Reusse: Fleck says failure is growth, so there's growth in his first 'U' result

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last night fleck called out the media to be positive..... so much for that. Gosh our sports media is absolute rubbish.
 


When you have 2 1/2 weeks to fill a large portion of the class, you can't afford to go after a bunch of 4 star guys. If you miss out on the majority of said recruits, you would be screwed. This isn't the class to judge Fleck's recruiting cache on.
 

Serious question. When are the rags around this town going to hire new blood? Because the stuff on the sports websites and blogs are 1000x better than this garbage and actually have some good takes in both directions.
 

upnorthkid said:
Serious question. When are the rags around this town going to hire new blood? Because the stuff on the sports websites and blogs are 1000x better than this garbage and actually have some good takes in both directions.
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I kinda wonder the same, would be nice to get some new folks with a different schitck.
 


MNVCGUY said:
This was true up until Claeys. I don't read all his stuff and I don't get as worked up by most of it as a lot of people here but it seems like he really liked Claeys and supported him in a way he didn't with other U of M football coaches. Did he have a nickname for Claeys? If he did I can't recall it.
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Good point. I actually don't recall him getting on Claeys, but if we had gone 6-6 next year and played in the Motor City Bowl, my guess is the knife (albeit a dinner knife and not a dagger) would have come out. He was getting on Kill quite consistently after a honeymoon. I think what he liked about Claeys was the lack of schtick (which is kind of a schtick when you think about it).
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I kinda wonder the same, would be nice to get some new folks with a different schitck.
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The STrib hired a new beat writer for Gopher's BBall, but he was over at the Pioneer Press before that so....I dunno. Reusse's columns are trash. Same with Tom Powers. Superficial analysis without any substance. Never worth the read.
 

MNVCGUY said:
This was true up until Claeys. I don't read all his stuff and I don't get as worked up by most of it as a lot of people here but it seems like he really liked Claeys and supported him in a way he didn't with other U of M football coaches. Did he have a nickname for Claeys? If he did I can't recall it.
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If I remember right...he was pretty decent with Flip too.
 

Bleed posted many threads about Fleck and signing day. Take a look at the number of "views" and posts on them. 200-300 views few if any posts.

There are posts where writers take a shot at Fleck and recruiting day. This one has about 800 views and 44 posts. The Rand post, a guy I really can't stand, has 541 views and 36 posts.

Nobody should wonder why they take their shots.
 



Phat always worries that his bosom buddy Souch will call him a homer if he says something nice about a local team.
 


Iceland12 said:
Bleed posted many threads about Fleck and signing day. Take a look at the number of "views" and posts on them. 200-300 views few if any posts.

There are posts were writers take a shot at Fleck and recruiting day. This one has about 800 views and 36 posts. The Rand post, a guy I really can't stand, that has 541 views and 36 posts.

Nobody should wonder why they take their shots.
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Not to hijack, but as an old guy, I think this is just another indication of how the negative seems more alluring than the positive these days. Everyone is always p*ssed off about something or so it seems.
 




CurveballJesus said:
And they both had Gopher offers. Not sure you are helping his argument
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Wilson had a Gopher offer, but he had been committed to Harvard since April and I doubt Fleck went after him "hard", or even talked to him for that matter.

Of course we'll never know for sure, but it is my contention that Gindorff was Fleck's plan B for Jake Paulson. Paulson visited under the old staff back in December, so he may have viewed it as uncertain whether he would ultimately commit. He offered Gindorff on January 7, and Paulson committed on January 11. Gindorff visited after that commitment, and Fleck probably said "your spot is gone, do you want to walk on?" or something to that effect. Again, this is all my speculation based on connecting the dots. I refuse to believe that any in-state player would voluntarily turn down a Gopher offer to play for NDAC.
 

CurveballJesus said:
And they both had Gopher offers. Not sure you are helping his argument
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I was just pointing out that he said we didn't lose a recruit to an FBS program. We didn't. Just correcting the mis-statement on your part.
 



A failure when you compare it to the likes of Alabama, Georgia, OSU, etc but not a failure when it compared to past Gopher classes. But it Pat's world it is what it is..............a failure.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Wilson had a Gopher offer, but he had been committed to Harvard since April and I doubt Fleck went after him "hard", or even talked to him for that matter.

Of course we'll never know for sure, but it is my contention that Gindorff was Fleck's plan B for Jake Paulson. Paulson visited under the old staff back in December, so he may have viewed it as uncertain whether he would ultimately commit. He offered Gindorff on January 7, and Paulson committed on January 11. Gindorff visited after that commitment, and Fleck probably said "your spot is gone, do you want to walk on?" or something to that effect. Again, this is all my speculation based on connecting the dots. I refuse to believe that any in-state player would voluntarily turn down a Gopher offer to play for NDAC.
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Completely agree and will add a few things. Very very hard to turn down Harvard. Very. And as you say, he had been committed to them for almost a year.

With Gindorff, you can tell he was basically the Plan B for Paulson as you indicated. I will add that if he would have signed and come here, he would have been the 4th best TE prospect based on all of the rankings. On top of that, he went to Twitter with a big statement about how he would not be taking a scholarship offer to Minnesota and will remain committed to NDSU. Was very telling in that he likely felt burned and wanted a little payback to feel better about going to a school with a fanbase with such big insecurity issues.
 

nemo1107 said:
The STrib hired a new beat writer for Gopher's BBall, but he was over at the Pioneer Press before that so....I dunno. Reusse's columns are trash. Same with Tom Powers. Superficial analysis without any substance. Never worth the read.
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Powers is worthless. He has nothing to say but says it anyways. "Going through the motions" is a level higher than what he does and should aspire to. Just a no-talent hack.

Reusse is very talented, literate and aware. Some of the best sports writing of the past few decades have been from him. But he's also tired and doesn't seem to have the inclination or the juice to turn out his best stuff anymore. We all keep waiting for our favorite washed-up musical acts to return to form and release an album as good as their old stuff, but it's not gonna happen.
 

Reusse blocked me on twitter. He dishes it out but can't take it. What a hack!
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Hard to beat an offer from Harvard....
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You probably know this, but there are no scholarships in the Ivy League. So the "offer" is for admission and then for need-based financial aid (that can be somewhat competitive).

From the Ivy League:
FINANCIAL AID CRITERIA
Ivy League schools provide financial aid to students, including athletes, only on the basis of financial need as determined by each institution’s Financial Aid Office. There are no academic or athletic scholarships in the Ivy League. A coach may assist a prospective student-athlete to obtain an estimated financial aid award, however only the Financial Aid Office has the authority to determine financial aid awards and to notify students officially of their actual or estimated awards.

Remember: A prospective student-athlete who receives an estimated need-based financial aid award is welcome to share it with other Ivy League schools. In some cases Ivy League financial aid offices may reevaluate and adjust an estimated financial aid award based on a written need-based award or estimate from another school. Ivy League coaches may not discourage a prospect from sharing an award, or from obtaining an estimated award from another Ivy institution.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Ivy League coaches are knowledgeable about admissions policies, can be valuable resources in guiding prospects through the application process, and may offer advice and counsel based on feedback from admissions. Coaches may make a commitment to support a prospective student-athlete’s application. However only the Admissions Office at each Ivy League school has the authority to admit an applicant and to notify an applicant of admission. Only formal correspondence from the Admissions Office should be considered an admissions decision.
 

Pat is just writing to his ill-informed readers like this person who posted in the comments:

Guy hasn't even won a game yet. The U has never had and never will have a problem finding kids to give scholarships to. Heck I'll take one too. The problem is the quality of who they are given to, and from all reputable sources, this was a pretty mediocre recruiting class, especially after Fleck ignored the 3 star Out state commits over 1-2 star W. Michigan players he wanted. It's OK to be optimistic, but all signs point to more of the same with this class...mediocre.
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Who are these people?
 

gopherfannnn said:
You probably know this, but there are no scholarships in the Ivy League. So the "offer" is for admission and then for need-based financial aid (that can be somewhat competitive).

From the Ivy League:
FINANCIAL AID CRITERIA
Ivy League schools provide financial aid to students, including athletes, only on the basis of financial need as determined by each institution’s Financial Aid Office. There are no academic or athletic scholarships in the Ivy League. A coach may assist a prospective student-athlete to obtain an estimated financial aid award, however only the Financial Aid Office has the authority to determine financial aid awards and to notify students officially of their actual or estimated awards.

Remember: A prospective student-athlete who receives an estimated need-based financial aid award is welcome to share it with other Ivy League schools. In some cases Ivy League financial aid offices may reevaluate and adjust an estimated financial aid award based on a written need-based award or estimate from another school. Ivy League coaches may not discourage a prospect from sharing an award, or from obtaining an estimated award from another Ivy institution.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Ivy League coaches are knowledgeable about admissions policies, can be valuable resources in guiding prospects through the application process, and may offer advice and counsel based on feedback from admissions. Coaches may make a commitment to support a prospective student-athlete’s application. However only the Admissions Office at each Ivy League school has the authority to admit an applicant and to notify an applicant of admission. Only formal correspondence from the Admissions Office should be considered an admissions decision.
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I think we've gone through this a few times in other threads but I'll just note that Harvard has a deal where if your income is below a certain level... automatic scholarship. Below a certain level, full ride, and I belive the scale slides on up to pretty high income levels.

So maybe not athletic scholarship, but it doesn't matter if you're still getting another one.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Pat is just writing to his ill-informed writers like this person who posted in the comments:



Who are these people?
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Maybe some walk ons?

Anyway that line reads like the folks who get upset we don't go chase after every 4* and 5* or this guy or that....
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I think we've gone through this a few times in other threads but I'll just note that Harvard has a deal where if your income is below a certain level... automatic scholarship. Below a certain level, full ride, and I belive the scale slides on up to pretty high income levels.

So maybe not athletic scholarship, but it doesn't matter if you're still getting another one.
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I have a good friend whose kid is an athlete at an Ivy League school. This family makes well into six figures and the financial aid award from grants alone was nearly 60% of the total cost. I think the family was expected to pay about 15K per year.
 

rugger14 said:
I have a good friend whose kid is an athlete at an Ivy League school. This family makes well into six figures and the financial aid award from grants alone was nearly 60% of the total cost. I think the family was expected to pay about 15K per year.
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Yeah I don't want to toss out numbers as I don't know how accurate they are, but it I hear it is very generous. You can be doing very well, still get scholarships...
 

gopherfannnn said:
You probably know this, but there are no scholarships in the Ivy League. So the "offer" is for admission and then for need-based financial aid (that can be somewhat competitive).

From the Ivy League:
FINANCIAL AID CRITERIA
Ivy League schools provide financial aid to students, including athletes, only on the basis of financial need as determined by each institution’s Financial Aid Office. There are no academic or athletic scholarships in the Ivy League. A coach may assist a prospective student-athlete to obtain an estimated financial aid award, however only the Financial Aid Office has the authority to determine financial aid awards and to notify students officially of their actual or estimated awards.

Remember: A prospective student-athlete who receives an estimated need-based financial aid award is welcome to share it with other Ivy League schools. In some cases Ivy League financial aid offices may reevaluate and adjust an estimated financial aid award based on a written need-based award or estimate from another school. Ivy League coaches may not discourage a prospect from sharing an award, or from obtaining an estimated award from another Ivy institution.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Ivy League coaches are knowledgeable about admissions policies, can be valuable resources in guiding prospects through the application process, and may offer advice and counsel based on feedback from admissions. Coaches may make a commitment to support a prospective student-athlete’s application. However only the Admissions Office at each Ivy League school has the authority to admit an applicant and to notify an applicant of admission. Only formal correspondence from the Admissions Office should be considered an admissions decision.
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They call them grants and aid packages. Harvard has a $38B endowment, the largest in the world. Average debt at graduation is about $10K. Only 1/3 of Harvard students even need to borrow.
 

t-docious said:
last night fleck called out the media to be positive..... so much for that. Gosh our sports media is absolute rubbish.
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It's not Reusse's job to cheer lead for the team and write positive articles, it's his job to be objective.

Having said that, as soon as I heard Fleck say that the media needs to get on board with being more positive I thought that was one dumb thing to say, this ain't the Kalamazoo Times he's dealing with anymore and I'm sure some media guys took that as a challenge.

I haven't decided yet on Fleck. I see some good things but I also see for concerning things too. I listened to KFAN, saw some stuff from Gopher Sports, and some Gopher Facebook posting and Fleck sure seems to repeat the same canned mantra interview after interview after interview, almost like he's going off a script. Does not seem very genuine to me, and Reusse is on record that he read through Brewster's slickness right off the bat. Hope me and Patrick are proven wrong.
 

I think this one is pretty simple. Reusse goes after anyone he thinks is a BS'er - David Kahn, Rick Spielman, Brew, etc. And he has stated publicly that he thinks Fleck is a bigger BS'er than Brewster. Plus, Reusse loves to try and push people's buttons. Right now, a lot of people are gung-ho for Fleck, and so Reusse is trying to egg them on. And it worked - he's got you responding to this column.

Again, there are really two types of Reusse columns. When he writes about D3 sports, town-team baseball, and human interest stories, he is still one of the best columnists in the Twin Cities. And then, there are times where he goes into cynical mode, and does a rip column - usually aimed at someone he believes needs to be taken down a peg - Ziggy, the Pohlads, a local coach or GM.

Bottom line, it's an opinion column. He's expressing an opinion. No one is forced to read it, or forced to agree with him.

Full disclosure: I'm not drinking the Fleck kool-aid yet, so this column does not bother me.
 

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