Keeping Tabs: Devoe Dominating

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

Canadian super prep Devoe Joseph (pictured) put up a team-high 27 points Monday night for his Pickering High Trojans, leading them to a 94-48 throttling of their opponent in the first round of the provincial boys high school playoffs.

Prior to the first tip, the Toronto Sun took a look at what to expect in the Ontario high school tournament. Our boy Devoe was prominently featured. Here's a snippet.

Pickering is led by phenom senior Devoe Joseph, a combo guard who received attention from major U.S. Division 1 schools. He saw visits by coaches from Virginia Tech, Texas, Vanderbilt, Illinois, St. John's, Kansas and USC before accepting a full scholarship to play for the University of Minnesota this fall.

While Pickering doesn't keep official stats for its games, Gordensky estimates Joseph puts up 25 points, six or seven assists and a couple of steals per contest. He lit up d'Youville for a season-high 42 points on Dec. 14.

"He is incredibly athletic and he has unlimited (shooting) range," said Gordensky of the 6-foot-3 Joseph. "He also runs the point for us sometimes because he is such a smart player."

The Gophers are going to need someone next season to pick up some of the scoring slack. With Dan Coleman, Spencer Tollackson and Lawrence McKenzie moving on, Joseph will be a key newcomer when it comes to filling the basket. If the Gophers sign another point guard, I expect Devoe to play a lot of shooting guard. If not, expect Al Nolen and Devoe to share time at the point similar to how McKenzie and Nolen do now.

Devron Bostick: Quite the accomplishment for this young man. For the second consecutive season, Bostsick has been named the Great Rivers Athletic Conference and Region 24 tournament player of the year. This Belleville News Democrat article suggests that Bostick persevered this season despite some up and down play. Here's a snippet:

Bostick is averaging 18 points for a Blue Storm team that is 26-4 and seeded first in the Region 24 Tournament.

"There was a time a few weeks ago when I didn't think he was going to do anything because Devron wasn't playing well and he was having a few problems. We even benched him for a half in two of our games," Blue Storm coach Jay Harrington said. "I'm really proud that he was able to get through that tough time and finish as strong as he has."

Bostick, who will attend the University of Minnesota next fall, enjoyed his stellar sophomore season despite being heavily guarded.

"It's been a different season because every game he's been a marked man. He's been the guy teams have tried to stop," Harrington said of Bostick. "He's been beaten on, pushed and shoved all year and even though its been difficult for him, I think he's become more comfortable with the fact that he's been a decoy.

"Sometimes when you are the one people are trying to stop, you have to learn to let your teammates take charge. Devron has done that."

It sounds like a year of maturation for Bostick. It should bode well for him when he arrives in Minnesota that he's learned how to deal with ups and downs and tough, physical play. If he's a potential NBA player as has been reported, he'll get significant attention from superior defenders once he arrives in the Big Ten.

Ralph Sampson III: The Duluth, GA product had 18 points, but his Northview team couldn't upend the heavily favored team from Norcross, the two time state champions, in a state quarterfinal last weekend. According tot he Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sampson came into the game averaging seven blocks per contest but tallied just one in the season-ending loss.

Verdell Jones: According to a thread on an Illini message board, Tubby Smith made the trip to Illinois recently to (presumably) catch point guard Verdell Jones in action. At this point, Jones is not part of the five-player class that will suit up next season, but Tubby is still looking at a handful of players (a couple point guards and a big man) for the incoming class. The Gophers seem to be in the driver's seat for Jones' services. But he also has basketball heavyweights Kentucky and Tennessee after him. Jones is a 3-star, 6'4" point guard who is said to have good ball handling skills, vision, and a good set shot from the outside. Jones' value has went up in part because there is a dearth of point guard talent left unsigned at this point. For a couple reasons--Minnesota's own point guard issues and just to steal a recruit from Kentucky is fun--it'd be great to get Jones to sign on.

Keeping Tabs: RSIII Leads HS Team To Quarters

Ralph Sampson III, the center piece of Tubby Smith's incoming recruiting class, led his Northview, GA high school basketball team Tuesday to an upset win over one of the four #1 seeds in the AAAAA Georgia High School Basketball Tournament.

Chris Monter at Scout.com mentions this development here. The AAAAA bracket can be found here. Sampson will lead his Northview teammates on Friday in the quarterfinals against Norcross, a team that is ranked 10th nationally by USA Today. Norcross is the two-time defending AAAAA boys champion in Georgia and are led by Wake Forest signee Al Farouq Aminu.

I haven't been able to find a full boxscore from this game, but the Marietta Daily Journal has a write-up that can be found here. The writer states that Sampson had seven blocks and 11 points.

Also, it should be noted that this is at least Sampson's second game since Jim Souhan reported--and I then relayed--that RSIII's high school career had ended.

Keeping Tabs: Bostick's Future, Faber Likes The Barn

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

Over the years, Minnesota has been spoiled by top notch junior college transfers. Bobby Jackson jacked up the tempo, intensity and his socks en route to one of the most enjoyable seasons that never happened in Minnesota men's basketball history. Vincent Grier, with his somewhat funky looking left handed jump shot, was perhaps the one bright spot in Dan Monson's tenure.

With two JUCO transfers coming in this fall, it's understandable that Minnesota fans would have high expectations for Devron Bostick (will be a junior) and Paul Carter (will be a sophomore).

Down with Goldy took up this topic in a recent post, and noted that Bostick is the #4 rated JUCO in the nation according to Rivals. That's great, right? Maybe, maybe not as Down with Goldy reports here. The bloggers findings were mixed, when looking back at players similarly positioned to Bostick in recent years. He concludes: "He should be anywhere from a rotation double-digit minutes type guy to a leading scorer type. Hopefully, leading scorer type."

Bostick is a 6'5", 215 pound small forward type who has traditionally been able to score at the high school and JUCO levels. The combination of athleticism and scoring at the small forward spot has been an issue for this year's Gophers. Damian Johnson brings the athleticism when he's playing the 3-spot, but not the scoring punch. Jamal Abu-Shamala and Blake Hoffarber do exactly the opposite.

** Following up on a recent post indicating the Gophers are interested in a third big man for the incoming class, three-star center Krystopher Faber indicates the Gophers are his top school.

Prior to the season Faber visited Northern Illinois and Minnesota. St. John's and UCLA have since joined his school list, but Minnesota is at the top of the list."Minnesota is my top school," said Faber. "I really like the coaching staff and the gym. The Barn is amazing, and I loved the atmosphere."

He really likes The Barn?!? Here I thought the kids don't like old school environments. I digress.

Faber is a relatively thick big man, standing at 6-11, 245 pounds. Reports indicate Faber's play has improved over the past season, and, according to Rivals, he finished with nice averages of 16 points and 17 reboudns per game. Because Ralph Sampson III would appear to be more of a finesse inside player, adding a prototypical banger to the interior would seem like a good play. Faber is getting ready to take an unofficial visit to UCLA and is contemplating a similar visit to St. John's. If Faber is a priority for Tubby Smith--we also know Tubby is still in search of another point guard--it would seems Minnesota's competition will come from Faber's in state school UCLA.

** Late last week I referenced Jim Souhan's well-written feature on Ralph Sampson III. In praising the article, I noted that RSIII had played his final high school basketball game. Souhan wrote something similar in the article I referenced. Well, let this stand as a correction, because RSIII's Northview team made its first-ever state tournament appearance on Saturday, and the Minnesota signee led his team to a 64-58 victory. Sampson filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks. In this Atlanta Journal Constitution article, Sampson's coach is quoted as saying our future center was double and triple teamed. Also quoted was the coach of the team Sampson helped to defeat. He called Sampson "a force."

According to Scout, Northview will face Marietta on Friday in the second roud of the playoffs. This Scout link also has a game-by-game breakdown of Sampson's impressive output this season. By my count, Sampson has recored six triple-doubles, and been damn close to a handful of others.

Random Stuff: Bo Ryan Snags A Minnesota Recruit...

... For his 2009 class. But at least the recruit wasn't named Royce White. Instead, Ryan received a verbal commitment from Mike Bruesewitz, a 6'7 forward from Henry Sibley High School. According to The Capital Times, Bruesewitz had offers from Minnesota, Purdue, Davidson, Washington State, Iowa, Valparasio and Montana.

Bruesewitz is a three-star Rivals prospect. Without knowing how actively Tubby Smith was recruiting Buresewitz, it's hard to really work up a lather about this. It'd be nice if Bo Ryan never signed a Minnesota kid again, but that's just not going to happen. But Tubby's 2009 class will be defined by landing or losing Royce White.

That reminds me. If you like following Minnesota high school hoops, a good blog to check out is TCHoops. The blogger gives his observations after watching Royce and DeLaSalle face off against Brooklyn Center.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Names are emerging in the sweepstakes to replace Everett Withers. The STrib's Chip Scoggins mentioned University of Louisville Cardinals Linebackers Coach Ted Roof came into Minneapolis to interview for the position Tuesday. Roof only signed on with the Cardinals a month or so ago, after an understandably rough stint as the head man at Duke. Such is the unfortunate nature of college coaching. The Louisville Courier-Journal picks up on Roof's interest in Minnesota in a blog post here.

Here is a bio of Roof from his days at Duke.

Scoggins had previously mentioned former Nebraska coordinator Kevin Cosgrove could be a candidate, but now Scoggins says that doesn't appear likely.

Other names that have been mentioned are Tim Tibesar, Kansas State's Defensive Coordinator. Tibesar is a St. Paul native. Rivals mentions Tibesar, as well as UCLA DC DeWayne Walker, a former Gopher, as possibilities. But the consensus at this point is Roof is the favorite.

KEEPING TABS: Devron Bostick's highly ranked SWIC Blue Storm are in a bit of a free fall. After sporting a 23-1 record just one week ago, the Blue Storm lost fot he third straight outing Monday. But it wasn't because Bostick didn't show up. He led the Blue Storm with 24 points.

COMING UP: The Gophers face Michigan tomorrow at Williams Arena during the first leg of a two game homestand that needs to turn into two wins. I'm not going to preview the Michigan game because it's Michigan, and despite the fact that they just upset Ohio State, the Gophers trounced the Wolverines a few weeks back in Ann Arbor and really ought to be able to do the same Thursday night.

Keeping Tabs: RSIII's HS Career Ends; Class Could Grow

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

I know many online pundits aren't fans of the Star Tribune's Jim Souhan. I am, and his feature on Ralph Sampson III today is the latest reason why.

Souhan made the trip to Georgia for the state's high school playoffs and walked us through Sampson's last game as a high school basketball player but also weaves in the up and down life story of RSIII's father, the legendary Ralph Sampson.

The younger Sampson fouled out of the state playoff game, and despite a bum knee, finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, nine blocks and three assists.

But be sure to check out Souhan's feature. Here's a snippet:

Ralph III is folded onto a narrow wooden bench in an empty locker room, alongside his brother and Bombard. He's friendly and soft-spoken. His mother says he's an "A-B" student who was impressed by Minnesota's academics as well as by Smith.

Sampson chose Minnesota over Kentucky, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

"Coach Smith was what attracted my attention to Minnesota," Sampson says. "They were also the first school to offer me a scholarship."

The brothers are obviously close. They joke about their 1-on-1 games and the collateral damage of dunking at home.

"Robert was outside, trying to practice dunking, and he was hanging on the rim, which loosened it," Ralph III said. "I was going to go out there and show him how to do it, and when I went up and dunked it, I pulled the whole basket off the side of the house."

Ralph III is asked what his goal is for his Minnesota career. "My No. 1 goal," he says, "is to win a national championship."

I like the sound of that, RSIII.

Sampson finished his senior year averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks per game. Nice line.

** The PiPress' Marcus Fuller continues to report via his blog here and here that the Gophers are still pursuing two or three other players for next year's class. The current targets are point guards Verdell Jones, Jorge Gutierrez, and big man Krys Faber. Here's a mini PJS scouting report on each:

Verdell Jones is a 6'4 point guard from Illinois that is weighing offers from Minnesota, Kentucky and Tennessee. According to Rivals, Jones has "high" interest in each school. This would be the second recruit--Sampson being the other--that had his decision boil down to Minnesota and Kentucky, effectively pitting Tubby Smith against Billy Gillispie in a recuriting war. Jones is a Rivals 3-star prospect, but his value is increasing because he could be the most talented point guard who is still uncommitted. ESPN.com Insider, which indicates Minnesota is Jones' #1 right now, said the following about the guard:

"He really knows how to score in various ways; a prolific scoring guard. He is a deep outside shooter, excellent scoring shot from anywhere on the court and gets to the rim at will. He's quick, but needs a lot of strength; weak up top. He is not a great defender but is capable of playing defense but loves offense a lot more. More of a 2 guard than point; not a playmaker; looks to score."

Jorge Gutierrez, a native of Mexico, might be a new name for most of you. The long-haired 6'2, 175 pound combo guard from Henderson, NV, has seen his value rise over the last weeks due to strong play, and also because of the aforementioned lack of quality point guards remaining on the market. Unlike Jones, the Gophers haven't offered Gutierrez, but he could be a Plan B if Jones doesn't sign on. According to ESPN.com Insider, Guttierez is more of a pass-first kind of point guard.

"He prefers to involve his teammates over scoring the ball himself, though he indeed has the ability to score. He easily finishes around the rim, using his either hand, though he shoots jumpers as a righty. He rebounds the ball well for a player of his height and seems to make the right plays at the right times. He also plays defense well and typically matches up with the opposing teams best perimeter player"

Krys Faber is a name that has been bouncing around Minnesota recriuting boards for awhile. A 6'9 center from Los Angeles, Faber reportedly visited Minnesota but decided to wait until April to make a decision. He's also received ineterst from programs like USC, Connecticut, Washington State and St. Johns. Faber would help give the Gophers depth in the already thin frontcourt. And with the graduations of Tollackson and Coleman, the Gophers need all the height and girth they can acquire. RSIII and Colten Iverson are two key big men signees, but Faber would help provide the depth the Gophers don't have right now. ESPN.com Insider indicates Faber's current #1 is Minnesota.

"Faber is one of the more promising big men that have yet to sign a Division I letter of intent. He has a high-major frame with broad shoulders, long arms, and huge hands. This lefty catches everything thrown into his vicinity and generally makes savvy-type decisions, despite being double and triple-teamed throughout each and every game. ... Overall, Faber projects to being a solid "five" at the next level, and with proper coaching and work ethic he should be a solid contributor by the time he's a sophomore in college."

** Meanwhile, my friend Tom at Gopher Nation put together a thorough look at Sampson, Devron Bostick and Paul Carter last week. Instead of rewriting that on PJS, I'll gladly send you to Gopher Nation to check out his fine work.

** Grandpa Sid Hartman also did his version of a Keeping Tabs article last week. His piece which was short on substance on the incoming crop, suggested that next year's team could well struggle more than the current Gophers led by seniors Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson. Sid wrote: "My guess is that it will take another recruiting class after next year's before the new coach will be competing for Big Ten titles and a position in the NCAA tournament."

That could well be true, that it will take two years of quality recruiting to get the Gophers into the upper echelon of the Big Ten. But Sid also posits that it takes seniors and experience to win in college basketball today. I don't think that's the case any longer. While senior leadership once ruled the day in college hoops, today's winners are typicllay the team's with the best talent, nevermind the experience factor. Look at Matt Painter's Boilermakers, occasionally called the Baby Boilers. Experienced they are not. Look at Thad Matta's young, stud-laden squad from a season ago. The Gophers don't have a Greg Oden, Eric Gordon or Carmello Anthony type coming in next season, but there is no reason a more talented group of freshman can't outperform a trio of seniors who have been short on talent and leadership.

Keeping Tabs On The Future: RSIII Making Waves

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

There is no player I'm more excited about than Ralph Sampson III. And I don't even think it's because of his name. Last week, per this Scout note, RSIII had two triple-doubles to give him five games this season where he's dominated the stat sheet in that manner. In the two games, both wins, Sampson 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots and 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Other reports continue to indicate that Sampson is becoming more aggressive offensively. And his ability to thorughly own the paint certainly bodes well for his tenure at Minnesota. Along with Damian Johnson's length, we could see a very nice shot-blocking tandem for the next two years.

But Sampson last week also received the type of attention our local periodicals shower on players like Michael Floyd or Seantrel Henderson. The Atlanta Journal-Counsitution profiled Sampson in this piece titled "A quiet force inside." It's a very interesting read, and the writer quites Sampson as saying one reason he came to Minnesota was because he'd have an opportunity to bulild something with Tubby, but also because at schools like Georgia Tech or Clemson he'd have to work his way into a spot. The article also discusses how playing with two Wake Forest recruits on an AAU team helped Sampson learn to be assertive on the floor.

** We will learn a little about Devoe Joseph this weekend when his Pickering High team plays host to some of the best teams in Canada this weekend. We'll try and follow Devoe's progress.

** One that got away: Jackson, Miss., product Scottie Haralson, a 6-4 shooting guard has decided to attend Connecticut. Haralson is the same type of player that Devoe Joseph is, so Haralson likely had to look outside of Minnesota after the Canadian product picked Tubby and the Gophers.

** Devron Bostick (pictured) led a "sluggish" SWIC Blue Storm team with 22 points last weekend. Earlier in the week, Bostick put up 18 points during a win when Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie was watching from the crowd. Bostick's Blue Storm team is ranked fifth in the latest NJCAA Division I poll.

** It's difficult at times to tell what we are getting with Colton Iverson. My guess would be he might be more of a work in progress. But with the departures of Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson, Iverson will likely be forced into significant action as a freshman. After scoring just five points and seeing his team held to just 28 points last Thursday, Iverson responded the next night with 23 points and nine rebouds to help his team upset a highly ranked team from Sioux Falls. Iverson was 9-11 from the floor and 5-7 from the stripe. I think that should be considered a good bounceback night.

Keeping Tabs On The Future: Devoe TV Interview

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

Four-star Minnesota recruit Devoe Joseph from Pickering, Ontario is the subject of this two-minute television sports news segment. In the segment, Joseph says he believes he'll be able to contribute right away if he's playing up to the coaching staff's expectations. The news clip can be viewed here.

The clip also has a few highlights of Devoe in action.

But perhaps the most entertaining portion of the clip is near the end when Devoe emphatically slams the ball on a breakaway and is subsequently given a technical foul. Devoe throws his hands in the air at the refs. Love it. Make us proud, Devoe.

Keeping Tabs On The Future

PJS Note: Periodically over the remainder of the basketball season I will post updates of Tubby Smith's incoming five-man 2008 class. The group has been ranked as high as 10th nationally and it is part of the hopefully golden future of Minnesota basketball.

Devron Bostick: The junior college guard led his Southwestern Illinois College Blue Storm on a 12-point second half comeback last Wednesday, making a Blake Hoffarber-like five three pointers down the stretch to finish with 25 points. Bostick scored just 10 points in a Saturday matinee. Bostick's Blue Storm are 14-1, but in that lone loss, Bostick played an unfortunate roll. From this Jan. 6 Belleview News Democrat article: "Tied at 70, SWIC (12-1) had a chance to take the lead with 20 seconds, left but sophomore Devron Bostick missed two free throws."

Devoe Joseph: Pickings are slim in terms of clips for Joseph's highlights. But this Windsor Star feature on Joseph from December is highly encouraging. After touting Devoe's potential, the paper quotes a coach who is preparing to play his Pickering Trojans.

St. Anne coach Larry Loebach joked he'll play a couple of extra defenders and hope the refs don't notice.

"We are also having a special school mass with our team as the main theme. Hopefully, that will help us as well," he said.

Seriously, Loebach said the Saints' Mackenzie Devin gets the dubious honour of shadowing Joseph whenever his team is not employing a matchup zone.

Colton Iverson: The 6'8"-6'10" (it varies depending on who you read) senior from Yankton, SD had a double-double during a victory this weekend over a highly ranked (by South Dakota standards) Brandon Valley team. This article tells us Iverson had 19 points and 14 rebounds. And this piece, covering the same game, tells us Iverson had 19 points, 11 reboudns and five blocks. Either way, from tracking Iverson at during the course of the year, this performance last weekend seems to be his best of the year. Having not seen the Bucks play, I get the sense that Iverson is a one-man show. His Yankton high school team is, as of Saturday, 4-4.

Paul Carter: After missing a handful of games due to injury, Missouri State University-West Plains freshman Paul Carter has seen his playing time go up and down. In his last four games (all boxscores are available via this link) Carter has played 16, 17, 17 and 30 minutes. There is no word on why his playing time has dwindled. In his most recent outing, Carter put up 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots and shot 4-5 from the free throw line and 1-2 from three point land. Aside from the injury, Carter's floor time seems to be limited at times by a tendency to get himself in foul trouble. Despite missing four games, Carter easily leads the Grizzlies with 41 personal fouls. On the brigher side, Carter also easily leads the Grizzlies in reounding. Also standing out from this season stat sheet is his relatively low shooting percentage (38 percent) and three point percentage (28 percent)

And finally, the Pioneer Press' Charley Walters tells us that Tubby Smith has no plans to redshirt Sampson or Iverson. This should have been obvious because of the pending graudations of Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson. That leaves the Gophers with only two returning big men in Damian Johnson and Jonathan Williams.

** I'll have more on these four youngsters and RSIII in weeks to come.