All Things McKinley Wright Recruiting Thread

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If we don't get Wright and John, well, I don't even want to think about it.
 


BleedGopher said:
per Marcus:

"When I was down there (for an unofficial visit in the summer), they were going 5-on-5 at 1 o'clock in the morning. That impressed me."

Go Gophers!!
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coaches only get 8 hours a week in the summer and they schedule 1am? maybe players only?
 


I believe Wright will be a gopher
 



gall0249 said:
Our players do some 2 on 1 at 1am.
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mem.gif
 





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Go Gophers!!
 







A couple of hours after Gophers get a Top 65 commit, Wright moves his announcement up two days:

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I get the feeling the people most disappointed if Wright leaves are the local media. Fuller, Doogie et al seem fixated on the local kids rather than the entire recruiting picture. You consistently see them write things like "Gophers top target McKinley Wright/Theo John/*insert MN kid) and almost pay no attention to the other handful of players the Gophers are after.

I get that the local kids make for a nice story, but dang. It just seems so obvious how much they'd rather have the local kids commit here and I feel like if they could pick between a top-75 recruit who's not local and a kid in the 150 range that is, they'd opt for the local kid.

If Wright wanted to be here, he'd be here. I'm assuming he's going to Dayton and have been for a while. Just feels like he never really was all in with the Gophs, and that's fine. More power to him for that. If he ends up surprising me and committing here, great. I just feel like if he wanted to be here, he'd have chosen by now.
 

I remain firm in my want to get a big and a guard. We got the highest rated guard we were after(point). Now we need a big man. So who outside of Theo John is left? Unless we could turn Sims from Texas.
 

Best of luck McKinley.

There is a couple in the neighborhood who both went there and love the school.
 

Congratulations McKinley and Theo

Unregistered User said:
Best of luck McKinley.

There is a couple in the neighborhood who both went there and love the school.
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Agree 100%. Congrats to McKinley and Theo on their success in getting a scholarship to a division 1 program. It is a long road for these kids, and it requires dedication and commitment at a very high level, for a very long time, at a very young age. All of the middle aged naysayers on this board who complain when a kid, who's 17 or 18 years old, doesn't want to go to "their" school, should take a deep breath, step back, and realize what these kids actually go through. We should be celebrating every single kid who pursues his dreams, wherever that is, and hope that they leave college as upstanding adults and individuals, wherever they choose to go to school.

I hope the Gophers are good, yes, but I will NEVER fault a kid who lives in MN for going elsewhere, especially when someone else is paying for it! Congratulations McKinley and Theo, you have earned your spot, now make us all proud by being upstanding representatives of your institution, and the state of MN.
 

Juicer said:
Agree 100%. Congrats to McKinley and Theo on their success in getting a scholarship to a division 1 program. It is a long road for these kids, and it requires dedication and commitment at a very high level, for a very long time, at a very young age. All of the middle aged naysayers on this board who complain when a kid, who's 17 or 18 years old, doesn't want to go to "their" school, should take a deep breath, step back, and realize what these kids actually go through. We should be celebrating every single kid who pursues his dreams, wherever that is, and hope that they leave college as upstanding adults and individuals, wherever they choose to go to school.

I hope the Gophers are good, yes, but I will NEVER fault a kid who lives in MN for going elsewhere, especially when someone else is paying for it! Congratulations McKinley and Theo, you have earned your spot, now make us all proud by being upstanding representatives of your institution, and the state of MN.
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Actually, many of the middle-age posters on the board themselves have 17- to 18-year old sons and daughters who are looking at colleges, so they understand things better than folks younger than them.
 

Juicer said:
Agree 100%. Congrats to McKinley and Theo on their success in getting a scholarship to a division 1 program. It is a long road for these kids, and it requires dedication and commitment at a very high level, for a very long time, at a very young age. All of the middle aged naysayers on this board who complain when a kid, who's 17 or 18 years old, doesn't want to go to "their" school, should take a deep breath, step back, and realize what these kids actually go through. We should be celebrating every single kid who pursues his dreams, wherever that is, and hope that they leave college as upstanding adults and individuals, wherever they choose to go to school.

I hope the Gophers are good, yes, but I will NEVER fault a kid who lives in MN for going elsewhere, especially when someone else is paying for it! Congratulations McKinley and Theo, you have earned your spot, now make us all proud by being upstanding representatives of your institution, and the state of MN.
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Good post. I understand the outrage when you have situations like Cliff Alexander, but that's really the only type of thing that justifies getting angry at a 17 year old for picking a college.
 

Q&A: McKinley Wright Talks About His College Future After Archie Miller Left Dayton for Indiana
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/776624?referrer_id=

McKinley Wright IV, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior guard from Champlin Park (MN) High, was recently named Minnesota's Mr. Basketball. Wright averaged 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game this season for the Rebels, who finished runner-up in last week's Class AAAA state tournament.

Wright made his official visit to Minnesota last fall and narrowed his college choice to Dayton and Minnesota. Four-star guard Isaiah Washington committed to the Gophers September 11th and Wright committed to the Flyers two days later.

Dayton assistant coach Tom Ostrom attended the Rebels' opening round game versus Chaska at the Target Center after finishing with 30 points and eight rebounds in a 53-50 win. Wright had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists in their 70-62 win over Wayzata last Thursday to advance to the title game.

However, Saturday morning it was announced that Dayton head coach Archie Miller would leave to take a similar job at Indiana. Wright was held to just four of 15 shooting from the field and six of eleven from the charity stripe as the Rebels lost to Apple Valley in the title game 60-54, snapping their unbeaten streak.

Wright had offers from schools such as Minnesota, Dayton, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Xavier, Sam Houston State, Illinois and Creighton. Wright attended the Minnesota games versus Nebraska-Omaha and Clemson last year.

Wright caught up with Gopher Hole Saturday at the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Series at Macalester College to talk about the latest on being named Mr. Basketball and his future college home.

Gopher Hole: You were named Minnesota Mr. Basketball. What does that mean to you?

McKinley Wright: It is a huge honor. Knowing that this award is national, it means so much to individual players. It is a big thing for me and my family. For me personally, knowing that all the hard work I have been putting in is starting to pay off, so that was big for me.

Gopher Hole: You played in the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Series in St. Cloud Friday and at Macalester College today. There was a lot of scoring, but it was also fun to see some of the players that you have grown up with and against. What was this experience like?

McKinley Wright: It was fun. The top players in the state. We all got together. Had a fun night last night. Had fun at the hotel and come back today and play some more games. It was a fun experience before everybody takes off for college to throw an event like this, so it was fun. .

Gopher Hole: You have grown up with some of these kids and played with them many times. Is it kind of fun to get everybody together one last time?

McKinley Wright: It was fun. Everybody knows each other's game. We played each other all throughout the high school season. This doesn't mean as much as high school records and stuff like that, so we didn't really care who came out with the W's tonight. We just try to come out and have fun.

Gopher Hole: Obviously, you have been getting asked this a million times, but what is the latest on your recruitment right now?

McKinley Wright: I don't really have nothing going on. Archie Miller left Dayton and went to Indiana. Since then, I haven't really thought about anything. I am just taking this slow. Letting everything go by. Talked to Coach (Anthony) Grant at Dayton. He seems like a good guy. There is nothing really going on right now.

Gopher Hole: Do you know anything about him at all? He was the head coach at VCU and Alabama.

McKinley Wright: He coached at VCU and Alabama. He was an assistant coach for the Thunder with Westbrook and Durant. That is pretty much all I know.

Gopher Hole: Are you starting to hear from other schools?

McKinley Wright: I don't have a release, though. Schools can't hit me up, so I don't know if they are talking to my coaches or who they are talking to, but there is nobody hitting me up, individually.

Gopher Hole: Is this kind of tough because you knew where you were going for quite awhile and now it is up in the air. Does that make it a little tough for you?

McKinley Wright: I mean, it is a tough situation. Me and Miller had a good relationship. Me and Tom Ostrom had a good relationship. I don't know what is going on there. Right now, like I said I am just laying back and taking everything slow.

Gopher Hole: How many official visits did you end up taking in the fall? (A player gets five official visits)

McKinley Wright: I have taken two. Minnesota and Dayton.

Gopher Hole: Do you have a time frame for when you are hoping to know what you are doing?

McKinley Wright: I don't really have a time frame. Like I said, taking everything slow. Letting this all go over. Try to have fun. Like this weekend was big for me, to come out and have fun. I tried not to worry about that at all. These guys helped me. I am close with these guys and we just had fun.

Gopher Hole: Have you talked to any of the other Dayton signees. I think that I saw that one is going to go to Indiana?

McKinley Wright: I talked to both Jordans Jordan (Pierce, a 6-foot-10 power forward from New Jersey and Jordan Davis, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from South Carolina. I talked to all of them. They don't really know what is going on. They are the same position as I am. They are taking it slow. Having fun. They had all-star games in their states, too. Like I said, we are not rushing into anything right now. We are just taking everything slow.

Gopher Hole: I know that it is a tough situation for all of you, but is it kind of nice that you at least have other kids that you can talk to and unfortunately are going through the same thing?

McKinley Wright: It's nice. To hear other people's opinion on what they may do or what they are going to do. Like I said, we're not really rushing into anything.
 


per Jace:

Minnesota was Wright’s runner-up last fall when he picked Dayton. The Gophers picked up a commitment from Isaiah Washington, a four-star point guard from the Bronx, N.Y., days before Wright committed, which cooled the 6-foot point guard’s interest despite Minnesota’s attempt to sell him on the possibility that the two point guards could coexist.

Yet here the Gophers are again, right back in the hunt for a local standout after initially swinging and missing on the loaded crop of in-state talent the Class of 2017 had to offer.

“I still like Minnesota. Nothing has changed with them,” Wright said. “I’ve been talking to (assistant coach) Ben (Johnson) and (head coach Richard) Pitino. Minnesota, it’s home. I’m close with a lot of those guys on that team. I’m close with (Cretin-Derham Hall forward) Daniel Oturu, the 2018 commit. Those are guys are just people I’ve talked to on a daily basis. They had a great year, and I think this upcoming season they’ll have another good year.”

While this is Wright’s second rodeo, he’s not planning on rushing matters. He said Wednesday he still has “at least” 50 days left to make his choice. And since he only used two of his five allotted official visits last fall, he can take three more this spring.

Wright has no timeline for when he might make those visits or make his final decision, but he does think he’ll begin to cut his list in the next week or two.

“The reason I opened my recruitment, I just had to do what was best for me,” Wright said. “I just wanted to weigh all my options and see where it’d be best for me to play my next years of college basketball. … Right now I’m letting everything come at once and seeing what’ll be best for me after I sit down and talk with family and (AAU) coach Al (Harris).”

http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/20/gophers-back-in-the-mix-for-mr-basketball-mckinley-wright-iv/

Go Gophers!!
 

McKinley would make a nice walk on replacement for Haugh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

per Marcus:

-- Former Dayton recruit and Champlin Park senior guard McKinley Wright played with D1 Minnesota in Dallas. Wright, the state’s Mr. Basketball, averaged 14 points, 2.7 assists and two steals in three games. Wright, who had 22 points against Game Elite, just turned 18 and won't play with his former AAU team after Dallas. He had a crowd-pleasing putback dunk in a game with Pitino in attendance this weekend. But Minnesota doesn't have a scholarship to offer Wright at the moment. He's also hearing from Butler, Baylor, Tennessee, Colorado and Indiana, where former Flyers coach Archie Miller left for.

http://www.startribune.com/apple-va...o-see-gophers-making-major-strides/420271933/

Go Gophers!!
 

clemson and colorado offered wright.
 

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