HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
Not much news on Traore and Tadjo out there. Both said a return to Iowa was a possibility. Would be huge.
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Not Much Noise About Traore or Tadjo
- Thread starter HawkeyeHypnosis
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HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
not sure how many others have a return as a possibility.
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Zstatman
Well-Known Member
For S&Gs I decided to check up on the guys that we thought were coming and and decommited:
Joshua Lewis - committed to Louisiana, the one in Lafayette
Desmon Briscoe - visiting Kent St as I type this, has a visit to College of Charleston scheduled and may visit Duquesne
Chris Tadjo - nothing listed but says return to Iowa possible
Johnson-Arigu - no news
Badara Diakite - no news
Joshua Lewis - committed to Louisiana, the one in Lafayette
Desmon Briscoe - visiting Kent St as I type this, has a visit to College of Charleston scheduled and may visit Duquesne
Chris Tadjo - nothing listed but says return to Iowa possible
Johnson-Arigu - no news
Badara Diakite - no news
HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
This exactly. There were flashes last year. Could tell he was trying to do too much at times and hadn’t adjusted fully. Felt he was going too fast, trying to force things instead of letting things come to him. But he could be real good.
If so, I think that's unfortunate. If coached up, seemed to me that he has the skill set. Perhaps not the mindset Coach is looking for.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
Johnson-Arigu has signed with St Thomas of the Summit league.
St Thomas is somewhere in Minnesota, his home state.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Traore would be a good depth guy and is probably about as good as Ben can find on the open market right now as at a very cheap price point. We need at least one more post player, probably two.
trj
Well-Known Member
Both are projects, but it is obvious that Tadjo is the bigger project. You see the raw athleticism in both guys, but it is 2025…you need ready made dudes. You only got room for about two or three guys to develop each year.
In the past, these guys would be an Olaseni or a Basabe type, and you would /could wait until year two or three for them to figure it out. Now, you need grown men who can play right away.
In the past, these guys would be an Olaseni or a Basabe type, and you would /could wait until year two or three for them to figure it out. Now, you need grown men who can play right away.
Gander Hawk
Well-Known Member
Tadjo should have all four years of eligibility left if I'm not mistaken. He didn't sound very confident in his early interviews, he wanted to get adjusted before playing. I'd love to see Ben keep him around.
I think I would too. He can bang around down there. Ben probably will make him sweat it out to the very end while he tries filling out the roster. I don't have a gut feeling one way or the other what'll happen. But if he'd like to come back I'd like to see it happen.
BigD
Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see how Ben does with what he has to work with. Surely his talent has picked up a notch over what he now has over the team he had this past season. He pretty much brought most of the Drake team with him minus the player who went with Drake's last coach to Indiana.
Now there will be those who point out the obvious in that Drake Players were not playing in the Big Ten. They did beat a higher seed in Missouri but winning one game is not the same as playing that level of competition every game once you're into the conference part of your schedule.
By all reports Ben has the know how as much as any college basketball coach out there. Some of the most successful coaches out there have reached out to Ben for advice. That's amazing when you think about it. So what it will come down to is recruiting the players that can get it done. Things aren't the same anymore with the NIL as the young guys are pursuing the money instead of family tradition and loyalty to the school. The way things are today can anyone really blame them? Did anyone ever think they would see what happened at Iowa happen at Indiana in college basketball? So it's not just an Iowa thing, it's a college basketball thing.
I see Minnesota just picked up a player after their 6' 11' center just entered the portal yesterday. Hmmmm 6"11" under the basket wouldn't be a bad thing. The link is about the guy Minnesota just got from Davison, but his acquisition doesn't sound life changing for the gophers.
I am guessing Drake fan's and UNI fans aren't real happy with Ben right now.
Now there will be those who point out the obvious in that Drake Players were not playing in the Big Ten. They did beat a higher seed in Missouri but winning one game is not the same as playing that level of competition every game once you're into the conference part of your schedule.
By all reports Ben has the know how as much as any college basketball coach out there. Some of the most successful coaches out there have reached out to Ben for advice. That's amazing when you think about it. So what it will come down to is recruiting the players that can get it done. Things aren't the same anymore with the NIL as the young guys are pursuing the money instead of family tradition and loyalty to the school. The way things are today can anyone really blame them? Did anyone ever think they would see what happened at Iowa happen at Indiana in college basketball? So it's not just an Iowa thing, it's a college basketball thing.
I see Minnesota just picked up a player after their 6' 11' center just entered the portal yesterday. Hmmmm 6"11" under the basket wouldn't be a bad thing. The link is about the guy Minnesota just got from Davison, but his acquisition doesn't sound life changing for the gophers.
I am guessing Drake fan's and UNI fans aren't real happy with Ben right now.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
One of the main things about Ben is that he values Defense
We have been rather porous under Fran
This, in itself, will be a major aspect of the team
Park it over there, Punk
I'm not sure there's a tougher job then the one Tyler Barnes has. That's turned into a 24/7 365 gig and the amount of players he's gotta be keeping track of is wild. Beyond the 105 on the team it's gotta be damn near 200-300 recruits and their families. Barnes must have some serious help to do what he does there's just no way he's an office of 1.
