Jonathon Nwanko Given Release from His Letter Of Intent

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HOOP DREAMS said:
I expect Kontae to be an impact player, Lynch an nice contributor.

Gas, who knows.
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I would guess that Lynch is further developed than Konate at this point. I agree with your assessment of Konate's potential but his development may proceed more slowly than we would like. I would say that Bakary was further along than Iowa's Gabriel Olaseni was as a freshman and he became a significant impact player during his last two years.

Also agree about Gaston. He showed so little during his limited playing time last year that it's difficult to have much expectation for him.
 

60's Guy said:
We don't know...but he is not approved by the NCAA clearing house...so that would mean if he could get into a college he couldn't play. Word is, I believe that he is short of core classes because some classes from Europe were not recognized by the NCAA as qualifying toward the requirements needed.
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If that is true, then that shows a problem with the advising at the high school and prep programs he attended. This guy didn't just come off the boat a year ago. He has been in the US for some time. He attended and played at a Catholic HS in NYC and went to Victory Rock Prep afterward.
 

cjbfbp said:
If that is true, then that shows a problem with the advising at the high school and prep programs he attended. This guy didn't just come off the boat a year ago. He has been in the US for some time. He attended and played at a Catholic HS in NYC and went to Victory Rock Prep afterward.
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Can't help but wonder if it also shows some sort of a problem with Pitino's recruiting structure and/or philosophy. Knee-jerk reaction of some is to immediately go off on the U and its admissions office and worry about whether Richard will stay. Loftton, Gaston, Martin, and now Nwanko aren't wasted scholarships because they'll be filled. But with Lofton and Martin I'd rather have somebody with a year already in the program. Gaston might eventually be really good, but he's behind. Nwanko is now not available and we might really pay the price next year. Fully understand it's the nature of the beast and the handicaps Richard has faced. But maybe more patience or more diligence or less of an inclination to roll the dice might have meant that we haven't squandered at least one year of somebody's development or settled for less of a talent. I'm extremely glad Pitino is our coach and am excited for next year, but it seems like there has been more bumps in the road than expected.
 


Guessing

Mulligan said:
Can't help but wonder if it also shows some sort of a problem with Pitino's recruiting structure and/or philosophy. Knee-jerk reaction of some is to immediately go off on the U and its admissions office and worry about whether Richard will stay. Loftton, Gaston, Martin, and now Nwanko aren't wasted scholarships because they'll be filled. But with Lofton and Martin I'd rather have somebody with a year already in the program. Gaston might eventually be really good, but he's behind. Nwanko is now not available and we might really pay the price next year. Fully understand it's the nature of the beast and the handicaps Richard has faced. But maybe more patience or more diligence or less of an inclination to roll the dice might have meant that we haven't squandered at least one year of somebody's development or settled for less of a talent. I'm extremely glad Pitino is our coach and am excited for next year, but it seems like there has been more bumps in the road than expected.
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Guessing Pitino is aware of these situations and there is less competition for these guys from the programs that select versus recruit. Therefore if the issues are resolved the chances are greater we might be able to get a potentially dynamic player. If he could get higher rated players with all their paperwork in order, I'm sure he would, but there are quite a few schools ahead of us in most recruits pecking orders that Pitino has to beat.
I'm more concerned about the evaluation of the talent of the guys he pursues. Nwanko by all accounts has great character and is a honor society student. He has potential as a basketball player and he's 6'10...it was close to happening. Can't ignore that opportunity. It's a pretty difficult thing to predict what the NCAA will or will not approve in borderline instances. Gas cleared the NCAA and couldn't get in the U. Nwanko might be the opposite like Jeff Jones. We aren't elite enough to just go after blue chips and we can't just build with A students who try hard but are rated borderline basketball wise. Bottom line: It's hard!
 


60's Guy said:
Guessing Pitino is aware of these situations and there is less competition for these guys from the programs that select versus recruit. Therefore if the issues are resolved the chances are greater we might be able to get a potentially dynamic player. If he could get higher rated players with all their paperwork in order, I'm sure he would, but there are quite a few schools ahead of us in most recruits pecking orders that Pitino has to beat. I'm more concerned about the evaluation of the talent of the guys he pursues. Nwanko by all accounts has great character and is a honor society student. He has potential as a basketball player and he's 6'10...it was close to happening. Can't ignore that opportunity. It's a pretty difficult thing to predict what the NCAA will or will not approve in borderline instances. Gas cleared the NCAA and couldn't get in the U. Nwanko might be the opposite like Jeff Jones. We aren't elite enough to just go after blue chips and we can't just build with A students who try hard but are rated borderline basketball wise. Bottom line: It's hard!
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Agreed!
 

- He was never officially admitted to the U
- He applied late, missed the priority deadline. (Doesn't mean much, but definitely could have had application in by December 15th)
- The NCAA Clearinghouse has ridiculously easy standards.
- The U's standards are far, far above the NCAA's standards, if there was even a question about him not meeting the standards he wouldn;t have been admitted.
 

golfing18now said:
Depending on who you believe in this thread, it very well may not have been an issue with the University admissions.

I'm not advocating we should cheat to keep players eligible. I would just like to see us be on par with other universities from an admissions standpoint. We already have some of the well-documented challenges to recruit here. Why should I feel good about then rising to a Stanford level of academic achievement? Once a recruit signs an LOI, I'd prefer not to need to hold my breath on whether or not he gets admitted. Within reason.....providing an academic opportunity for somebody that wouldn't get it otherwise isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. Not trying to be Kentucky, but also not pretending to be Stanford.
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Such as?
 

fraternity2017 said:
- The NCAA Clearinghouse has ridiculously easy standards.
- The U's standards are far, far above the NCAA's standards, if there was even a question about him not meeting the standards he wouldn't have been admitted.
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While generally true, the NCAA Clearinghouse has very specific requirements as to numbers of credits in specific areas that the U does not have. For example, I have a masters from the U but would not have passed the Clearinghouse requirements as I did not take enough English classes in HS.
 



On the Sports Huddle this morning there was a question about whether the last spot would be filled - Sid mentioned that there's still a possibility of Nwanko getting in. Is that just Sid-talk, or would there be any truth to that? I think this kid will be sorely missed - big body presence that looks like he'd be ready to bang in the paint with some of the size we'll encounter in the Big 10 next year (see: Purdue).
 

C'Mon Man said:
On the Sports Huddle this morning there was a question about whether the last spot would be filled - Sid mentioned that there's still a possibility of Nwanko getting in. Is that just Sid-talk, or would there be any truth to that? I think this kid will be sorely missed - big body presence that looks like he'd be ready to bang in the paint with some of the size we'll encounter in the Big 10 next year (see: Purdue).
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No clue but Jeff Jones didn't clear the NCAA but was admitted to U. I would think same is even more possible with Nwanko but then he can't play as a freshman.
Lots of moving parts in all this I'm sure.
 

per Zags:

Jonathan Nwankwo is hearing from plenty of suitors after he was was released from his letter of intent at Minnesota because he had trouble getting admitted to the school, a source told SNY.tv.

Boston College, Pittsburgh, VCU, Georgia Techa and SMU have been most active, but his camp is “still figuring it out,” the source said.

Nwankwo is 6-foot-9, 250-pound 2015 center originally from Nigeria. He played for House of Sports and Victory Rock (FL) Prep and committed to Minnesota in September over Tennessee, Seton Hall, Rice, Temple and Fordham.

His transcripts have not yet passed through the NCAA Clearinghouse.

http://zagsblog.com/articles/former-minnesota-commit-nwankwo-has-new-suitors/

Go Gophers!!
 

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