FNG wrote:Yeah, I understand your point, Hicks. I can understand why a HS star wants it all...a shot at an NCAA championship (which he isn't going to get here) plus an NBA career. I think it's short-sighted though. Guys like Ant and Cade Cunningham might still have been in the running for top pick if they went to a powerhouse instead of staying home, but maybe not. Is Ant the #1 pick if he goes to a school where he isn't the only scorer? Is Cunningham a consensus first pick if he goes to Duke and averages 10-12 PPG because there are 6 other McDonald's All-American mouths that have to be fed? Maybe, KAT is a good example of a guy who went #1 despite modest stats in college. But also Michael Hurt almost certainly gets to the NBA a year earlier if he stays home and is a star, and maybe Tre Jones goes much higher than the 42nd pick if he stays in Minnesota and averages 20 PPG and 8 assists a game (and by the way, Tre has not been very good, but he likely would have gone higher with better college stats).
Ultimately I'm a Gopher homer, Hicks, so I am probably trying to make a case from a not very objective perspective ;-) .
Michael Hurt did play for the gophers he was a career off the bench player. Matthew Hurt played at Duke.
Ouch, I should know that, kek, because Michael actually joined me in working with inner city kids for a couple years...really nice guy, and very popular with the kids. Thanks for the correction!
(and we all know the Gophers only recruited Michael to give them a better shot at Matthew, right?)
FNG wrote:Yeah, I understand your point, Hicks. I can understand why a HS star wants it all...a shot at an NCAA championship (which he isn't going to get here) plus an NBA career. I think it's short-sighted though. Guys like Ant and Cade Cunningham might still have been in the running for top pick if they went to a powerhouse instead of staying home, but maybe not. Is Ant the #1 pick if he goes to a school where he isn't the only scorer? Is Cunningham a consensus first pick if he goes to Duke and averages 10-12 PPG because there are 6 other McDonald's All-American mouths that have to be fed? Maybe, KAT is a good example of a guy who went #1 despite modest stats in college. But also Michael Hurt almost certainly gets to the NBA a year earlier if he stays home and is a star, and maybe Tre Jones goes much higher than the 42nd pick if he stays in Minnesota and averages 20 PPG and 8 assists a game (and by the way, Tre has not been very good, but he likely would have gone higher with better college stats).
Ultimately I'm a Gopher homer, Hicks, so I am probably trying to make a case from a not very objective perspective ;-) .
Michael Hurt did play for the gophers he was a career off the bench player. Matthew Hurt played at Duke.
Ouch, I should know that, kek, because Michael actually joined me in working with inner city kids for a couple years...really nice guy, and very popular with the kids. Thanks for the correction!
(and we all know the Gophers only recruited Michael to give them a better shot at Matthew, right?)
I was mostly just giving you shit. I would say mostly that is why he was recruited but he was the 2nd best prospect in MN that year behind Coffey. I watched Hurt play a lot because he is in our conference and my friends brothers were his age. Micheal Hurt never became the shooter he was in HS at the college level.
I think in state recruiting is overrated. I am worried though because I didn't like the Ben Johnson hire but was told he will be an elite in state recruiter. Well Ben Johnson is 0 for 1 in the 2022 class already with Eli King committing to Iowa State. King is a top 75 player 4 star from Caledonia. Iowa state just hired their coach a month ago. Not a good 1st impression for Johnson
The Gophers never had a chance to keep the kid against the mighty Cyclones.
In all fairness the ISU coach is practically a member of the King family after coaching an older brother. This may sound like sour grapes, but how much did we really want a 63% free throw shooter with a history of knee problems? I admit the kid can really jump, but he would not have been a big target for me. I don't see a 6-3 kid doing well in the Big Ten as a dunker.
The Gophers never had a chance to keep the kid against the mighty Cyclones.
In all fairness the ISU coach is practically a member of the King family after coaching an older brother. This may sound like sour grapes, but how much did we really want a 63% free throw shooter with a history of knee problems? I admit the kid can really jump, but he would not have been a big target for me. I don't see a 6-3 kid doing well in the Big Ten as a dunker.
I'm a little biased but Iowa State is a pretty good baseball program. I don't think it's too shameful to lose out to a pretty good program that's also pretty local. I just looked it up it's probably takes about the same amount of time depending on traffic to get to Ames as it would to go to a Gopher game. Maybe he (or someone in his family) prefers a smaller town too. Maybe there is an academic program they have there he likes better too. It's not JUST about basketball for these athletes.
Nebraska recently had a top recruit commit to Gonzaga. Gophers are clearly a better program than Nebraska (sadly not saying much) but I have zero problem with that kid going to Gonzaga even if Nebraska was a better program. Gonzaga is a terrific program and if you are a top recruit you should be looking for the best option for you in a number of ways because this is your career. Lets say you were a smart kid looking to go great things in any field. Are you staying in state just to try and make your program better or are you going to go to one of the top schools in the nation? Being a top 5 or whatever pick isn't always the way to go. If you want your local school to do well because of homegrown talent they need to be able to find and get a couple guys other people overlook and actually develop them. You do that a couple times along with attracting some talented guys from other areas that find your program a fit then you can keep growing. Easier said than done.
