All Things Zeke Nnaji Recruiting Thread (Class of 2019 - Gophers Have Offered)

Arizona is a mess right now, I'm guessing Wisconsin is the team to beat.

UW thinks they are in a great place with him. UCLA is the place that can steal him. Top 3 public school, diverse and incredible athletic success. No NIT banners there period. They do not even display Final 4 trips.
 

Guys listen to me on this. Hes going wherever he thinks can get him to the NBA the fastest. Its not gonna be Wisconsin. This info comes from someone real close to him. Its Arizona Ucla Kansas(if they offer). Iowa is also likely ahead of Wisconsin here.
 

Remove the thread if the Gophers are not his choice.
 

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Note that Zeke says that former Gopher Al Nuness is telling him to play for his son at Baylor:

Indy Star: Secret to landing top-30 target Zeke Nnaji could lie in Indiana’s music department

Indiana’s music department could come in clutch with one of its top 2019 basketball targets.

Zeke Nnaji, a four-star, top-30 power forward from just outside Minneapolis, is arguably as good a pianist as he is a basketball player — he loves classical and jazz piano, in particular. And Indiana’s Jacobs School of Music is perennially ranked among the best in the country.

“(Associate head coach) Tom Ostrom was telling me a lot about that,” Nnaji told IndyStar on Thursday, with a wide grin.

Coaches think the 6-11 stretch forward would fit nicely in the basketball department, too.

On UCLA …
"They’ve always been a great program. Ever since John Wooden, they’ve been great. A lot of motion offenses are called 'UCLA.' They have a great history. They’re still very good and they still bring people to the NBA, like Lonzo (Ball) for example. I definitely think that I could see myself developing there, because they know what it takes to get to the next level."

On Arizona …
"Arizona has been great. I mean, Deandre Ayton. They’ve also developed a lot of players that people haven't heard of — like two-, three-year players. They developed them into NBA players. They just know that it’s a process, and they know what the process is. They know what scouts are looking for to get you to the next level."

On Iowa …
“It’s definitely a place I could see myself going. They’re like family to me, talking to me all the time. I just feel really comfortable around them and could really see myself growing as a man and as a basketball player.

“If I go there, I’d start playing right away.(Fran McCaffery) really sees me as a stretch forward — someone that could put the ball on the floor, go post up, get rebounds and push it. Watching Tyler Cook, they said how they feed him a lot in the post and they think that I could do that — but also they say I’m like Luka (Garza), too, in how he stretches the floor. They really think of me as a stretch forward, who can go inside but outside as well.”

On Baylor …
"I have a supervisor at my school named Al Nuness. His son, Jared Nuness, is (on staff) over there. So Al is always telling me to go to Baylor. It’s a good school. All the coaches over there have been texting me and making me feel comfortable with them."

On Minnesota …
"I have a lot of friends that committed there. Gabe (Kalscheur), Daniel (Oturu), Jarvis (Omersa). That’d be cool to be going there with them. If we get Matthew (Hurt) and me, too, the in-state talent going far into the tournament — that’d be special right there."

On Wisconsin ...
"They were the first to offer me. When they first offered me, they said I’m not there yet, but they definitely thought I could get there. And now they’re saying that my hard work is going to pay off. I’m really comfortable with them — Joe Krabbenhoft, Greg Gard. They’re great guys, and I know a couple of guys there. Nate Reuvers, Brad Davison, Tyler Wahl who’s my (D1Minnesota) teammate, too."

https://www.indystar.com/story/spor...sic-may-aid-zeke-nnaji-recruitment/849445002/

Go Gophers!!
 

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

On Minnesota …
"I have a lot of friends that committed there. Gabe (Kalscheur), Daniel (Oturu), Jarvis (Omersa). That’d be cool to be going there with them. If we get Matthew (Hurt) and me, too, the in-state talent going far into the tournament — that’d be special right there."
 

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

On Minnesota …
"I have a lot of friends that committed there. Gabe (Kalscheur), Daniel (Oturu), Jarvis (Omersa). That’d be cool to be going there with them. If we get Matthew (Hurt) and me, too, the in-state talent going far into the tournament — that’d be special right there."

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.


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Hurt appears to be headed for a One and Done University. He should follow Humphries lead. :)
 



Very tall order to be one and done for Hurt. I think he needs to get a lot stronger for that to happen and compete in the NBA
 

Very tall order to be one and done for Hurt. I think he needs to get a lot stronger for that to happen and compete in the NBA

The NBA draft is almost all based on potential of the players. It all depends on if he wants to be a top 10 pick or if he just wants to be assured to be taken in the first round. He's too good to slip out of the first round, even with his lack of strength.
 

Hurt has the skill set and the IQ, doesn't have the NBA body yet, but he has the frame put on the weight to get there. Due to the nature of the draft, if Hurt doesn't go in the lottery, something seriously went wrong in his one year of college, and as an older freshman, a second year in school would his stock, as it would give scouts more tape to find weaknesses in his game.

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Is there any recent draft picks that remind you of Matthew and his game? Keep in mind he is entering his SR season and these guys were 2 years older when they played their college season.

Michael Porter Jr, the oft injured, is about 6-10 210lbs, with a sf offensive game and will probably defend pf's once he puts on weight.
I also think of TJ Leaf, 6-10 220 when coming out of UCLA as another similar player.

Both first round draft choices.
 



Is there any recent draft picks that remind you of Matthew and his game? Keep in mind he is entering his SR season and these guys were 2 years older when they played their college season.

Michael Porter Jr, the oft injured, is about 6-10 210lbs, with a sf offensive game and will probably defend pf's once he puts on weight.
I also think of TJ Leaf, 6-10 220 when coming out of UCLA as another similar player.

Both first round draft choices.
They were really one year older. Matthew Hurt is older than Omersa

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The bad: 99% chance of not getting Nnaji

The good: this may mean Hurt isn’t going to Kansas


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Call me crazy but i have a real good feeling Nnaji stays home. Also feel that Hurt may just do the same.
 


Call me crazy but i have a real good feeling Nnaji stays home. Also feel that Hurt may just do the same.

Could you imagine running out a front court of Oturu, Nnaji and Hurt? Geezus....and Omersa in the mix, too! This could be a Goliath program if our incredibly talented local kids just stayed home. The NBA knows where MN is, gentlemen.


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Could you imagine running out a front court of Oturu, Nnaji and Hurt? Geezus....and Omersa in the mix, too! This could be a Goliath program if our incredibly talented local kids just stayed home. The NBA knows where MN is, gentlemen.


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And Curry, and when Hurt goes one and done replace him with Garcia

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I'm just looking for a 2019 commitment.
Me too, Austin Crowley would be great for replacing Dupree and down the road Coffey. Just dreaming of a scenario that will probably never happen. Too bad, these kids could be gods around here if they chose to be

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Me too, Austin Crowley would be great for replacing Dupree and down the road Coffey. Just dreaming of a scenario that will probably never happen. Too bad, these kids could be gods around here if they chose to be

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Maybe they want to play for a national power or get better coaching or play at a school in a warmer climate. Maybe they are mature enough to not want to be a god. Or if they do want to be a god then they pick a place where they are not over shadowed by dozens of pro athletes. I actually think the Gophers have a better shot at Hurt than they do with Zeke.
 

Maybe they want to play for a national power or get better coaching or play at a school in a warmer climate. Maybe they are mature enough to not want to be a god. Or if they do want to be a god then they pick a place where they are not over shadowed by dozens of pro athletes. I actually think the Gophers have a better shot at Hurt than they do with Zeke.
You seem very touchy on this subject, athletes want to be remembered you play to be great. That's how Barry Alvarez built Wisconsin the first few years he told kids you can go to school X,y,z and win some games maybe a conference title and they might remember you or you can come here be part of the first one and you'll be a legend. Look I get it I played hockey at Bemidji, I was what they called a gopher reject in the student section

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Maybe they want to play for a national power or get better coaching or play at a school in a warmer climate. Maybe they are mature enough to not want to be a god. Or if they do want to be a god then they pick a place where they are not over shadowed by dozens of pro athletes. I actually think the Gophers have a better shot at Hurt than they do with Zeke.

1. Built...you are bit sensitive with this. What gives? This is hypothetical and not slamming the kids at all.

2. Both Zeke and Matthew have gone for months, if not years.

3. If MN would just start winning on a consistent basis, they would get plenty of pub here asides the Vikings late season/postseason which likely wont happen every yr. The wolves seem to be in implosion mode again and the wild are stagnant.
 

Rumor has it Nnaji doesn't want to stay home for school and that includes Wisconsin and Iowa. Unless something changes drastically or he gets a Kentucky/Duke-esque offer, Kansas and Arizona are firmly the top choices, with Kansas being ahead of Arizona. Minnesota isn't even really in the picture.
 

1. Built...you are bit sensitive with this. What gives? This is hypothetical and not slamming the kids at all.

2. Both Zeke and Matthew have gone for months, if not years.

3. If MN would just start winning on a consistent basis, they would get plenty of pub here asides the Vikings late season/postseason which likely wont happen every yr. The wolves seem to be in implosion mode again and the wild are stagnant.

Not sensitive at all. Merely pointing out just some of the reasons to go elsewhere. There are plenty of reasons to stay home as well. I just have a non biased view of what young people have experienced growing up. With the advent of ESPN there are fewer kids for two generations that have a loyalty to a home state school. Yes, success opens more doors .
 




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