Zach Lofton Update

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Winasota Gopher said:
I see your point, but with the same thought process, Zach evens out the recruting classes as well. In your scenario we would have a really young team in 2015 with 4 senior graduating and only Morris and King as seniors. The Junior group would also be 2 players (baring JuCO signings next year) and then you would have a class of 4 and 4 in freshman and sophomores. (I might be off on the exacts, but the point remains we would be young)

Bringing in Zach gives him another scholarship to recruit with after next year, which with the logic we are using right now that Pitino needs time to sell his brand, would give him 30 months to recruit a wing.
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That's a key point.
 



Also, as far as recruiting, doesn't seem as if Pitino is going to go about it the way people are/were accustomed to it over the years. With the advent of graduate transfers, international players, juco's, might just be wasted effort to be concerned about what the roster might look like in the coming years. He seems to explore every option. Landscape is changing.
 



Costa Rican Gopher said:
My thoughts on Lofton.

First off it's nice that he's a huge Gopher fan, but flattery means little to nothing. If he can get a medical waiver because his cousin has a migraine or something & play this year, then he's an upgrade at the 3 or a contributor at minimum. If he can't, then I'm a little confused. With Pitino's recruiting prowess & 18 months to recruit, why couldn't we find a better 3 (a position that's easy to recruit) with 4 years of eligibiality & no questions surrounding his behavior?
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I agree with the other poster who responded to the 18 months, now that I am really confused on (he has been here for a year about, and you don't recruit the same talent at FIU as you would at Minnesota). Pitino has been playing catch up since he got here, he made a strong push at a lot of guys, and it looks like the small forward position fell through the cracks. Like the other poster said, Lofton will balance the classes out more.
 

I think the only problem people have with Lofton is there is a chance he costs us Justin Martin next year or one of Konate/Gaston. I don't see why anyone would care about 15-16 and 16-17. At that point he'll be 23-25 and should be able to be at least a decent option off the bench (assuming his head is on straight).

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 

MadtownGopher said:
I think the only problem people have with Lofton is there is a chance he costs us Justin Martin next year or one of Konate/Gaston.
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These things have a way of working out. If Pitino truly wants Justin Martin, and Martin wants to become a Gopher, Pitino will find a way to finesse the scholarship situation. Simply, sometime later this spring/summer there would be a press release from the U announcing the departure of a player (current or incoming) we've been assuming will be on the 2014-15 roster.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Also, as far as recruiting, doesn't seem as if Pitino is going to go about it the way people are/were accustomed to it over the years. With the advent of graduate transfers, international players, juco's, might just be wasted effort to be concerned about what the roster might look like in the coming years. He seems to explore every option. Landscape is changing.
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I agree with this. Most coaches no longer think they get four years to see how their second recruiting class of freshmen class worked out.
RP is smart enough to know he has to bring in guys who can perform soon as well as big guys to develop for 2-3 years from now. He specifically needs someone who can shoot and is unafraid to try to score. A player who is mature enough to keep firing when he is struggling. No one on our current team fits that description. We need more guys with an edge on the court, DeAndre is the only guy who fits that now. RP can't wait 18 months for a high school kid who will also need a year after he gets here to develop unless he is supposed to out recruit Calipari, etc. for freshmen starters.
Any college coach knows more about reading game statistics than does almost anyone on the board here, they obviously think they have figured out how ZL fits in their system despite his shooting percentages at ISU. He still has a reputation as a good shooter, and something makes the current staff believe that is true besides his HS rep. That does not make them right, but RP has been part of better programs than ours for the last 8? years, and until he proves other wise I will give him the benefit of the doubt about evaluating scorers.
Anyone else can feel any way they want about this, but most of us would not recognize Zach Lofton if he sat next to us on a plane let alone have a real clue about how well he can play.
 



SelectionSunday said:
These things have a way of working out. If Pitino truly wants Justin Martin, and Martin wants to become a Gopher, Pitino will find a way to resolve the scholarship situation. Simply, sometime later this spring/summer there would be a press release announcing the departure of someone from the program we've been assuming will be on the 2014-15 roster.
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Yep, I understand this. I just prioritize someone like Buggs ahead of Lofton, both in terms of contributions for next season and the two years beyond that. But I'll live with whatever Pitino goes with, there's more than enough on the roster to keep me excited for next fall.
 

SelectionSunday said:
These things have a way of working out. If Pitino truly wants Justin Martin, and Martin wants to become a Gopher, Pitino will find a way to resolve the scholarship situation.Simply, sometime later this spring/summer there would be a press release from the U announcing the departure of someone from the program we've been assuming will be on the 2014-15 roster.
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Whoa, SS. You have now opened another 4,532 comments opportunity here.
 

Pitino knows what he is doing, Lofton will be an impact player.
He was a sleeper pick up.
Despite common perception the U was not Lofton only and best option when he anounced his transfer. Schools from the Big East, SEC, and a few others from the Big 10 were contacting him the day he anounced.
But when MN showed interest it was a done deal.

Also I think this move will help with in-state recruiting, if recruits see a hometown guy come in and be productive it may start a trend. He is a product of the Pulley program and close with a lot of those players.
Last summer during the Pro-Am
Tyus and Zach looked head and shoulders better than the Gophers gaurds with the exception of Austin Hollins.
(Matheiu was not in town yet.)
Zach works out with Tyus and other kids when in town.
I think they will start considering the U more if hometown kids come in and are successful.

If anyone is interested here is some game tape from ISU it includes a win over Northwestern, a win over Dayton, win over Depaul, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcISXjfoULKCTfgwNXL7rXQ

DWG your post was very well written, entertaining, and informative, more so than the star tribune.
 

In watching a little bit of game tape of Lofton, I can see why he shot such a low percentage. He jacked up a lot of tough shots. He showed he can make some of those shots, but that can be a bit of fool's gold. I would think one of the keys to his success at the U would be how much he buys into his role and improves his shot selection. I can already see myself cringing at the sight of him tossing up some of those off the dribble fadeaway jumpers early in the shot clock in a Gopher jersey.
 



Maroon Shower said:
In watching a little bit of game tape of Lofton, I can see why he shot such a low percentage. He jacked up a lot of tough shots. He showed he can make some of those shots, but that can be a bit of fool's gold. I would think one of the keys to his success at the U would be how much he buys into his role and improves his shot selection. I can already see myself cringing at the sight of him tossing up some of those off the dribble fadeaway jumpers early in the shot clock in a Gopher jersey.
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+1

This year off will be huge for him. Hopefully the staff can clean up his shot selection and turn him into more of a team player.
 


Maroon Shower said:
In watching a little bit of game tape of Lofton, I can see why he shot such a low percentage. He jacked up a lot of tough shots. He showed he can make some of those shots, but that can be a bit of fool's gold. I would think one of the keys to his success at the U would be how much he buys into his role and improves his shot selection. I can already see myself cringing at the sight of him tossing up some of those off the dribble fadeaway jumpers early in the shot clock in a Gopher jersey.
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the question is this: Is it his nature/game to take those types of shots or more his circumstances? For instance in the NBA Jamal Crawford is the king of off the dribble long jumpshots. Its just his game. Then you have guys like Monta Ellis that took a ton of terrible shots in GS but now with Dallas he's being much more selective in his shot selection. Malik Smith went through a stretch where he played smart basketball and took open shots and drove when the D closed out hard. He was very effective then. Then he went through a stretch where he was jacking long 3's early in the clock off the bounce and contested. Lofton clearly has talent from what the tape shows (he can handle it and has nice size and athleticism) and he's clearly confident in his J. If his game can be reigned in to the point where he takes the shots the offense calls for then he looks like he can be a nice B1G guard offensively. Who knows, though.
 

victor04 said:
I agree with the other poster who responded to the 18 months, now that I am really confused on (he has been here for a year about, and you don't recruit the same talent at FIU as you would at Minnesota). Pitino has been playing catch up since he got here, he made a strong push at a lot of guys, and it looks like the small forward position fell through the cracks. Like the other poster said, Lofton will balance the classes out more.
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What I'm trying to say is that if Lofton can't play in 2014-2015 & has to wait until 2015-2016, Pitino would not have been playing catch up at all & would have had roughly 18 months to find a player as good or better than Lofton. Nothing to do with his time at FIU. That said, evening out the classes is a very good point.
 

SelectionSunday said:
These things have a way of working out. If Pitino truly wants Justin Martin, and Martin wants to become a Gopher, Pitino will find a way to finesse the scholarship situation. Simply, sometime later this spring/summer there would be a press release from the U announcing the departure of a player (current or incoming) we've been assuming will be on the 2014-15 roster.
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Buggs recently had knee surgery, maybe he could find a way for it to not be totally healed yet & get a medical waiver? We get an immediate impact player & Buggs gets another year to learn the game.
 

oleboy41 said:
the question is this: Is it his nature/game to take those types of shots or more his circumstances? For instance in the NBA Jamal Crawford is the king of off the dribble long jumpshots. Its just his game. Then you have guys like Monta Ellis that took a ton of terrible shots in GS but now with Dallas he's being much more selective in his shot selection. Malik Smith went through a stretch where he played smart basketball and took open shots and drove when the D closed out hard. He was very effective then. Then he went through a stretch where he was jacking long 3's early in the clock off the bounce and contested. Lofton clearly has talent from what the tape shows (he can handle it and has nice size and athleticism) and he's clearly confident in his J. If his game can be reigned in to the point where he takes the shots the offense calls for then he looks like he can be a nice B1G guard offensively. Who knows, though.
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Completely agree and well said. For the record, I'm still shocked at Monta's play in Dallas lol
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
What I'm trying to say is that if Lofton can't play in 2014-2015 & has to wait until 2015-2016, Pitino would not have been playing catch up at all & would have had roughly 18 months to find a player as good or better than Lofton. Nothing to do with his time at FIU. That said, evening out the classes is a very good point.
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This coming year- we are going to be a pretty good ball club- so I think Pitino's concern was starting to build for 2015-16 when he loses Matheui, Hollins and the two bigs. Putting Lofton and the two new bigs in the fold now gives him a year to work them into his system in practice and he knows Lofton has a scorers mentality which is something we need. A 23-24 year old Lofton might be as good as what a 5 star frosh can offer in year 1. Now barring injury he has plenty of PT to offer 10 core guys and the extra bodies for practice or in case a big gets hurt. That said if Justin Martin can be had- welcome aboard!
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Buggs recently had knee surgery, maybe he could find a way for it to not be totally healed yet & get a medical waiver? We get an immediate impact player & Buggs gets another year to learn the game.
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I'm pretty sure that wouldn't free up a scholarship, it would just give Buggs another year.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Buggs recently had knee surgery, maybe he could find a way for it to not be totally healed yet & get a medical waiver? We get an immediate impact player & Buggs gets another year to learn the game.
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Do those work that way? Quite certain they don't just open up a scholarship, and generally aren't medical waivers/redshirts handed out after the fact?
 

bga1 said:
This coming year- we are going to be a pretty good ball club- so I think Pitino's concern was starting to build for 2015-16 when he loses Matheui, Hollins and the two bigs. Putting Lofton and the two new bigs in the fold now gives him a year to work them into his system in practice and he knows Lofton has a scorers mentality which is something we need. A 23-24 year old Lofton might be as good as what a 5 star frosh can offer in year 1. Now barring injury he has plenty of PT to offer 10 core guys and the extra bodies for practice or in case a big gets hurt. That said if Justin Martin can be had- welcome aboard!
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Spot on! Good post.
 


SelectionSunday said:
These things have a way of working out. If Pitino truly wants Justin Martin, and Martin wants to become a Gopher, Pitino will find a way to finesse the scholarship situation. Simply, sometime later this spring/summer there would be a press release from the U announcing the departure of a player (current or incoming) we've been assuming will be on the 2014-15 roster.
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+1
 

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