Ahmad Gilbert Commits to Gophers!!!

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Winasota Gopher said:
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.[/QUOTE

That is probably why he stated "I believe". He was not saying it was a fact.
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gilber from espn

**I hope Gilbert suprises. Call me a realist.

ESPN Analyst
Updated 03/30/2015

Strengths:
Long lefty combo-forward who can shoot the ball to the arc, make defensive plays because of his long wingspan and play a couple of different positions. He still has a lot of untapped upside as he becomes more versatile on the offensive end and learns to utilize his length more effective. Very good hands for tip-ins on offensive glass, handle has come along and can pound out couple of times after pulling down defensive board to start break, can also make a straight line drive. Should develop into the type of guy who can create mismatches by scoring over smaller defender or going by less mobile ones.

Weaknesses:
Approaches the offensive end primarily as a three-point shooter but stroke isn't quite pure enough to be that one dimensional; shot low percentage in EYBL and has noticeably big twist in his mechanics. While handle has come along he plays noticeably high off the ground, isn't more than a straight line driver and can really struggle with his decision making, especially when defensive rotations force him to improvise.

Bottom Line:
He's undeniably talented and unique, but offensive efficiency is a concern at the next level, especially given how glued he is to the three-point line. "this is how i would describe Buggs."



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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Appears lost on the court and plays with little passion for the game that best describes Buggs. Pitino even stated Buggs watches little basketball which would indicate to me he plays because he is tall and is expected to not because he loves playing. To suggest any player who is in love with the three point shot is just like Buggs is a stretch.
 

From all accounts (admittedly limited), Gilbert is a much more determined and hard working player than Buggs. So I think that alone makes them quite different.
 


MadtownGopher said:
From all accounts (admittedly limited), Gilbert is a much more determined and hard working player than Buggs. So I think that alone makes them quite different.
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Name one account.

This place ceases to amaze me....

Lets let the kid get on the court once before we decide who or what he is or is not. Right now we've got his physical dimensions, some high-school stats, and our hopes and dreams. Can we keep the comparisons to known commodity to a minimum people? And if you do, lets do it in an opinion stance, not in one in which you know he or she is better or worse than some other player. It's just bad form.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
Name one account.
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Go read the interview where he talked about why he committed to Minnesota. Richard told him it wasn't going to be easy and he was going to have to work his ass off to get playing time as a freshman. Gilbert loved it and especially appreciated Pitino telling him specifically what he needed to work on. I can't see Buggs saying anything like that. Pitino has been on Buggs since day one because he doesn't put in the time in the gym and hasn't been committed to his dietary program.

ETA: http://scouthoops.scout.com/story/1540271-gilbert-commits-to-minnesota

Gilbert said Pitino was upfront with him and that stuck out to him.
“When he came to my house, he was just real,” Gilbert said. “He said you’re going to have to work, but I want you. I asked him about playing the right way and he said only way you can play right away is if you work hard. He was really honest about it. When I asked him what I needed to work on he gave me a rundown on how college coaches are going to look at me what I can’t do. That helps too.”
“They were honest about everything,” Gilbert added. “They didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear, they told me what I need to work on.”
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MadtownGopher said:
Go read the interview where he talked about why he committed to Minnesota. Richard told him it wasn't going to be easy and he was going to have to work his ass off to get playing time as a freshman. Gilbert loved it and especially appreciated Pitino telling him specifically what he needed to work on. I can't see Buggs saying anything like that. Pitino has been on Buggs since day one because he doesn't put in the time in the gym and hasn't been committed to his dietary program.

ETA: http://scouthoops.scout.com/story/1540271-gilbert-commits-to-minnesota
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Where in there does it say he is more determined than Buggs?

You, of all people, a staunch Buggs supporter, should cut the kid some slack. Just be happy that Gilbert is SAYING the right things. he hasn't done SH1T yet.

This fanbase (likely all others too) is sooo quick to tear down one of their own to build up some other unknown.
 



Winasota Gopher said:
Where in there does it say he is more determined than Buggs?

You, of all people, a staunch Buggs supporter, should cut the kid some slack. Just be happy that Gilbert is SAYING the right things. he hasn't done SH1T yet.

This fanbase (likely all others too) is sooo quick to tear down one of their own to build up some other unknown.
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I like Buggs, but his worst attribute is his passion and commitment (or lack there of). Gilbert seems to be completely different in that regard. I also don't think Pitino will be recruiting players with the personality type of Buggs. I'm glad to have both players on the team. I was just pointing out that saying Gilbert is Buggs 2.0 is pretty lazy and will be proven wrong pretty early on.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I like Buggs, but his worst attribute is his passion and commitment (or lack there of). Gilbert seems to be completely different in that regard. I also don't think Pitino will be recruiting players with the personality type of Buggs. I'm glad to have both players on the team. I was just pointing out that saying Gilbert is Buggs 2.0 is pretty lazy and will be proven wrong pretty early on.
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Prepare for Buggs 2.1 Version. New software- Muscled up junkyard dog. On display October 2015.

Seriously- I am excited to see all of these guys this Fall including our returning players. It will be interesting to see what Pitino can inspire Buggs, Morris, Konate and Gaston to do. All players with talent but in need of development.
 

I don't see the comparison with Buggs at all. That said, I believe Gilbert will take minutes away from Morris right away. We have looked for a long wing, think Piper, for well over a year. Defensively, when he walks on campus he can't be any worse than Morris. My preference would have been to sign Lynch and then bank the rest of the tenders, but if we had to sign a wing, Gilbert looked as good as any.
 

bga1 said:
Prepare for Buggs 2.1 Version. New software- Muscled up junkyard dog. On display October 2015.

Seriously- I am excited to see all of these guys this Fall including our returning players. It will be interesting to see what Pitino can inspire Buggs, Morris, Konate and Gaston to do. All players with talent but in need of development.
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That's why we won't ring the bell next season. I would be amazed if any of the 4 finish the season as B1G average players. IMO Dorsey and Jarvis Johnson are much more likely to shine. Player development takes years, not months.
 






When I said Gilbert descriptions reminds me of Buggs, i wasnt referring to work ethic. It was as a long athlete with potential. Also the love of the 3pt line versus a drive every now and then.
 

I'm curious how Murphy's commitment affects the way some people see the Gilbert pickup. At the time, most people weren't too excited, but I think that's because they assumed (probably correctly) that he was Plan C after Ellison and Boucher.

Now that we got Murphy, who is apparently our 2nd highest rated pick up, does that give our staff a little more leeway if Gilbert doesn't produce for a while
 

I think Murphy committing solidifies Gilbert as a SF. He isn't likely to be playing out of position at PF, he can instead focus on playing the wing position. Focus on his shooting, ball handling, defending on the perimeter.

He won't play much this year unless we have an injury or Morris again loses all sense of what is a good shot vs a bad shot. Gives Pitino a little more leverage over Morris in that respect. But mostly Gilbert can focus on improving this year and then as a sophomore hopefully he can move up the rotation and play some good minutes. Could even be a red shirt candidate if Pitino wants to balance out the classes a bit, though I'm not really sure if it is necessary.
 

Saber said:
He won't play much this year unless we have an injury or Morris again loses all sense of what is a good shot vs a bad shot. Gives Pitino a little more leverage over Morris in that respect.
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Morris can be pretty damn crafty in the lane, kid has game. No question, he has some flaws, but again, like King we are talking about a senior that can really impact a game (positively) many nights. He's frustrating, but a decent to good player.
 

Absolutely. And I expect him to start and I'm actually fairly optimistic that he'll have a better idea of good shot vs bad shot. But there were also way to many nights where he hurt us by taking lots of bad shots. Giving Pitino a guy who can sub in to fill that roll of a lanky wing player is huge, since last year it was really hard for Pitino to do anything but live with the shots because there was no one else on the team who could fill that role physically.
 

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