Fare thee Well, Justin Cobbs

As you have probably heard by now, Justin Cobbs is "probably" transferring, presumably to be closer to home in California, and I'm pretty sure the "probably" means "definitely but not quite committing to anything just in case."  I'd expect him to turn up at a second-tier school in California like Fullerton or Pepperdine and he'll probably turn out to do quite well.

I know a lot of people thought Cobbs was pretty bad and not really a Big Ten caliber point guard, but I saw a freshman with potential who never felt confident in himself.  Now, by potential, I don't mean star potential, but I think he would have been a solid back-up and possible starter by his senior year.  Sure, he made a good amount of mistakes, but he was a freshman.  Freshman make mistakes, and when they're pulled from the game as soon as they make one it limits their minutes considerably and each miscue seems magnified.  I saw the mistakes, but I also saw what looked like a smart player who understood how to play the point as a pass-first guard, to the point where he seemed to rarely even look for a shot.  This, despite the fact that he won the team's preseason three-point contest.

I really do just think it was a matter of confidence and time, and Cobbs didn't have enough of either.  All in all, going someplace like a Santa Clara or Long Beach will be good for him, and I wish him luck.  I wouldn't rank losing Cobbs up there with losing Carter, in fact, it will probably affect the team little, if at all, so everybody wins.

Naturally, rumors abound that Cobbs decided to transfer because Cory Joseph has let it be known to the team that he's coming to the Gophers, but these reek of homerism and/or blind optimism.  Cobbs seemed unhappy almost the entire season, things were pretty clearly not working out, and rumors about his transferring have been buzzing since mid-year, so I don't think this has anything to do with Cory Joseph (and please please please please please stop calling him CoJo.  Please).  Of course, I hope it does, but I also hope the Deschanel sisters show up at my door step one day and say "choose."  (To which I'd say "both" and then they'd say "ok.")

Things do get interesting if Joseph doesn't choose the Gophers and Cobbs does end up leaving, because the academically and offensively challenged Al Nolen becomes the only actual point guard on the roster.  Despite his Jacque Vaughn/T.J. Ford-level jump shot there's no doubt Nolen is a Big Ten starting point guard, and Devoe did do an admirable job filling in, but the team would be well served to get some PG-depth if not for next year, then for the future.

For 2010, it sounds like the Gophers have some interest in 3-star PG Ben Brust, a former Iowa commit who luckily escaped due to the coaching change and is also getting heat now from Wisconsin, Cal, and Wake, but he looks like one of those annoying white dudes who always go to Iowa or Purdue and he's more of a combo guard anyway, so I'll pass.  There is also a rumor that Johnnie Lacy, late of Providence College, is interesting in becoming a Gopher, but he's facing assault charges for putting the beat down on some poor sap who shouldn't have been standing there so I'd imagine there's no way Tubby would be interested in dealing with another legal headache.

I'm much more intrigued by Shane Larkin, Rivals #22 point guard and #96 player for the Class of 2011 who is described as a "floor general" and a player who excels at the "drive and kick" offense.  Sounds perfect.  The Gophers haven't offered him yet, and right now his only high-major offer is from Clemson, but it sounds like Georgia Tech, Wake, and Cal are getting into the mix as well as the Gophers.  He's from Florida and likes to play a wide-open style so I'd bet he ends up in the SEC some where (I'm going to predict Arkansas), but he's a name to remember for the future and a player I'm interested in.  Not sexually, though, perv.

Oh, and if you are thinking Bryant Allen is the answer at point guard you are completely out of your damn mind.

Recruiting Updates

If you've been reading The Daily Gopher, and why wouldn't you, you'd know there has been a flurry of recruiting activity of note to Gopher fans lately. Of note:

- Minnesota boy Sam Dower heading to Gonzaga. Dower, a center from Osseo, is a late bloomer who recently shot up the ranks after averaging 22 points per game for in AAU ball this summer after putting up just 13 per game in high school. Gonzaga was after him early, and had the inside track. After visiting the campus, Dower made his choice. The Gophers got in the game late, and I was never optimistic Dower would sign here. Dower is currently ranked #119 on the Rivals Top 150.

- Torin Walker to Oklahoma State. Walker is another center Tubby wanted, and I'm quite a bit bummed he didn't get him, mostly because Torin Walker just sounds like a good name for a player. Walker was supposed to take a visit to the Minnesota campus, but after visiting OSU he canceled all other visits. I'm guessing he was set up with some very nice female "superfans" of the program. Take note for the upcoming Rodney Williams visit to the U please.

- Trevor Williams to Colorado State. Yet another center to spurn an offer from Tubby Smith, although for the life of me I can't figure out a single reason why anybody would want to go to Colo State. This was another case of a player having a visit scheduled to Minnesota, but opting to sign with another school following a visit there. There was a lot of chatter about Williams, and the Gophers were involved in his recruiting early so this one does sting a bit.

Not a Minnesota target, but of interest nonetheless is Hopkins' Mike Broghammer committing to Notre Dame. I'm not entirely certain why Tubby never chose to get involved in recruiting Broghammer, but I'm guessing it is because he is related to Christian Laettner, who once stomped on a Kentucky player and all the hearts of Kentucky fans. And Tubby still loves Kentucky.

Also of interest is Eden Praire's Ethan Wragge committing to Creighton last night. Wragge was never in Tubby's sights, but the a three-star instate player is still worth mentioning.

Does this all mean that Tubby is losing his touch? After the miracle class of 2008, are we sunk for 2009? No, not really. Calm down, spaz. Plenty of quality players still on the radar, particularly if Williams signs here. Other possibilities:

- PG/SG Darius Smith, #113 on Rivals. According to Scout, Smith considers the Gophers the Gophers his favorite school, and had a visit scheduled for last weekend at the U. He hasn't signed following that, which makes me nervous. I haven't heard a single peep about how the visit went, which also makes me nervous. I don't know if it actually happened or what. Expect Smith to sign with Bradley.

- PG Eric Bledsoe, #67 on Rivals. I've mentioned him before, and he is absolutely, without question my number 1 guy I want for this team for 2009, above even Rodney Williams. Everything I read about this kid gives me a boner. The problem is it's going to take a major coup to steal him away from Mike Davis and UAB. He's from Alabama, they've been recruiting him forever, he likes Davis, and he loves their running style. Odds on landing Bledsoe are around 10% or so, but if anybody can do it, Tubby can. Please.

- PG Johnnie Lacy, #110 on Rivals is also still a possibility, and has been written about here plenty. If Bledsoe doesn't work out, I'd be more than happy to get Johnnie, assuming he's eligible.

- Lastly, two Power Forwards from Georgia I've never heard of apparently have received offers from the Gophers according to Scout: Terrence Shannon and Kadeem Batts. Shannon is the superior player, coming in at #125 on Rivals while Batts is unranked. Batts is mostly being pursued by middle tier major conference teams, while Shannon has Florida State and Memphis as his leaders, with the Gophers listed as a longshot.


Grabbing any one of those guys along with Rodney to fill out the two remaining scholarships for 2009 would be an excellent, excellent class following up the #25 class of 2008 according to ESPN.

Once again, I want to say I'm absolutely convinced right now that the Gophers must get a verbal from Rodney on his official visit in a week and a half. The week after that, he is heading out to Santa Clara for a visit with his friend and Bronco commit Raymond Cowels. The fact that he narrowed his list to just two, and Santa Clara is on there instead of Kansas or UCONN tells me he's very serious about the possibility. Can't you see it? The two guys, visiting a beautiful campus in California right near the ocean. All around them are beautiful women in bikinis, the weather is nice after leaving the shitty fall weather of Minnesota. The rest of the Santa Clara team telling him how it's beautiful there all winter with no snow. Cowels talking to him about how the two of them can join together to help raise the Santa Clara program to national prominence once again.

Think about it, this is probably the most important recruit visit to that program since forever. They will pull out all the stops and roll out the red carpet to kiss his ass in a huge way. I'm telling you right now, if he doesn't sign with the Gophers during his visit and actually makes his way out to Santa Clara for that visit, he's going to sign there. I guarantee it.

Gopher Recruiting News

Since I initially started this site with the sole intent of writing about Gopher basketball before tangenting off into several hundred different directions, I figured once in a while I should take a peak at Gopher recruiting. Now seems about right, since there is a lot to discuss.

Darius Smith: I wrote earlier this week about the Gophers offering Smith, a 6-2 point guard from Illinois, and there is a little more information available. He was called "the best defensive player in the state and one of the best leaders" at the Nike Peach Jam and is known as a very solid rebounder, ballhandler, defender, and penetrator who lacks only an outside shot to complete his game. Bradley is after him hard, as well as Marquette and DePaul. The Gophers are late to the party, but their name recognition as well as high profile head coach have got to help, but of course, the Gophers lost that one big goofy guy to DePaul already, so who knows what kind of decisions some of these geniuses are capable of making. Smith sounds a lot like an Al Nolen clone, right down to the academic issues (current gpa of 2.4, ACT score of 16), and as long as he's eligible I'll be very happy with that.

Sam Dower: Big man from Osseo who picked up an offer from Tubby early last week, Dower is a 6-9, 215 PF/C who averaged 13 points and 7 boards as a junior at Osseo last season and will be expected to take more of a scoring role with several good players graduating after last year. He currently ranks #130 on the Rivals Top 150. Obviously at 215 he needs to put on some weight and gain strength, but he has that big wingspan that allows him to block a lot of shots, and he has a very good game in the paint and from the high post. He recently narrowed his list to five schools: Gonzaga, George Mason, Minnesota, Marquette, and Cal. He's already visited GMU, and is expected to visit Minnesota and Marquette in August and Gonzaga in September. I'm not real excited here, but I suppose he's better than nothing. I think the Gophers have two schollys left for '09, and I'd rather they be used on one of the PGs and Rod Will, but it's nice to see that a consolation prize under Tubby would have been the keystone recruit under Monson. No, I'm not ready to let the Monson hate go just yet.

Johnnie Lacy: Lacy, the 5-10 PG and Rivals #97 player from Wisconsin who recently reported that the Gophers were in the lead for his services has transferred to Notre Dame Prep School, reportedly with the hopes that it will help him get eligible for his freshman season in 2009. Notre Dame Prep is in Fitchburg, MA and is kind of a basketball powerhouse. They have three players on the Rivals150 for 2008: Terrence Jennings (#19), Kim English (#112), and Melquan Boldin (#147) but for 2009 Lacy will be the only one on the list there. He should get some high quality coaching as well as being assured they will do whatever they have to in order to get him eligible. The Gophers may have cooled on Lacy a bit lately, with the offer going out to Darius Smith as well as some sudden interest in another guard I'll mention next, Eric Bledsoe.

Eric Bledsoe: No relation to Drew, I'm assuming because he's black, Bledsoe is a four-star, 6 foot PG out of Alabama who ranks #73 overall on Rivals list. His scouting reports from all around give me kind of a semi, because he's basically a true pass-first point guard which I love unless it's that homo Jacque Vaughn. Scout says he lacks a perimeter shot, but ESPN says he can shoot it from deep, so who the hell knows, but they both say he has the instincts for the position and is a lightning quick creator and that is all that matters. Speaking of Creators, there is also a christian rock singer named Erik Bledsoe, and I really hope they don't recruit him instead. But again, that was probably more of a concern with Monson in charge. Bledsoe says the hometown UAB Blazers are leading for his services, and the only school to have offered a scholarship so far, but Alabama, South Carolina, Indiana, and the Gophers are also in the mix, as well as the Lord Jesus Christ.

Cory Joseph: Another PG the Gophers are looking at, this time for 2010, is the younger brother of future Gopher Devoe Joseph and could give them a Joseph to Joseph combo at the guard position, although some services describe him as more of an off guard who could play point in a pinch, much like big brother. ESPN describes him as having one of the best pure jumpshots in the class of 2010, and says he will end up being better than Devoe. If that's the case, let's go ahead and get him signed early. He ranks 75th on the Rivals 150 and will probably be moving up as his career progresses, now in the States after transferring to a Nevada Prep School, basketball factory Findlay, for his final two high school seasons. It's still early, but Joseph is getting chased by pretty much everybody, including Kansas, Texas, and Memphis.

Angelo Johnson: Interestingly, Tubby has declined to pursue the former Minnesota high school player after he announced he was transferring from USC after his freshman season due to playing time concerns. Angelo has said he will end up at either Baylor, Southern Miss, Seton Hall, or Cincinnati. Although he could certainly help out the Gophers and their point guard vacancy for 2009, Tubby remains firm that he isn't interested. A big ole difference from Dan Monson, whose bread and butter was to chase recruits he missed out on after they changed their minds and promise them if they would come to the U they could take every single shot they ever wanted ever.

Glen Rice, Jr: There was some interest in the 3-star guard out of Georgia on the Gophers part, but, like with Mfon Udofia, the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech signed him instead. It will be interesting to keep an eye on the Jackets in the coming years to see how these two clowns develop. Tech has a nice recruiting class going for 2009.

- Rodney Williams continues to dominate and continues to not sign here yet.

You know what sucks?

Here's what sucks, when you are watching the Twins game and you see that the starter for them is Livan Hernandez. That sucks.

- Already down 2-1 in the third. Josh Hamilton is up. I don't know if you know this, but he used to hooked on crack. Then his grandma grabbed a couple of knives and pistols and broke into the male whorehouse where he was working coked out of his gourd and whooped some ass Steven Seagal in Under Siege style, then carried him out slung over her shoulder. She then locked him in a freezer for two years, where he lived off of the rats and spiders he could catch, honing his body into a finely tuned hitting machine. Or something. They never cover it when he plays on national tv, so I'm not really sure what happened.

- If I'm ever in charge, my first act of business will be to make those damn blue shells in Mario Kart illegal.

- Went to the Science Museum today to check out the Star Wars exhibit, and it was awesome. If you're a fan, check it out for sure. Here's me with R2:


Of course, the best part was the nerds who dressed up as characters. My favorite was this guy (in the background). The droid in front was a science museum employee, but I'm pretty sure the guy in the X-Wing Pilot suit behind him was just a patron who decided to dress up.

He's a winner.

- Another bunt hit for Casilla. He's kind of like a slightly better version of Gomez right now. He doesn't walk, and his expected BA and BABIP suggest he's been getting pretty lucky thus far, but he's clearly a much better player than Gomez right now. And, like, the Brooks Robinson of second basemen.

- Craig "Marilyn" Monroe hits one off the wall and still manages to get tossed at second. The Twins' baserunning, year after year, is stunningly atrocious. But one of the reasons they win year after year is because they're so fundamentall sound, thus sayeth the newspapers. I'm so confused.

- Buscher sucks. Well, not sucks, but he's a backup. Rumors abound about a possible trade for one of Adrian Beltre, Hank Blalock, Casey Blake, or Garrett Atkins. I highly doubt they are actually going to make a move, but without looking at contract situations I'd be happy with any of them except Blake. I mean, any of them would be an upgrade over Buscher, but unless you can get Blake for pretty much nothing I wouldn't do it. The other three would be excellent gets.

- A little Gopher info, this is a scouting report on Johnnie Lacy from College Hoops Net, :

PG Johnnie Lacy (Milwaukee, WI; Wisconsin Playground Elite; Rivals # 99)

Lacy (5-10, 160) is an explosive lead guard who in some respects reminded me of Jonny Flynn this weekend. While he’s not as athletic as Flynn, Lacy has the speed to get up and down the floor in a hurry, but under control while doing so. On occasion, however, he can over-penetrate and end up having to force this issue and the outside shot is a definite work in progress at this point in time. Still uncommitted, it looks as if Marquette has the inside track on keeping Lacy home in Milwaukee.

From what I've read, that whole Marquette inside track thing is a bunch of crap now with them having signed on Junior Cadougan, a three star PG from Houston whose name sounds like something a vedeo game would come up with. Unfortunately, I've also read that he is another one with some academic concerns. We shall see, but it's no secret the Gophers could really use a PG in the 2009 class, and Lacy is the best candidate, especially with Udofia looking more like he's going to stay in the south. He also compares himself to Chris Paul, Tony Parker, and Rajon Rondo, so he certainly doesn't lack for confidence.

- Justin Morneau really impresses me. He's not just a power guy, he's a legitimate all-around excellent hitter. He just took a low and away pitch into the gap in left center and jesus decided he didn't want Josh Hamilton to get to it so it went to the wall to clear the loaded bases, very nice. Also watching Carlos Gomez play is like watching a little kid. You know he's not that good, but he's fun to watch and you can't help but root for him.

- We rented Drillbit Taylor to watch tonight after Baby W goes to sleep (she's sleeping through the night now, knock on wood). I'm pretty sure it's going to be terrible so I'm going to drink as much as possible while we watch the Twins game.

- Home run Delmon Young. I told you guys he was going to be good now. You should listen more often.

- I get to play in a golf tournament on Monday instead of having to work, and I suck at golf. Awesome. Speaking of golf, how about Greg Norman leading the Open through three rounds? Pretty amazing stuff. The sad thing is that when he loses, people are going to talk about it as another Norman choke job instead of three incredible days. It's really amazing for a 53 year old or whatever he is.

- As far as my picks for the British, Sergio (T-15th), Allenby (T-9th), Soren Hansen (T-27th), and Bart Bryant (T-35th) are doing well as I said, while I said Mickelson and Els would disappoint and though they made the cut they aren't really in contention. I also said Furyk and Scott would disappoint, but are doing pretty well, and Geoff Ogilvy and Rod Pampling missed the cut when I expected them to do well. I guess I'm not perfect. I konw, it surprised me too.

- Since the game is now a blowout, we've decided to watch the movie now - oh joy. Interestingly, one of the writes is named Edmond Dantes, which is kind of weird since that's the name of the main character in The Count of Monte Cristo.

- I have British Open bets on Sergio Garcia to beat Anthony Kim and Robert Allenby to beat Jim Furyk tomorrow.

- So far this is shaping up as a weird, failed attempt to emulate the kids relationships from Superbad. People shouldn't bother, that movie nailed it perfectly. This like a non-alcoholic Daquiri - what's the point. At least Jimmy James is in it.

- Yeah, I like Daquiris. So what. You're telling me you don't like a nice Daquiri on a hot summer day? Whatever. You're lying.

- As if taking a cab wasn't already a bad possibilty for the Yankee Stadium thing, I just found out going from New York to New Jersey (and back) carries a pretty big surcharge, even though it's only 12 miles. Great. I didn't want to go to Yankee Stadium anyway.

- HOLY SHIT! Maurice Hargrow got arrested for stealing a car! He should have been arrested for stealing my heart when he transferred and then back.

- I'm bored now.

Fat Pitcher goes to Fatland (+ some gopher news)

Still in Utah, but I actually have a little time to myself so I want to touch on a couple of things right quick.

First, since Snacks mentioned the all-star teams in a comment below, I have a comment or two about the all-star rosters. Naturally, the big markets like New York, Chicago, and Boston are going to be stacked because more home town voters = more players voted in. But what is bizarre is if you look at the NL voting, the Brewers are represented all over the place. Fielder #2 at 1B, Rickie Weeks #3 at second, Bill Hall #4 at third base, JJ Hardy and Jason Kendall in second place at short and catcher, and Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Mike Cameron all in the top six in the outfield with Braun the leading vote getter.

How does that happen? And I know they're decent this year and just got better by adding Fatbathia, but some of those guys straight up suck this year. Weeks is batting .208 with an OPS+ of 79 right now, and received more votes than the Marlins Dan Uggla who is OPSing .995 and is second in the majors with 23 home runs. Kendall hasn't been good in five years, while Brian McCann is having a tremendous season, not to mention Russell Martin, who didn't even crack the top five despite having three middle names, one of which is Coltrane, and a .305 BA. And Bill Hall is hitting .227 and has already struck out 73 times.

It's obvious that it is time to take the all-star balloting away from the public, they are getting to be bigger and bigger idiots each year. But you clearly can't let the manager or players name the team, seeing as how Jason Varitek was voted to the all star squad by his fellow players despite a line of .218/.300/.358, which is puntoian. There aren't a ton of good catching options outside of Mauer in the AL, but both A.J. Pierzynski and Ivan Rodriguez are OPSing around .750 and hitting around .300 and both deserve it much, much, much more than Varitek. Funny how I-Rod has made it many times with worse numbers in the past.

So, yeah, the All-Star game rosters are pretty much a joke, and the fact that the outcome of this game actually has an effect on the regular season is completely ridiculous.

Secondly, and more Brewery, I LOVE how they went after Sabathia to make a big push for this season. It's become pretty clear they are going to lose Ben Sheets after this season, so why not go after Sabathia for the second half of the year and hope that one-two punch at the front of the rotation and take you to a title. In the past we saw how devastating having two top shelf pitchers can be in a playoff series with the D-Backs and Johnson and Schilling, and if the Brewers can get to the playoffs they could do some serious damage. Bravo on having the balls to pull this off.

So who is coming to the Indians? Weirdly, along with the three players coming over there is the famous "player to be named later." This strikes me as super weird in this kind of trade. PTBNL's seem to be the kind of guys who are thrown into smaller, less high profile trades, and I can't ever remember hearing of one being involved in a trade of this magnitude.

The jewel of the trade, the "Carlos Gomez" is OF Matt LaPorta, the number 1 prospect in the Brewers' system and the #31 prospect in all of baseball at the beginning of the season according to baseball prospectus. He's done nothing to hurt his rankings, as he's been mashing through double-A pitching this year to the tune of .291/.404/.584 with 20 homeruns in 296 at bats. He hits for average, he hits for power, and he has the discipline to walk around 100 times in a season. The scouting reports say his defense is a bit of an adventure, but I am NOT looking forward to the Twins facing him year after year. He may be a September call-up for the Indians this year, with an eye towards next season.

The other good piece in the trade is RHP Robert Bryson, ranked the #10 prospect in the Brewers' system. It's still not clear if he's better suited to a starter or reliever role, but Bryson is intriguing with wicked stuff - a mid-90s fastball to go with a power slider. In 109 career minor league innings he's struck out 143 batters between rookie ball and class A and has avoided the control issues that plague a lot of young power pitchers. He's been nearly unhittable, and could very well be the Indians' closer of the future.

The last "prospect" included is pitcher Zack Jackson, who is mostly just filler. He's not a real stellar prospect, but who knows, he could find work as a reliable middle reliever.

So, if your curious, the Twins definitely got a better haul for Johan, and it's not close. Actually it kind of looks like the Indians may have jumped the gun a bit here and sold themselves a bit short. I would have expected a bit more coming their way for CC, but as shown by the Santana trade, you don't get quite as much as you'd think.

Quick Gopher Update: Rodney Williams has narrowed his list to Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas, Miami, and UCONN. He also says he plans to narrow his list further after this weekend's Peach Jam. Royce White plays with Williams, and has said he is working on getting Rodney to join him in committing to the Gophers. Keep up the good work Royce, make it happen. In point guard news, Mfon Udofia reports Georgia Tech leads for his services, while the Gophers are said to be in the lead to land Johnnie Lacy. Let's hope they get one of the two.

Whiff. Verdell to Gaydiana.

In case you missed it, Verdell Jones committed to Indiana today, as reported by the Bear in the comments section below. This comes as somewhere between a major and a minor surprise, as Minnesota was reported as the "prohibitive favorite" this weekend after Jones cancelled his visit to Arizona.

I'm not exactly certain what the attraction is to go to IU here, unless he's going with a Kris Humphries-type attitude. The Hoosiers are going to be a nightmare next season. It's been reported in many other places, but pretty much everybody is gone. DJ White, Mike White, Lance Stemler, AJ Ratliff, and Adam Ahfeld graduated and Eric Gordon entered the NBA draft early. Eli Holman is transferring. Armon Bassett, JaMarcus Ellis, and Deandre Thomas were all kicked off the team. No word on if Thomas was kicked off for being a fatass.

This leaves new coach Tom Crean with Jordan Crawford and little else. Crawford averaged 9.7 points, 3.4 rebs, and 2.3 assists per game last season, while no other returnee averaged as much as 2 points, 3 rebounds, or 0.3 assists. Welcome to the big time Kyle Taber! Indiana had a pretty good incoming recruiting class when cheater Kelvin Sampson was still there, but after everything blew up the two jewels of the class, forward Devin Ebanks and guard Terrell Holloway, opted out of their committments. Ebanks, a 6-8 small forward who ranks as the #11 overall recruit on Rivals Top 150, is considering Rutgers, West Virginia, Memphis, or Texas. He claims Indiana is still in the running, but that's a bunch of crap. Smart money is on Huggins and the Mountaineers. Holloway, #100 on the list, has already signed on with Xavier.

This leaves the Hoosiers with a bunch of 3-star nerds to go along with Jones. Verdell has become the hero of the class, coming in at #127 for Rivals. Only swingman Nick Williams at #146 cracks the top 150 amongst the Hoosiers' other incoming freshmen. In other words, the Hoosiers are going to be a collection of crap. Good luck Verdell.

I'm not going to be the kind of idiot who pretends Jones sucks and I never wanted him in the first place just because he went somewhere else. I definitely wanted him. The Gophers' are still lacking a bit in the point guard area. Although Al Nolen acquitted himself well as a freshman, there's no guarantee he'll continue to develop. He showed just enough flaws throughout the season to leave a bit of a question mark about his future. Although I'm pretty confident he'll be a quality player, it's not a certainty, and if struggles there isn't much there to help out. L-Dub can fill in here and there, but let's not kid ourselves, he's a 5-10 shooting guard. Devoe Joseph claims to be able to play the point, but I'm considering him more of a Shawn Respert-type at this point. And Kevin Payton? Please.

Looking forward, there are no point guards for 2008 considering the Gophers at this time. The only 2009 point guard the Gophers are reported to have interest in is 5-10 Johnnie Lacy out of Wisconsin. Considering Lacy is from Badgerland, and the Badgers are interested, the Gophers' chances of landing him are slim.

So I don't know what they're going to do, but that's a lot of hopes pinned on Al Nolen right now. If they're signing anybody else for 2008, it'll likely be 6-10 Steve Goins. But I hope not. According to Scout, Goins weaknesses are rebounding and that he plays below the rim. Just what you want in a 6-10 center. His more likely destination is South Florida, where he'll fit in just fine.

I'm so tired because of my new daughter that I can't remember where I was going with this but it is certainly a lot of words. Basically, I wanted Verdell, and it sucks that he's going to the Hoosiers instead, but no big whoop. Look at this class and smile:

#59 Ralph Sampson
#61 Devoe Joseph
#138 Colton Iverson
#4 JuCo Devron Bostick, and JuCo player of the year

Oh, and Paul Carter. Not in the JuCo Top 200 and smallest PF ever at 6-8 and 190. By the way, Limar Wilson made that list. In the top 50. So, there's that then. But pay more attention to the top four guys on that list.

Future Gophers?

With the whole Royce White hub-bub dominating Gopher recruiting thoughts, I thought I'd take a minute to look at some possible Targets who are still out there for the team

2008:
PG Verdell Jones, Illinois, 30th ranked PG by Scout, Rivals #123 overall: Probably the best known of the names out there other than the two Minnesota kids for 2009, Verdell Jones has an offer from the Gophers. According to Scout, his choices are between Minnesota, Tennessee, and Kentucky - but his only offer is from the Gophers at this point. They also top his list. Jones is the second best point guard still available for 2008, and has taken visits to both the Gophers and Kentucky. The Volunteers just signed PG Daniel West, so that has to take them down a peg for Jones. All signs point to the Gophers leading to get his services.

C Krys Faber, Los Angeles, 23rd ranked C by Scout: Faber also has an offer from the Gophers, and is a big 6-10, 245 physical player. As of now, Scout has Minnesota at the top of his list along with Northern Illinois. He has visited both schools, and has an offer from each. Faber was well under the radar, but had a tremendous senior season and interest has picked up, with Notre Dame, St Johns, Baylor, Iowa, and even UCLA starting to show some interest.

C Steven Toyloy, Miami-Dade CC, 16th ranked Juco player by JuCo Junction: One other name for 2008 that I hadn't heard before is JuCo center Steven Toyloy, who led all junior college players in rebounding last year as a freshman with 13 per game at Miami-Dade. I was surprised to see that Minnesota has an offer out to him according to scout, along with West Virginia, Clemson, and Baylor - with UCONN in the mix as well. He is the 16th ranked JuCo player, but as referenced in this post, who the hell knows what that means. He sounds like a bit of a project, as his coach said, "He needs to continue to improve his footwork. His free throw shooting needs to get a little better and his overall skill development," Eisele said. "He has made great strides since high school and he is getting better day by day. He plays extremely hard and he has got a little bit of a mean streak in his game, which is always helpful with big kids" which sounds very projecty to me. apparently he's a great defender and rebounder, however.

2009
PF Royce White, Minneapolis, four stars from Scout, #32 overall from Rivals: If you're reading this, you probably already know about Royce so I'm not going to say much. I will say that I'm backing off a little from my whole "you are all idiots for saying we shouldn't recruit him anymore" stance, mainly because I was ignorant and ill-informed. I was unaware that this was White's second suspension, and I didn't know he had been a behavior problem all season. I'll trust in Tubby, but if he chooses to no longer go after Royce, I won't have a problem.

C DaShonte Riley, Detroit, #4 center by Scout, #13 overall by Rivals: Riley would absolutely be the best recruit the Gophers have gotten in a while. A 6-10 center who is a defensive monster. Averaged nine points, 12 rebounds, and 7 blocks per game as a junior. Needs to work on his offense a bit, but is a good enough player that besides the Gophers he also has offers from Florida, Georgetown, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, UCLA, and USC. If Tubby can pull Riley out of that group and get him to Minneapolis, a new era will truly have dawned at Williams Arena.

SG/SF Rodney Williams, Robbinsdale, #8 SF from Scout, #43 overall from Rivals: Williams is another guy you probably know about. He's been shooting up the charts and has offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Miami, and Purdue. Williams can flat out score, and if he qualifies academically - which my source indicates is no longer much of a concern - he would be a great signing for Minnesota.

One other interesting name out there for 2009 is Johnnie Lacy, a point guard from Milwaukee the Gophers have shown interest in, along with Wisconsin, Marquette, Cincinnati, and Tennessee. Not only is that just a sweet name, but to steal a Badger target and get him in Maroon and Gold would be a huge step in the right direction. Lacy is the #10 PG by Scout and is #88 overall by Rivals.

DaShonte Riley highlights below: