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.

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

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.

Saturday Links: Wisconsin, Kentucky, RSIII

Wisconsin good. Kentucky really bad.

** If you missed it, Kentucky lost Saturday to the University of San Diego. Not San Diego State. No, the Toreros of USD. The loss drops Billy Gillispie's squad to 5-6. The Wildcats lost two starters from a season ago when Tubby Smith led the Wildcats to a 22-11 record (9-7 in SEC play). As we all know, that wasn't good enough and some Wildcats fans labeled our basketball savior "ten-loss Tubby." John Clay reports that UK was booed as the final horn sounded.

** Meanwhile, our annoying friends to the east, Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers, demonstrated with a thrilling victory at Texas Saturday that they will be a factor in the Big Ten this season. Michael Flowers came up very large with a game-changing three and then a game-stealing steal. The Wisconsin Sports Bar says YESSSSSSSSSSSS. The win at Texas should indicate the Badgers are ready for Big Ten play. The Badgers finish the non-conference schedule with a 10-2 mark, with blemishes coming at Duke and at home against in-state rival Marquette.

** One more item to pass along to you. After a brief hiatus from action--the boy was sick--Ralph Sampson III led his Northview team to a win Friday in the Arby's Classic in Bristol, Tenn. Sampson shot 7-9 from the floor for 19 points (This is good, considering the final score was 42-29). Sampson also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked seven shots. And today, Sampson continued his strong play with 21 points, 11 boards and eight blocks in a losing effort.

As an aside, I nearly drove 5 hours to Bristol to catch this tournament. For various reasons, I decided against it but was pleased I did when I learned that Sampson missed the first game of the tournament Wednesday with bronchitis.

Saturday Links: Obsessing Over Tubby

If you haven't noticed on the right sidebar I've created a couple shirts. The one that is displayed says Tubby Ball, Est. 2007 on the front. On the back side, it says "Thank You Kentucky." I think I can speak for all Minnesota fans when I say this: We couldn't be happier you ran such a respected man and coach out of Lexington. It's your loss and our gain.

That's why it's so entertaining for me to watch some blame-Tubby-first Kentucky fans struggle to find reasons for their loss to Gardner-Webb and close call this week with Stony Brook. What are the radical portions of the UK fanbase going to say if/when North Carolina comes into Rupp Arena today and demolishes the Wildcats. Right, I already know the answer: They'll blame Tubby.

Well, at least most of the time. It seems that some UK fans have already gone to criticizing new head coach Billy Gillespie, per this Scout interview with prize freshman Patrick Patterson. Patterson, you might remember, is the 5-star diaper dandy that UK fans salivated over--literally frothing at the mouth I think--during last year's recruiting wars. They had to have Patterson. And even though it was clear Patterson was going to go to UK when Tubby was there, UK fans pointed to the hiring of Gillespie as a reason why Patterson picked UK. We'll get to recruiting in a second, but here's a telling quote from Patterson:

“People are out there saying this is the worst Kentucky basketball team in the history of Kentucky.”

Who is saying that to you?

“Fans, people around campus, when you are walking in restaurants and stuff like that. I have heard people say stuff about the Kentucky basketball team losing to Gardner-Webb and saying Kentucky hasn’t lost to a mid-major school since 2001 or something like that,” Patterson said. “I have heard people saying this is worst team or that we are not doing anything. On Facebook, they have stuff about Coach (Billy Gillispie). "

It almost makes you sad. Here's this young, talented basketball player, who is apparently bombarded with negativity everywhere he turns. In class? Criticism. On Facebook? Cheap shots at his coach.

But most of the conversations still center around Tubby. In this Lexington Herald-Leader article, Jerry Tipton sits down to talk with Dick Vitale and the ESPN announcer reiterates his criticism that a portion of the UK fanbase went too far in their desire to see Smith jettisoned.

And then the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds suggesting satirically this week that all UK travails begin and end with Tubby. Here's a taste:

You see, it's all Tubby's fault that UK is a mess right now. Through his lack of recruiting and inability to win consistently over his ten years in Lexington, Tubby almost single-handedly destroyed the once-storied legacy of Kentucky basketball.

Earlier this year, it was "Tubby's Fault!" the Cats lost to Gardner Webb. Saturday, it most likely will be "Tubby's Fault!" if the UNC Tarheels crush UK, as expected. Shockingly, new UK coach Billy Gillispie has come under relatively little scrutiny for a man in his position.

Some might view this as the fans just enjoying their honeymoon with him - but that wouldn't be right, because far too many of them are still kicking and screaming about a good man and coach who they ran out of town.

Even though that blogger was writing tongue-in-cheek, it's clear that the UK fan base is forever going to be obsessed with Tubby Smith. Adding salt to their wounds right now is the 2008 recruiting wars. A quick look at Rivals' rankings--there are others that are far more favorable to Minnesota and Tubby--and it would appear that Tubby is recruiting on par with Billy Gillespie, even though Billy Clyde has the UK tradition, facilities and Ashley Judd to fall back on. The Rivals rankings linked to above list UK as 19th in the country and Minnesota right behind at number 20. Tubby also won the first head-to-head recruiting battle when Ralph Sampson III picked Minnesota over Billy Clyde's Wildcats. Once again, Thank You Kentucky! And is there any way ya'll can become livid with Ashley Judd and send her north too?

Now, on to a few other things.

** Staying on the obsessing over Tubby/basketball recruiting topics ... the Wisconsin Rivals site Badger Blitz is beginning to worry about Tubby. Could Tubby be turning the tide in the border recruiting wars? Could Bo Ryan be on defense for once to keep his players home. That'd be a nice change, wouldn't it?

** Star Tribune men's basketball beat writer Myron Medcalf asks in this blog post whether Tubby should go to a big lineup. Medcalf suggests a lineup of Al Nolen, Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman, Jonathan Williams and Spencer Tollackson. That'd be a big lineup, and would help us on the boards. And I think that Coleman is more suited to play on the perimiter, though I worry about how he'd matchup against quicker small forwards. It could be worth a try from time-to-time, but does anyone really think Jon Williams should start?

** The Pioneer Press and Star Tribune report that Tubby benched seniors Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie during the loss to Florida State Tuesday. Tubby was not happy with their leadership, energy, intensity and lack of scoring, the reports suggest. McKenzie called the development a "reality check." And Fuller also reports that Tubby has tweaked his offense some to encourage fewer jump shots and more penetration/inside play that could help the Gophers get to the foul line--an area where they struggled against FSU.

Tubby Lands Sampson

Tubby Smith's 2008 recruiting class has just gotten a big-name boost. Ralph Sampson III, as reported by the local television media last night and today by the Pioneer Press, is going to be a Golden Gopher.

Sampson is a 6-11 225 pound center from Duluth, Ga, and picked Minnesota over Georgia Tech and Clemson, though it was reported that others were in the mix for his services as well, including Tubby's successor at Kentucky Billy Gillespie. The Gophers have myriad holes, but with the graduation of Spencer Tollackson after this season, the addition of Sampson and Colton Iverson, could give Tubby a very solid low-post prescense in the years to come.

The Pioneer Press story quoted a recruiting expert as saying that Sampson is Tubby's first "breakthrough recruit" at Minnesota. Sampson, the son of the former Virginia great, joins Iverson, JUCO forward Devron Bostick and JUCO forward Paul Carter in the 2008 class. According to hoopsline.com, per the PiPress article, Tubby's 2008 recruiting class is ranked 7th in the nation and second only in the Big Ten to Ohio State.

I was one of those Gophers fans who listened too much to the haters at Kentucky, who argued that Tubby wasn't a good recruiter. His first class at Minnesota is turning out to be top-notch.

The recruitment of Sampson was relatively quiet until earlier this year when Sampson's play began to make coaches take notice. Give Tubby a lot of credit here, he was in touch with and recruiting Sampson before many of the other big name coaches. The PiPress' Marcus Fuller picked up on that in his conversation with Sampson's AAU coach.

"If somebody recognizes you right away and wants you, that shows," Georgia Stars coach Bo Bell said. "He was very high on Tubby. Tubby saw his ability, and the kid took advantage of it."

Tubby has done a great job with the 2008 recruiting class, setting him up for a quick turnaround job at Minnesota. If he can land locals Royce White and Rodney Williams to flesh out his Class of 2009, Tubby will be well on his way to the upper echelon of the Big Ten.

Tubes Connected, Finally

Thanks to my friends at Verizon, I finally have the band of tubes connected to my new home. What a tremendous development.

So, since I still haven't seen the Minny-Purdue shootout on the BTN, I'll instead today take everyone on a little journey through the dark band of tubes. Here goes.

** My hero, Tubby Smith, did a Q&A with the BTN Wednesday and said he wants the Golden Gophers to play up-tempo. That's good news. He also talks about the origin of his nickname and said the Gophers need to improve on ball-handling from a year ago. He also said he expects Gopher fans to be patient. I think all of us will be patient this year so long as the recruiting batles go our way. And right now, that means possible commitments from Ralph Sampson III and Verdell Jones.

** Speaking of RSIII, many news outlets are reporting the Gophers are at or near the top in his recruitment. The biggest challenge at this point seems to be Georgia Tech. RSIII, as many of you know, is a center/forward who Tubby Smith has been after before his stock began to rise. Like the recruitment of coveted point guard Verdell Jones, the recruitment of RSIII could pit Tubby up against his former employers in Kentucky. The Wildcats are after both players.

** Verdell Jones is described by MidStateHoops as a "scoring guard with outstanding basketball knowledge and instincts." He is 6'5 175 from Champaign, Ill. He has received offers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Minnesota and others. Jones is a 3-star recruit according to Rivals but is also considered to be one of the top point guards stilll available for the 2008 class.

** Don Lucia's squad is ranked #2 in a preseason WCHA poll. I note this to bring to your attention my desire to bring on a contributor to write about hockey. I watch the Gophers hockey team but I've never played hockey and will be the first to admit I can't talk intelligently about the game. So, if you're interested, my email is on the right sidebar. Shoot me a note and we can discuss.

On to Gopher football. I had hoped to avoid discussing football considering I'm increasingly discouraged by our 1-3 start.

** I'll start with this tidbit from a notes section from the Detroit News. They quote Tim Brewster saying:

"We've played extremely well in the second half of all our games. We've been a 60-minute football team. I'm extremely proud of the way our kids have responded. Our kids' attitude and effort has been outstanding."

Um, really, Tim? The Gophers have been a 60-minute team? Really? That surprises me because it has seemed to me, and judging by the reports from the Purdue game, the Gophers were once again thorougly dominated in the first 30 minutes. Now, I'll say that I've been impressed with how the football team has come back in the second halves, but to say the Gophers have been a 60-minute football team is failing to notice the travails of every first half through four games.

** Thankfully, Boston isn't a hotbed for the athleticism the Gophers are trying to recruit. This Boston Herald piece absolutely slams Brewster and the Gophers. Here's a taste:

After Minnesota squandered a huge second-half lead and lost 44-41 to Texas Tech in last year’s Insight Bowl, the school’s powers that be couldn’t wait to fire veteran coach Glen Mason.

Forgotten was the fact that Mason had turned the program around during his tenure, and that the Gophers were no longer a Big Ten doormat but a team that went to a bowl every postseason.

But this year the only bowling Minny will be doing is at the campus alleys.

Despite a soft early schedule, the not-so-Golden Gophers sandwiched losses to lightweights Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic around a win over lowly Miami of Ohio. And they needed two overtimes to gain the victory. Conference play began last week with a 45-31 loss to Purdue

There was more harshness but I'll leave it at that.

** Some quick stats for fun. The Gophers are giving up almost 545 yards per game (almost 410 through the air) and almost 40 points per game.

** The Ohio State Buckeyes, who have a chance to pad their offensive stats this weekend, aren't giving Tim Brewster's squad any bulletin-board material. Quarterback Todd Boeckman said the Gophers have solid defensive players. Running back Maurice Wells added this gem: "Minnesota's a great defense." Um, OK, Maurice. Even Jim Tressel gets into the act in this AP piece.

Mole Rats And FAU's Dance Team

I'd like to start a series of random tidbits today with my new favorite blogger. His name is Ted Hutton and he blogs on Florida Atlantic football for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. I've previously stated that this little jaunt to Florida was kinda, well, weird. But I'm really beginning to like the idea of an annual trip to face the FAU Owls. I think it's fair to state that Hutton is enjoying the Minnesota game as well. He's even come up with a new nickname for our lads.

OK, since Minnesota is 1-1, they lose the right to their nickname, and are at the mercy of yours truly. I have a good friend who lives in Minnesota, and have done made two trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the far north of the state, so I hold no grudge.

But, I couldn’t overlook the resemblance between gopher and its smaller version, the naked mole rat. So, the Burrowing Birds will be taking on the Mole Rats this Saturday at Dolphin Stadium.

Mole Rats. That's cool. Here's a Mole Rat in case anyone hadn't seen one before:

Attractive son of a bitch, isn't it?

While I found the nickname kinda funny, it was something else that has drawn me to Hutton's writing. Coverage of the Dance Team! In two separate Hutton posts on the Gophers, he's kindly included some eye-candy to offset the Mole Rat imagery. Here's a sampling:

Ahh, if only Chip Scoggins could be so kind to use his access to the Gophers to produce such, um, meaningful coverage.

Now on to less eye-pleasing matters.

** This letter to the editor from the Rochester Post-Bulletin makes a succinct point: "Why would a blue-chip recruit stay here to play? Both Oklahoma schools are televised in Minnesota but not the Gophers?" Oh, that darned BTN. Working great so far isn't it?

** Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber has been named Big Ten co-Big Ten offensive player of the week. Congratulations are in order for Weber, who struggled in his first half of college football but has recovered to post six consecutive quarters of solid football. This Star Tribune article tells us that Weber leads the Big Ten in total offense through two weeks. In other Weber/Star Tribune news, curmudgeony columnist Sid Hartman has compared Weber to Fran Tarkenton. Um, sure, Sid. I like the Weber kid and all too, but let's not go suggesting Weber is a future Hall of Famer. Here's Sid:

"Yes, I'll be ridiculed for this comparison. I am not saying that Weber is close to Tarkenton yet, or ever will be. But on Saturday, in his second college start, Weber rushed 16 times for 97 yards and one touchdown and completed 26 of 40 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, including two to sophomore Eric Decker, who also has a great future in football. Like Tarkenton, Weber can run the ball, and he is running a tough offense."

Being fast and on a Minnesota team doesn't mean that Weber is the next Tarkenton. Amazingly, Sid goes on to compare Weber to Vince Young. You're right, Sid, you deserve to be ridiculued for that.

** Week three of Brewster-ball brings more changes to the depth chart. Thankfully, Jason Giannini will no longer be kicking field goals. His three missed chances last week earned a demotion. And senior safety Duron Cooley, who was thorougly embarrassed on a couple occassions last week will be replaced in the starting lineup by true freshman Curtis Thomas. That means 13 freshman are now playing in our secondary.

** I know most Gopher fans probably can't stand Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune. But I happen to believe that, lately at least, Reusse is telling it like it is. Last week he essentially told Brewster to shut up and coach. This week, Reusse tells Brewster to win a meaningful game before yapping. Like last week, I agree. Here's Reusse on Brewster dedicating Saturday's win to the state of Minnesota:

That's it? After Brewster's nine months of blowing hard, what the citizens and the diligent football coaches of this great state have dedicated to them is a triple-overtime, official-assisted victory over a MAC team?

Mr. Brewster, in the name of all Minnesotans blessed with reason, and particularly for all the high school coaches who work endless hours for short money, I reject this dedication.

We've endured Gopher Nation, Rose Bowl, blah, blah, blah, and we certainly deserve more than our state university's 22nd victory in 26 all-time games against the MAC.

Listen, coach, if you're going to dedicate a victory to me, it has to be at least a Big Ten victory, and not against Northwestern or Indiana.

** While most of the attention lately has been focused on Brewster's team, Minnesota's other new coach has been busy on the recruiting trail. Last week, Ralph Sampson III, who is 7'4" and growing, joined South Dakota big man Colton Iverson on a tour of campus. Both, according to separate Rivals accounts (Iverson, Sampson), enjoyed their visits. Iverson's father told Rivals he could be making a decision within weeks and Sampson spoke glowingly of the campus, Tubby Smith and the players. And this weekend two JUCO athletes will be making visits to campus, according to Rivals. Devron Bostick, a 6'5 wing from Southwestern Illinois Community College, will visit along with Orlando Allen, a 6-10 big man from Paris Junior College in Paris, Tx. Allen would certainly be a project type. At 285 pounds, the big man averaged under 2 points per game and under 3 reboudns per game as a freshman. He's received offers already from the Gophers, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Bowling Green.

** I love Florida Atlantic week.

Gophers In Sampson's Top 3

Three-star Rivals center Ralph Sampson III told Hoopmasters that Minnesota is in his top three.

As for Ralph Sampson, the 6-foot-11 220-pound post from Duluth, GA
Northview, he told us his early leaders are Minnesota, Georgia Tech and Georgia,
but we expect the list to grow.

Sampson, son of the former Virginia great, has been a target of Orlando Tubby Smith's for some time. For a period, only the Gophers and Yellow Jackets were after the Georgia prospect. But now others are on the trail.

As I've said before, it's a good sign that Tubby was following Sampson before everyone else. And it's encouraging that out of his current top three, Minnesota is the only out-of-state school on that list. It's a coup for Minnesota to be mentioned in this conversation.

We've been following Tubby's recruitment of Sampson all summer, and are pleased to see Sampson has interest in coming to the U.

Random Tidbits Of Varying Importance

Subjects: That weird band of tubes called the Internet, Pitt's new logo, Draymond Green, Ralph Sampson III and asssorted other pleasantries.

** College football coaches apparently don't like the intricate and confusing Internet thing. Some of us read in Patrick Reusse's recent column that Coach Tim Brewster says he doesn't read the Internet. But Coach Brew isn't the only one. Check out The Feed, which has your up-to-date list of coaches who are distancing themselves from the band of tubes. Bobby Bowden and Joe Tiller make appearances. And Bob Stoops has gotten involved in an illegal Internet pyrarmid scheme. Oops! Maybe it is best to stay away. You never know what you might get in the crazy, unpredictable world of the Internet.

** GopherNation has post #2 up of an eight part serieson the new Golden Gopher era. This chapter discusses what to expect from Coach Brewster and how he should be graded. I agree with the blog's assessment that Brewster will be judged on his recruiting first and that any on-field setbacks will be ultimately blamed on 'Mason's players.' Money line:

This is his honeymoon season. If he overachieves to a 9-3 or 8-4 record then they'll start erecting a bronze statue to be ready in 2009 (Brewster Field at TCF Stadium). If he stumbles by losing to one of their less talented non-conference foes or only win 1 or 2 Big Ten games then it is because he has Mason's recruits. I can already see Sid explaining that you can't run the spread offense with Mason's "pound the rock" kids.

I completely agree. Gopher fans have been wowed by Brewster, and may likely give him a pass if he puts out a Mason-like mediocre season, if he delivers in the recruiting wars.

** Minnesota basketball recruit Draymond Green, who verbally committed to Tubby Smith at Kentucky but withdrew when the coach headed north, isn't sure what to make of UK's interest at this point. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Green communicates a little with UK but not enough to gauge their interest. The Saginaw, Mich. power forward is making unofficial visits to Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan in the coming weeks/days. Green is one of many potential 2008 recruits who would make turning around Minnesota basketball a reality.

** Another recruit many Gopher fans would like to see suit up at The Barn in 2008 is Ralph Sampson III. Tubby Smith has been in contact with Sampson, who, along with his younger brother Robert, were together at a basketball camp in Charlottesville, Va. this week. A local NBC affiliate has video here of the camp, focusing on the Sampson brothers and their father, the famous UVA alum.

The Charlottesville Daily Progress was also on hand for the camp. It remains to be seen, the paper reports, whether Dave Leitao's Virginia Cavilliers will ask the younger Sampsons to follow in their father's footsteps.

Whether that’s enough to attract an offer from Virginia isn’t clear, but it would be welcome from Ralph III, who said that the notion of following in his father’s rather large footsteps doesn’t bother him one bit.

“I have interest in any school recruiting me at this point,” Ralph III said. “The door’s wide open right now. I’m trying to gather information to see who’s interested in me then make a well-informed decision later on.”

He said he is looking for a good academic school that has a competitive basketball program, that has a family-like atmosphere, so that he can get the full college experience.

With that criteria, the Gophers would seem to have a good shot. Tubby's always been praised for a family-like atmosphere and the U is a good academic school. At this point, Minnesota and Georgia Tech are the highest profile schools who have offered Ralph III.

** The Pitt Panthers have a new logo apparently. The most apt description of the logo comes from Penn State's Black Shoe Diaries: "it kind of looks like a rabid dog crossed with a ticked off cat." The logo is pictued above. Cute little Cujo isn't it?

** I'm trying not to talk politics here even though it's the day job .... but .... this video on Hillary Clinton's Web site is great, if you are a fan of The Sopranos. Just skip past the registration page to get to the video.

Countering Tubby's Buddy

A few posts down, I gave frequent Gopherhole.com commenter "Friend of Tubby" considerable space to convince readers that Tubby Smith is the answer Gopher fans have been waiting for.

I was shocked when the news arrived that Joel Maturi had hired Tubby Smith. For the first time in probably 10 years, my interest in Gophers basketball rose. During that decade, Dan Monson took a once proud progam and turned it into a laughingstock. So, Is Tubby the answer?

I won't fight with the statistics that "FOT" rattles off. And I won't fall into the trap of believing everything some rabid Kentucky fans say to slight their former coach. But I will make a few points, which highlight my reservations with the hire.

** First, this is likely Tubby Smith's last job, unless he's planning to use this gig as a jumping off point for another big-time program. But it would seem Tubby is tired of the spotlight and could get comfortable in Minnesota. So, how long does he want to stick around? At 55, turning 56 on June 30, it might be a stretch to think Tubby will be around 10 years. In my opinion, it will take him at least three years to change the direction of the Gophers program. Does he have the stamina? He's won his national title. Does the fire still burn? Does he have the energy for another rebuilding project?

** Recruiting: The one area where I think Kentucky fans have a legitmate point. But it's not as if Tubby Smith was landing Dan Monson-like recruiting classes. So, for us, recruiting should improve. But just a few months in, one of the knocks on Tubby in Kentucky may be showing up in Minnesota.

Let's take Stan Simpson as an example. In a Rivals.com article, it states that Simpson, as of June 7, was only starting to hear from Minnesota. The article states: "Simpson is just now starting to hear from the Gophers staff who has only been together for a couple of months." Maybe that was just a throw away line that didn't mean anything. But it tells me that the Gophers were late in talking to Simpson. This is the #24 power forward in the country, and a top 100 recruit. But it took Tubby's staff two months to start knocking on his door/text messaging him.

That anecdote by itself means little. But the one point Kentucky detractors make that I buy is that Tubby's passion isn't recruiting. For balance, I should point out that Tubby was on the Ralph Sampson bandwagon before the rest of the country. According to this Rivals.com article on Sampson, the Gophers and Tubby, along with Georgia Tech, were after Sampson before the rest of the country. Now, according to Rivals, Sampson's stock is rising. Tubby was there first. He needs to bring the product home.

This section on recruitment goes to show that Gopher fans shouldn't completely dismiss what Tubby's Kentucky detractors said about his recruiting abilities. At the same time, at the very least, we should see a better caliber player coming to Minnesota. Only time will tell whether Tubby has the stamina and desire to get the best of the best year after year.

** Gophers football coach Tim Brewster has wowed Gopher Nation with his enthusiasm. We didn't need a "Rah, Rah, Ski U Mah" from Tubby to excited about his hire. He's quoted as saying he wants to be here and feels wanted in Minnesota. As Minnesota fans, we wanted Tubby. But does he really want to be in marron and gold? Tubby's decision to come to Minnesota, in my opinion, was made abrubtly as a way to escape Kentucky.

I can't argue with the name value Tubby brings. But would the men's basketball program be better off with someone whose reason for coming here was to win first, not escape a hotstile situation?

In the end, I'm completely excited about Tubby. He's a class-act, and is well-respected throughout the game. And I beleve the program will be much better off as a result of his hire. But, was hiring an aging coach who wanted out of Kentucky more than he wanted to be at the U the best we could have done? You tell me. Clearly, I'm somewhat on the fence.

This site has been Tubby-centric the past week, culminating with a Chubby 4 Tubby conversation yesterday. In the next couple days, I'll review the camp Tim Brewster held this week for high schoolers, and continue my series on new assistant coaches with a look at defensive coordinator Everett Withers.

Tubby On The Trail

Tubby Smith may not get all of the recruits he is targeting, but thank goodness he is aiming high.

We've already learned he is pursuing a basketball legend's son in Ralph Sampson III. We know he's after Draymond Green, even though the rumors that Tubby would offer his high school coach a job haven't materialized. Both are class of 2008 prospects. Sampson is ranked as just a 3-star forward/center by Rivals, though having a Ralph Sampson on your side can't really hurt. Green is a 4-star power forward, who had previously committed to Tubby at Kentucky.

And it's been widely reported that Tubby is getting to know the two best--unsigned--local recruits for the class of 2009. One of them, Royce White, a small forward, is a five-star, top-40 player in the class of 2009, according to Rivals. The other, Rodney Williams, is a 6-5, 4-star standout.

Now, according to Gopher Illustrated (subscription), Tubby is on the trail of Stan Simpson (pictured above), a 4-star, top 100 power forward prospect being recruited by Georgia Tech, Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisville and others. Simpson is a 6-8, 220 pound big man from Chicago.

I had concerns that Tubby wouldn't have the drive to recruit as hard as he'll need to in order to right the Gophers' ship. But it seems he is proving me wrong. Now the test will be if he can convince stars like Green, Simpson and a player with a pedigree like Sampson to come to the Twin Cities.