GopherHole Exclusive: Willie Burton says Royce White wants to return to the U

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Unfortunately I don't think Royce's ego would be able to deal with that.

GopherJake said:
Is it possible that Tubby will offer Royce a walk-on situation with the promise of a scholarship in '11-'12 if he can abstain from making any more idiotic videos or exhibiting further vainglorious behavior?
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I'm surprised nobody has commented on this: "He hasn’t really been in the gym." That makes me wonder if he really cares that much about basketball. Maybe he just liked the attention he got from being so good at it. Okay that's a little ridiculous. If that's true that he hasn't really been playing/working out, that's really bothersome considering he must have a pretty wide-open schedule without school or a bball team. I'm guessing he's not working 40 hrs a week somewhere.
 


lakesgopher said:
tell that to brett favre! if minnesota can have patience with favre I think we can have patience with white
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Respectfully, I think it's a little absurd to compare Brett Favre and Royce White.

One is a Hall of Fame quarterback and the other.... well.... you get the idea.
 

And yet today Shooter writes-

Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith, on Royce White, who didn't play as a freshman this season because of legal problems, then left school: "I don't know what Royce is going to do. We wish him the best."
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Has Royce ever apoligized to the team, Tubby, the fans? IMO, this has to happen.
 

If Royce is sincere about wanting to change his life and return to the "Team", then I'm all for giving him another chance. With Paul Carter (sad but understandable) transfering, a scholarship is available along with the ability to sign the Mo/Cory combo. That would provide some very exciting optimism for Gopher fans. Again, IMO, Royce would have to display a very different attitude for Tubby to do this but I think Tubby is a person who would definitely provide a young man another chance to better his life.

P.S. Best of luck to Paul Carter and thanks for your effort.
 

Bisker82 said:
If Royce is sincere about wanting to change his life and return to the "Team", then I'm all for giving him another chance. With Paul Carter (sad but understandable) transfering, a scholarship is available
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And a potential gaping hole at the 3-4 spot, especially with Trevor's status unknown. Sure we can still go three guard + two bigs, but Royce's game (not problems) would fit in nicely with the gophs roster next season.

Best wishes for PC and his family.
 

bga1 said:
This would be good. Go with the Mo and Cory program. You stake your team on Royce and we are on pins and needles all year whenever we go on line or pick up a newspaper wondering if
Royce has done something.
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From a selfish point of view I would like to see him play for the Gophers. The problem, as you stated: If Royce rejoined the team, coaches, teammates and fans would have to wonder-Will he be on the team tomorrow,next week or next month.
 



"He hasn't really been in the gym."

Basketball clearly isn't Royce's number one priority. There's no reason for Tubby and his staff to make him theirs. I say let him walk-on if he wants and earn a scholarship for spring '11 semester but make sure he is the one to make contact first and get the ball rolling on this thing.
 

Here's what I think:

Royce has basically shown no signs of real DESIRE to play basketball here. I'll take 3* players that want to be here, over 5* ones that have no passion to play here. Royce made mistakes, we know that, but he has made little effort to correct those mistakes or show that he is made changes to become a better person.

Royce also has shown very little ability to overcome adversity. Bad things happened to him (regaurdless of how much he is at fault) and he just complains and quits. I'm fine with him being upset about the situation, but to quit? Really? Is it that bad? You're getting a free college education, and all you have to do it keep your nose clean and come back next season, and you QUIT? This has shown me that when things don't go Royce's way, he'll quit and complain. We all know Tubby keeps a short leash on his players while on the court. What would happen if Royce made a bad mistake on the court and Tubby sat him on the bench? From his actions so far, I would say he would get mad and quit. I don't believe that additude on the bench would help the team, and I don't think that Royce would go back on the floor and contribute. I for one don't want to have to worry every game about Royce getting upset and quitting for the rest of the night.

Royce had his shot to be on this team, and he has thrown that away. It's time to move on.
 

And so the melodrama continues. Distractions continue apace. The fact is, no one will know if Royce has his mind right until he is given the opportunity to prove that he does. The question is one of risk, all of which falling on Tubby, the players and fans.

Does Tubby want to run the risk of another season of bad media stories only this coming season more blame being attributed to Tubby for deciding to bring the so far woefully, demonstratively immature Royce back? Does Tubby run the risk of further scrutiny if not welcoming five-star Royce back should the upcoming season be less than successful? There are plenty of hindsight prognosticators even for Minnesota nice.

It is a situation that only Royce can (and has had) control. When a university like the esteemed University of MN offers an athlete a scholarship, there is an element of trust attributed to both the player and the school. Only Royce can exhibit whether such trust in him is warranted. Royce already knows the University is trustworthy.

Who could possibly blame Tubby for taking time in considering this situation?
 





minimax said:
Precisely what smart people with something to lose (for themselves and other) do. If nothing else, Mr. Smith is a smart guy.
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I agree with you on that. Most good investors/gamblers are risk-averse. They take them as they know they are necessary to succeed but don't particuarly like leaving things to chance.

However this plays out, I pick Tubby to make an educated decision about what's best for the program.
 

Until Royce makes an effort to talk to Tubby and clear these issues up, then this is all a waste of time, nothing has changed and the Gophers are paying very little attention to any news in the latest version of the Royce White Saga. They will not sit on a scholarship hoping for RW to come back this summer, they will use it this spring if they feel like that player can help. With Carter leaving, it opens up another scholarship and a spot for immediate playing time for a forward but the ball is entirely in Royce's court and he better act soon if he wants to come back.
 

Odd

Is it just me or does it seem odd to anyone else that Royce is sending Willie Burton to do his bidding for him? I appreciate Nadine's work, but it seems that Royce does not need a go between here. He needs to man up and talk to the coach himself.

The fact that he has not been in the gym is really scary to me as well.

No matter what, the guy will get a chance at a free college education somewhere, so no tears should be shed for him if he doesn't come here.

I always tell our kids that they become the friends they keep. Others must have told Royce the same thing and he apears to not have listened.
 

Somebody needs to sit down and show that dude "Hoosiers."

Royce needs to walk into Williams Arena, find Tubby, and say "Coach, I think it's about time I start playing some ball."
 

Rotundo said:
Doesn't his appearing on an advertisement for a nightclub end his chances of playing college basketball?
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please! based on what i have heard that was not even a real advertisement, but rather something that someone who apparently has some jealousy issues with royce thought would be "funny" to make up and post on the internet just to take a cheap shot at him. it was also posted on a FAKE royce white facebook page and was not on the real royce white facebook page.
 

I try not to get into these Royce White threads - because they seem pointless to me. I hope the best for the kid he seems to be struggling to find himself - perhaps a long lost child of the 60's.

The one thing that jumped out at me when reading Gopher Hole Interview with Willie Burton was this line:

GH: What kind of things has he been working on in the past couple months – do you know his workout routine or how much he’s been in the gym?
WB: He hasn’t really been in the gym.

I was not a great basketball player by any means. I did enjoy the game though. When I was 19 I am sure that I was in a 'gym' at least a couple times a week. Here Willy says, "He hasn't really been in the gym." Hard to believe that someone with his supposed talent has not been in a gym in this period of time.

Also, it seems like Royce still thinks he should have coaches recruiting him - and knocking on his door. It seems to me the tables have turned and the time has come for Royce to start knocking on the doors himself and get himself to a gym.
 

rrjackIII said:
I try not to get into these Royce White threads - because they seem pointless to me. I hope the best for the kid he seems to be struggling to find himself - perhaps a long lost child of the 60's.

The one thing that jumped out at me when reading Gopher Hole Interview with Willie Burton was this line:

GH: What kind of things has he been working on in the past couple months – do you know his workout routine or how much he’s been in the gym?
WB: He hasn’t really been in the gym.

I was not a great basketball player by any means. I did enjoy the game though. When I was 19 I am sure that I was in a 'gym' at least a couple times a week. Here Willy says, "He hasn't really been in the gym." Hard to believe that someone with his supposed talent has not been in a gym in this period of time.

Also, it seems like Royce still thinks he should have coaches recruiting him - and knocking on his door. It seems to me the tables have turned and the time has come for Royce to start knocking on the doors himself and get himself to a gym.
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I agree. After reading that he hasn't been in the gym, it makes me think that he doesn't have much passion for basketball. It feels like the train has left the station and Royce is waiting at the platform with all his baggage.
 

Does Royce even like basketball?

I seem to recall reading an article about him from when he was a sophomore at DL. If I recall correctly, he made some comment intimating that he really didn't love basketball, but he played it because he was good at it and it had a "future" for him.
 

balds said:
I seem to recall reading an article about him from when he was a sophomore at DL. If I recall correctly, he made some comment intimating that he really didn't love basketball, but he played it because he was good at it and it had a "future" for him.
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Andre Agassi was to tennis as Royce White is to basketball.
 


JohnnyGopher said:
Until Royce makes an effort to talk to Tubby and clear these issues up, then this is all a waste of time, nothing has changed and the Gophers are paying very little attention to any news in the latest version of the Royce White Saga. They will not sit on a scholarship hoping for RW to come back this summer, they will use it this spring if they feel like that player can help. With Carter leaving, it opens up another scholarship and a spot for immediate playing time for a forward but the ball is entirely in Royce's court and he better act soon if he wants to come back.
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I like how Tubby is recruiting hard right now, even if Royce is taken back, Cobbs still could exit. A large part of me still wants to see Royce on the court as a Gopher next year, let's hope he reads this or Willie passes on some sound advice.
 

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