MadtownGopher
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Crystal Ball stuff is a lot of b.s. but it is hard not to be encouraged by those tweets, if only because as a fan base we are desperate for some positive news.
All Things Isaiah Whitehead Thread UPDATED 9/18: Whitehead to Seton Hall
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golfing18now
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That's a pretty gutsy move on his part. Rather than placate to the local masses, he's going for the bigger fish. I love this move, I think?? (assuming it is true)
Same here. Pitino should be meeting with Whtehead in the near future here as well. He is doing in-home's this week.
MadtownGopher
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Whitehead said he wanted to go to the team that NEEDED him the most. Pitino can now say he has passed on another 4 star wing because he NEEDS Whitehead that bad. Haha
mnsportsgeek
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I for one hope we didn't reject Macura for Whitehead. However, I'll eat my words if we get Whitehead. It just seems to good to be true.
MadtownGopher
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Some times I think Jerry Meyer is trolling Gopher fans with this predictions and recruiting tidbits.
Yep, he's visiting Whitehead tomorrow.
mnsports1
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I don't know, put me in the camp of ...we could have used both.
WindyCityGopher
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I think Pitino is smart enough to know he's never going to move the needle unless he places some big bets. This is high major basketball in the strongest of the power conferences, so it could be that he's taking a calculated gamble that program changers like Whitehead or Vaughn will commit, which meant backing away from Macura. Ballsy, but exhilarating to watch unfold.
mnsportsgeek
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Doogie says Meyer is full of it. I believe him. Pitino is ambitious, but he isn't stupid enough to know that this is still Minnesota.
This is probably correct. Pitino seems extremely confident in his recruiting abilities and he's prepared to live and die by them. No offense to JP, but getting fringe top 100 players probably won't put us near the top of the big ten. Rich knows he needs to reach higher and is prepared to fail if that's what indeed happens.
MadtownGopher
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I would bet A LOT that Doogie is basing this on Macura's AAU coach tweeting that it isn't true. Doogie doesn't have legit sources.
Rouser
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I wouldn't say he has no legit sources. Some are just not the ones who would risk leaking controversial info.
Case in point: On August 31 Doogie tweeted he heard from Twins source they are not close on any trades, 15 minutes later Morneau is traded to the Pirates.
He either doesn't have sources or they are bad, unreliable sources.
MadtownGopher
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Doogies "real" sources are people looking to use him to spin news in their favor which usually means he isn't even getting the full truth. The Flip Saunders deal is a good example. What was the last story that he truly broke or hinted at before anyone else? It's a whole lot of swing and misses.
And he's had several other mishaps lately. For the record, I don't give a rat's @ss about crystal ball, but when it comes down to college basketball recruiting, I'll trust Meyer more than Doogie.
GophersOnTheRise
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Couldn't agree more.
Isaiah Whitehead himself weighs in ...
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>“Isaiah Whitehead is the biggest question mark in the country right now. Who does he like? No one knows”- Just The Way I Want It Lol ��</p>— Isaiah Whitehead (@Isaiah_W15) <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaiah_W15/statuses/377538591398068224">September 10, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>“Isaiah Whitehead is the biggest question mark in the country right now. Who does he like? No one knows”- Just The Way I Want It Lol ��</p>— Isaiah Whitehead (@Isaiah_W15) <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaiah_W15/statuses/377538591398068224">September 10, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rouser
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I love that he is having fun with it..and hey, he isn't denying anything. A Gopher fan can dream..
GophersOnTheRise
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Wants his decision to be a surprise to everyone. Committing to the Gophers would be an incredible surprise.
golfing18now
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He tweeted the exact same thing five days ago. However, I do want this guy more than anybody else in the 2014 class. It would be a game changer for recruiting in the Northeast.
It will be great if we get Whitehead, but I question passing on Macura unless he's a sure thing. Frankly, I don't see why one would scare the other off. It seems there will be plenty of shots available.
If whitehead ended up committing and Dre returning there wouldn't be alot of playing time for Macura his freshman year, Pitino may have told him flat out he might have to wait a year to see substantial playing time.
Would it be too much to ask for everyone to agree to stop referring to Doogie on this board? I've tried to be nice, but the guy has clown shoes on. If Gopher fans stop conversing with him on Twitter, stopped referring to him on GopherHole, etc, he'd eventually die on the vine.
Doogie claiming anyone is "full of it" after all the crap he's posted/tweeted/"reported" over the past couple of years is hysterical.
Doogie claiming anyone is "full of it" after all the crap he's posted/tweeted/"reported" over the past couple of years is hysterical.
Golden_Sloth
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+1 I seriously doubt Pitino wouldn't take Macura in a heartbeat, seeing as how we don't have anyone yet for 2014. But if he did, I would seriously question that move. Even if is Whitehead is a lock to MN, which is extremely doubtful, there's no reason why he and Macura can't coexist.
Gopherguy0723
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No kidding. Dougie is a joke.
He is the epitomy of bad journalism. He reports any rumor he hears, regardless of the reliability of the source. He is just the worst. I don't know why people even listen to him let alone take hime seriously.
One more thought. He constantly gets used by agents and PR people because they know he'd report the sky is green if he can say a source told him it is green. He only cares about getting one right even if he gets egg on his face 9 out of 10 times.
Hey Doogie, confirm your stories with more sources, do research, get people on the record every now and then. Stop being a puppet and stenographer. If you cannot do that then go away.
BleedGopher
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ZagsBlog: Minnesota, Pittsburgh Visiting Whitehead Today
Isaiah Whitehead has done a great job of keeping his recruiting cards close to the vest, and today two more schools will make their pitch to the 2014 Brooklyn Lincoln shooting guard.
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino and assistant Kimani Young will visit with Whitehead in Brooklyn, as will Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon and assistant Barry “Slice” Rohrssen.
Minnesota is in the midst of a huge week in which they saw Findlay Prep guard Rashad Vaughn, a Minnesota native, work out Monday, and also had a home visit with Minnesota point guard Tyus Jones Tuesday.
Now Pitino will see the 6-foot-4 Whitehead to make his pitch.
“They say you can get away, shy away from all the attention,” Whitehead told SNY.tv of Minnesota last month. “They know it’s in the Big Ten but it’s really a low key school, no one really has pressure there to do big things.”
http://zagsblog.com/recruiting/minnesota-pittsburgh-visiting-whitehead-today/
Go Gophers!!
Isaiah Whitehead has done a great job of keeping his recruiting cards close to the vest, and today two more schools will make their pitch to the 2014 Brooklyn Lincoln shooting guard.
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino and assistant Kimani Young will visit with Whitehead in Brooklyn, as will Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon and assistant Barry “Slice” Rohrssen.
Minnesota is in the midst of a huge week in which they saw Findlay Prep guard Rashad Vaughn, a Minnesota native, work out Monday, and also had a home visit with Minnesota point guard Tyus Jones Tuesday.
Now Pitino will see the 6-foot-4 Whitehead to make his pitch.
“They say you can get away, shy away from all the attention,” Whitehead told SNY.tv of Minnesota last month. “They know it’s in the Big Ten but it’s really a low key school, no one really has pressure there to do big things.”
http://zagsblog.com/recruiting/minnesota-pittsburgh-visiting-whitehead-today/
Go Gophers!!
Not sure how to take his quote about pressure here ... lol ias far as it being a positive or a negative, I mean.
I think the reality of that quote/situation there is that if you accomplish something here, it will be a really big deal for us. Such as an elite 8. If you accomplish that same feat at Indiana, you will probably here the boos.
Whitehead seems to have always been the underdog from a ratings perspective and been trying to knock off the people above him. He seems to have that chip on his shoulder of knowing he's the best and wanting to prove it every time on the floor to those who haven't recognized it yet. I hope he sees Minnesota as being another opportunity for him to do that. By committing here, he'd not only surprise a lot of people, he'd get to do a LOT of "knocking off the big boys" as they say. I can imagine being the guy who started that movement to build up Minnesota would be pretty appealing. Especially for a guy who seems to thrive on being the underdog.
Granted it was a cheating scandal involved, but just look at how beloved Bobby Jackson is here. I think the same type of fandom could be here for Whitehead as well.
Bad Gopher
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That sounds like the attitude a lot of people seem to have about coming to work or compete here. It's a safe place where coaches can semi retire and veteran free agent players can earn a nice paycheck while playing out the last years of their career in relative peace, without a lot of expectations. They don't win a lot in Minnesota, so they'll be happy with mailed-in effort.
Not saying that's where Whitehead is coming from - indeed, I'm sure it's not. Just wondering how losing and low expectations have gotten so ingrained in our culture here. It wasn't always like that.