Willis to Grad Transfer from Minnesota

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No one in their right mind thinks Willis wouldn't, at a minimum, be very good depth. That's something we haven't had in a long time. The ONLY reason it makes sense for him to be 'pushed out' is if they have someone replacing him that will be a starter. Several other options for 'pushing out' would make more sense.
 

GopherNuts said:
Have to disagree with this. If Kerwin stays home, he’s starting whether Willis was here or not. Similarly to Dupree, I would assume he would have moved to a sixth man role. I don’t think we saw anything from Willis to suggest he was a nailed on starter. With Johnson coming in, Ihnen may have even pushed Willis at the 3.
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I’d be surprised if a true freshman of Kerwin’s caliber beat out a 5th year that averaged nearly 9 a game last year.
 

golfing18now said:
The fact this is just coming out now does seem to imply this was a push. If it was always Willis' intention to transfer, why not announce a couple weeks ago? Neither of the guys that have committed this week would impact Willis' playing time. Will be interesting to see what is next.
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This isn't late to make a transfer announcement. We've just passed the point where the NCAA tournament championship would have been played. Anyone who was paying attention knew that Charles Buggs would transfer but he announced far later than this as I recall.
 

jblass said:
Bummer, I liked Willis. Thought he could have a very good year for the Gophers next season.
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Me too and I have to lose any solid contributor. That said, I think he wouldn't do this unless he sees something that is going to cut into his playing time. Personally, I think Ihnen might end up starting at the three.The kid runs like a deer, super long, can fill it up from outside and passes the ball pretty well. If he can develop a little better handle and the ability to drive to the hoop and finish, then you really put some game changing length out there at the three. We also have Williams who wants PT. Then there is Walton...
 

bga1 said:
Me too and I have to lose any solid contributor. That said, I think he wouldn't do this unless he sees something that is going to cut into his playing time. Personally, I think Ihnen might end up starting at the three.The kid runs like a deer, super long, can fill it up from outside and passes the ball pretty well. If he can develop a little better handle and the ability to drive to the hoop and finish, then you really put some game changing length out there at the three. We also have Williams who wants PT. Then there is Walton...
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Dont forget about Mashburn
 



Hope it's not because he knows Carr isn't coming back, to lose two of the three starting guards would not bode well for next year. Depth at guard has become an issue the last couple of days.
 

There you go. Walton is back in.

Not sure why this signal had to be delayed from the signal that BJ committed. If they had been announced at the same time, it would've saved about a hundred+ posts by now, I guess.

Athletic dept likes screwing around with GH, clearly.
 

Though I do think Willis would have played a decent amount for us, I love the fact that at this point Gabe and Williams know they're going to be the guys, even if we do get Walton which it sure seems like it's growing momentum. I like the idea of guys knowing that they're getting playing time and going to be relied on. I think you would've had a pissy Willis if he saw his minutes cut to 20 or less a game even though he seemed like a good kid.

Now you're ideally locked in on:
1 Carr and Mash w/ Greenlee sitting this year
2 Gabe, Tre, Mash
3 Ihnen, Gabe, Tre, w/ Mitchell sitting this year
4 Johnson, Ihnen, and Jarvis OR Curry
5 Robbins, Johnson and Jarvis OR Curry w/ Freeman sitting this year

Walton would fit nicely into that 2/3 spot. This really is a nice roster as far as having various lineup options with versatile guys. Gabe and Tre can both play the 2/3. Ihnen 3/4. Mash 1/2. Then varying combinations at the 4/5 spots. Even without Robbins I think we'd be OK. With Robbins it's that much better. I'm real high on Robbins.

This is a competition even without Walton and Willis. Add both of 'em and no brainer for Willis to go. Add one of 'em and it's still tough. Walton is still gonna have to earn his playing time if he does come here. Forgot this does put Peterson back in the mix as well.
 
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While I have no knowledge on this one way or the other, the transfer could be for non-basketball reasons. Everyone always thinks kids transfer because of playing time or the coach. But what if it was personal reasons? What if he just didn't like the school or the people he met? I think we need to give him the benefit of the doubt.
 

As far as Willis himself .... maybe he was hurt, but he never impressed me much this year. I don't think this is a big loss.

I usually (not all the time, but usually) liked Williams better.
 

skiumah1 said:
Though I do think Willis would have played a decent amount for us, I love the fact that at this point Gabe and Williams know they're going to be the guys, even if we do get Walton which it sure seems like it's growing momentum. I like the idea of guys knowing that they're getting playing time and going to be relied on. I think you would've had a pissy Willis if he saw his minutes cut to 20 or less a game even though he seemed like a good kid.

Now you're ideally locked in on:
1 Carr and Mash w/ Greenlee sitting this year
2 Gabe, Tre, Mash
3 Ihnen, Gabe, Tre, w/ Mitchell sitting this year
4 Johnson, Ihnen, and Jarvis OR Curry
5 Robbins, Johnson and Jarvis OR Curry w/ Freeman sitting this year

Walton would fit nicely into that 2/3 spot. This really is a nice roster as far as having various lineup options with versatile guys. Gabe and Tre can both play the 2/3. Ihnen 3/4. Mash 1/2. Then varying combinations at the 4/5 spots. Even without Robbins I think we'd be OK. With Robbins it's that much better. I'm real high on Robbins.

This is a competition even without Walton and Willis. Add both of 'em and no brainer for Willis to go. Add one of 'em and it's still tough.
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*If* Carr is back, I still don't see any point in Greenlee staying.

Maybe if he leaves too, we can go after another big?
 

I could care less what happens to Willis. Williams should be starting ahead of him anyway. With Ihnen most likely moving to SF if Robbins is cleared. Willis would be backing up Gabe anyway! Would be three deep if Walton signs.
Hopefully this means Pitino knows something good is coming!
 



cjbfbp said:
This isn't late to make a transfer announcement. We've just passed the point where the NCAA tournament championship would have been played. Anyone who was paying attention knew that Charles Buggs would transfer but he announced far later than this as I recall.
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I agree it's not too late. But with all the activity already, don't you want to get into that mix sooner rather than later to keep as many viable options open as possible?
 

MplsGopher said:
*If* Carr is back, I still don't see any point in Greenlee staying.

Maybe if he leaves too, we can go after another big?
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I'm all in on this re-shaping T-wolves style. Everything as of now just seems like Greenlee really wants to be here but you're right maybe when/if Carr returns Greenlee will make his decision.
 

cjbfbp said:
Well, there are also other alternatives. Willis, as an experienced grad transfer, believes he can get a scholarship at a program and 1) would like to try to join a program he believes has better prospects for next season OR 2) he's not that crazy about staying here and would like to try somewhere else. I believe that this program now has pretty good prospects for next season even without Daniel but that doesn't mean Willis wants to stay here if he can go somewhere else. I think Willis' chance of playing good minutes are better here than many other places.
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Agree with your points and we will never know for sure. The timing is just suspicious - the day we lose our last scholarship is the day that Willis leaves. Brings back to mind Matz leaving and returning. I suppose coaches have ways of communicating they want a player to hit the road without coming right out and saying it as well. Wonder how frequently players get pushed out in college basketball in general? Would make for an interesting espn investigative piece.
 



ltf said:
Agree with your points and we will never know for sure. The timing is just suspicious - the day we lose our last scholarship is the day that Willis leaves. Brings back to mind Matz leaving and returning. I suppose coaches have ways of communicating they want a player to hit the road without coming right out and saying it as well. Wonder how frequently players get pushed out in college basketball in general? Would make for an interesting espn investigative piece.
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I think this will depend on where Willis ends up. If he ends up on a team where he's locked in as the starter, big minutes, I would say he was worried about PT here. If it's a different scenario for a high level program, that will be telling too.
 

Seems players everywhere are going everywhere these days. Why not just make things simple from here on out in college basketball, and make it like old-school playground pick-up games. Have 20 random guys show up for each game, and have two captains pick teams.
 

CurveballJesus said:
Doogie claims he knew all about it going back weeks. What a clown. Also says it has nothing to do with Walton, so KW to the Gophers confirmed!
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Lmao I saw that...I legit follow him just for the laughs. "I mentioned this as a possible outcome along with the other 57 possibilities months back." The number of times he says something like this is truly astounding for being lead/featured sports reporter, and I will probably never relent on the criticism as he just doesn't get it when you question or ask about these so called "scoops"
 

ltf said:
Agree with your points and we will never know for sure. The timing is just suspicious - the day we lose our last scholarship is the day that Willis leaves. Brings back to mind Matz leaving and returning. I suppose coaches have ways of communicating they want a player to hit the road without coming right out and saying it as well. Wonder how frequently players get pushed out in college basketball in general? Would make for an interesting espn investigative piece.
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Or, the decision was made weeks ago, and Willis and Pitino mutually agreed that Willis would hold off on a public announcement until the spot had been filled?

Just throwing you know what against a wall to see if it sticks, here.
 

MinnGopher said:
Lmao I saw that...I legit follow him just for the laughs. "I mentioned this as a possible outcome along with the other 57 possibilities months back." The number of times he says something like this is truly astounding for being lead/featured sports reporter, and I will probably never relent on the criticism as he just doesn't get it when you question or ask about these so called "scoops"
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I can't handle him, period. I'd love for MN to grab a guy or two that is consistently on the radio that is really an intelligent guy and breaks things down with sources and reasoning. Kills me.
 



die hard gopher said:
I’d be surprised if a true freshman of Kerwin’s caliber beat out a 5th year that averaged nearly 9 a game last year.
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9 points for a 4th year player that played what? around 30 minutes a night isn’t all that impressive. He’s a solid role player but I think you could get similar production out of Walton as a freshman while KW has a higher ceiling as well. Would you start freshman year Gabe over Willis? I would and Walton’s a superior prospect to Kalscheur coming out of HS with legit interest from UNC, Ohio State and Arizona.
 

die hard gopher said:
I’d be surprised if a true freshman of Kerwin’s caliber beat out a 5th year that averaged nearly 9 a game last year.
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I'd be surprised after this statement if I paid attention to your next post.
 

skiumah1 said:
I can't handle him, period. I'd love for MN to grab a guy or two that is consistently on the radio that is really an intelligent guy and breaks things down with sources and reasoning. Kills me.
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The only reason I look him up on twitter is that Wolfson is easier to spell than Krawzcynyykski and Jon K is typically the result below him!
 

Not to vent but this is another example of poor roster management by RP, 2 years to get 1 and then leave, thats not great.

That said i am just fine with this, Williams should get better and see more time, Mash can play more, maybe get another guy in the transfer market. Willis had AWFUL advanced metrics so move on.

I am fine with new blood, but RP needs to make it work, I got pretty sick of "well we had 7 new players his year, you knew we would struggle!" That can't be a complaint again next year, it doesnt matter if its the same team or 100% new, he needs to make it work.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Stop and think about this.

If the NCAA approves the rule that would allow players to transfer once with no penalty and not have to sit out a year, what the Gophers are going through this year will be the norm, not the exception.

there will be near-constant roster churn for everyone except the real blue-bloods. And even the Dukes and Kentucky's of the world could be impacted. Some HS hot-shot goes to KY, doesn't get the playing time they want, and boom, there they go.

roster management and managing scholarships will be even tougher.

On the flip side, schools will have opportunities to remake their rosters and improve themselves if they can adapt to the new rules. It all comes down to trying to find a way where the gains outweigh the losses.
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I despise this rule, to be honest. It is free agency every single season. I would absolutely hate dealing with this as a coach.
 

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