All Things Isaiah Whitehead Thread UPDATED 9/18: Whitehead to Seton Hall

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BleedGopher

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This got buried in the thread about 2013 spring recruiting. Offer list includes: Kentucky, Florida, Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, UCLA and just about everyone else. You gotta love Pitino and Young's ambition!

@Isaiah_W15: Just Got Visits From Steve Lavin From St.Johns & Minnesota's Coach Pitino & Young At My HS #BLESSEDEDD

Fan site:

http://www.isaiahwhitehead.com/

Video:


Go Gophers!!
 


Don't follow close enough to know if we would have any shot of holding his interest but glad to see Pitino setting his sights on big time talent and there were quite a few stories about their deep connections in the New York area.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Don't follow close enough to know if we would have any shot of holding his interest but glad to see Pitino setting his sights on big time talent and there were quite a few stories about their deep connections in the New York area.
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+1
 



It's just fun to know that our new coaching regime is willing to go after the big guns. Nothing wrong with trying, just as long as you end up with decent consolation prizes if you miss the top rated players.

Got pretty sick of Tubby's self-defeated recruiting. Don't get me wrong, he did way better than Monson, especially his first 2 recruiting classes. But it was not going in the right direction.
 

Good sign that he is getting in the door to talk to recruits like that, I don't think top national recruits would even talk to Monson unless they were from Minnesota, Tubby had more access to top players he just didn't sign many, hopefully that changes under Pitino.
 

Glad to see that kind of passion and fire in Pitino, and I'm glad he's going after the best talent. But this is a reach.
 



If they don't get him, it's a reach. If he commits to the U, it's a brilliant move!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The 2-and-3-star rum-dums will always be out there.
 

I would love to see the reaction of the Big 3 if this guy was our first commit.... especially if we only had 3 open scholarships for 2014. Haha
 

To be fair to Tubby and Monson I am sure they would make overtures to guys like this as well, I am sure pretty much any major conference school would, but the trick is getting the kids to be willing to listen. In this particular case the mention was pretty vague and could mean nothing at all but this is the kind of kid where traditionally you never hear us mentioned at all.

The only reason I would give this any extra attention again is the rumored strong connections to Young in particular in terms of recruiting in that part of the country.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I would love to see the reaction of the Big 3 if this guy was our first commit.... especially if we only had 3 open scholarships for 2014. Haha
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No biggie...Travis will take a football scholarship and walk on to the basketball team.
 



Great job by Kimani Young to put us in the picture. That shot of Isaiah's...
 

Oh, no. Cue the posts about a dream team with Tyus, Rashad, Reid, and Whitehead. I love Pitino's aggressiveness, though.
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
It's just fun to know that our new coaching regime is willing to go after the big guns. Nothing wrong with trying, just as long as you end up with decent consolation prizes if you miss the top rated players.

Got pretty sick of Tubby's self-defeated recruiting. Don't get me wrong, he did way better than Monson, especially his first 2 recruiting classes. But it was not going in the right direction.
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Got to disagree with you here. Tubby didn't go after every 5 star guy out there (nor will Pitino), be he wasn't afraid to aim high when he thought he had a shot. i.e. He went all-in after Corey Joseph, he went after Harrison Barnes very hard.
 

afurry91 said:
Glad to see that kind of passion and fire in Pitino, and I'm glad he's going after the best talent. But this is a reach.
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Well, as Rich's dad told him. (not exact quote) 'You have got to go after the same level of recruits as Ohio St. Indiana, Mich St. and not a step below.' Not a reach at all, unless one thinks the 'U' is a NOT a place where top bb players want to play. I happen to think, no I know the 'U' is a top university to play bb, and get a world class education.
 

There's no reason not to go after the stars like Whitehead, but you've got to have good fallback options and be ready to find under the radar guys that can help you raise the program to a higher level, at which point the stars are more inclined to come aboard. Beilein did a great job of that at UM, he didn't start off recruiting well at all there star-wise but was able to gradually improve the talent of his players with each class.
 

I image the phone call that allowed him a foot in the door went something like this:

Richard: "Hi, this is coach Pitino, I am in the neighborhood and I would love a chance to swing by the house and meet with your son"

Mom yelling to kid: "Honey, do you have a few minutes this afternoon to meet with some coach named Pitino?"
 

raindog said:
I image the phone call that allowed him a foot in the door went something like this:

Richard: "Hi, this is coach Pitino, I am in the neighborhood and I would love a chance to swing by the house and meet with your son"

Mom yelling to kid: "Honey, do you have a few minutes this afternoon to meet with some coach named Pitino?"
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Nah, this is all about Kimani Young. He's apparently really tight with Whitehead's AAU coaches.
 

OK, let's rephrase Mom yelling to kid: "Honey, do you have a few minutes this afternoon to meet with some Young coach named Pitino?"
 

RoyalGopher said:
Oh, no. Cue the posts about a dream team with Tyus, Rashad, Reid, and Whitehead. I love Pitino's aggressiveness, though.
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Anything less than this is an abysmal failure, and makes Pitino a terrible coach.
 

hyaluronic said:
Anything less than this is an abysmal failure, and makes Pitino a terrible coach.
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They also have to find a way to land every local kid, especially those who have some success for a Mid Major school.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
They also have to find a way to land every local kid, especially those who have some success for a Mid Major school.
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Yeah I've never understood why the Gopher don't take advantage of the rule that allows us to sign as many players as we want each year.
 


GophersInIowa said:
Yeah I've never understood why the Gopher don't take advantage of the rule that allows us to sign as many players as we want each year.
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Prior coach was too indecisive and thus didn't want to be put in a position to actually make a decision
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
They also have to find a way to land every local kid, especially those who have some success for a Mid Major school.
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Personally I'm appalled that Pitino hasn't offered Nate Wolters yet and appears to be looking to take kids from out of state (OUT OF STATE) that have high major offers instead.
 

All Things Isaiah Whitehead Thread

It's 'bout time we have a thread contributed solely to our 'other' 5-star 2014 recruit.

RyanBurnsGI ‏@RyanBurnsGI 6m
2014 5-star SG Isaish Whitehead (@Isaiah_W15) tells @Rivals that #Minnesota is among three schools recruiting him the hardest right now.
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