Minnesota kids around college basketball

Lofton lighting it up against USC for the New Mexico State Aggies. Lovin' him some Aggievision!
 


Too bad it never worked out for him here. Would love to have a player of his caliber...especially since he is a hometown kid.
 


I remember Lofton coming here with a transfer and then he wasn’t coming as something happened. I can’t though remember anything on how or why this played out this way. What happened?
 


http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...bligations-Of-Team&highlight=Lofton+dismissed

I remember Lofton coming here with a transfer and then he wasn’t coming as something happened. I can’t though remember anything on how or why this played out this way. What happened?

The Gophers had their first open scrimmage on Sunday, during which the transfer -- who would have redshirted this season, per NCAA transfer rules -- was seen arguing with teammates and apparently snapped at a couple of times for his poor body language.

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To top it off he publicly dissed Coach Young by intentionally shafting him on a high five at a break. His attitude that night was hard to believe... There was probably more to his dismissal then just that scrimmage, but that was enough to part ways.
 

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...bligations-Of-Team&highlight=Lofton+dismissed



The Gophers had their first open scrimmage on Sunday, during which the transfer -- who would have redshirted this season, per NCAA transfer rules -- was seen arguing with teammates and apparently snapped at a couple of times for his poor body language.

---

To top it off he publicly dissed Coach Young by intentionally shafting him on a high five at a break. His attitude that night was hard to believe... There was probably more to his dismissal then just that scrimmage, but that was enough to part ways.

I've heard this story before and I pray to God that there is more to it, these are kids, but if that is all it is then when you get paid a million plus bucks a year I hope that you have the maturity and leadership to get a kid going in the right direction rather than send him off, a lot is put into these recruits, the very last resort should be to cut them, sending a kid off because he won't five high smacks of someone that is not ready for the job they have, still hoping that someone has more to the story than the kid was a cancer.
 

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...bligations-Of-Team&highlight=Lofton+dismissed



The Gophers had their first open scrimmage on Sunday, during which the transfer -- who would have redshirted this season, per NCAA transfer rules -- was seen arguing with teammates and apparently snapped at a couple of times for his poor body language.

---

To top it off he publicly dissed Coach Young by intentionally shafting him on a high five at a break. His attitude that night was hard to believe... There was probably more to his dismissal then just that scrimmage, but that was enough to part ways.
Sounds like he's ready for Big Baller Brand D League.

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Walt McGrory (walk on at Wisconsin from Edina) got 21 minutes in the Badgers' last game.
 



I've heard this story before and I pray to God that there is more to it, these are kids, but if that is all it is then when you get paid a million plus bucks a year I hope that you have the maturity and leadership to get a kid going in the right direction rather than send him off, a lot is put into these recruits, the very last resort should be to cut them, sending a kid off because he won't five high smacks of someone that is not ready for the job they have, still hoping that someone has more to the story than the kid was a cancer.

I'm sure that was all that happened. That seems reasonable, right? The newspaper tells us everything that takes place in the program so if that's all they reported then I guess he was a model player and citizen otherwise. Pitino never gives second chances. One mistake and you're gone!
 

still hoping that someone has more to the story than the kid was a cancer.

There probably is, but who gives a ****. It also could be a patteren of that behavior. Regaurdless, coach made the call and he gone. I have no problem with that, kid always seemed like a knucklehead.
 

It's over and done with, but Lofton was a bit of a mess academically and he was kicked off the team for "failing to meet the standards" of the program or something to that effect. I remember hearing something that he was at a Minneapolis club with Andrew Wiggins (during his rookie year, not yet 21) and buying drinks for Wiggins.

Stuff happens, the coach finds out and has to make a decision for the program.
 

Theo John getting some minutes against another MN kid in Macura tonight. Xavier and Marquette looks to have good finish in store.
 



Theo John getting some minutes against another MN kid in Macura tonight. Xavier and Marquette looks to have good finish in store.

Think you are catching a replay man. Good game though.


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McKinley Wright with 19 pts and 5 asts in Colorado's win over Arizona State
 

McKinley Wright with 19 pts and 5 asts in Colorado's win over Arizona State

Had 16 and 10 today in an upset over Arizona today. He's far better as a freshman than I ever imagined he would. You could tell by what some of the other local kids thought of him that he was different. He's proven to be a great leader at Colorado already.
 

Macura 1/6 from three in a loss to Providence


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Just thought I’d sprinkle some of the underwhelming news here so the FOMO as a result of this thread isn’t as strong.


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Steffon Mitchell had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in Boston College's win over Wake Forest today.
 

McKinley Wright with 19 pts and 5 asts in Colorado's win over Arizona State

We really missed on Wright. Leads Colorado in points and minutes. Has scored in double digits in all but one of his sixteen games. And now they are on a two game win streak (#4 Arizona State and #14 Arizona).
 


Andy Katz declares McKinley Wright a Rising Star
and proclaims that nobody wants to face Zach Lofton and New Mexico State in the first round of the tourney.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...-down-college-basketballs-best-midseason-mark

I trusted Pitino (and other evaluators) when he prioritized Washington over Wright. But I really liked Wright and hoped we wouldn't regret missing out on a local kid who seems to have charisma and connections to other local players, in addition to skills. I know we supposedly still would've taken Wright even after Jelly committed, but that wasn't realistic.

I also know Washington has skills and a nationwide following. It's way early and I have high hopes for Washington. But Wright would look good in maroon and gold.
 

I trusted Pitino (and other evaluators) when he prioritized Washington over Wright. But I really liked Wright and hoped we wouldn't regret missing out on a local kid who seems to have charisma and connections to other local players, in addition to skills. I know we supposedly still would've taken Wright even after Jelly committed, but that wasn't realistic.

I also know Washington has skills and a nationwide following. It's way early and I have high hopes for Washington. But Wright would look good in maroon and gold.

For what it's worth, I have a friend who coached McKinley Wright, and I've been told that McKinley never really considered the Gophers. He was 100% sold on Dayton, and was devastated when Archie Miller left for Indiana. After reopening his recruitment, IW was firmly in that slot, and removed any possibility of Wright coming here. I don't think we ever had much of a shot, he purportedly wasn't too excited about the culture at the U (sex tape scandal was pretty big at the peak of his recruitment).
 

Iw no doubt gotta take him...Harris...sure we needed shooting but if u already knew of the lynch info then how do u not bring in another big...sims sholda been a gopher

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Assuming this is true, it's very disappointing to hear that he was turned off by that stupid sex tape scandal.

We could have really used him and he could have been a program changer. I know we probably wouldn't have gotten IW, but on the off chance he came too, our guard depth would have been incredible. Oh well, such is life.

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Iw no doubt gotta take him...Harris...sure we needed shooting but if u already knew of the lynch info then how do u not bring in another big...sims sholda been a gopher

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Sims seemed to be one of the staff's top priorities, it really seemed like we wanted a big for 2017 until accepting the Harris commitment. I don't think there's any reason to believe the coaches would have known about Lynch's misconduct, considering it seems it likely wasn't even reported until over a year after Sims committed to Texas.

If Wright actually turned us down because of the sex tape, that's pretty stupid. It was literally just a couple kids experimenting sexually and making a dumb mistake, nothing unethical or morally wrong, and not a "culture problem."
 

Iw no doubt gotta take him...Harris...sure we needed shooting but if u already knew of the lynch info then how do u not bring in another big...sims sholda been a gopher

We tried hard to get Sims, went to all his games, visited him during all the recruiting periods, etc. He said we were going to be one of his official visits, but then jumped the gun and committed to Texas. Knowing they're an Adidas school (as was Sims' aau team), it really makes me wonder. Yes, Shaka Smart blah blah blah, but still, it seemed like a very odd choice at the time according to people who seemed to be in the know. (Most expected him to stay home).
 

One way or another, if the Gopher program isn't attractive to a player like Wright for whatever reason, that's a problem. I can understand five-star athletes being drawn to blue-chip programs, and I can understand Macura wanting a smaller private school, but getting aced out of a three-star player by a comparable state school like Colorado - that hurts. Maybe the improved facilities will make the difference; I don't know. One way or another: recognizing the talents of a player like Wright and being an attractive situation for him both program-wise and school-wise will be the key to future success. You look around the country at teams that go far, and it's often 3-star players that go beyond that pedigree. Mason and Murphy are examples, and that's great, but let's reel in those local kids of the same cloth.
 

Wright wanted to be a Gopher and would have been here if Washington wouldn't have committed first. Archie recruited Wright for a long time and he felt he owed it to him to take an official to Dayton, while on his official to Dayton, Washington committed here.
 





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