Faber and Jones lost because of facilities?
Posted on May 23rd, 2008 – 2:14 PMBy Myron Medcalf
-Minnesota’s outdated facilities may have contributed to the loss of former recruits Krys Faber and Verdell Jones III, according to one Gophers insider. Williams Arena is one of the oldest venues in the country and every basketball program in the Big Ten seems to have some plan to build new facilities except the Gophers. Jones, a guard from Champaign, Ill., signed with Indiana, where a brand new practice facility is in the works, while Faber, a center from L.A., signed with DePaul, where the Blue Demons play in an arena that recently underwent a $20 million renovation.
-Former Iowa State guard Wesley Johnson, who recently decided to transfer, wants to know if the Gophers are interested in his services. Johnson was a member of the Big 12 All-Rookie squad that featured Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin. But injuries hurt the talented sophomore last season. It’s an intriguing idea for the Gophers to grab a player like Johnson. Prior to last season’s Iowa State contest, Tubby Smith spent some time talking to reporters about Johnson’s talent. But Smith doesn’t like to bring in transfers. Johnson wouldn’t be allowed to play until the 2009-10 season. And that’s the year that Royce White arrives to play the 2/3 spot that Johnson would want to play.
8 Responses to "Faber and Jones lost because of facilities?"
Or they wanted playing time?
DePaul has perhaps the worst arena in the country.
Quit speculating. Your job is to report, not to make stuff up.
Look whose talking about speculating, From The Barn wrote an article stating that Verdell Jones was a Gopher. Maybe someone should look at themselves before pointing out others weaknesses.
Oh yeah - I just looked at his blog - the funniest thing is that the post reporting that Jones is a Gopher is right below the one reporting that Jones is not a Gopher. Ouch.
Does it really matter to these guys? I know Tubby wants a 20,000 seat arena and I can see how the practice facilities would be a downer for the U.
However, I have to believe The Barn can easily be spun into one of the biggest attributes about coming to Minnesota. Heck Tim Brewster probably even uses it to attract football recruits somehow…
It’s unique with lots of quirks for character, it’s got history, and when the team is winning, it’s full.
You are right. I should have never paid attention to Myron when he wrote that Jones would be a Gopher.
This was the same blog that reported that Jones was all but a Gopher.
I guess its possible that these two recruits were lost because of facilities, but is that any more likely that the recruits the Gophers DID get were attracted because of facilities? To put it another way, if Tubby and the Gophers can attract talent (with this recruiting class, I’m inclined to say he can), then how much of an issue is the facilities, if two kids decide against coming here because of them? On top of that, is it more likely that both Jones and Faber went to other schools because of better facilities, or that they went to the best schools they could get into where they would have the most playing time?
I think when it came down to it, both Faber and Jones recognized that they may be fighting for minutes here in the next few years (with the influx of young talent) and decided they’d rather go where programs have openings; facilities were probably irrelevant.
johnson is a very talented and experienced player - he certainly deserves some serious consideration
I will give up my season tickets if they ever leave the barn.
The U is the last team that should be building a new arena…If Indiana is the powerhouse they think they are they should be the first to build. The place is a dump and a glorified high school gym.
Michigan’s court is a 1960’s piece of crap with no atmosphere. Northwestern plays in a gym as well. Wisconsin plays in a mini Target Center.
The Gophers are waaaaaaaaaaaayyyy down the list in the Big Ten. A new practice arena yes, a new home court no.
