All Things Gophers Basketball 2017 Recruiting Thread

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Winasota Gopher said:
So lets play fantasy land here.

Washington feels the pressure and commits before leaving the great state of Minnesota. Wright wants to commit next week, does Pitino tell him no? Do we tell Theo to wait until Fall to commit? Would be an awesome problem to have.
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I'd bet my 401k that we get our first 2017 commit in 7 days or less.
 

If Washington commits here, great. He just better not bolt if Syracuse swoops in on signing day.
 

I'm saying there are all kind of factors that determine if a recruit is successful. Yes, character is one. Obviously talent is another. Work ethic, leadership, toughness, academic ability, and how they take coaching are a few more. Recruiting sites basically evaluate talent which, as stated, doesn't always tell the whole story.
 

MadtownGopher said:
If Washington commits here, great. He just better not bolt if Syracuse swoops in on signing day.
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They are in on some big fish at PG. They are in on Trevon Duvall, Quade Green, and Matt Coleman who are ranked higher tham Isaiah. I'm sure that Pitino will absolutely pound the message home that despite all the visits that he has made to Syracuse, they still haven't offered and he is at least their fourth choice.

Edit: It looks like Duvall recently trimmed his list down to 10 and Cuse wasn't on it. Still they are considered one of the favorites for Quade Green whose recruitment is thought to last well into the fall. They will also be getting an official visit from Matt Coleman on Oct. 21st. Coleman will visit Texas on Oct. 28th as well, so his recruitment is likely going to take a while as well. I doubt they would offer Washington until they find out what both of this guys are going to do. Also, this isn't football. Flipping of commits rarely happens.
 

Is it possible that we sign three in the fall? given our history it seems probable that an underclassmen will leave by the start of next year cough Gaston cough. If they do only take two I would hope they take two guards, as it is they only have two guards going into "17".
 


PlayRoyce said:
Is it possible that we sign three in the fall? given our history it seems probable that an underclassmen will leave by the start of next year cough Gaston cough. If they do only take two I would hope they take two guards, as it is they only have two guards going into "17".
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I think that depends on what you consider a guard to be. Coffey is listed at 6'8", but he has guard skills. I think Hurt, Gilbert, Fitzgerald, and Murphy to an extent can all play on the perimeter, and Coffey, Mason, and McBrayer can all play point.

I wouldn't be opposed to taking two guards if someone like Bede or Washington says he wants to be here, but Gaston, Bakary, and Lynch are all in the same class, meaning we'd have to start a newcomer at center in 2018, be it a juco, frosh, or grad transfer. There's also the possibility someone transfers and we pick up a big man in the spring, but I don't believe this staff has oversigned yet, so I won't count on them taking 3 in the fall.
 

Cayman said:
I think that depends on what you consider a guard to be. Coffey is listed at 6'8", but he has guard skills. I think Hurt, Gilbert, Fitzgerald, and Murphy to an extent can all play on the perimeter, and Coffey, Mason, and McBrayer can all play point.

I wouldn't be opposed to taking two guards if someone like Bede or Washington says he wants to be here, but Gaston, Bakary, and Lynch are all in the same class, meaning we'd have to start a newcomer at center in 2018, be it a juco, frosh, or grad transfer. There's also the possibility someone transfers and we pick up a big man in the spring, but I don't believe this staff has oversigned yet, so I won't count on them taking 3 in the fall.
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Yeah, getting a guy that can play Center would be nice in 2017. Otherwise, like you said, we would likely have to start a newcomer at the 5. I know Pitino was experimenting with Curry at the 5, in summer practices, but he doesn't really have the prototypical size of a Center.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
So lets play fantasy land here.

Washington feels the pressure and commits before leaving the great state of Minnesota. Wright wants to commit next week, does Pitino tell him no? Do we tell Theo to wait until Fall to commit? Would be an awesome problem to have.
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Yeah, that's the question. If Washington signs, Theo's position is the position of greatest need for us.
 

Bad Gopher said:
On the bright side, it looks like Wright is a near lock, and we still have a decent shot at John. They're good players, not chopped liver. But I stand by my sentiment that this recruiting season is a huge opportunity lost. There's no question that Pitino and staff work their butts off in recruiting, but just that and $4 will get you a latte at Caribou. This is a results oriented business.

The last time Pitino had a four-star athlete (Andre Hollins), they won an NIT championship. Maybe I'd just be happier if I accept that as the program's ceiling in the 21st century. Hopefully their newest four-star athlete (Coffey) can get them back in the postseason and out of the basement of the conference.
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Bad Gopher -- would you still consider this recruiting season a huge opportunity lost if the Gophers signed Washington/Bede plus Hasahn French/Epperson? All four higher rated players (or at least similarly rated) as the Minnesota targets other than Sims
 



lineups

When talking defense who can one guard? Coffey could probably guard a SG, Gilbert would have a tough time as would Fitz and Murphy. Coffey will probably play a majority at SF and he can guard those well too. SF is Gilberts position. Fitz can play there. Murphy could but I doubt he does it as he is our best inside player. Teams tend to go small over big as the years have gone by both in college and the NBA.


Cayman said:
I think that depends on what you consider a guard to be. Coffey is listed at 6'8", but he has guard skills. I think Hurt, Gilbert, Fitzgerald, and Murphy to an extent can all play on the perimeter, and Coffey, Mason, and McBrayer can all play point.
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It may be the unpopular opinion considering Wright is the local guy, but I personally think he is the 3rd best point guard we are going after. I think Wabissa Bede is criminally underrated nationally based of the film I have seen of him. I feel that Bede has not gotten enough attention on these boards and we have a better chance at him than most people think. Butler is taking two guards already which could push Bede here. As for a big man, I want John but would rather have a class of Bede&Washington and push really hard for Race and Oturu next year.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Yeah, that's the question. If Washington signs, Theo's position is the position of greatest need for us.
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IDK Having a backcourt of Washington/Bede, Wright, Coffey, McBreyer and Mason is intriguing. Mason can play both guard spots, same with Coffey and Mcbreyer and they both can play on the wing, heck if we wanted to go all Villinova on the bit Coffey could play the four spot. Hurt, Fitz and Gilbert can play both the Wing and four spots, Murphy can play the four and five, sounds like Pitino envisions the same for Curry. Than you have Lynch, Konate and Gaston as pure centers. I could see Gaston or possibly Gilbert moving on which we could use on a JUCO or hit up the transfer market, or even a freshman who decided to wait until the spring. Is the Aussie were recruiting waiting until spring?
 

Frank Grimey Grimes said:
It may be the unpopular opinion considering Wright is the local guy, but I personally think he is the 3rd best point guard we are going after. I think Wabissa Bede is criminally underrated nationally based of the film I have seen of him. I feel that Bede has not gotten enough attention on these boards and we have a better chance at him than most people think. Butler is taking two guards already which could push Bede here. As for a big man, I want John but would rather have a class of Bede&Washington and push really hard for Race and Oturu next year.
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Haven't actually seen Bede play, but his rankings are very good. The thing with him is that every time I have heard recruiting experts (including local guys like Ryan James) talk about him they always mention how he would be a great fit for Buzz Williams at Va Tech and that Buzz's coaching style is very similar to that of Bede's AAU coach for whom he has loved playing. Bede is taking an official visit here, but his final visit is to Blacksburg. A lot of experts will be wrong if Bede doesn't end up a Hokie.
 



I know it's difficult to base a full opinion on highlight films, but the available videos on Washington are really impressive. Seems like the full package offensively and, based on the video of his match-up versus Trevon Duvall, it looks like he's got the quickness to be a plus defender, but needs to add some strength to match-up with more physical guards. All-in-all, Washington looks like a future star.

I'm not saying I wouldn't take Bede or Wright, I'm just really intrigued by Washington's potential as a complete player.
 

golfing18now said:
Bad Gopher -- would you still consider this recruiting season a huge opportunity lost if the Gophers signed Washington/Bede plus Hasahn French/Epperson? All four higher rated players (or at least similarly rated) as the Minnesota targets other than Sims
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To some extent yes - just because we were on Sims early and lost him off the hook. I had not given us much of a chance with Washington, so the late good news about him certainly puts things in a different light. That would be a coup, and it would impossible to be disappointed with that.
 

Frank Grimey Grimes said:
It may be the unpopular opinion considering Wright is the local guy, but I personally think he is the 3rd best point guard we are going after. I think Wabissa Bede is criminally underrated nationally based of the film I have seen of him. I feel that Bede has not gotten enough attention on these boards and we have a better chance at him than most people think. Butler is taking two guards already which could push Bede here. As for a big man, I want John but would rather have a class of Bede&Washington and push really hard for Race and Oturu next year.
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If highlight videos were good indications of exactly how good a player was, Tyus would have had no business playing for Duke and a guy like Rodney Williams would be an all-star in the NBA. I think highlight videos are roughly as reliable as movie trailers. Easy to make something/someone look great when you edit out anything that isn't spectacular.
 

Keyser Söze said:
If highlight videos were good indications of exactly how good a player was, Tyus would have had no business playing for Duke and a guy like Rodney Williams would be an all-star in the NBA. I think highlight videos are roughly as reliable as movie trailers. Easy to make something/someone look great when you edit out anything that isn't spectacular.
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Tyus had some really good highlights, but yeah I agree, you gotta take highlights with a grain of salt.
 

Keyser Söze said:
If highlight videos were good indications of exactly how good a player was, Tyus would have had no business playing for Duke and a guy like Rodney Williams would be an all-star in the NBA. I think highlight videos are roughly as reliable as movie trailers. Easy to make something/someone look great when you edit out anything that isn't spectacular.
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Thats like saying everyone likes movies like 300. Some people like thrillers, others drama. Tyus wasn't a summer block buster, he was an intellectual mind **** movie.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Thats like saying everyone likes movies like 300. Some people like thrillers, others drama. Tyus wasn't a summer block buster, he was an intellectual mind **** movie.
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I get what you're saying, but in my opinion, Tyus was WAY more impressive in person than on video. Even if what you're into is smart players who have a great feel for the game, you had to see him in person to get a full appreciation for exactly how special he was in those areas. That's my whole point. When you watch a video that edits out 95% or more of each game they play in, you can't get the full picture, good or bad.
 



Geez... He didn't have to heave, just "flicked" it up there from half court!
 



Huge news, hopefully Syracuse doesn't come around late.

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I will be curious to see if Wabissa Bede still visits.
 

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Go Gophers!!
 


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