Tre Williams' Mom critical of fans who are critical of Pitino's in-state recruiting

BleedGopher

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Go Gophers!!
 

I like Kelly! Says it like it is.
 





call it like you see it mama bear!

I like her
 

when was the last time a 5 star recruit from the state of North Carolina went to an out of state school when was the last time an offered recruit from the state of North Carolina turned down Duke, NC and NC State to play out of state...She really is comparing apples to oranges here
 

Great reply!

There are a minority of haters that poison the atmosphere for everyone!

We are really excited to see Tre in Gopher Gold next year!
 

Thrilled her son is committed here, but she is way off base. Comparing Duke and NC to us in recruiting strategy is apples to oranges. The gophers do not have anything close to national appeal for recruits like the blue blood schools. Schools like MN need in-state talent to come here because that is our best chance to get recruits above our pay grade (coffee, Oturo, etc.) and stay for the duration of their college career (Jelly, Gilbert, Martin, Jamir). Of course, no rational fan would care where our players came from if Pitino was bringing in highly-rated out of state talent. The problem is he isn’t, this year especially. Those out of state whiffs just magnify his in state misses, because, for example, if WSU can convince Sheffield to stay home, how come Pitino can’t keep any of our boys home with our brand new facility?

He has time to fix the mess that is our current roster (with non-MN kids it would appear) but I don’t get how more people aren’t concerned about the number of recruiting battles Pitino has lost this year. He seems to be a charismatic young coach with a brand new facility. Especially for a coach who isn’t exactly a X & O guru, I’d expect recruiting to be much stronger in year 7. All that said, I Hope and think Tre will have an outstanding career here.
 
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Great reply!

There are a minority of haters that poison the atmosphere for everyone!

We are really excited to see Tre in Gopher Gold next year!

She reads the GH??? hmmm She is exactly right. Look at the final four squads- they were not loaded with hometown kids. Get the best players you can. Likewise I am excited to see Tre play for the Gophers!
 

I'm just bummed we didn't get Tre due to all the message board chatter. Sounds like that was the factor that drove him away.
 

Thrilled her son is committed here, but she is way off base. Comparing Duke and NC to us in recruiting strategy is apples to oranges. The gophers do not have anything close to national appeal for recruits like the blue blood schools. Schools like MN need in-state talent to come here because that is our best chance to get recruits above our pay grade (coffee, Oturo, etc.). Of course, no rational fan would care where our players came from if Pitino was bringing in highly-rated out of state talent. The problem is he isn’t, this year especially. Those out of state whiffs just magnify his in state misses, because, for example, if WSU can convince Sheffield to stay home, how come Pitino can’t keep any of our boys home with our brand new facility?

Of course it would be excellent to get all of the hometown boys who are great players. But it just doesn't work that way. They get to choose and a lot of kids do want to go somewhere else, maybe where it is warmer or maybe to Duke where every game is nationally televised. We have gotten some really good ones in Oturu, Kalscheuer and Coffey and we will get more in the future. Pitino will get his fair share of the guys that don't think they are one and dones. The local guys like the Jones' and Hurt who think they are one and done are just not likely to come here until we are already contenders- which we are not yet and have not been for a long, long time.
 

I'm just bummed we didn't get Tre due to all the message board chatter. Sounds like that was the factor that drove him away.

Yep, good thing that Pitino and the Gophers became their clear favorite despite the negative people. Good job coaches!
 



when was the last time a 5 star recruit from the state of North Carolina went to an out of state school when was the last time an offered recruit from the state of North Carolina turned down Duke, NC and NC State to play out of state...She really is comparing apples to oranges here

When was the last time it snowed for 5 months in NC?
 

I think we have all been universally happy that Tre Williams committed here.

That said, I think his mom is a little off base. The U of MN's only chance at a top 20 player is if he is local. It's probably not even a real chance.

Duke isn't recruiting outside of the state of North Carolina because they aren't landing the best in-state kids. They are recruiting outside of North Carolina because they don't have room for the in-state kids.

I understand where Tre's mother is coming from and I wish she wouldn't take it as a slight. As far as message boards go, this is a pretty benign group. People are annoyed that the coach isn't landing the best in-state kids in '19 or '20. Those subtle complaints are simply part of college basketball. It's part of every single fan base in college sports. This board is not toxic, IMO.
 

I think we have all been universally happy that Tre Williams committed here.

That said, I think his mom is a little off base. The U of MN's only chance at a top 20 player is if he is local. It's probably not even a real chance.

Duke isn't recruiting outside of the state of North Carolina because they aren't landing the best in-state kids. They are recruiting outside of North Carolina because they don't have room for the in-state kids.

I understand where Tre's mother is coming from and I wish she wouldn't take it as a slight. As far as message boards go, this is a pretty benign group. People are annoyed that the coach isn't landing the best in-state kids in '19 or '20. Those subtle complaints are simply part of college basketball. It's part of every single fan base in college sports. This board is not toxic, IMO.

+1000 I was just going to post something similar.
 

when was the last time a 5 star recruit from the state of North Carolina went to an out of state school when was the last time an offered recruit from the state of North Carolina turned down Duke, NC and NC State to play out of state...She really is comparing apples to oranges here

Devon Dotson in 2018
they didn't have any 5 star recruit in 2017
Bam Adeboyo in 2016
 

The in-state thing gets blown out of proportion. As fans of the program we can think of nothing better then donning the Maroon and Gold and playing for the hometown team but that doesn't mean that the players (especially the top rated ones) feel the same attachment to the U.

Now if Pitino were ignoring the top talent in state and only focusing on players outside of Minnesota that would be one thing, but losing out to top schools for local kids is not shocking in basketball.

All that being said, the number of open spots currently is a bit concerning. You would hope Pitino could land more of his top targets regardless of where they are from.
 

Here are the Big Ten schools and how they do on home state recruiting- current roster- home state kids
MN 7
Ind. 7
Ill 7
Iowa 9
MD 6
MSU 10
MI 7
Neb 4
NW 4
OSU 6
PSU 6
Pur 5
Rut 3
WI 4

Big ten average hometown kids on roster = 6
 

Devon Dotson in 2018
they didn't have any 5 star recruit in 2017
Bam Adeboyo in 2016

Dotson was never offered by Duke or UNC.

Adebayo was never offered by Duke. UNC offered him, but had already signed a 5 star at the same position (Tony Bradley) in that recruiting cycle.

It's just not a good comparison.
 

I think we have all been universally happy that Tre Williams committed here.

That said, I think his mom is a little off base. The U of MN's only chance at a top 20 player is if he is local. It's probably not even a real chance.

Duke isn't recruiting outside of the state of North Carolina because they aren't landing the best in-state kids. They are recruiting outside of North Carolina because they don't have room for the in-state kids.

I understand where Tre's mother is coming from and I wish she wouldn't take it as a slight. As far as message boards go, this is a pretty benign group. People are annoyed that the coach isn't landing the best in-state kids in '19 or '20. Those subtle complaints are simply part of college basketball. It's part of every single fan base in college sports. This board is not toxic, IMO.

Spot on.

Comparing Duke recruiting to Minnesota recruiting is not exactly apples to apples (as SPEGOPHER pointed out)! Guys like K and Cal don't recruit, they select. They point their finger at elite kids and say "I want you", and along with Kansas and North Carolina they're going to get the lion's share of the elite.

And for the record, I don't expect Pitino to land the elites like Tyus Jones, Tre Jones, Matthew Hurt, and Jalen Suggs of the world, but I think it's important to have some success getting those next-tier (highly regarded) Minnesota kids to stay home, which he has in some cases with the likes of Coffey, Oturu, and Kalscheur (not as highly regarded as the other two). You (the U) can win a lot of Big Ten games with a base of guys like that, as well as guys like McKinley Wright, Nate Reuvers, etc.

If the Gophers start winning on a consistent basis (read top 5 in Big Ten, 12+ conference wins on a regular basis, a couple Sweet 16s), it's at that point when I'd expect Richard to get a kid like Hurt or Suggs, at least on occasion.
 
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I think we have all been universally happy that Tre Williams committed here.

That said, I think his mom is a little off base. The U of MN's only chance at a top 20 player is if he is local. It's probably not even a real chance.

Duke isn't recruiting outside of the state of North Carolina because they aren't landing the best in-state kids. They are recruiting outside of North Carolina because they don't have room for the in-state kids.

I understand where Tre's mother is coming from and I wish she wouldn't take it as a slight. As far as message boards go, this is a pretty benign group. People are annoyed that the coach isn't landing the best in-state kids in '19 or '20. Those subtle complaints are simply part of college basketball. It's part of every single fan base in college sports. This board is not toxic, IMO.

Spot on.
 

Dotson was never offered by Duke or UNC.

Adebayo was never offered by Duke. UNC offered him, but had already signed a 5 star at the same position (Tony Bradley) in that recruiting cycle.

It's just not a good comparison.

Dotson had an offer from UNC...….

i agree its not comparing apples to apples...was just answering your question on 5 stars within the state
 

Cool.

Tre Williams seems like a great kid. I'm really excited for him. Gopher Lady just retweeted something from his mom about his academics. Smart, WANTS TO BE HERE, can score, rising senior...perfect. I'll take a kid like that at every position.
 

Imagine how much different the college basketball landscape would look if schools were required to have half (pick any number) of their kids be from in-state.
 

Thrilled her son is committed here, but she is way off base. Comparing Duke and NC to us in recruiting strategy is apples to oranges. The gophers do not have anything close to national appeal for recruits like the blue blood schools. Schools like MN need in-state talent to come here because that is our best chance to get recruits above our pay grade (coffee, Oturo, etc.) and stay for the duration of their college career (Jelly, Gilbert, Martin, Jamir). Of course, no rational fan would care where our players came from if Pitino was bringing in highly-rated out of state talent. The problem is he isn’t, this year especially. Those out of state whiffs just magnify his in state misses, because, for example, if WSU can convince Sheffield to stay home, how come Pitino can’t keep any of our boys home with our brand new facility?

He has time to fix the mess that is our current roster (with non-MN kids it would appear) but I don’t get how more people aren’t concerned about the number of recruiting battles Pitino has lost this year. He seems to be a charismatic young coach with a brand new facility. Especially for a coach who isn’t exactly a X & O guru, I’d expect recruiting to be much stronger in year 7. All that said, I Hope and think Tre will have an outstanding career here.

The coaches with a really keen eye and a authentic charisma found wonderful players from all over and fit those pieces into a team. Not so easy. Very few successful programs have a giant home state recruiting dominance and despite Minnesota being in a good cycle of high school talent the state lags way behind other states in producing consistent high end talent. Besides, Pitino has done very well with the Minnesota kids i like. Building the foundation was week, the identity worse . Perhaps now this group will fight and gain a top 3 conference finish and he can gain some national traction .
 

Spot on.

Comparing Duke recruiting to Minnesota recruiting is not exactly apples to apples (as SPEGOPHER pointed out)! Guys like K and Cal don't recruit, they select. They point their finger at elite kids and say "I want you", and along with Kansas and North Carolina they're going to get the lion's share of the elite.

And for the record, I don't expect Pitino to land the elites like Tyus Jones, Tre Jones, Matthew Hurt, and Jalen Suggs of the world, but I think it's important to have some success getting those next-tier (highly regarded) Minnesota kids to stay home, which he has in some cases with the likes of Coffey, Oturu, and Kalscheur (not as highly regarded as the other two). You (the U) can win a lot of Big Ten games with a base of guys like that, as well as guys like McKinley Wright, Nate Reuvers, etc.

If the Gophers start winning on a consistent basis (read top 5 in Big Ten, 12+ conference wins on a regular basis, a couple Sweet 16s), it's at that point when I'd expect Richard to get a kid like Hurt or Suggs, at least on occasion.

My sentiment exactly, the Hurt's and the Suggs's of the world are not going to go to Minnesota, get the Nnaji's or Wright's of the basketball world, Oturo was nice, Pitino just has to make that type of recruiting an every year thing, just one high ranked Minnesota kid every year.
 

The coaches with a really keen eye and a authentic charisma found wonderful players from all over and fit those pieces into a team. Not so easy. Very few successful programs have a giant home state recruiting dominance and despite Minnesota being in a good cycle of high school talent the state lags way behind other states in producing consistent high end talent. Besides, Pitino has done very well with the Minnesota kids i like. Building the foundation was week, the identity worse . Perhaps now this group will fight and gain a top 3 conference finish and he can gain some national traction .

Good post! You are exactly right- he has to take the pieces he can find and make better and better teams out of them. I like the character of the kids he has been bringing in and it seems he has learned that lesson after some early disappointments where he reached for ability.
 

Recruiting Minnesota kids should be viewed in two different tiers. The first tier of players (ranked in the top 40 or so nationally) are no more likely to commit here than a blue blood. It doesn't matter who the coach is. I'm talking about the Tyus/Tre/Hurt/Suggs level recruit. We fixate on those kids because of their talent but how much evidence do we need to see that those kids don't stay and play for their home school? We have had one kid sign here in the last twenty five years at that level (Humphries) and it was a complete disaster. Pitino has done a good job recruiting the next tier of Minnesota players in the 50-200 range (Oturu/Coffey/Jarvis/Omersa/Kalscheur/Hurt). We have also seen a number of those kids leave the State and not exactly look like program changing players. The goal should be to find players like Tre Williams in the top 50-200ish (Murphy/Mason) level. We just need more of them to fill out a roster.
 

Spot on.

Comparing Duke recruiting to Minnesota recruiting is not exactly apples to apples (as SPEGOPHER pointed out)! Guys like K and Cal don't recruit, they select. They point their finger at elite kids and say "I want you", and along with Kansas and North Carolina they're going to get the lion's share of the elite.

And for the record, I don't expect Pitino to land the elites like Tyus Jones, Tre Jones, Matthew Hurt, and Jalen Suggs of the world, but I think it's important to have some success getting those next-tier (highly regarded) Minnesota kids to stay home, which he has in some cases with the likes of Coffey, Oturu, and Kalscheur (not as highly regarded as the other two). You (the U) can win a lot of Big Ten games with a base of guys like that, as well as guys like McKinley Wright, Nate Reuvers, etc.

If the Gophers start winning on a consistent basis (read top 5 in Big Ten, 12+ conference wins on a regular basis, a couple Sweet 16s), it's at that point when I'd expect Richard to get a kid like Hurt or Suggs, at least on occasion.

Over time and given some obvious pre-conditions, your create your circumstances, rather than being a victim of them.

Is there something specific about soil in Durham that ensures basketball dominance? Given the right energy and approach, the landscape can change pretty rapidly. There are always uphill battles and there are battles to remain uphill.
 




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