before declaring for the NBA draft. He was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2004 draft and has been with them since.
Big Ten Notables in the Neighborhood: Robbie Hummel (#62, 2007); Jon Diebler (#61, 2007); Isiah Dahlman (#67, 2006); Jason Bohannon (#62, 2006), Brent Petway (#62, 2003)
Rodney Williams, #38, RSCI Hoops, Class of ´09
2009 Chris Allen, Michigan State-Allen was a solid player coming off the bench for the Spartans last season, excelling in the NCAA tournament. He should be an important perimeter for Michigan State this year and the remainder of his college career.
2008 James Keefe, UCLA-This former McDonald´s All-American played limited minutes on a deep Bruins team his freshman year and missed a good chunk of his sophomore year due to a shoulder injury, but had a solid NCAA tournament and will probably be relied upon heavily over the next two seasons.
2007 Mike Mercer, Georgia-Mercer´s career on the court at Georgia got off to a great start, but he was waylaid first by a torn ACL and then academic problems which got him kicked out of the program. He has since transferred to South Florida where he will have two years of eligibility remaining.
2004 Ronald Steele, Alabama-Steele´s stellar college career was sidelined by knee problems, limiting him during his junior year and causing him to redshirt last season. He returns as a senior looking to lead Alabama back into the NCAA tournament and regain the form that seemed to guarantee a NBA future.
2003 Thomas Gardner, Missouri-Gardner was an excellent player for Missouri during a pretty rough spell (coinciding with the end of the Quin Snyder era). Gardner led the league in scoring his junior year, then opted for the NBA draft.
Big Ten Notables in the Neighborhood: Manny Harris (#42, 2007); Kalin Lucas (#32, 2007); Quincy Morgan (#34, 2006); Greg Stiesma (#37, 2004)
Royce White-#24 RSCI Hoops, class of ´09
2007 Taylor King, Duke-After coming off the bench as a long distance specialist last season, King elected to transfer and is sitting out this season at Villanova.
2007 Earl Clark, Louisville-Clark has been a standout for the Cardinals and after initially declaring for the NBA draft after last season, withdrew his name and is a major reason Louisville is considered a Final Four contender.
2008 Kovortney Barber, Auburn-Barber steps into his senior year having had a solid career, but not matching the hype produced for this former McDonald´s All-American. Barber was having a nice junior year before breaking his hand after 10 games and being lost for the season.
2006 A.J. Price, Connecticut-Price´s tumultuous college career can still end on a high note during his senior year. Price´s freshman year was spent battling a life threatening disease, he was suspended the following year for his role in computer thefts on the UConn campus, and last year he tore his ACL in the opening round NCAA tournament loss to San Diego. A key player for UConn´s national title hopes, Price was recently cleared to practice and play for the upcoming season.
2003 Regis Koundjia, LSU-Koundjia transferred shortly into his sophomore year after limited play with the Tigers. He finished his career with George Washington, as a solid role player for the Colonials.
Big Ten Notables in the Neighborhood: E´twaun Moore (#23, 2007); Mike Conley, Jr. (#21, 2006); Joe Krabbenhoft (#28, 2005); Marquis Gray (#28, 2004); Dion Harris (#22, 2003); Rich McBride (#28, 2003)
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What can we glean from these comparisons? It really just seems to highlight the unpredictability of recruiting. Our recruits could break big (picture a team of Darren Collison, Anthony Morrow, Haseem Thabeet, Earl Clark, and Ronald Steele) or they could all be busts or transfer elsewhere (which has occurred at every spot on this list at least once over a five year span). Most likely, our players will fall somewhere in between. It seems unlikely that all of our recruits will be all we hope they will be, whether that´s due to ineffectiveness, transfers, or other factors; if they all have solid careers at the “U”, we will be fortunate. As you´ll see tomorrow when we take a look at Big Ten recruiting over the last decade, the key is gathering lots of talent and developing that talent, because even the best coaches and best programs suffer attrition, often from players that had coaches and fanbases in a tizzy when they originally committed.
If you take a look at any top 25 poll this season, you will see programs where highly lauded recruits who were projected to be a part of their team transferred out at some point. Looking at Gary Parrish´s (from cbssportsline.com) top 26 teams, 15 of those programs had a player transfer who was a top 100 recruit from 2005-07. Take note, not just any player, but a top 100 recruit. Three other programs from that list had players declare early for the NBA draft. 18 of the top 26 programs in the nation had to adjust to highly ranked players leaving early, yet they still have enough talent to be considered among the top 26 programs in the nation.
To arrive in the neighborhood where these programs reside is a tough trek and one that Tubby Smith (and his eventual successor) will be challenged to arrive at. However, if success on the court and the recruiting circuit continues to ascend, Minnesota could be poised for a very good run-not just for two to three years, but for a solid stretch of time. Consider that Minnesota is the only Division I program in a state with a sizeable population and an improving base of prep talent, substantially better than when Jim Dutcher or Clem Haskins were coaching at Minnesota. He has already reversed the trend of the truly elite talents leaving the state with the verbal commitments from White and Williams. If this Gopher program wins and makes itself known on the national scene, not only is it easier to seal the borders, but harvesting talent from other Midwest states and beyond becomes easier too. When you look at the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, they produce some exceptional basketball talent, talent that previous coaches at the “œU” were able to tap into fairly regularly. If Minnesota becomes relevant again, it becomes possible that those pipelines are reopened. This may sound like hyperbole, but the next few years for the Gophers is not only important for what happens on the court, but important for the long-term prospects of the Minnesota program and what heights we may achieve. It may be difficult to remember, but the likes of Michigan State, Duke, Texas and Connecticut were fair to middling programs not so long ago. Today each of these programs is a national program that can and does recruit nation-wide. To borrow from the football coach, Why Not Us?
““ Related article: Part 5 “” An Interview with Dave Telep
““ Related article: Part 4 “” One & Done’s ““ Friend or Foes to a College Program?
““ Related article: Part 3 “” Big Ten Recruiting This Decade ““ The Best & the Busts
““ Related article: Part 1 “” What Do These Recruiting Classes Mean for Minnesota?
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