Matz Stockman News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/matz-stockman/ Minnesota sports, but different Thu, 01 Jul 2021 19:35:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Matz Stockman News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/matz-stockman/ 32 32 Gopher Basketball Optimism High; Transfer Marcus Carr Expects to be Eligible for 2018 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/gopher-basketball-optimism-high-transfer-marcus-carr-expects-to-be-eligible-for-2018/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/gopher-basketball-optimism-high-transfer-marcus-carr-expects-to-be-eligible-for-2018/#respond Mon, 29 Oct 2018 16:27:15 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=11367

Sunday, before the Gophers took the court to scrimmage each other in their annual Maroon and Gold Scrimmage, Coach Richard Pitino dropped a quiet nuclear bomb to the media:

Also, this happened on Sunday morning and could attribute to Pitino’s confidence on the subject:

Up until yesterday, before the in-team scrimmage, news on Marcus Carr’s transfer waiver request (which would allow Carr to play immediately in 2018 instead of having to sit for a season due to NCAA transfer rules) was quieter than Jimmy Bulter’s conscience. We had only heard that Pitino was continually waiting for the NCAA to get back to him on the request… WTF, are you Justin Bieber applying for work in the real-world job market? Seriously, what’s taking so long? The season starts in a little over a week…

While Richard is still waiting for the NCAA to return his call, it’s very promising to see that they’re expecting the waiver to be granted. That’s a big fucking deal. It means less reliance on Isaiah Washington to be your only natural point guard and more freedom to play Dupree McBrayer and Amir Coffey wherever you think they will be most effective, depending on the opponent. Carr is a combo guard who is very comfortable running the one. He showed as much when he started for Pitt last year as a Freshman and averaged 4 assists per game to go with his 10 points.

If you haven’t followed Marcus then you probably don’t know how good he is. Watch this video and you’ll see why this is such a big deal. The kid can shoot from deep and can finish at the basket. He’s comfortable with the ball in his hand but can catch and shoot too. He looks DEADLY on the pick and roll… he’s only a Sophomore.

Carr actually makes the PG position, which is currently the biggest worry going into the season with Isaiah’s disappointing Freshman season looming large, a plus position. No matter Washington’s performance last year, he’s undeniably talented and you add Marcus to a mix that also includes Amir Coffey… It gives Pitino a lot of options depending on the size he wants on the floor.

Notes on Sunday’s Maroon and Gold Scrimmage:

It seems the biggest team take away from yesterday’s annual scrimmage is that the offense looks really good and the defense is behind the 8-ball. Of course, it’s difficult to judge until they start seeing real opponents because this team is stacked with offensive talent. Is the defense really that far behind or is the offense just that good. With established scorers like Amir Coffey, Jordan Murphy, and Dupree McBrayer the offense is really legit on paper. And, that’s not to mention all of the additions we’re yet to see.

Amir Coffey Running the Point:

Obviously, when/if Carr gets his waiver, that will greatly impact the amount of time Amir Coffey will spend at the one. However, with the currently eligible roster, Pitino has made it clear that he REALLY likes Amir running the offense. And from all accounts, he’s looked great there both Sunday and in their closed scrimmage a couple of weeks ago vs Creighton. Looking ahead to a possible NBA career for the former Hopkins standout, showing the ability to handle the ball as a 6-8 point guard would have to be salivating for pro scouts.

New Faces Impressing:

There will be a lot of new faces that contribute to this team in 2018-19. There are 3 Minnesota Freshman who we should see a decent amount from. Daniel Oturu was the highest rated recruit of the class and hails from Cretin Durham Hall. He’s going to be hard to keep off of the floor. He’s a force on defense and brings a pretty polished offensive tool-belt too.

Gabe Kalscheur, out of DeLaSalle High School was brought in to snipe 3’s and play really good defense. This team needs both badly. Jarvis Omersa, from Orono, will see some time too and will be exciting while he’s in. He’s the best athlete to where the M since Rodney Williams and it won’t be long before he hits the SportsCenter Top-10.

However, it’s looking like Matz Stockman (who was just some unfiled paperwork away from transferring this offseason) may make a bigger impact than expected. With a team that’s young in the front-court, they will need the Senior big man to bring consistency off of the bench. He brought it Sunday, scoring 16 points which was good for a tie with Jordan Murphy for 3rd highest on the team.

We haven’t even mentioned Eric Curry who has already proven he can be a stud, after playing huge minutes in 2016 as a Freshman, before tearing his ACL before the start of 2017 and using a medical redshirt to recover. However, he didn’t play in the scrimmage because of swelling in that knee. As you saw in the Pitino video at the top of this post, the coach doesn’t seem worried…. so I’ll try not to be either.

UPDATE: I SHOULD HAVE BEEN WORRIED. ERIC CURRY HAS BEEN RULED OUT TODAY (AFTER POSTING THIS) FOR THE NEXT 4-6 WEEKS AFTER HAVING KNEE SURGERY……

Dupree McBrayer was also absent from Sunday’s events due to a family emergency.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/gopher-basketball-optimism-high-transfer-marcus-carr-expects-to-be-eligible-for-2018/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:35:03 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball With Matz Stockman Now Sticking Around, Pitino’s 2018 Crew is ALMOST Set https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/with-matz-stockman-now-sticking-around-pitinos-2018-crew-is-almost-set/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/with-matz-stockman-now-sticking-around-pitinos-2018-crew-is-almost-set/#respond Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:37:44 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=10485

Matz Stockman has decided he will stay at the University of Minnesota. The former Louisville transfer had announced his desire to transfer earlier this summer, but Pitino hadn’t filled the open scholarship yet, and Stockman was reportedly finding the transfer process more difficult than he had hoped. So, he becomes the player that fills the last open scholarship for the Gophers, after being the transfer that had originally opened that spot.

After an offseason full of both short-term and long-term arrivals, along with plenty of departures at both the player and coaching levels, the 2018 Gopher Basketball roster now seems to be set. They swapped out two coaches. That process had the panic button smashed through the desk around Gopher nation, until Richard spun the situation into two new coaches, that some analysts have as upgrades.

Disaster averted.

via GIPHY

Along with the coaches, players departed too. Some graduated. Some transferred. Some were banished from society. Again, at times, panic button – ENGAGED. However, Isaiah Washington stayed, after a very underachieving freshman year that ended with a departure of both the assistant coach that recruited him and fellow freshman, Jamir Harris.

Obviously, the top contributors will be the remaining upper-classmen in Amir Coffey, Dupree McBrayer, and Jordan Murphy. You’ll also see big minutes from Michael Hurt. But, we already know about them.

Lets get to the additions. Three Minnesota freshman will join the squad and all of them will be looking for playing time. Daniel Oturu is the most highly touted but he is coming off of a shoulder surgery (in which the recovery is reportedly “ahead of schedule”) and the reviews have been raving from the new practice facilities when it comes to the work ethic and athleticism of the two other newcomers, Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa. So, those are a few long-term answers that coaches and fans hope will also contribute early on.

But, those weren’t the only new weapons added to Pitino’s 2018-19 arsenal this offseason. Brock Stull is a grad-transfer that chose the Gophers over a handful of other schools with high interest. He is a playmaking guard who we hope can also add a legitimate shooting threat from the 3-point line. He will get big minutes for the one season he’s around, as he finishes off his college basketball career and pursues his Master’s Degree.

So, technically those are the only NEWCOMERS who will CONTRIBUTE for 2018. But, it’s not the entire story.

via GIPHY

First, Peyton Willis is a transfer from Vanderbilt who got 17-19 minutes per game as a Freshman and Sophomore but will have to sit this season due to NCAA transfer restrictions. He should make an impact next year, depending on how his season, away from game-action, plays out.

Marcus Carr was the other undergraduate transfer who arrived on campus this summer. He came over from Pitt, where he played just his Freshman season. He also got big minutes and was a big part of the team, until his coach was fired, and he applied for his transfer. Carr’s situation is a little different, as I dug into a little bit last week, because of the circumstances that caused his departure from Pitt.

The Gophers have applied for Carr to play right away in 2018 but don’t get your hopes up because these waivers aren’t approved very often. With that said, the NCAA is under fire right now about their entire structure and the entire transfer process is constantly being reviewed. Actually, they made MAJOR changes today. Could they be a little more lenient on transfers this year too, because of all that’s going on?

Maybe… hopefully…

However, if all goes well, the biggest “new” contributer for 2018-19 won’t be new at all. Eric Curry busted onto the scene 2 years ago when he came in as a Freshman next to highly touted and local hero, Amir Coffey. However, he quickly made a name for himself as a huge offensive threat that consistently brought life to a second team that really needed it from an inside presence. But, before his Sophomore season started, Curry suffered a devastating knee injury that earned him a medical redshirt where he’ll get a redo of his Sophomore season this year. Will he be the same player? Better? Worse? His health and how he responds to the injury will be critical to how 2018-19 ends up for this team.

There are still a lot of questions left to be answered but with Stockman now recommitted for the season, the pieces are nearly in place. We’ll be here when the news drops on the waiver request for Marcus Carr. That should be the final domino unless something goes down that we can’t see from here.

You never know… but shit, let’s hope not.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan

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