Geno Crandall

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Blitzkrieg said:
Why did he pick the Zags?

"Chance at a national title," Crandall told the Star Tribune. "And I think they've got a proven track record of developing pros and getting guys contracts."

Sounds about right.
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Zag’s will nut up they usually do. It’s always a race to see who underachieve Zags or Zona?
 

Crandall can play wish him well. I hope I can stay up when they have a showdown with Pacific at 11pm cst on. Monday night.
 

A scholarship offer from Gonzaga versus an offer from Minnesota. What would you do? My guess is that Crandall intended to come here, wanted to come here and was coming here....until Gonzaga emerged as a possibility. If you are twenty one or so, think you have NBA chops (at the very worst Euroleague) you go to the school that sets guys up.


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Crandall is a very good player he would be in the Euroleague next year if he chose Bethel.
 

Goph33 said:
Can’t blane him if he wants to go to pros. This stings a lot though. Honestly thought we were sleeper final 4 with him. Waiting for the day when players want to represent their home. May take change I don’t know though not yet at least. May take a couple pros
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Looked it up for some sobering facts. The Gophers have been to the NCAA Tournament 5 times since 2000. They've been to the Sweet 16 once in the last 25 years, and it technically doesn't even count. It's been 14 years since Minnesota has had a player drafted (Kris Humphries).

Sure, Gonzaga plays in a lesser league, but they get to the Big Dance every year and played for the national title 2 years ago.

The Gophers have the potential to be a very good team this year, if they stay healthy. I thought before Crandall they had a chance to be a second weekend NCAA Tournament team. I'll be curious to see if Pitino adds another player before the season. I certainly think he should. If the Gophers aren't dancing this year, Pitino is likely gone and the whole program restarts. And I say this as someone who has largely been a fan of Pitino.
 


Gonzaga nuts up look at their tourney history the facts don’t lie. I hope Crandall ends up being lotto but fact is the Zags nut up and are in a junk league.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Plausible; makes sense. If so, we got out-recruited and lost big-man depth as collateral damage. It would have been better if Crandall had never led us on in the first place.

He'll be along for the ride in Spokane instead of likely starting and leading here. In that respect, a bit of a curious decision on his part - another sign that Pitino just got his pants recruited off him.

Positive spin: this increases IW's playing time and aids his development. NIT this year and potential for conference title contention and a NCAA run in 19-20.
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If it's NIT this year, it's most likely start over with new coach next year.
 


Thomasthetank said:
We ve been left at the alter so many times. Its gopher sports guys.

Gonzaga has stability, coaching, an aggressive non con schedule, and easy conference schedule that MN doesnt have. They utilize international relationships to get players and then develop them.

Richard Pitino has not done any of that. I hope he does. I hope he wins this yr and rights the ship. Otherwise, Coyle will get someone in here who will secure guya like Geno.
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Left in the altar? We've been cornh#led!

I am happy that he is happy with his decision. But, I am not happy.
 



howeda7 said:
If it's NIT this year, it's most likely start over with new coach next year.
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Not to dispute your prediction, but I maintain that firing him after next season would cut off that potential good season the following year at the knees.
 

howeda7 said:
I get wanting the chance to play in a Final Four. But the odds of it happening are still what 10%? Maybe 20%?
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Probably 5-10% tops despite the fact Gonzaga will be very good.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Not to dispute your prediction, but I maintain that firing him after next season would cut off that potential good season the following year at the knees.
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I agree, which is why it won't happen. And why he took two sit out players. And why they'll get Matt Hurt. ;)
 

Roland Brooks said:
Zag’s will nut up they usually do. It’s always a race to see who underachieve Zags or Zona?
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Let's see .... the Zags have underperformed to their seed a grand total of one (1) time in the last decade. And over the last 10 years they've gone "one and done" in the dance exactly zero (0) times. With an average seed of just under 6 over the last 10 years, they've won a game in each dance and been to the Sweet 16 (or beyond) 5 times. Their last "one and done" was 11 years ago, when they got "Steph Curry'd" in the 7/10 game in Davidson's back yard. They've been to the dance 20 straight years and been "one and done" three (3) times. In the meantime they've gone Sweet 16 (or beyond) from the 10 seed, 10 seed, 12 seed and 11 seed.

Other than that, good point.
 



RickDornsby said:
Making the national championship game is bad?
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For all the hype they have had and the great seeding from playing in a junk conference it was about damn time. Few would say the same thing. Facts don’t lie.
 

alchemy2u said:
You have got to F’ing kidding me. Unbelievable... another kid that got blinded by what he thought was the bright lights. Now he can at least he can be sitting in a comfy chair, eating a bag of popcorn while he watches the Gophers in the tourney. I guess he knew that IW was better than him...


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...and once again alchemy wins...
0b0fb7463b8b25a93cb67f90bfe1a797.jpg
 

alchemy2u said:
He trolled the U fans. All this talk about keeping the family together, wanting to play in front of his family, the U was his dream school, etc. People can talk family all they want, but you need to walk the talk. If Pitino opened up a spot for him because he was giving indications that Geno would joins us, then Geno burned a few bridges today. I hope he like working in Spokane...


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Going forward I think recruits should say only negative things about the schools they're considering.

99% of hiring managers in the Twin Cities in 2019 won't have the first idea that Geno Crandall had a chance to play hoops for Minnesota. And half of the others won't care.
 

Let’s see... when the Zags finally made the Final Four why was there so much coverage about them finally making it? Few got asked a thousand times if making the Final Four finally validated the Zags program.. You don’t get asked that question unless your program right or wrong has been deemed to nut on occasion.
 


My God, the Gopherhole braintrust are trying to make the case that Gonzaga isn't a good program. It is okay to be disappointed by this, but it is silly to scream that the Zags stink while you have tears streaming down your face. Embarrassing.
 

GoZags said:
Let's see .... the Zags have underperformed to their seed a grand total of one (1) time in the last decade. And over the last 10 years they've gone "one and done" in the dance exactly zero (0) times. With an average seed of just under 6 over the last 10 years, they've won a game in each dance and been to the Sweet 16 (or beyond) 5 times. Their last "one and done" was 11 years ago, when they got "Steph Curry'd" in the 7/10 game in Davidson's back yard. They've been to the dance 20 straight years and been "one and done" three (3) times. In the meantime they've gone Sweet 16 (or beyond) from the 10 seed, 10 seed, 12 seed and 11 seed.

Other than that, good point.
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Over hyped. Last 10 years averaged a #6 seed. Where were they ranked in those 10 seasons when the season started? Didn’t live up to the hype.
 

Roland Brooks said:
Let’s see... when the Zags finally made the Final Four why was there so much coverage about them finally making it? Few got asked a thousand times if making the Final Four finally validated the Zags program.. You don’t get asked that question unless your program right or wrong has been deemed to nut on occasion.
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Hmmmm .... which of these programs who've been to the dance for 20+ straight years is the outlier?

Duke .... average seed last 20 seasons - 1.9
Kansas .... average seed last 20 seasons - 2.4
Gonzaga ... average seed last 20 seasons - 7.1

The Final Four was awesome .... and isn't easy to achieve. Particularly when your average seed is 7. And in the history of NCAA hoops, Gonzaga is the 5th smallest school to be ranked #! in the AP .... ever.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/20...hools-ever-to-be-ranked-no-1-in-the-ap-top-25

Edited to say it's been nice visiting. Good luck to the Gophers this season. Haven't been compared to an NDSU guy before so that was unique. Just thought that the Zags were taking a few unwarranted shots over here so thought I'd chime in with a "different" perspective ...
 

It's clear to me that Geno didn't believe he would beat out Jelly to be the starting PG here. I have to believe he's a little disappointed with his grad transfer decision in that he left the chance to continue being the man at UND for a bench role. I am not sure how he thinks being a 5th year bench player at Gonzaga gets him any closer to a professional career than any of his other potential choices...including just staying at UND. I hope he's not delusional enough to think he's an NBA guy, but Gonzaga has 3 players in the NBA currently and they are all C's.

That said, this is a huge miss for Pitino whose seat has to be scorching hot right now. I have a strong suspicion that Geno screwed him here (don't believe Stockman left on his own accord), but the end result is that he's mismanaged his roster again. As of today he only has 10 scholarship players eligible to play next season. If he loses his job because of an injury or two that exposes a lack of depth it would be a fitting (though somewhat sad) ending to a tenure that had some promise but could just never get going. When you combine this miss with the total lack of any momentum in the 2019 class it's very concerning for the future.
 

howeda7 said:
I get wanting the chance to play in a Final Four. But the odds of it happening are still what 10%? Maybe 20%?
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I know. I pretty much stated that it’s VERY hard to assume you’ll make it (~10%), but it’s still something that I’m sure Few was selling him on.
 

To respond to many posts at once:

1) Yes, I can blame Crandall and similar kids for bailing on their home and people who have supported them their whole life to go play for strangers based on a selfish pipe-dream. Want to play the "Gophers didn't recruit him out of high school" card? Well, neither did Gonzaga. Yes, he handled it poorly. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to see that he made Pitino think he was coming here. You can bet Pitino is pissed off right now.

2). Gonzaga is a very nice program, sure. But their competition in the past has a lot to do with their NCAA tourny steak. Comparing their chops to major programs is ridiculous. There is no comparison in the level of difficulty year-in and year-out. They were built on sneaking into the back door of the tourny based on the conference tourny technicality. All the credit in the world on capitalizing on those, but pretending their program would be in the same position if they were in a major conference 20 years ago is ridiculous, IMO.

3). Gonzaga is not winning the NCAA national championship. That is laughable. Neither are the Gophers, clearly.

4). Pitino should be in boiling hot water unless he lands some MN kids in this next recruiting class. The chance Minnesota has to had to build a powerhouse is undeniable. The in-state talent has been elite. The facilities are there. They play in a major conference. They have the "Pitino" brand (back when it still meant something). It is an utter failure that these kids can't get across the border fast enough, and he's bringing in guys who's idea of organized basketball includes an MC on the court screaming into a mic about "handles" (IW). Crandall is not scared of Hot Sauce. If you can't sell this program/facilities to a guy who self-proclaimed it his "dream school," board up the Barn because we will never have a shot at anything, ever.

5). In no way can this be spun into a positive. This program was a joke before Pitino got here. It's a still a joke after a half-decade of Pitino. This is not "good for the future." I don't know how in the name of anything you can deduce a net positive out this, but it's crazy.

Will we be fine without Geno? Well, that depends on your definition of fine. We'll certainly be a worse basketball team, but probably not by a whole lot. The thing people trying to spin this are missing: It's another confirmation of a the larger underlying problem that persists. Kids growing up here don't want to play for the U. It's unacceptable.
 

GoZags said:
Hmmmm .... which of these programs who've been to the dance for 20+ straight years is the outlier?

Duke .... average seed last 20 seasons - 1.9
Kansas .... average seed last 20 seasons - 2.4
Gonzaga ... average seed last 20 seasons - 7.1

The Final Four was awesome .... and isn't easy to achieve. Particularly when your average seed is 7. And in the history of NCAA hoops, Gonzaga is the 5th smallest school to be ranked #! in the AP .... ever.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/20...hools-ever-to-be-ranked-no-1-in-the-ap-top-25

Edited to say it's been nice visiting. Good luck to the Gophers this season. Haven't been compared to an NDSU guy before so that was unique. Just thought that the Zags were taking a few unwarranted shots over here so thought I'd chime in with a "different" perspective ...
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No harm no foul. I saw you were a new poster with Go Zag’s name so I had to take some shots. I actually loved that early Zag’s team with Frahm, Calvary and Santangelo! Fun team to watch...
 

EG#9 said:
It's clear to me that Geno didn't believe he would beat out Jelly to be the starting PG here. I have to believe he's a little disappointed with his grad transfer decision in that he left the chance to continue being the man at UND for a bench role. I am not sure how he thinks being a 5th year bench player at Gonzaga gets him any closer to a professional career than any of his other potential choices...including just staying at UND. I hope he's not delusional enough to think he's an NBA guy, but Gonzaga has 3 players in the NBA currently and they are all C's.

That said, this is a huge miss for Pitino whose seat has to be scorching hot right now. I have a strong suspicion that Geno screwed him here (don't believe Stockman left on his own accord), but the end result is that he's mismanaged his roster again. As of today he only has 10 scholarship players eligible to play next season. If he loses his job because of an injury or two that exposes a lack of depth it would be a fitting (though somewhat sad) ending to a tenure that had some promise but could just never get going. When you combine this miss with the total lack of any momentum in the 2019 class it's very concerning for the future.
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Good post. The concerning aspect is how little momentum there is for the 2019 class, not missing out on a backup grad transfer.
 

Roland Brooks said:
Over hyped. Last 10 years averaged a #6 seed. Where were they ranked in those 10 seasons when the season started? Didn’t live up to the hype.
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A 6 seed is 21-24 ish .... they've been preseason Top 10 twice in the last decade (and been to 2 Elite 8's).

Last year .... Sweet 16 ... preseason ranked #18
'16/'17 .... National Championship game ... preseason ranked #14
'15/'16 .... Sweet 16 ... preseason ranked # 9
'14/'15 ... Elite 8 .... preseason ranked #13
'13/14 ... round of 32 --- preseason ranked #15
'12/'13 ... round of 32 ... preseason ranked #21
'11/'12 ... round of 32 ... preseason ranked #23
'10/'11 ... round of 32 ... preseason ranked #12
'09/'10 ... round of 32 ... preseason ranked unranked
'08/'09 ... Sweet 16 ... preseason ranked #10
 

John Galt said:
Good post. The concerning aspect is how little momentum there is for the 2019 class, not missing out on a backup grad transfer.
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Yeah, and I think 3 things are going on here (2 of them overlap)
1. Washington, Curry RS, sir-our transfers, a good ‘18 class. Great players may not be terrified of that depth, but some may be concerned about early playing time.
2. Last year didn’t look good no matter the circumstances.
3. Other coaches may be telling the recruits that they may play 0 or 1 years for Pitino.
 

With a nod to Vizzini, the amount of tone deafness displayed here by Geno Crandall is inconceivable. Coach has some culpability here as well, even with the equity he gained with the 3 other spring recruits. Gut punch - times like this remind me that I become way too invested in Gophers basketball. Here's to better days.
 

Heracles said:
To respond to many posts at once:

1) Yes, I can blame Crandall and similar kids for bailing on their home and people who have supported them their whole life to go play for strangers based on a selfish pipe-dream. Want to play the "Gophers didn't recruit him out of high school" card? Well, neither did Gonzaga. Yes, he handled it poorly. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to see that he made Pitino think he was coming here. You can bet Pitino is pissed off right now.

2). Gonzaga is a very nice program, sure. But their competition in the past has a lot to do with their NCAA tourny steak. Comparing their chops to major programs is ridiculous. There is no comparison in the level of difficulty year-in and year-out. They were built on sneaking into the back door of the tourny based on the conference tourny technicality. All the credit in the world on capitalizing on those, but pretending their program would be in the same position if they were in a major conference 20 years ago is ridiculous, IMO.

3). Gonzaga is not winning the NCAA national championship. That is laughable. Neither are the Gophers, clearly.

4). Pitino should be in boiling hot water unless he lands some MN kids in this next recruiting class. The chance Minnesota has to had to build a powerhouse is undeniable. The in-state talent has been elite. The facilities are there. They play in a major conference. They have the "Pitino" brand (back when it still meant something). It is an utter failure that these kids can't get across the border fast enough, and he's bringing in guys who's idea of organized basketball includes an MC on the court screaming into a mic about "handles" (IW). Crandall is not scared of Hot Sauce. If you can't sell this program/facilities to a guy who self-proclaimed it his "dream school," board up the Barn because we will never have a shot at anything, ever.

5). In no way can this be spun into a positive. This program was a joke before Pitino got here. It's a still a joke after a half-decade of Pitino. This is not "good for the future." I don't know how in the name of anything you can deduce a net positive out this, but it's crazy.

Will we be fine without Geno? Well, that depends on your definition of fine. We'll certainly be a worse basketball team, but probably not by a whole lot. The thing people trying to spin this are missing: It's another confirmation of a the larger underlying problem that persists. Kids growing up here don't want to play for the U. It's unacceptable.
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Bravo! Bravo, sir!
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