2021 PF Kenny Pohto -> Wichita St

[hhcmatt]

6'9" native of Sweden who played for their U16 team

Playing ball at Sunrise Acadamy in Kansas

Took an unofficial on Sept 14, 2019

 

 

 

[Chuck Taylor]

On 9/23/2019 at 9:14 AM, hhcmatt said:

6'9" native of Sweden who played for their U16 team

Playing ball at Sunrise Acadamy in Kansas

Took an unofficial on Sept 14, 2019

 

 

 

A photo of Pohto.

[hhcmatt]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A photo of Pohto.

 

Kenny Pohto Graph

 

[Swan88]

I saw him on the sideline at Memorial Stadium.

in person, he looks the part of a high-level athlete.

[Norm Peterson]

3 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A photo of Pohto.

 

A Pohto photo?

[busticket]

5 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

A Pohto photo?

 

Pohtato- pohtahto

[Norm Peterson]

Hoiberg has shown the ability to finish with recruits. Would love to see him with a Pohto finish.

[atskooc]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

Hoiberg has shown the ability to finish with recruits. Would love to see him with a Pohto finish.

There it is!

[AuroranHusker]

On 9/25/2019 at 8:09 AM, hhcmatt said:

 

Kenny Pohto Graph

 

 

[hhcmatt]

Minnesota

[jayschool]

6 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

Minnesota

[Jacob Padilla]

Pohto was going to play for OSA this summer before the pandemic happened. Would have been interesting to see him play in person alongside Sallis and DeVries.

[hugh42]

Curious to see if he still goes to MN with the coaching change and if he doesn't whether we still have any interest.

[Nebrasketballer]

His profile lists him as being up to 6’11”, 240 lbs, and playing Center now.

 

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2021/kenny-pohto-233630

Edited March 26, 2021 by Nebrasketballer

[Nebrasketballer]

Scouting Kenny Pohto (from 11/11/20)
 

https://n.rivals.com/news/scouting-kenny-pohto

[jimmykc]

Sort of sounds like a slightly larger version of Yvan. Now, if he were only 17...

[Nebrasketballer]

2 hours ago, jimmykc said:

Sort of sounds like a slightly larger version of Yvan. Now, if he were only 17...

I guess I don't really see that comparison at all.

 

 

 

1) Kenny Pohto is a top-150 prospect, which clearly Yvan was not.

 

 

 

2) As far as size, this doesn't seem like just a "slightly larger version of Yvan":

 

"he's 6'11" with a 7'1" wingspan to go with a 8'11" standing reach"

 

 

 

3) As far as offensive ability, considering Yvan's struggles to make shots from even two feet away from the basket, this doesn't really sound like Yvan to me either:

 

"When Pohto does pop the screen or find himself open from deep, he can knock those shots down at a clip that is much higher than the average big man. Playing drop coverage against a big that can shoot like that is tough, because if the guard see's that, he can easily attract that big who's defending the screen for a long enough time to get Pohto open. Pohto did this against DeMatha in a matchup against 7'1" four-star and top-40 2020 Michigan commit Hunter Dickinson, and gave him some trouble with his ability to both stretch the floor and find open space in the defense."

 

"He also runs very well for someone his size. He can take off down the court and be a good rim running center, along with being the versatile stretch four or five that he already is."

 

"The sequence that shows the impact Pohto had for Sunrise Christian the most was against DeMatha and Dickinson. He first grabbed an offensive rebound over multiple defenders, then dished the ball for an assist right after. He then sprints down the court to defender Dickinson in the post. He plays good, vertical defense forcing Dickinson into a really tough shot, then a turnover on the attempted offensive rebound. Next, Sunrise runs a high ball-screen with Pohto setting. They play drop coverage so he fills to the open spot from deep while the guard draws Dickinson in. He finds Pohto for an open three, and he knocks it down with the 7'1" Michigan commit closing out. This was in the third quarter with the game tied, and three possessions later his team was up five directly off the impact he made."

 

 

 

Clearly, I could be wrong, but I just don't see the Yvan comparison. 

 

[jimmykc]

I just skimmed the above rivals scouting report and noted that his downsides were a lack of offensive moves and rim protecting abilities. And I tend to confuse Sweden with France, so you are probably right. Is there any evidence we are actively recruiting him now or is he still committed to the Gophers? And how old is he anyway? I do sort of like the new 'stach and hairdo.

[Nebrasketballer]

31 minutes ago, jimmykc said:

I just skimmed the above rivals scouting report and noted that his downsides were a lack of offensive moves and rim protecting abilities. And I tend to confuse Sweden with France, so you are probably right. Is there any evidence we are actively recruiting him now or is he still committed to the Gophers? And how old is he anyway? I do sort of like the new 'stach and hairdo.

I would think we are still recruiting him and I would think that he is more open to listening to other coaches, now with the coaching change in Minnesota. I would think he is open to hearing from Nebraska, since they were recruiting him harder than anyone other than Minnesota and might have even been his only other major offer before he committed to the gophers. But I haven't heard anything specifically from Washut or anything, this is just message board speculation and you know how that is...

 

[B-town hoopsfan]

1 hour ago, Nebrasketballer said:

I would think we are still recruiting him and I would think that he is more open to listening to other coaches, now with the coaching change in Minnesota. I would think he is open to hearing from Nebraska, since they were recruiting him harder than anyone other than Minnesota and might have even been his only other major offer before he committed to the gophers. But I haven't heard anything specifically from Washut or anything, this is just message board speculation and you know how that is...

 

Not saying they know what they are talking about but some on the gopher hole board do not think he has the skills to succeed in the BIG. 

[Nebrasketballer]

36 minutes ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

Not saying they know what they are talking about but some on the gopher hole board do not think he has the skills to succeed in the BIG. 

They may be right. But maybe not.

 

1) Nebraska has at least 2 players coming back that won’t count against the scholarship limit, which means they have at least 4 open scholarships

 

2) Nebraska is bringing back their entire core lineup, except for Thor and are upgrading talent even more by adding Bryce McGowens, Keisei Tominaga, and Wilhelm Breidenbach In the 2021 class and they just landed transfer CJ Wilcher.

 

3) Nebraska has both Walker and Andre coming back, so they can bring in a Center to focus on development for a year or two, rather than needing them to get on the court right away.

 

4) After adding Wilcher, Nebraska still has at least 3 more open scholarships, so if they were to bring in Pohto, they would still have 2 more to go after ready made guys.
 

I think these things put Nebraska in a perfect position to take a chance on a developmental player like Photo that is 6’11” with a 7’1” wingspan and an 8’11” standing reach that can also shoot the ball better than a lot of Centers and is currently ranked as a Rivals150 prospect.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Nebrasketballer

[B-town hoopsfan]

55 minutes ago, Nebrasketballer said:

 

 

I think these things put Nebraska in a perfect position to take a chance on a developmental player like Photo that is 6’11” with a 7’1” wingspan and an 8’11” standing reach that can also shoot the ball better than a lot of Centers and is currently ranked as a Rivals150 prospect.

I’m all for taking several developmental prospects with these last 3 scholarships but what you just described doesn’t sound like a guy that wants to come in and wait a year to play significant minutes

[Nebrasketballer]

28 minutes ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

I’m all for taking several developmental prospects with these last 3 scholarships but what you just described doesn’t sound like a guy that wants to come in and wait a year to play significant minutes

That could be true. I was just responding to the "gopher hole board do not think he has the skills to succeed in the BIG" part. I think he is worth taking a chance on, if he's willing to come to Nebraska.

[Silverbacked1]

1 hour ago, Nebrasketballer said:

They may be right. But maybe not.

 

1) Nebraska has at least 2 players coming back that won’t count against the scholarship limit, which means they have at least 4 open scholarships

 

2) Nebraska is bringing back their entire core lineup, except for Thor and are upgrading talent even more by adding Bryce McGowens, Keisei Tominaga, and Wilhelm Breidenbach In the 2021 class and they just landed transfer CJ Wilcher.

 

3) Nebraska has both Walker and Andre coming back, so they can bring in a Center to focus on development for a year or two, rather than needing them to get on the court right away.

 

4) After adding Wilcher, Nebraska still has at least 3 more open scholarships, so if they were to bring in Pohto, they would still have 2 more to go after ready made guys.
 

I think these things put Nebraska in a perfect position to take a chance on a developmental player like Photo that is 6’11” with a 7’1” wingspan and an 8’11” standing reach that can also shoot the ball better than a lot of Centers and is currently ranked as a Rivals150 prospect.

 

So Thor is leaving?

Edited March 26, 2021 by Silverbacked1

[Nebrasketballer]

Just now, Silverbacked1 said:

 

So Thor is leaving?

Oh, sorry. That hasn't been confirmed or anything. I just assume he is leaving.