Ahmad Gilbert Commits to Gophers!!!

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DeathClutch said:
That usually means the player is pretty good handling the ball with both hands. Which makes sense considering he looks pretty comfortable bringing the ball up the court in transition.
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"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious."—N.C. State basketball player Charles Shackleford.

Also: We need to start a uniform discussion on that video.:rolleyes:
 

Well- I think we have covered every possibility of what Gilbert could be. I've seen that he could be rugged or he might be soft. He doesn't understand the game - but maybe he does. He is a good shooter, he's a bad shooter, or maybe he's an okay shooter with bad form. He's athletic, he's limited. He is a good rebounder, he doesn't rebound. He might be a career role player or he could have all league potential. I can't wait to see the kid!

I hope there is some summer format that we can see all these guys participate in. I am really pleased that they have the Spain trip scheduled- great for this club.
 

Looks like he has an 'old man' game (in a good way)...
particularly his slow release jump shot and savvy pick and choosing his spots, a veteran-esque approach to the game.

That's my synopsis from 2 mins of highlights.
 

bga1 said:
Well- I think we have covered every possibility of what Gilbert could be. I've seen that he could be rugged or he might be soft. He doesn't understand the game - but maybe he does. He is a good shooter, he's a bad shooter, or maybe he's an okay shooter with bad form. He's athletic, he's limited. He is a good rebounder, he doesn't rebound. He might be a career role player or he could have all league potential. I can't wait to see the kid!

I hope there is some summer format that we can see all these guys participate in. I am really pleased that they have the Spain trip scheduled- great for this club.
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Just want to make sure we have the bases covered so in the end no matter how he turns out we all will be right about it.
 

Jigga said:
Looks like he has an 'old man' game (in a good way)...
particularly his slow release jump shot and savvy pick and choosing his spots, a veteran-esque approach to the game.

That's my synopsis from 2 mins of highlights.
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I bet he has a great shot fake too! Between him and Joey King, Bobby Knight is working out a contract with BTN right now.
 


per the STrib:

Gophers coach Richard Pitino and assistant Kimani Young had visited Gilbert at home after an open gym at Constitution on Monday, and Moore said he sensed that a commitment was near.

"I could kind of tell on Monday from the look on the kid's face that he was excited and leaning towards [Minnesota]," Moore said. "I left the home visit feeling like it would be done by the end of the week.

"I was just impressed by coach Pitino and coach Young, just their sincerity and what they brought to the table, their professionalism and everything else associated with how they’ve recruited Ahmad. I just felt like it was going to be a good fit."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/301112441.html

Go Gophers!!
 

It looks like he speeds up his release when he needs to a few times in that video. He takes his time when wide open, but also looks capable of having a quicker trigger when necessary.
 

BleedGopher said:
per the STrib:

Gophers coach Richard Pitino and assistant Kimani Young had visited Gilbert at home after an open gym at Constitution on Monday, and Moore said he sensed that a commitment was near.

"I could kind of tell on Monday from the look on the kid's face that he was excited and leaning towards [Minnesota]," Moore said. "I left the home visit feeling like it would be done by the end of the week.

"I was just impressed by coach Pitino and coach Young, just their sincerity and what they brought to the table, their professionalism and everything else associated with how they’ve recruited Ahmad. I just felt like it was going to be a good fit."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/301112441.html

Go Gophers!!
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From the article: I like this- How much of his identity is as a shooter?
He’s 6-7 and he can really shoot the ball. He shot 6-for-12 from beyond the arc in our state championship game. And none of them were like high school threes. He pulls up, he’s shooting NBA threes in high school. Down the stretch, our last two games – our semifinal game he didn’t make a shot. He was 11-for-12 or 12-for-13 from the floor and the one shot he missed was a dunk and he was fouled on it. He went to the foul line and hit both foul shots.
I’ve coached a lot of kids and there are not a lot of kids that have come along that can shoot the ball like him. He’s got an up-and-down game like Pitino likes to play, and as long as he gets some open looks. The reality is he's got to get a little bit stronger in order to defend, and he’s got to work on being able to create his own shot at this level. But it’s going to come because he has all the tools, all the resources."
 

Jigga said:
Looks like he has an 'old man' game (in a good way)...
particularly his slow release jump shot and savvy pick and choosing his spots, a veteran-esque approach to the game.
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Well, then, if he is anywhere as good as Clyde Turner, we have gotten a valuable player. Clyde had the ultimate "old man" game--both in style and in looks.
 





Is he slow or deliberate? He looks relaxed and unhurried. I'm reminded of Nate Mason's highlights where he looked under control and effective but not "fast." Kind of the "anti-squirrel."
 

goldenboy said:
Is he slow or deliberate? He looks relaxed and unhurried. I'm reminded of Nate Mason's highlights where he looked under control and effective but not "fast." Kind of the "anti-squirrel."
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Nate didn't look fast, but there he was blowing by people. A deceptively slow first step. :)
 



The ball seems to go through the basket a lot when he shoots it. The thing about scorers - they find a way to score points. I think the Gophers could use a player like that. (shoot, they could use 4 or 5 players like that.......)
 



jamiche said:
Who else offered him?
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Wichita State and Rhode Island are the only other schools of consequence. He originally committed to mid-major George Mason. BUT he has "decent potential to be a very nice player."
 

He was committed to George Mason from August to March, not a lot of time to generate offers. He will take minutes away from Carlos Morris next season and compete with Hurt for the starting position the following year. Coach P. and staff were not going to stop looking for a wing with length until they signed one. I believe Gilbert was Plan B to board favorite Ellison, who wasn't interested in being part of the Maroon and Gold.
 

BigGopherFan said:
Wichita State and Rhode Island are the only other schools of consequence. He originally committed to mid-major George Mason. BUT he has "decent potential to be a very nice player."
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Pitt offered him after he was released from George Mason.
 

howieramone said:
He was committed to George Mason from August to March, not a lot of time to generate offers. He will take minutes away from Carlos Morris next season and compete with Hurt for the starting position the following year. Coach P. and staff were not going to stop looking for a wing with length until they signed one. I believe Gilbert was Plan B to board favorite Ellison, who wasn't interested in being part of the Maroon and Gold.
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Come on Howie. The back half of the bolded is purely a guess. There were reports that his dad wanted him to go elsewhere but Malik preferred Minnesota. I agree with the rest of your post but the last is not fact at all.
 

I read on one of the recruiting sites that Penn St also offered. I would put Wichita St well ahead of Penn St though as a basketball school w their recent success and them beating Kansas in the NCAA tournament this year.
 

Ahmad's HS coach says he can hit the long range three and offensive rebound. Those are two things that no current small forward on this team can do. He'll have plenty of kick out, shooting opportunities with Dorsey and Johnson handling the ball. And, with Nwankwo cleaning the glass, he can feast on mid to long range rebounds.
Nice pickup.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Even if he's a 4 year role player, we need them too.

We just need some kids to come in as freshmen and graduate as Gophers.
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Best post in the thread, getting some kids with athletic ability, hoop smarts and the willingness to work is what it takes to get a lot better as a program. If they are well coached and I think they will be, these kids can become very good players. They have all played basketball at a high enough level that they will not be completely overwhelmed by the jump to college hoops
This kid is what 18 or 19? He does not have a "set shot", everything I saw was a jump shot with good lift in the jump. Some big kids develop very late, and of course some never do. He could not score and rebound at the rate he did against good competition if he was the unathletic kid some are implying. If he is really willing to work, he will be fine. We have no idea who he can be in three years with a good physical development program. That goes for all of the other freshmen, and sophomore big men on the team. We don't even know who Buggs can become and I am not a fan of his. Could I be wrong about Buggs? For sure.
I don't get the idea that we were supposed to all of a sudden be getting 4-5 top 150 guys in each class. That is completely silly from the situation RP inherited. Personally, I think this class will be very good by the 2016 season, maybe sooner. Hopefully a couple e.g. Dorsey and Jarvis could be very good this fall.
 

march madness said:
Sounds a bit like Buggs to me. Doesnt understand the game, athletic enough. Good 3pt shooter who doesnt mix it up inside. Athletic enough that he should drive more but probably won't. We need size and depth at the 3.
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Buggs is about the worst comparison I can imagine. This kid has already played more high level hoops than Buggs has to date. Who says he doesn't understand the game? I think he is light years ahead of Buggs in that already. He probably is not as athletic as Buggs, or as Buggs was at that age, but that was all Buggs brought to the process. The level of athleticism is not as important as knowing how to use what the player has really well. A player has to have some athletic ability, but being smart is a big deal, and is what killed us a lot this season.
I like the fact he was smart enough to ask Pitino what he needed to do, because he has a lot of work to do.
 

corcoran1 said:
I don't get the idea that we were supposed to all of a sudden be getting 4-5 top 150 guys in each class. That is completely silly from the situation RP inherited. Personally, I think this class will be very good by the 2016 season, maybe sooner. Hopefully a couple e.g. Dorsey and Jarvis could be very good this fall.
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I'm liking next year. Dorsey is a better scoring PG, Johnson is a better ball handling PG, Nwanko is a better low post presence, McBrayer is a better offensive SG, and Gilbert is probably a better 3 point shooting SF than anything we had last year. Add a talented Mason, a more seasoned King, an improving Konate, and an energetic 6th or 7th man in Morris and I, for one, can't wait to see what these kids can do.
 

corcoran1 said:
Buggs is about the worst comparison I can imagine. This kid has already played more high level hoops than Buggs has to date. Who says he doesn't understand the game? I think he is light years ahead of Buggs in that already. He probably is not as athletic as Buggs, or as Buggs was at that age, but that was all Buggs brought to the process. The level of athleticism is not as important as knowing how to use what the player has really well. A player has to have some athletic ability, but being smart is a big deal, and is what killed us a lot this season. I like the fact he was smart enough to ask Pitino what he needed to do, because he has a lot of work to do.
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Agreed. The fact that Pitino told him what he should work on and that he was eager to hear it and work on it is a phenomenal sign.
 

corcoran1 said:
Best post in the thread, getting some kids with athletic ability, hoop smarts and the willingness to work is what it takes to get a lot better as a program. If they are well coached and I think they will be, these kids can become very good players. They have all played basketball at a high enough level that they will not be completely overwhelmed by the jump to college hoops
This kid is what 18 or 19? He does not have a "set shot", everything I saw was a jump shot with good lift in the jump. Some big kids develop very late, and of course some never do. He could not score and rebound at the rate he did against good competition if he was the unathletic kid some are implying. If he is really willing to work, he will be fine. We have no idea who he can be in three years with a good physical development program. That goes for all of the other freshmen, and sophomore big men on the team. We don't even know who Buggs can become and I am not a fan of his. Could I be wrong about Buggs? For sure.
I don't get the idea that we were supposed to all of a sudden be getting 4-5 top 150 guys in each class. That is completely silly from the situation RP inherited. Personally, I think this class will be very good by the 2016 season, maybe sooner. Hopefully a couple e.g. Dorsey and Jarvis could be very good this fall.
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What is completely silly is continuing to point the finger at Orlando, 2 years and 16 scholarships later.
 

per Sid:

• Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino might have recruited his first blue-chip player in Ahmad Gilbert, who led his Philadelphia Constitution High School team to the Class 1A (small-school) state title this season. Gilbert scored 28 points, going 6-for-12 from the three-point line, and had 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a 85-53 victory over Farrell.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/301334141.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 



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