Minnesota Gopher basketball target Reid Travis continues to shine this spring. Travis was named to the ten-man All-Star team at the NBA Top 100 camp. He averaged 10 points and five rebounds and helped lead his team, the Celtics, to the championship.
Travis, who is ranked #40 by ESPN in the Class of 2014, was joined on the All-Star team by three teammates; Devin Booker (#16), Ja’Quan Newton (#67) and camp MVP Cheick Diallo (#10 in Class of 2015).
Several of the other members of the All-Star team played in the EYBL event in Eagan last month.
The other members of the All-Star team were Justin Jackson (#8 North Carolina commit); Joel Berry (#14 North Carolina commit); James Blackmon (#25 Indiana commit); Kelly Oubre (#20); Kevon Looney (#9) and Myles Turner (#10).
Travis helped lead Howard Pulley to a 12-6 mark in the EYBL circuit. They will play in the Peach Jam in Augusta, South Carolina July 10-14 and the Super Showcase July 24-28. The 17-and-under team will also play in the Howard Pulley Pro-Am Summer League, which start Saturday June 29th. Travis will play in the Big Man Skills Academy June 24-26 in Union, New Jersey.
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J.P. Macura of Lakeville North may not be a member of the “Big Three,” but he is certainly drawing plenty of attention recently. He received a scholarship offer Sunday from Iowa State after playing in the Cyclones’ team camp. Macura made a highlight reel play after grabbing a defensive rebound and dribbling the ball upcourt, crossing-over an opponent at midcourt and going up for a tomahawk dunk. Macura had four dunks at the camp, showing that he is more than just an outside shooter. Macura added to the offer list this week with Florida State offering.
Macura recently visited Minnesota and met with Gopher head coach Richard Pitino. An offer was not extended, but Pitino indicated that they will be watching him closely in July. D1 Minnesota will play in the adidas Invitational in Indianapolis July 10-14, the Summer Classic at Bloomington Jefferson July 18-21 and the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas July 24-28.
Macura plans to visit Kansas State and Dayton in the near future. He visited Butler last month and attended the Indiana Pacer-Miami Heat playoff game.
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Gopher target Isaiah Whitehead averaged 10.6 points per game at the NBA Camp this past weekend and was named Most Improved. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound from Brooklyn (NY) Lincoln, is ranked #35 by ESPN and is now a five-star recruit, according to 247 Sports. He plays for the NJ Playaz team in the Nike circuit as well as the Juice All-Stars on the adidas circuit. Whitehead missed the EYBL event on Memorial Day to play with the Juice All-Stars in Dallas. He led the Lincoln Railsplitters to a city title as a junior.
He has offers from Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, St. John’s, Syracuse and UCLA. Whitehead recently said that Louisville, Syracuse and Minnesota are recruiting him the hardest.
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Rashad Vaughn is planning to play at a prep school this year and Huntington Prep in West Virginia is a likely landing spot. The school had #1 recruit Andrew Wiggins, who signed with Kansas, this past year and will have Vaughn’s friend Josh Perkins this upcoming season. Perkins, who is receiving Minnesota interest, averaged 25.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game as Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit finished 21-5. Perkins has mentioned that he would like to play college basketball with Vaughn.
Huntington Prep will also have Jalen Lindsey, who played at Christ Presbyterian Academy, next season. Lindsey is ranked #32 by ESPN.
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The NBA Draft is next Thursday and Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams Jr. are hoping to hear that name called. The last Minnesota Golden Gopher drafted was Kris Humphries in 2005. The other recent former first round picks from Minnesota are Joel Przybilla (2001), Quincy Lewis (2000), Sam Jacobson (1999), Bobby Jackson (1998), John Thomas (1998) and Willie Burton (1991).
Mbakwe and Williams Jr. are more likely second round picks or undrafted free agents.
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The Big Ten has eleven basketball commits to date. Ohio State leads the way with four. Penn State has two, while Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin have one each. Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern are currently without a verbal commitment.
