GopherHole Exclusive: Willie Burton says Royce White wants to return to the U

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I saw him in dinkytown a week or so ago and I asked if he'd be back next year and he winked and said "it's still a possibility, man.. i'll talk to ya later tho bro"... We'll see if he does... but who's scholarship would he take?
 

He needs to step up and take the initiative if in fact he wants to come back. As a fan, I'm fine with moving on without Mr. White at this point, great player or not.
 

Doesn't his appearing on an advertisement for a nightclub end his chances of playing college basketball?
 



they wanted to make sure that Royce wants to be at the University of Minnesota. That is one of their criteria for speaking with Royce, they wanted to change the individuals he was around, get things academically together, and for the situations he was involved in to pass, and focus on being a student, basketball player, and teammate.
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Very important piece.

And this is why he shouldn't have reacted so hastily and withdrew like that. He may feel he wants to still give it a shot here, but when you do things like that, you just make stuff more complicated than it had to be.
 

The inability for either side to bring closure to this situation is astonishing. Both the U of M and Royce White would benefit from ending this charade. The U would do itself (and Royce) a big favor if they told Royce to find his future, whatever it may be, elsewhere. Why is this so hard?
 

Lots of talk, not much action. Same old, same old.

Great to hear he has a budding music career, though.

Did we not learn anything this past season? Despite being the primary source of distraction, ridicule & embarrassment for Gopher basketball all last season, the progam survived without him and still was able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.

Moral of the story: we're all replaceable, the world doesn't stop for anyone. One year of a constant soap opera is enough.
 

Rotundo said:
The inability for either side to bring closure to this situation is astonishing. Both the U of M and Royce White would benefit from ending this charade. The U would do itself (and Royce) a big favor if they told Royce to find his future, whatever it may be, elsewhere. Why is this so hard?
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It's hard for Tubby and Company to let it go, because I've heard that Coach Smith has said he thinks Royce is the best rebounder he's EVER coached...

And that's saying a lot.
 



Rotundo and Selection

I agree with Rotundo and SelectionSunday.

Time to move on.

I wish him well.
 

I'm not worried about other schools that are contacting him, he does not want to sit out a year or play juco. If Mo and Cory sign, he will have to wait and see if Mbakwe can't play or if Cobbs transfers.

I would like to see him back, but it doesn't happen Royce only has himself to blame for quitting school and the team.
 

I hope Royce plays but even if he doesn't, the fact that he's taking advice from someone like Willie Burton is a good move on his part.
 

Xtreme said:
I hope Royce plays but even if he doesn't, the fact that he's taking advice from someone like Willie Burton is a good move on his part.
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I thought he was taking advice from Willie and others before he quit team.

Didn't Mr. White leave in part because he did not feel safe on campus with the UMPD? Guess not.
 



My take is that the team has offered Mo Walker Royce's Scholarship ( I hope). Hard to say how the scholarship situation will play out. Right now if Mo accepts there is none for Royce. If they do find one for Royce I would hope he will not be in competition with Mbakwe and Walker for the same position. I think Royce is talented enough to play the 2,3 or 4 spots. I would prefer 3, where his talent for scoring and rebounding could be satisfied.
 

figi said:
My take is that the team has offered Mo Walker Royce's Scholarship ( I hope). Hard to say how the scholarship situation will play out. Right now if Mo accepts there is none for Royce. If they do find one for Royce I would hope he will not be in competition with Mbakwe and Walker for the same position. I think Royce is talented enough to play the 2,3 or 4 spots. I would prefer 3, where his talent for scoring and rebounding could be satisfied.
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This would be good. Go with the Mo and Cory program. You stake your team on Royce and we are on pins and needles all year whenever we go on line or pick up a newspaper wondering if
Royce has done something.
 

bga1 said:
This would be good. Go with the Mo and Cory program. You stake your team on Royce and we are on pins and needles all year whenever we go on line or pick up a newspaper wondering if
Royce has done something.
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Is it possible that Tubby will offer Royce a walk-on situation with the promise of a scholarship in '11-'12 if he can abstain from making any more idiotic videos or exhibiting further vainglorious behavior?
 

GopherJake said:
Is it possible that Tubby will offer Royce a walk-on situation with the promise of a scholarship in '11-'12 if he can abstain from making any more idiotic videos or exhibiting further vainglorious behavior?
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This is how I think it should work out. Offer him a spot on the team, but he's got to earn his scholarship. I doubt Royce would ever go for that scenario, but it seems like a low risk, high reward type of move for next year.
 

This lineup is a legit final 4 team

Starters
Cory
Devoe
Royce
Trevor
Sampson

Bench
Al
Hoff
Carter
Williams
Iverson
Mo
 

Who wants a quitter in their program? ......except for Dan Monson of course.
 

I think at this point you definitely go with the Mo/Cory tandem if possible.

If only one commits, neither commit, Mbakwe can't play, and/or Cobbs transfers, then you evaluate the Royce situation. I don't think you hinge anything on Royce at this point. But if a situation arises where we have a scholarship available, the possibility of Royce can be explored.
 



Sour1729 said:
I think at this point you definitely go with the Mo/Cory tandem if possible.

If only one commits, neither commit, Mbakwe can't play, and/or Cobbs transfers, then you evaluate the Royce situation. I don't think you hinge anything on Royce at this point. But if a situation arises where we have a scholarship available, the possibility of Royce can be explored.
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+1
 

Best Wishes for Royce

Glad to read Royce is doing well. I hope the best for him, he has his whole life ahead of him. I imagine having your name thrown across the papers and internet was not a lot of fun.

I don't know enough to say whether he should return or not. I will leave that up to Coach Smith.

Willie Burton was one of my favorite players. Realize this is none of my business, but if I could ask Royce a few questions they would be (of course he is free not to answer).

1. Why did you leave school?

2. What if something similar happens in the future, will you leave school again?

3. Do you feel responsible for what happened?

To put things in perspective, I know several good kids that did much worse than Royce. If UMPD is issuing citations for trespassing, I am glad the statute of limitations has passed for me (and most of the people I graduated with) as I was frequently in U buildings where I was not supposed to be.
 

Can't believe this is still being discussed. Cut the cord already.
 

I would like to see Royce come back, not because he is a 5* recruit, but because he needs the structure of a team environment and the guidance of someone like coach Smith to truly get his life back on track. This kid has amazing talents, both on and off the court, and I for one want to see him develop all those.
 

Sour1729 said:
I think at this point you definitely go with the Mo/Cory tandem if possible.

If only one commits, neither commit, Mbakwe can't play, and/or Cobbs transfers, then you evaluate the Royce situation. I don't think you hinge anything on Royce at this point. But if a situation arises where we have a scholarship available, the possibility of Royce can be explored.
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Well said!
 

SelectionSunday said:
Lots of talk, not much action. Same old, same old.

Great to hear he has a budding music career, though.

Did we not learn anything this past season? Despite being the primary source of distraction, ridicule & embarrassment for Gopher basketball all last season, the progam survived without him and still was able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.

Moral of the story: we're all replaceable, the world doesn't stop for anyone. One year of a constant soap opera is enough.
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tell that to brett favre! if minnesota can have patience with favre I think we can have patience with white
 

I want to see him playing basketball again, that's where his future lies, I'm hopeful that it's still at Minnesota but if not I wish him well wherever he winds up.
 

I hope Royce is playing for Gophers next year with Cory. That would be fun to watch.
 

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