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Chris Monter's Gophers Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Tum Tum, Whitehead & More
Chris Monter's Gophers Basketball Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Tum Tum, Whitehead & More
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/279425?referrer_id=388419
Many of the top college prospects typically sign the early signing period. Last year, 98 of ESPN’s Top 100 from the Class of 2013 inked in November. The top available players are making official visits or their college announcements.
Minnesota has already seen guards Ja’Quan Newton, Alex Robinson and Josh Perkins eliminate the Gophers from consideration. Newton committed to Miami without even visiting the school and Robinson is expected to visit Texas A&M and Florida State and he is also considering Vanderbilt, Memphis and TCU.
Perkins, who is a good friend of Minnesota Golden Gopher target Rashad Vaughn, made his college decision of Gonzaga this weekend. He picked Gonzaga, who had said that Perkins was the only point guard they were recruiting over UCLA and Minnesota.
Perkins averaged 25.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game as Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit finished 21-5. He will play this season at Huntington (WV) Prep.
The Gophers have turned their attention to Lourawls Nairn Jr., a 5-foot-10, 165-pound point guard from Wichita (KS) Sunrise Christian Academy. Nairn will visit Minnesota this week and will attend the UNLV football game Thursday.
Nairn, who is known as “Tum-Tum”, played for the Gold medal-winning USA West team in the Global Challenge in Washington DC in July. He led the MoKan Elite to an 11-7 mark in the EYBL and a 2-3 record in the Peach Jam.
Nairn is also considering Oklahoma and Indiana. The Sooners are thought to be the slight favorite, due to the presence of assistant coach Chris Crutchfield, who is close friend with a Bahamian coach who helps players land in the United States. Oklahoma has former Sunrise Academy and Bahama native Buddy Hield on their roster.
Nairn visited Oklahoma this past weekend on an official visit. Some fans might be surprised that he didn’t visit Norman on a weekend that they had a home football game. However, the Sooners hosted the third annual OU men's basketball Legends Alumni Game, which featured former Oklahoma standouts such as Blake Griffin and Eduardi Najera. Former Sooner guard Ebi Ere scored 34 points to lead the Cream team to a 102-99 win over the Crimson team Saturday afternoon in front of an estimated crowd of 3,500 at Lloyd Noble Center.
Kentucky is said to be Nairn’s dream school, but the Wildcats never offered him.
***************
Nairn isn’t the top prospect to visit Minnesota for the UNLV game. J.P. Macura, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound wing from Lakeville North, will bypass the Panthers’ game versus crosstown rival Lakeville South to attend the Gopher tilt.
Macura attended Purdue’s Elite Camp this weekend. He recently told Gopher Hole that he is considering Minnesota, Creighton, Purdue, Xavier and Iowa State. Macura said that Indiana is a darkhorse. He plans to make official visits to Xavier and Iowa State and could make a trip to Minnesota. Macura plans to sign in November.
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Alex Illikainen, a 6-foot-9 2015 big man from Grand Rapids, will also attend the season football opener. He is considered the top player in the state in the Class of 2015. Illikainen helped lead Grand Rapids to the Class AAA state boy’s basketball tournament for the third straight year.
Illikainen has offers from California, Texas Tech, Wisconsin Green Bay, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Creighton, NDSU, Oregon and Nebraska. Minnesota is thought to be the early favorite.
***************
Minnesota Gopher basketball target Reid Travis shined this AAU season. Travis was named to the ten-man All-Star team at the NBA Top 100 camp and helped lead his team, the Celtics, to the championship. He was invited to the LeBron James Skills Academy, the Nike Global Challenge and adidas Global Nations. Travis was named the MVP of the Super Showcase in Orlando as Howard Pulley defeated Peach Jam champions Each One Teach One in the title game.
Travis was invited to the Under Armour Elite 24 game held Saturday in New York along with Minnesotans Tyus Jones and Rashad Vaughn. Unfortunately, he had to skip the event, due to a foot injury. Travis, who had football offers from Rutgers, Iowa and Boston College, is not playing the sport this season.
Travis, who is ranked #40 by ESPN in the Class of 2014, already took an official visit to Gonzaga.
***************
Gopher target Isaiah Whitehead earned Co-MVP honors along with Tyus Jones at the 2013 Under Armour Elite 24 at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday night. Whitehead led all scorers with 26 points as Team Coney Island defeated Team Bed-Stuy 114-109.
Whitehead was expected to make an unofficial visit to Indiana today. He is expected to take official visits to Indiana, Minnesota and UCLA.
Whitehead led the Lincoln Railsplitters to a city title as a junior.
***************
The Big Ten has 14 basketball commits to date. Ohio State leads the way with four. Michigan, Northwestern and Penn State have two each, while Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin have one each. Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota, are currently without a verbal commitment.
Indiana had a commitment from James Blackmon, who decided to re-open his recruitment, but is still considering the Hoosiers.
Ohio State is the only Big Ten school with a commitment from a player from the Class of 2015. They landed verbals from 5-foot-9 point guard A.J. Harris of Dayton (OH) Dunbar and 6-foot-6 forward Mickey Mitchell of Plano (TX) West. The addition of Harris gives the Buckeyes a needed playmaker after they stopped recruiting Tyus Jones, who had visited the campus last year on an unofficial visit.
Chris Monter's Gophers Basketball Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Tum Tum, Whitehead & More
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/279425?referrer_id=388419
Many of the top college prospects typically sign the early signing period. Last year, 98 of ESPN’s Top 100 from the Class of 2013 inked in November. The top available players are making official visits or their college announcements.
Minnesota has already seen guards Ja’Quan Newton, Alex Robinson and Josh Perkins eliminate the Gophers from consideration. Newton committed to Miami without even visiting the school and Robinson is expected to visit Texas A&M and Florida State and he is also considering Vanderbilt, Memphis and TCU.
Perkins, who is a good friend of Minnesota Golden Gopher target Rashad Vaughn, made his college decision of Gonzaga this weekend. He picked Gonzaga, who had said that Perkins was the only point guard they were recruiting over UCLA and Minnesota.
Perkins averaged 25.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game as Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit finished 21-5. He will play this season at Huntington (WV) Prep.
The Gophers have turned their attention to Lourawls Nairn Jr., a 5-foot-10, 165-pound point guard from Wichita (KS) Sunrise Christian Academy. Nairn will visit Minnesota this week and will attend the UNLV football game Thursday.
Nairn, who is known as “Tum-Tum”, played for the Gold medal-winning USA West team in the Global Challenge in Washington DC in July. He led the MoKan Elite to an 11-7 mark in the EYBL and a 2-3 record in the Peach Jam.
Nairn is also considering Oklahoma and Indiana. The Sooners are thought to be the slight favorite, due to the presence of assistant coach Chris Crutchfield, who is close friend with a Bahamian coach who helps players land in the United States. Oklahoma has former Sunrise Academy and Bahama native Buddy Hield on their roster.
Nairn visited Oklahoma this past weekend on an official visit. Some fans might be surprised that he didn’t visit Norman on a weekend that they had a home football game. However, the Sooners hosted the third annual OU men's basketball Legends Alumni Game, which featured former Oklahoma standouts such as Blake Griffin and Eduardi Najera. Former Sooner guard Ebi Ere scored 34 points to lead the Cream team to a 102-99 win over the Crimson team Saturday afternoon in front of an estimated crowd of 3,500 at Lloyd Noble Center.
Kentucky is said to be Nairn’s dream school, but the Wildcats never offered him.
***************
Nairn isn’t the top prospect to visit Minnesota for the UNLV game. J.P. Macura, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound wing from Lakeville North, will bypass the Panthers’ game versus crosstown rival Lakeville South to attend the Gopher tilt.
Macura attended Purdue’s Elite Camp this weekend. He recently told Gopher Hole that he is considering Minnesota, Creighton, Purdue, Xavier and Iowa State. Macura said that Indiana is a darkhorse. He plans to make official visits to Xavier and Iowa State and could make a trip to Minnesota. Macura plans to sign in November.
***************
Alex Illikainen, a 6-foot-9 2015 big man from Grand Rapids, will also attend the season football opener. He is considered the top player in the state in the Class of 2015. Illikainen helped lead Grand Rapids to the Class AAA state boy’s basketball tournament for the third straight year.
Illikainen has offers from California, Texas Tech, Wisconsin Green Bay, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Creighton, NDSU, Oregon and Nebraska. Minnesota is thought to be the early favorite.
***************
Minnesota Gopher basketball target Reid Travis shined this AAU season. Travis was named to the ten-man All-Star team at the NBA Top 100 camp and helped lead his team, the Celtics, to the championship. He was invited to the LeBron James Skills Academy, the Nike Global Challenge and adidas Global Nations. Travis was named the MVP of the Super Showcase in Orlando as Howard Pulley defeated Peach Jam champions Each One Teach One in the title game.
Travis was invited to the Under Armour Elite 24 game held Saturday in New York along with Minnesotans Tyus Jones and Rashad Vaughn. Unfortunately, he had to skip the event, due to a foot injury. Travis, who had football offers from Rutgers, Iowa and Boston College, is not playing the sport this season.
Travis, who is ranked #40 by ESPN in the Class of 2014, already took an official visit to Gonzaga.
***************
Gopher target Isaiah Whitehead earned Co-MVP honors along with Tyus Jones at the 2013 Under Armour Elite 24 at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday night. Whitehead led all scorers with 26 points as Team Coney Island defeated Team Bed-Stuy 114-109.
Whitehead was expected to make an unofficial visit to Indiana today. He is expected to take official visits to Indiana, Minnesota and UCLA.
Whitehead led the Lincoln Railsplitters to a city title as a junior.
***************
The Big Ten has 14 basketball commits to date. Ohio State leads the way with four. Michigan, Northwestern and Penn State have two each, while Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin have one each. Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota, are currently without a verbal commitment.
Indiana had a commitment from James Blackmon, who decided to re-open his recruitment, but is still considering the Hoosiers.
Ohio State is the only Big Ten school with a commitment from a player from the Class of 2015. They landed verbals from 5-foot-9 point guard A.J. Harris of Dayton (OH) Dunbar and 6-foot-6 forward Mickey Mitchell of Plano (TX) West. The addition of Harris gives the Buckeyes a needed playmaker after they stopped recruiting Tyus Jones, who had visited the campus last year on an unofficial visit.
