Wow: Matz Stockman will graduate and transfer from Minnesota

ehhhh. Part of the benefit of a grad transfer is the maturity. I'd guess that if it was close to even you start Washington. First off he has more potential. Secondly he has another 2 years in the program. Third you've been grooming this kid as the PG of the future for a full year. He's spent the last 3 months preparing to be the starter. Even if Geno comes here it'll be in the fall as he has to take more classes to graduate from UND. So you're going to tell IW that all the sudden he's got to be a backup for a guy that wasn't on the radar and doesn't get here until a few months before the season starts? That's tough for a young player to handle and could be harmful to chemistry. The better option IMO would to use Geno as the backup but also as the 1st guard off the bench, essentially a 6th man role.

I think this is a really good point. Don't want to play mind games with Washington, even as much as I hate to say it. There will be plenty of minutes to go around for Washington/Stull/Crandall/McBrayer/Coffey at the 1,2, and 3. I think the one whose playing time will really dip would be Hurt. That is unless we are playing a team with a bigger wing that Hurt could maybe defend better, still not sure he would defend better than McBrayer at the 3.
 

Most legit 7+ footers in major D1 get at least a cup of coffee in the NBA. Since Stockman is apparently a U grad, we may finally get our first NBA player since The Hump!! Wouldn't that be ironic, the last two Gophers to get into NBA would have never played a game for the Gophers (Royce, Stockman if he gets a shot for being tall...and heck, Lofton is getting NBA tryouts).

Go Gophers!!
 

per Marcus:

Stockman’s departure leaves Minnesota coach Richard Pitino with another scholarship available for the 2018-19 season. Former DeLaSalle and North Dakota guard Geno Crandall visited Minnesota’s campus last week. Crandall, a 6-3 senior, is a graduate transfer and immediately eligible. He’s reportedly considering Minnesota, Xavier, Gonzaga and Colorado State.

Pitino also has high interest in another former Islander star Reid Travis, who is a graduate transfer from Stanford. Travis appears to have narrowed down his choices to Kentucky and Villanova. The 6-8 All-Pac 12 forward is visiting Kentucky this week.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-senior-center-matz-stockman-to-transfer/485406401/

Go Gophers!!
 

Matz was never going to be more than a depth player, or someone who only saw action if somebody else got hurt. He probably saw the writing on the wall with Jarvis, Curry, Murphy and Oturu all likely ahead of him. Good move to give him time to find a place to play 1 year where he can get legit playing time.

If it means Geno Crandall is coming home, even better. Dude is a legit PG who scored 16ppg last year. You can never have enough guards.
I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think it is 100% Pitino trying to free up a Crandall scholarship.

I think Stockman definitely would have gotten minutes at backup center with either Curry or Oturu starting and whoever of those two wouldn't have been, they'd be the backup PF. Jarvis wouldn't have likely played very much IMO with Stockman.
 

Have to think Pitino has a 99% guarantee that Crandall is gonna be a Gopher. He has supposedly been around campus and done some workouts with guys from the team from time to time for a couple weeks now. I thought Stockman could help but even though we will be a little smaller inside we should still be very athletic and long. Could be bringing 2 SRs that have great experience at the mid major level off the bench next year with Crandall and Stull.
 


Get used to it guys. To compete at the top levels in college BB, Pitino has to do what is best for the program TODAY, not last week, not last year, etc.. Stockman was the backup center, the U gave him his degree and basically made him a free agent. It is not a Creening because he is better off after his time at the U, he has options.


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Get used to it guys. To compete at the top levels in college BB, Pitino has to do what is best for the program TODAY, not last week, not last year, etc.. Stockman was the backup center, the U gave him his degree and basically made him a free agent. It is not a Creening because he is better off after his time at the U, he has options.

It's not ideal, but not all bad for Matz either, he got another free year of school and now he gets to pick a new home where he can hopefully play more and work on his graduate studies.
 

To compete at the top levels in college BB, Pitino has to do what is best for the program TODAY, not last week, not last year, etc.

He does? When did he decide to implement this change in policy? Yesterday? He has recruited many sit-out transfers in his time here, including one earlier this calendar year who will sit out the 2018-19 season. How did that move help the program TODAY?
 

Have to think Pitino has a 99% guarantee that Crandall is gonna be a Gopher. He has supposedly been around campus and done some workouts with guys from the team from time to time for a couple weeks now. I thought Stockman could help but even though we will be a little smaller inside we should still be very athletic and long. Could be bringing 2 SRs that have great experience at the mid major level off the bench next year with Crandall and Stull.

I'd be willing to bet at least one of them starts eventually. Pitino gonna have to manage some egos very carefully, but in the limited action I've seen I would start both of them and bring Washington and McBrayer off the bench. Just my opinion
 



Plenty of posters around here were planning on Stockman providing valuable minutes this season.

Plenty of other posters didn’t agree. In the end we will never know as the kid won’t play a minute for the U.
 


Plenty of posters around here were planning on Stockman providing valuable minutes this season.

Plenty of other posters didn’t agree. In the end we will never know as the kid won’t play a minute for the U.

Unless he plays well or poorly for another P5 program. Illinois fans seem to really want this guy.


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Unless he plays well or poorly for another P5 program. Illinois fans seem to really want this guy.


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Illinois also only has 2 players over 6’7” and both are freshmen.
 




I am glad Pitino decided to do what he appears to have done (open up a scholarship for a more talented player) as he's clearly either feeling pressure or changed his strategy very recently as he kept Diedhiou on scholarship for four years. I am not particularly concerned about the lack of big men with the way basketball is trending now. The Warriors often play with Draymond Green at Center (yes Kevin Durant might be 7'0 but he's not a strong rebounder at all...see JR Smith getting that board over him in Game 1 of the Finals) and the Rockets had lineups featuring PJ Tucker at Center. That's in the NBA, in college it should be easier to go small with the shorter game (less time for a smaller player to get worn down guarding a bigger opponent), games are usually spaced further out (back to backs only occur during the non conference and during conference tournament games), and teams can play zone on defense. If one of Curry or Oturu was to go down, I think the Gophers could be more than fine with Murphy and Omersa at the 4/5 spots for a few minutes a game. I'd actually argue that Michael Hurt is better suited to be a somewhat undersized 4 that could hopefully space the floor a bit than to try to guard wings out in space. If I am right about that, and Hurt shoots the 3 at a decent clip, the Gophers could also go with a Murphy at the 5 and Hurt at the 4 lineup and they could really feature Murphy in the post in such a scenario with Hurt, Stull, and maybe one other "shooter" on the court to really space the floor and play 4 out/1 in on offense for those minutes. To keep this short, as long as either Omersa or Hurt can play, I don't think the Gophers are in that much trouble in the front court. There are just so few guys that are unstoppable in the post now, and even if you run in to one of those rare guys, you can still spread the court on other end and try to exchange 2's for 3's.
 

I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think it is 100% Pitino trying to free up a Crandall scholarship.

I think Stockman definitely would have gotten minutes at backup center with either Curry or Oturu starting and whoever of those two wouldn't have been, they'd be the backup PF. Jarvis wouldn't have likely played very much IMO with Stockman.

Well, if that's the case, kudos to Pitino. Perhaps he's smarting from letting Gaston stay here for four years.

The hell with Reid Travis. He probably doesn't want to come here and we don't need him anyway. Crandall, on the other hand, would fit very, very well.
 

I am glad Pitino decided to do what he appears to have done (open up a scholarship for a more talented player) as he's clearly either feeling pressure or changed his strategy very recently as he kept Diedhiou on scholarship for four years.

Not really. Unlike Stockman, Diedhiou didn't have a degree and plenty of scholarship options elsewhere.
 


Not really. Unlike Stockman, Diedhiou didn't have a degree and plenty of scholarship options elsewhere.

Not a convincing argument. Either you are willing to move guys out or you aren't. Most coaches are willing to move guys out and the number of high majors where a Gaston Diedhiou level player makes it to year 2, much less takes up a scholarship for 4 years. The fact that it was Stockman that was moved out and not someone else, certainly leads credence to the belief that Richard was doing his dad a favor a year ago.
 

Not really. Unlike Stockman, Diedhiou didn't have a degree and plenty of scholarship options elsewhere.

Diedhiou could have landed a DII scholarship somewhere and would not have had to sit out if he did that. He didn't belong in DI anyway.
 

Diedhiou could have landed a DII scholarship somewhere and would not have had to sit out if he did that. He didn't belong in DI anyway.

Probably, but that could really hurt the kid, he wouldn't have had a full ride and who knows, that might have meant him going back home without a US degree.

Glad Pitino has shown he's willing to move players out, but (it appears) reluctantly willing.
 

I'm a little shocked by this one since he came here and sat out a year and planned to contribute for the upcoming season. I'm on the fence here. On one hand depth in the paint is needed since oturo is a freshman but on the other hand a pg that can play now id probably better than a backup center that may not be p5 quality may be the better route. If I had seen Matz play I might have a better idea.


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I'm a little shocked by this one since he came here and sat out a year and planned to contribute for the upcoming season. I'm on the fence here. On one hand depth in the paint is needed since oturo is a freshman but on the other hand a pg that can play now id probably better than a backup center that may not be p5 quality may be the better route. If I had seen Matz play I might have a better idea.


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I'm actually with you on this one and I'm not super excited to lose Matz. Crandall would be a really nice pickup, but Oturu is now our only true center. He is a true freshman and will be coming off shoulder surgery. The only other thing close to a center, but is more of a PF, is Curry, who's coming off ACL surgery. Anyone saying Murphy can play center is out of their mind. He's 6'6".
 

I'm actually with you on this one and I'm not super excited to lose Matz. Crandall would be a really nice pickup, but Oturu is now our only true center. He is a true freshman and will be coming off shoulder surgery. The only other thing close to a center, but is more of a PF, is Curry, who's coming off ACL surgery. Anyone saying Murphy can play center is out of their mind. He's 6'6".

Would make a little more sense if Travis was coming. Not a center, but another big man
 

I'm a little shocked by this one since he came here and sat out a year and planned to contribute for the upcoming season. I'm on the fence here. On one hand depth in the paint is needed since oturo is a freshman but on the other hand a pg that can play now id probably better than a backup center that may not be p5 quality may be the better route. If I had seen Matz play I might have a better idea.


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Heard that after seeing him in practice they could see why Pitino senior let him go.
 

I'm actually with you on this one and I'm not super excited to lose Matz. Crandall would be a really nice pickup, but Oturu is now our only true center. He is a true freshman and will be coming off shoulder surgery. The only other thing close to a center, but is more of a PF, is Curry, who's coming off ACL surgery. Anyone saying Murphy can play center is out of their mind. He's 6'6".

Well with Stockman, we would have had 2 true centers in he and Oturu and one more that can play the position a bit in Curry. We also would have had only one true PG in IW and one more who can play the position some in Dupree. Now without Stockman and hopefully Crandall, we have one true center and one more who can play center but we have two true PG's and one more who can play the position.

So in a vacuum, nothing depth wise really changed. We had decent depth at center but very little depth at PG. Now we have decent depth at PG with little at center. All this did was shift our needs from one position to another.

And of course not speaking in a vacuum, Crandall is a superior player than Stockman so you absolutely take that trade. I'm also slightly more comfortable with Curry playing center as opposed to Dupree playing point. Gophers get significantly better.
 

Also going back to the talk about who is better option at PG, IW or Crandall, I was able to find a few full length UND games from the last year and after seeing those I definitely think Crandall would be the better option to start at PG

First, I didn't know if Crandall was a true PG or not or more of a 2 and after watching him, I can say he is definitely a PG. Hooker actually played way more off ball two years ago surprisingly than Crandall did. Crandall does turn the ball over a lot but he is an extremely creative passer. He may not be the best assist man the gophers have had in terms of total volume but I would say he would be the most creative or flashiest passer the gophers have had in the Pitino/Tubby era that I can remember. He looked to pass quite a bit in the games I watched.

Second, Crandall is a superior defender to IW and would be in the same category as Austin Hollins or Al Nolan in terms of perimeter defense I think. Just so long for a PG, 6-4 guarding 6-1 and 6-0 guys, he is really able to engulf smaller PG's with his size, reminds me a lot of Kris Dunn at Providence and is a great pick pocketer.

Lastly just a superior shooter (41% compared to 24% on a higher volume).

The only reason why Pitino would start IW would be to not damage his confidence any further and avoid a potential transfer situation.

If Dupree is fine coming off the bench again then this talk would be moot but I would fully expect Crandall to be a better Big Ten PG next year than IW.
 

Also going back to the talk about who is better option at PG, IW or Crandall, I was able to find a few full length UND games from the last year and after seeing those I definitely think Crandall would be the better option to start at PG

First, I didn't know if Crandall was a true PG or not or more of a 2 and after watching him, I can say he is definitely a PG. Hooker actually played way more off ball two years ago surprisingly than Crandall did. Crandall does turn the ball over a lot but he is an extremely creative passer. He may not be the best assist man the gophers have had in terms of total volume but I would say he would be the most creative or flashiest passer the gophers have had in the Pitino/Tubby era that I can remember. He looked to pass quite a bit in the games I watched.

Second, Crandall is a superior defender to IW and would be in the same category as Austin Hollins or Al Nolan in terms of perimeter defense I think. Just so long for a PG, 6-4 guarding 6-1 and 6-0 guys, he is really able to engulf smaller PG's with his size, reminds me a lot of Kris Dunn at Providence and is a great pick pocketer.

Lastly just a superior shooter (41% compared to 24% on a higher volume).

The only reason why Pitino would start IW would be to not damage his confidence any further and avoid a potential transfer situation.

If Dupree is fine coming off the bench again then this talk would be moot but I would fully expect Crandall to be a better Big Ten PG next year than IW.

Thanks for the analysis - much appreciated. I hope we can bring Crandall in.

Go Gophers!!
 


I'm actually with you on this one and I'm not super excited to lose Matz. Crandall would be a really nice pickup, but Oturu is now our only true center. He is a true freshman and will be coming off shoulder surgery. The only other thing close to a center, but is more of a PF, is Curry, who's coming off ACL surgery. Anyone saying Murphy can play center is out of their mind. He's 6'6".

The gophers have had a 6'6" walkon named Puchtel play center in the past so that wouldn't be that unusual but not normal either.

One question I have is if we do get Crandall does that make getting a center recruited for next year a priority?. Who do we/are we targeting there?


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