Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Talks Upcoming U Visit, Mychal Thompson/Bahamas Connection

Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Talks Upcoming U Visit, Mychal Thompson/Bahamas Connection

GopherHole Q&A: Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Talks Upcoming U Visit, Mychal Thompson/Bahamas Connection & More
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/279758?referrer_id=388419

Lourawls Nairn Jr., a 5-foot-10, 165-pound point guard from Wichita (KS) Sunrise Christian Academy, will visit Minnesota Wednesday and attend the Golden Gophers’ season-opening football game versus UNLV.

Nairn, who is known as “Tum-Tum”, is also considering Oklahoma and Indiana.

Gopher Hole caught up Nairn Monday afternoon to learn the latest on his recruitment.

Gopher Hole: Originally, you were going to visit Oklahoma this past weekend. You didn’t go there, right?

Lourawls Nairn: No, I didn’t. I am going there September 6th.

Gopher Hole: What was the reason you decided to switch dates?

Lourawls Nairn: No reason. My coach talked about it and I think that they wanted me to go down to a football game.

Gopher Hole: You are coming up to Minnesota this week. When are leaving?

Lourawls Nairn: Wednesday.

Gopher Hole: What are you expecting to learn about Minnesota on your visit?

Lourawls Nairn: I just want to see what hey have to offer. See the campus and stuff like that. Just see the school. Mainly, just whatever they throw at me. I can expect the same thing from every visit. I am going to go there open-minded. It is my first official visit. I am really excited to go up there and see what happens.

Gopher Hole: Was there a reason you decided to make Minnesota your first visit or is just the way it worked out?

Lourawls Nairn: No, that is just how it happened. They wanted me to get down for the football game also.

Gopher Hole: Are you still going to visit Indiana?

Lourawls Nairn: Yes, sir. I will. September 20th.

Gopher Hole: How hard was it to get to three schools?

Lourawls Nairn: It was tough, but I had a lot of great schools recruiting me. I prayed about it and these were the three schools that fit me the best.

Gopher Hole: Was it hard to tell some of those schools that had been recruiting you for awhile no?

Lourawls Nairn: Yes. It was difficult. I never did anything like that before. People recruit you hard and it is disappointing to them, but that is life. That is how it works. It is not the first time that it happened. It is just the first time that I was in that situation, but they understood where I was coming from. They just told me ‘Good luck with my decision.”

Gopher Hole: Oklahoma has a kid that played at Sunrise Academy with you, Buddy Hield, who is also from the Bahamas. Is that a strong reason why you are looking at Oklahoma or is that just an extra bonus?

Lourawls Nairn: I think that it is an extra because he is like my best friend, but he is not the reason that Oklahoma is top three, though. It is actually because I played with him before and I know that he is a winner, but it is in my Top three because they were my first offer from when I was a sophomore. They were always there. We have a great relationship.

Gopher Hole: Are you familiar with Mychal Thompson at all? Have you ever heard of him from the Bahamas?

Lourawls Nairn: Yes, sir. I have heard of him.

Gopher Hole: How about Ozzie Lockhart? Have you heard of him?

Lourawls Nairn: No, sir.

Gopher Hole: They were both from the Bahamas and played for Minnesota. I didn’t know if they were before your time or if you were familiar with them. Obviously, Mychal Thompson is probably the best player to ever come out of the Bahamas. He was a number one draft pick. I don’t know if you know much about him. Did you know about him before or did the Minnesota coaches tell you about him coming up here?

Lourawls Nairn: I knew about him. I knew about him a long time ago.

Gopher Hole: Have you met him before?

Lourawls Nairn: No, sir. I have never met him.

Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main thing now that you are down to three schools that is going to make you pick School A over School B or C??

Lourawls Nairn: I think I’ll just know where the right place is. I prayed about it. Talked to God about it. When I go on my visits, I know that all three are going to be great and it is going to be crazy, but I can’t keep my emotions wrapped up seeing all the things that they are going to show me on my visits. I want to stay open-minded and I think that God is going to let me know if it is the right place for me and obviously, where I fit in with the program and how I can help them.

Gopher Hole: Do you think that there is any way that you would commit before all three visits or are you pretty much committed to taking all three visits before you decide?

Lourawls Nairn: I’ll take all three. I am going to take all three.

Gopher Hole: What do you like about Oklahoma the most?

Lourawls Nairn: They play fast and they play my game, offensively and defensively. I have a great relationship with the coaches and they have always been there. They have always been around. That is a big thing for me to have a relationship with the coaching staff. Know that they have a family bond. That is a big thing with them.

Gopher Hole: What about Minnesota? What do you like about them the most?

Lourawls Nairn: Coach Pitino wants to play fast, also. He wants to get up and down the floor, like his dad and get up on people on defense. I like how they have recruited me. Ever since they have been recruiting me, they have been recruiting me hard.

Gopher Hole: What about Indiana? What do you like about them the most?

Lourawls Nairn: They play my game also. Tom Crean is a great coach. He is a tough coach. He knows what he is doing. They are really good at developing players. Players who are not highly ranked. They come in there and they get better. You see Victor Oladipo. He wasn’t even ranked out of high school and he was the number two pick in the draft. I think that he is a really tough coach. He wants to win. Every year, they are in the NCAA Tournament.

Gopher Hole: Indiana has a very good point guard in Yogi Ferrell. Would that be a concern that if he didn’t turn pro, you might not play as much as a freshman, where at the other two schools you would probably play sooner than you might at Indiana. Or is that really a factor?

Lourawls Nairn: No. I wouldn’t say that that is a factor to me because no matter where I go, I know that I have to fight for playing time because all teams are going to have point guards, so that is not going to be a factor for me. It doesn’t matter to me who is in front of me. I am going to go and practice every day. Practice as hard as I can and compete as hard as I can when I am on the court, but obviously I want to play.

Damn, if I had to put money down on where he'd end up I'd probably go with Oklahoma.

MadtownGopher said:

Damn, if I had to put money down on where he'd end up I'd probably go with Oklahoma.

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That's what I originally thought too. But Pitino is a recruiter and getting this kid on campus is exactly where Pitino can close the gap. I think Tum Tum will change his tune next week.

Who is the next hope at PG after Nairn goes to Oklahoma?

Gopherguy0723 said:

Who is the next hope at PG after Nairn goes to Oklahoma?

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Let's not think that way! Nairn's hopefully going to be a Gopher. But... Unfortunately things would look very bleak. It would be down to Quentin Snider, and that looks extremely unlikely. Maybe they'd let Andre play point his senior year and wait for Jarvis Johnson in 2015.

GameDay said:

Let's not think that way! Nairn's hopefully going to be a Gopher. But... Unfortunately things would look very bleak. It would be down to Quentin Snider, and that looks extremely unlikely. Maybe they'd let Andre play point his senior year and wait for Jarvis Johnson in 2015.

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I believe Wade Baldwin plays point, or at least is a combo guard. Still working him I believe. Otherwise, I would say we look to the juco route or bank the scholly and have Dre run the team for 2 more years, handing the keys to a true freshman for 2015.

Don't forget the other Dre, Mathieu. It would be awesome to get Tum Tum, and I think after seeing our campus and being in the game atmosphere, he will warm up to us a bit, but we do have other options until 2015.

GameDay said:

Let's not think that way! Nairn's hopefully going to be a Gopher. But... Unfortunately things would look very bleak. It would be down to Quentin Snider, and that looks extremely unlikely. Maybe they'd let Andre play point his senior year and wait for Jarvis Johnson in 2015.

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Aren't they still in the mix for Omega Harris?

http://247sports.com/Player/Omega-Harris-34790

Josh Gray is a JUCO PG we have offered and could be an option. Here's a little background on him:

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcspo...-looking-for-stability-in-final-college-stop/

Rouser said:

I believe Wade Baldwin plays point, or at least is a combo guard. Still working him I believe. Otherwise, I would say we look to the juco route or bank the scholly and have Dre run the team for 2 more years, handing the keys to a true freshman for 2015.

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Obviously, things change, but right now Vanderbilt seems like the heavy favorite for Baldwin.

GameDay said:

Let's not think that way! Nairn's hopefully going to be a Gopher. But... Unfortunately things would look very bleak. It would be down to Quentin Snider, and that looks extremely unlikely. Maybe they'd let Andre play point his senior year and wait for Jarvis Johnson in 2015.

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I try not to, but he sounds like he's got Oklahoma on the brain. Things can change, but it's clear Oklahoma is the favorite.

I suppose letting Andre Hollins stay at point for two more years isn't a bad thing. He's too small to play shooting guard in the NBA, so it'll be better for him to stay at point guard. Maybe we can load up on big men and wing players, then get a PG next year.

Gopherguy0723 said:

I try not to, but he sounds like he's got Oklahoma on the brain. Things can change, but it's clear Oklahoma is the favorite.

I suppose letting Andre Hollins stay at point for two more years isn't a bad thing. He's too small to play shooting guard in the NBA, so it'll be better for him to stay at point guard. Maybe we can load up on big men and wing players, then get a PG next year.

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I think the odds are high that Pitino will sign a PG in the 2014 class. If we don't sign one we'd be in a bit of a perdicament for 2015. We'd probably have to rely on a freshman to run the show. There's always a possibility of signing a transfer the next couple springs, but I think the odds are good we see a PG in the 2014 class.

MN going first with the official visit would have been fine if it seemed, as I think some of us thought, that Tum Tum was open to a quick commitment. Now MN seems like the warm up band, which we have to hope is presented better than the perceived headliner, OKU. Hopefully RP can satisfy that playing fast in the B1G can lead to greater exposure and a chance to progress than compared to our rivals. Tum Tum doesn't really want to play behind Yogi for 10-15 mpg when he can lead a team.

I've always wondered what role, if any, famous alums like Mychal Thompson (or Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, etc.) are allowed to play in the recruiting process. Does anybody know? Could he call a kid on behalf of his alma mater or is that forbidden by NCAA rules? By the sound of Tum Tum's response, Thompson is obviously still a legend in the Bahamas and a nudge by him toward the U could definitely help.

WindyCityGopher said:

I've always wondered what role, if any, famous alums like Mychal Thompson (or Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, etc.) are allowed to play in the recruiting process. Does anybody know? Could he call a kid on behalf of his alma mater or is that forbidden by NCAA rules? By the sound of Tum Tum's response, Thompson is obviously still a legend in the Bahamas and a nudge by him toward the U could definitely help.

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You can't do it.

WindyCityGopher said:

I've always wondered what role, if any, famous alums like Mychal Thompson (or Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, etc.) are allowed to play in the recruiting process. Does anybody know? Could he call a kid on behalf of his alma mater or is that forbidden by NCAA rules? By the sound of Tum Tum's response, Thompson is obviously still a legend in the Bahamas and a nudge by him toward the U could definitely help.

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If only he had nudged Klay!

burton34 said:

That's what I originally thought too. But Pitino is a recruiter and getting this kid on campus is exactly where Pitino can close the gap. I think Tum Tum will change his tune next week.

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a recruiter based on ....

Jim Cramer said:

a recruiter based on ....

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Based on the fact that he has gotten more 4-5 * kids interested in the program than I can recall in a long, long time. He has done it in a short time working against the odds. To get Tum Tum , Whitehead, White, Cunningham and others all to visit is a step forward. has he sealed the deal yet? No, but what he has done by sheer numbers is amazing.

Jim Cramer said:

a recruiter based on ....

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He was responsible for recruiting at UofL and Florida as well. And in any interview you see with him he stresses the importance of recruiting.

DeathClutch said:

I think the odds are high that Pitino will sign a PG in the 2014 class. If we don't sign one we'd be in a bit of a perdicament for 2015. We'd probably have to rely on a freshman to run the show. There's always a possibility of signing a transfer the next couple springs, but I think the odds are good we see a PG in the 2014 class.

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It's amazing how we can forget about McNeil. Now he isn't highly ranked or anything, but he will be a junior that year and probably playing PG. Not saying this is Ideal but it's probably more likely for him to play than for us to hand over the keys to a non top PG in the 2015 class.

Tim1406 said:

It's amazing how we can forget about McNeil. Now he isn't highly ranked or anything, but he will be a junior that year and probably playing PG. Not saying this is Ideal but it's probably more likely for him to play than for us to hand over the keys to a non top PG in the 2015 class.

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I had the same thought. Obviously we want a PG in this class, but not getting one is not terminal. I would be very happy with Jarvis Johnson as a frosh and McNeil as a junior, handling PG.

Tim1406 said:

It's amazing how we can forget about McNeil. Now he isn't highly ranked or anything, but he will be a junior that year and probably playing PG. Not saying this is Ideal but it's probably more likely for him to play than for us to hand over the keys to a non top PG in the 2015 class.

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Don't mean to sound ignorant about McNeil, and not in all cases, but typically, 2-star players don't make impacts on a B1G program. I think McNeil can, but not at quite a level that I believe Jarvis Johnson could as a freshman. I think McNeil makes a nice career backup.

And Jarvis Johnson is the #55 recruit in the country, a 4-star recruit, and his ranking should ONLY GO UP as he gets more national exposure on DeLaSalle/HP and isn't playing in the shadow of Tyus and Reid on Howard Pulley next year. A top 50 caliber Point Guard with exposure to high-competition in AAU would typically be able to start at almost any given season for the Gophers.

McNeil's a three star on rivals and scout, not sure about 247

bemidjigopher said:

McNeil's a three star on rivals and scout, not sure about 247

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McNeil is a 3 star and ranked #184 overall on 247. Tough to judge what we'll have in him 2 years from now (under the hypothetical presumption we miss on a 2014 PG). He might turn out to be more of a 2 guard. I won't assume that Jarvis' ranking will only go up and that he'll be coming to MN, not that he won't. I don't like the idea of handing the keys over to a freshman in 2015. Hoping we land Tum Tum, Gray, or dare I say Jones.

GameDay said:

Don't mean to sound ignorant about McNeil, and not in all cases, but typically, 2-star players don't make impacts on a B1G program. I think McNeil can, but not at quite a level that I believe Jarvis Johnson could as a freshman. I think McNeil makes a nice career backup.

And Jarvis Johnson is the #55 recruit in the country, a 4-star recruit, and his ranking should ONLY GO UP as he gets more national exposure on DeLaSalle/HP and isn't playing in the shadow of Tyus and Reid on Howard Pulley next year. A top 50 caliber Point Guard with exposure to high-competition in AAU would typically be able to start at almost any given season for the Gophers.

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McNeil was a Rivals 150 guy until he committed to FIU. Always was 3* I believe. Fact that Pitino brought him here with him suggests to me he can play.

I agree re Jarvis -- played out of position on Pulley this year, and spends his time at DLS feeding Reid Travis. Next summer with Pulley will be revealing.

MadtownGopher said:

You can't do it.

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Isaiah Whitehead just got done meeting with Victor Oladipo at Indiana. Sure I suppose it was a "coincidence" but this is another one of those rules that seems pretty narrow in practice. What's to stop Mychal Thompson from just responding to a Tum Tum tweet (LOL) on his own?

After reading that, he's not coming here, and we are probably behind both Oklahoma and Indiana.

Being that we are the first visit and he plans on taking all three visits for sure...I really don't like our chances.

May be I'm missing something, but I just don't see the reason to be all doom and gloom about Tum Tum, he's clearly not a priority to IU. It comes down to us and boomer sooner. He's gushed over both schools in the process

Eye of the Gopher said:

After reading that, he's not coming here, and we are probably behind both Oklahoma and Indiana.

Being that we are the first visit and he plans on taking all three visits for sure...I really don't like our chances.

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All players plan to take all their visits 'for sure', until they don't.

Eye of the Gopher said:

After reading that, he's not coming here, and we are probably behind both Oklahoma and Indiana.

Being that we are the first visit and he plans on taking all three visits for sure...I really don't like our chances.

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It's not over until he gives a solid commitment. I'm not sure how you can conclude we're out of it after a couple of quotes.