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Gophs24 said:
1 of Fox, Ihnen, or TT

TT (Who honestly im ok with him staying) may be looking for more consistent playing time elsewhere. Whispers from the homefront say he would be a good bet.

where do Fox and Ihnen stand? how the rehab is going. being realistic on what they really can bring to this team yet? how do they fit with current team? where would their minutes come from? lots of questions need to be answered for either of those two for it to make sense having them back
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We need quickness at every position. Give me Fox and Ihnen. I don't see a big role for TT with who Ben has and with Evans coming in. Ihnen can play defense- that I am sure of.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
They would make the most sense, but if TT feels that way then he lacks self awareness of how good he is.

Injuries are tough to judge right now, and the reason I'm hesitant to think those three would leave, or be pushed out, is that they were basically the first guys to stick with/commit to Ben, and they all really wanted to be Gophers above all else.
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TT would be really solid at St. Thomas or one of the Dakota schools or a similar level of that.

and i agree 100% that the situation sucks as Ihnen/Fox for 1 and just good dudes. And you are correct they stuck with Ben from the start. but like i said they and Ben need to be realistic with how things sit. if all are on the same page and Ben feels like they can help the team by all means keep them on board
 

bga1 said:
We need quickness at every position. Give me Fox and Ihnen. I don't see a big role for TT with who Ben has and with Evans coming in. Ihnen can play defense- that I am sure of.
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the huge unknow.....how quick with Fox & Ihnen will be....and how much athleticism did each of them lose from the two surgeries
 

Have to confess, I’ve pretty much given up on Fox and Ihnen.
IF they come back, along with the 3 newcomers, the 4 freshmen, and a portal player or two, any others staying, Ben will go crazy trying to find minutes.
 
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Gophs24 said:
TT would be really solid at St. Thomas or one of the Dakota schools or a similar level of that.

and i agree 100% that the situation sucks as Ihnen/Fox for 1 and just good dudes. And you are correct they stuck with Ben from the start. but like i said they and Ben need to be realistic with how things sit. if all are on the same page and Ben feels like they can help the team by all means keep them on board
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St Thomas plays a style of basketball that doesn't utilize sheer size-- quick, decisive slashers and ball movers are the priority. That doesn't seem to be TT's strength. Now maybe that style is out of necessity because the D3 and new D1 ranks are not filled with 6'11" guys... but they seem to be comfortable with who they are.
 

Minnesconsin fan said:
St Thomas plays a style of basketball that doesn't utilize sheer size-- quick, decisive slashers and ball movers are the priority. That doesn't seem to be TT's strength. Now maybe that style is out of necessity because the D3 and new D1 ranks are not filled with 6'11" guys... but they seem to be comfortable with who they are.
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was more about the level of basketball then the actual team
 

Minnesconsin fan said:
St Thomas plays a style of basketball that doesn't utilize sheer size-- quick, decisive slashers and ball movers are the priority. That doesn't seem to be TT's strength. Now maybe that style is out of necessity because the D3 and new D1 ranks are not filled with 6'11" guys... but they seem to be comfortable with who they are.
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UST has 2 main needs: 1) Another PG (just like the gophers) who is really fast and a 6'10" guy with beef...while TT checks the box on being 6'10"+...he lacks the beefs to guard bigs that UST comes across...and UST has probably seen his defense.

But in saying that, I'm sure UST could find a way to utilize him in a non-center role. TT has offensive skills that are non-traditional for a 7-footer, it's just that the Gophers haven't used them.
 




fan of Ray Williams said:
Not saying that, just that all of them will want minutes. Never been in the “too much talent” camp. When has that ever happened here?
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We will just have way too many people whose best position is PF/C. I agree with you, you have to think couple of those guys transfer out just to get minutes.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
We will just have way too many people whose best position is PF/C. I agree with you, you have to think couple of those guys transfer out just to get minutes.
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If Painter couldn’t figure out how to work Williams and Edey on the floor together (with a roster full of shooters and floor spacers), I have reservations about Payne and Evans sharing the floor. Payne did successfully dribble towards the hoop from the elbow against Nebraska, but otherwise I’ve not seen too many flashes indicating he’ll be dangerous anywhere other than the post.
 

bga1 said:
We need quickness at every position. Give me Fox and Ihnen. I don't see a big role for TT with who Ben has and with Evans coming in. Ihnen can play defense- that I am sure of.
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The legends of Ihnen/Fox continue to grow!

Ihnen: A fringe rotation player his first two years here. Now he's coming off his second knee injury & you expect him to provide quickness? Please look at what two knee injuries did to Eric Curry.

Fox: Great D2 player that depended on his quickness... but coming off of two knee surgeries? Please look at what two knee injuries did to Eric Curry. BTW, his FT% lowers even the Gopher's pathetic FT%.

I'm not counting on them.
 



bc2211 said:
If Painter couldn’t figure out how to work Williams and Edey on the floor together (with a roster full of shooters and floor spacers), I have reservations about Payne and Evans sharing the floor. Payne did successfully dribble towards the hoop from the elbow against Nebraska, but otherwise I’ve not seen too many flashes indicating he’ll be dangerous anywhere other than the post.
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I agree with you, I wasn't talking about Payne or Evans. I think Evans also eases into a ton of minutes like Edey.
 

bc2211 said:
If Painter couldn’t figure out how to work Williams and Edey on the floor together (with a roster full of shooters and floor spacers), I have reservations about Payne and Evans sharing the floor. Payne did successfully dribble towards the hoop from the elbow against Nebraska, but otherwise I’ve not seen too many flashes indicating he’ll be dangerous anywhere other than the post.
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If you will recall Oturu, his growth on the offensive end in year 2 was amazing as he doubled his production and went from shooting two 3 pointers all year to probably shooting a couple a game the next year. I hope Payne develops in the same way and perhaps we see a little bit more in the coming months. It's not a sure thing either way, but for his sake I hope he can become a PF.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
We will just have way too many people whose best position is PF/C. I agree with you, you have to think couple of those guys transfer out just to get minutes.
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Someone's done the ideal minutes breakdown for this year's team - someone should try that for next year's team. Particularly, I think Evans' arrival cuts into Payne's time if nobody else in front of him now moves on. Thompson isn't really in front of him now, so his departure wouldn't dramatically affect his minutes. It's hard to see either Evans/Payne cutting into Garcia's minutes. So where do the minutes come from for Payne?
 

Ya know the only thing that is too bad about next year is that we will only have Evans for one year. I mean just based off a few people on here he is going to be easily the #1 overall pick. Something like 30 points 28 rebounds 9 blocks a game?? Man its going to insane to watch!

Listen I like Evans, but uff people need to chill with "who cares about this year EVANS EVANS EVANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
 

bga1 said:
If you will recall Oturu, his growth on the offensive end in year 2 was amazing as he doubled his production and went from shooting two 3 pointers all year to probably shooting a couple a game the next year. I hope Payne develops in the same way and perhaps we see a little bit more in the coming months. It's not a sure thing either way, but for his sake I hope he can become a PF.
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Oturu grew a lot freshman year. He came in and didn’t know how to get the right pace/angle on his post ups. He rushed a lot of shots and got blocked a lot. By this time his freshman year he was starting to improve post play significantly. The rest gets a little fuzzy, but I believe he was also showing comfort shooting from the elbow late freshman year, which ultimately brought up defenders and allowed him to drive to the hoop. Sophomore year he was able to beat his man at every level and off the dribble.

I really like Payne, but it’s easy to forget how special oturu was his sophomore year. His stats were a bit overshadowed by Garza, but Oturu had it all and developed in an extremely shot amount of time. His efficiency stats entering big ten play were tops of NCAA.
 

leib0039 said:
Ya know the only thing that is too bad about next year is that we will only have Evans for one year. I mean just based off a few people on here he is going to be easily the #1 overall pick. Something like 30 points 28 rebounds 9 blocks a game?? Man its going to insane to watch!

Listen I like Evans, but uff people need to chill with "who cares about this year EVANS EVANS EVANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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That's this year. Next year Evans will be too young. :)
 

bc2211 said:
Oturu grew a lot freshman year. He came in and didn’t know how to get the right pace/angle on his post ups. He rushed a lot of shots and got blocked a lot. By this time his freshman year he was starting to improve post play significantly. The rest gets a little fuzzy, but I believe he was also showing comfort shooting from the elbow late freshman year, which ultimately brought up defenders and allowed him to drive to the hoop. Sophomore year he was able to beat his man at every level and off the dribble.

I really like Payne, but it’s easy to forget how special oturu was his sophomore year. His stats were a bit overshadowed by Garza, but Oturu had it all and developed in an extremely shot amount of time. His efficiency stats entering big ten play were tops of NCAA.
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Pitino used Oturu differently in year one than Ben uses Payne. Payne most often gets the ball high post and then rolls to the basket. Oturu, as I recall, really was our only center unless Murph played it in small ball. So unless Oturu was in foul trouble-which was often- he was in there, getting the ball in the low post. That's what I wish Ben would do with Payne. Post him low. Put Garcia out high or in the corner. I also don't recall Pitino running Oturu around on the hard hedge like Ben has Payne. Payne needs to be near the rim.
 


fan of Ray Williams said:
Have to confess, I’ve pretty much given up on Fox and Ihnen.
IF they come back, along with the 3 newcomers, the 4 freshmen, and a portal player or two, any others staying, Ben will go crazy trying to find minutes.
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If someone does leave, Ben will probably leave the scholarship open as he doesn't believe in using them all.
 


Gophs24 said:
1 of Fox, Ihnen, or TT

TT (Who honestly im ok with him staying) may be looking for more consistent playing time elsewhere. Whispers from the homefront say he would be a good bet.

where do Fox and Ihnen stand? how the rehab is going. being realistic on what they really can bring to this team yet? how do they fit with current team? where would their minutes come from? lots of questions need to be answered for either of those two for it to make sense having them back
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I think with Fox or Ihnen it comes down to do they want to/can they continue to play basketball at a high level anymore.
 

Evans seems to have a decent stroke. Could work some high-low action with him and Payne if either can hit a mid range jumper.
 

bc2211 said:
If Painter couldn’t figure out how to work Williams and Edey on the floor together (with a roster full of shooters and floor spacers), I have reservations about Payne and Evans sharing the floor. Payne did successfully dribble towards the hoop from the elbow against Nebraska, but otherwise I’ve not seen too many flashes indicating he’ll be dangerous anywhere other than the post.
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Neither Williams or Edey were quick on their feet.

But playing 2 bigs that can neither stretch the floor is usually bad.


I don't know you hope the recruits turn out well. But this team just has very little on it. Its 200 level club that currently starts 3 seniors and 1 Junior. Payne is the only Freshman with much promise.
 

Goldboy said:
Neither Williams or Edey were quick on their feet.

But playing 2 bigs that can neither stretch the floor is usually bad.


I don't know you hope the recruits turn out well. But this team just has very little on it. Its 200 level club that currently starts 3 seniors and 1 Junior. Payne is the only Freshman with much promise.
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You don't think JOJ shows promise?
 

Goldboy said:
Neither Williams or Edey were quick on their feet.

But playing 2 bigs that can neither stretch the floor is usually bad.


I don't know you hope the recruits turn out well. But this team just has very little on it. Its 200 level club that currently starts 3 seniors and 1 Junior. Payne is the only Freshman with much promise.
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Actually, I think they all have promise as they are developed and put in the right spots with the right teammates. I would go with Payne, Henley, Ola Joseph and then Carrington as far as the ceiling for each. Carrington, can shoot it and he could be a starter or solid rotation player on a good team.
 

formerlybis said:
Someone's done the ideal minutes breakdown for this year's team - someone should try that for next year's team. Particularly, I think Evans' arrival cuts into Payne's time if nobody else in front of him now moves on. Thompson isn't really in front of him now, so his departure wouldn't dramatically affect his minutes. It's hard to see either Evans/Payne cutting into Garcia's minutes. So where do the minutes come from for Payne?
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It's almost impossible to figure it out because we know nothing about Fox and Ihnen either. I'd guess Betts best position is also PF.

IMO - Payne plays 20 minutes per game at C and the other 20 minutes go to Evans. Payne then plays another 5 as a PF with Evans. Battle's minutes will come at the 3.

So the rest of the PF minutes will be between Garcia, Olo-Joseph, Fox, Ihnen, and maybe even Betts.

There is also a chance we panic and play Ihnen at the wing. If that happens, we're in serious trouble.
 


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