Joe Hanstad taking unofficial visit to the U today

[GopherHole Staff]

GopherHole.com has just gotten word that the Dickinson Sophomore will be unofficially visiting the U this afternoon.

To find out more about Hanstad:

Dickinson's Hanstad named Gatorade Player of the Year (http://www.areavoices.com/ndpreps/?blog=46404)

Zags have eye on Hanstad (http://www.guboards.spokesmanreview.com/showthread.php?t=19366)

[leftyslefty]

includes a connection to his sophomore highlghts. Certainly looks the part of a talented young player!

Hope he has a nice visit!

[FiveStarFan]

This kid looks really good and would be a great start to the 2011 class.

[Plinnius]

Did the coaching staff invite him to come down?

[JohnnyGopher]

Joe and his dad we're already in town and we're invited over by Coach Jirsa after Net Gain practice.

[Gopher_Ace]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu7gbGObuLc

He would be a nice get for 11

[Mikie S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu7gbGObuLc

He would be a nice get for 11

No slams?

No rejections?

No rap?

WTF. Its just shooting, dribbling, passing & a bit defense with some old music.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

Do they really only play 16 games a season? The level of competition seemed to be....lacking.

[page0066]

Did anyone hear whether this visit went well or not? Any word of an offer?

[leftyslefty]

for Hanstad. He'll be playing against top competition on the AAU circuit. He already is assured of getting his college education paid for, now it's just a question of if he moves from mid-major to BCS conference staus.

[Honyocker]

Do they really only play 16 games a season? The level of competition seemed to be....lacking.

No kidding. Very difficult to know how good this kid can be against that very weak competition. He needs to come and play in Pulley or something to what he can do.

[SmokeyGopher]

No kidding. Very difficult to know how good this kid can be against that very weak competition. He needs to come and play in Pulley or something to what he can do.

Evaluating a player based on the level of competition he plays is the wrong way to be evaluating talent. It should be one of the tools used to evaluate not the only one. So many times players are missed that are tagged as playing weak competition. It should be pretty easy to evaluate his physical strength and athleticism regardless of who he is playing against. Same goes for evaluating the fundamentals of ball handling, passing, shooting, and sound defensive techniques. If the kid can flat out shoot it doesn't matter the level of competition he is playing. A good coach should be able to see this by watching the kid shoot by himself in the gym.

This is the very reason we missed out on Ben Woodside. Monson was questioning the level of talent he played against and wound up getting a guy that was a great athlete but didn't have the other tools needed to be point guard. Do you think Jeff Boschee and Mike Miller played outstanding competition in high school? A good talent evaluater should have been able to see their talent even without seeing them play better competition in AAU.

There is a kid right now named Mike Felt from Redwood Falls that signed with NDSU for next year. He averaged over 30 a game the past two years. He can flat out score and is fundamental. He more than likely wouldn't score 30 a game playing in the metro but is still a very good player. People might say I'm crazy but if Rodney Williams doesn't learn how to shoot and relies just on his athleticism this Felt kid is going end up being a better college player than Rodney. There are plenty of examples of the guy with a million dollar body dominating high school games that really struggles in college because they have no real skill besides being athletic.

I'm trusting Tubby can evaluate talent and if he thinks Hanstad can play he will offer him a scholarship. I'm hoping we didn't miss on Felt. I guess we'll find out in a few years.

[TABinMO]

Smokey, while I agree with a lot of what you say, the fact remains that you can learn and improve on fundamentals but you can't do much about athleticism (other than work you butt off, but you still need "it"). Williams is an athletic freak and I would take my chances with him any day of the week.

[figi]

Evaluating a player based on the level of competition he plays is the wrong way to be evaluating talent. It should be one of the tools used to evaluate not the only one. So many times players are missed that are tagged as playing weak competition. It should be pretty easy to evaluate his physical strength and athleticism regardless of who he is playing against. Same goes for evaluating the fundamentals of ball handling, passing, shooting, and sound defensive techniques. If the kid can flat out shoot it doesn't matter the level of competition he is playing. A good coach should be able to see this by watching the kid shoot by himself in the gym.

This is the very reason we missed out on Ben Woodside. Monson was questioning the level of talent he played against and wound up getting a guy that was a great athlete but didn't have the other tools needed to be point guard. Do you think Jeff Boschee and Mike Miller played outstanding competition in high school? A good talent evaluater should have been able to see their talent even without seeing them play better competition in AAU.

There is a kid right now named Mike Felt from Redwood Falls that signed with NDSU for next year. He averaged over 30 a game the past two years. He can flat out score and is fundamental. He more than likely wouldn't score 30 a game playing in the metro but is still a very good player. People might say I'm crazy but if Rodney Williams doesn't learn how to shoot and relies just on his athleticism this Felt kid is going end up being a better college player than Rodney. There are plenty of examples of the guy with a million dollar body dominating high school games that really struggles in college because they have no real skill besides being athletic.

I'm trusting Tubby can evaluate talent and if he thinks Hanstad can play he will offer him a scholarship. I'm hoping we didn't miss on Felt. I guess we'll find out in a few years.

I agree. I know it takes many skills to become a complete basketball player. But, I maintain that the first thing to look for is simply " can the kid shoot".

[JohnnyGopher]

From what I heard, the Hanstad's had a good visit and really enjoyed Williams Arena and they like the MN coaches but it's early and they aren't close to making any kind of decision.

Hanstad looked pretty good practicing with Net Gain and didn't look like he didn't belong. People used to say the same thing about Jeff Boschee and Nick Jacobson when they we're tearing it up in NoDak in the late 90's and they both did very well at Kansas and Utah. Colton had the same questions and really any player out of the Dakotas or really outstate Minnesota.

Felt is a lights out shooter but I'm not sure what else he gives you. He's going to have to develope the rest of his game once people see what a shooter he is. Blake can tell you how much more difficult it is when temas key on not giving you a good look.

I think Rodney is kind of like Damien in there athleticism allowed them to get away with having serious holes in there game. Damien has been here for four years and he is just stating to put it all together. I like Rodney but I think he's going to struggle big time next year.

[akgopher]

I think Rodney might have had better sophomore and junior years than this year. From when I watched him this year he seemed to spend a lot of time playing in the post. Cooper had some decent guards and it also looked like there was a real conscious effort to create a balanced offensive game plan that got everyone involved. They also had quite a few big margin victories that might have put him on the bench early.

[smithmn]

It's interesting you guys bring up Mike Felt. I can probably tell you more about him than anyone, because I played against him twice last year and once this year. I guarded him pretty much every minute of all three games. The two games last year, he dropped 30 both times. We lost the first, but beat them in the Playoffs. He has an incredible stroke and can shoot from anywhere, but outside of that, I find it hard to believe that he is going to compete at a D1 level. When we beat his team in the Playoffs, yes, he had 30 points, but he was 0-9 from three point land and probably jacked up a total of 25 shots. When he gets frustrated, he is pretty easy to guard. He is about 6'2 or 6'3, and I'm only 5'11 - but I was a lot more physical than him and he didn't like having a hand on his hip the whole game and me bumping him. We beat them again this year, and Felt only had 19 (compared to his 30 ppg average). This game really showed me something about him. I denied him the ball the entire game, even if he was standing by half court without the ball I was two inches from his face. He didn't know what to do, if and when he did get the ball, he just kept jacking up shots. He didn't attempt a free throw the whole game, which tells me he was just relying on being a shooter and not being aggressive. Also, defensively, he did not bring it. He guarded our team's worst scorer, and didn't look to help on defense at all. Also, after the game, he made some degrading comments toward his teammates and almost blamed them for the loss.

Sorry, I may have rambled a bit there, but I thought you guys might be interested since we were talking about Felt. From an oppenent's perspective, I don't feel like he would have a chance with the Gophers, and will be lucky to succeed at NDSU. I may be totally wrong if he can develop other parts of his game, but I don't think he is going to get by on just being a shooter.

[Section201]

From what I heard, the Hanstad's had a good visit and really enjoyed Williams Arena and they like the MN coaches but it's early and they aren't close to making any kind of decision.

Hanstad looked pretty good practicing with Net Gain and didn't look like he didn't belong. People used to say the same thing about Jeff Boschee and Nick Jacobson when they we're tearing it up in NoDak in the late 90's and they both did very well at Kansas and Utah. Colton had the same questions and really any player out of the Dakotas or really outstate Minnesota.

Felt is a lights out shooter but I'm not sure what else he gives you. He's going to have to develope the rest of his game once people see what a shooter he is. Blake can tell you how much more difficult it is when temas key on not giving you a good look.

I think Rodney is kind of like Damien in there athleticism allowed them to get away with having serious holes in there game. Damien has been here for four years and he is just stating to put it all together. I like Rodney but I think he's going to struggle big time next year.



Anyone know if Tubby was involved to day or is he already in Michigan for the Final 4?

[ChemEGopher]

For every Ben Woodside there is an Isaiah Dahlman. It's just tought to eval players when they play weak competition

[WolfontheProwl]

Some guys get out of high school and they turn it up a notch. Some learn things their junior year and improve their skills like a Mike Felt who was a much more willing defender and slasher this past year. You will find just as many Ben Woodside's who have very good careers at smaller schools as you will find top level recruits that fail at bigger schools.

[Mikie S]

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSBLKrZCkeU) of a high school aged PG.

[gopher24]

I LOVE the way he plays! I would love for the Wolves to get him, but whether we do or not I hope he can do these same things in the NBA.

[grunkiejr]

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSBLKrZCkeU) of a high school aged PG.

Is it just me or does he have a propensity to carry the ball while he is dribbling it? I guess his game is tailor made for the NBA. :D

[SmokeyGopher]

For every Ben Woodside there is an Isaiah Dahlman. It's just tought to eval players when they play weak competition

Isiah Dahlman just picked the wrong school is all. When he picked MSU I couldn't figure it out. Izzo wants athletes that can run and jump and get out in transition and score. I thought Dahlman was much more suited for MN or Iowa and they way we play or Iowa played at the time with Alford.

Also, Dahlman played the national aau circuit and held his own and was ranked nationally based on his aau play more than anything. I don't think Dahlman and Woodside is the right comparison.

I'm sure if one took the time to do research there are just as many kids that were labeled top 150 recruits that didn't pan out in college as there are unknowns that end up being pretty good such as Talor Battle, Ben Woodside, or Stephen Curry, etc.

My point is the coaches need to forget about rankings and the level of competition and get back to old fashion talent evaluation.

[grunkiejr]

Isiah Dahlman just picked the wrong school is all. When he picked MSU I couldn't figure it out. Izzo wants athletes that can run and jump and get out in transition and score. I thought Dahlman was much more suited for MN or Iowa and they way we play or Iowa played at the time with Alford.

Also, Dahlman played the national aau circuit and held his own and was ranked nationally based on his aau play more than anything. I don't think Dahlman and Woodside is the right comparison.

I'm sure if one took the time to do research there are just as many kids that were labeled top 150 recruits that didn't pan out in college as there are unknowns that end up being pretty good such as Talor Battle, Ben Woodside, or Stephen Curry, etc.

My point is the coaches need to forget about rankings and the level of competition and get back to old fashion talent evaluation.

For whatever reason Monson didn't think Woodside was quick enough to play against D-I competition. He chose to give a scholarship to Rico Tucker because he appeared quicker. Apparently he missed the fact that Rico Tucker was a poor ball handler. Monson has never proven that he could recruit anything more than mid-major talent with two exceptions that were both local and planned to go elsewhere until they were persuaded by the playing time they would get at Minnesota.

[leftyslefty]

New York, Talor Battle was a top 150 recruit. Tubby said he was looking at him when he was at KY.