Isaiah Washington committed to GOPHERS!!!

Donate To GopherHole
I am pretty skeptical of this commitment, the pieces of this puzzle just don't fit all that well. I emailed a couple of fellow Gopher fans prior to Washington's visit with the thought that the Gophers would try to push for a commitment from him before Wright's announcement on the 15th (now 13th). I felt like Wright was going to announce for Dayton which would be an unprecedented recruiting loss for the Gophers in the time I've followed recruiting closely (almost 20 years). The only kids I can remember that a coaching staff at the U prioritized that went to non Blue Bloods were Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn, and Lawrence McKenzie...and none of them chose a school like Dayton. Obviously, the Travis/Vaughn recruitments were right when Pitino got the job. Now they land Washington who, despite playing very well on the Summer circuit, did not receive the offers commensurate with his play or consensus National rating. It feels like something is up here; that's there is a piece to this puzzle we don't know yet. I don't want to speculate as to what they may be, I just have my guard up as a fan. I hope this is just as it seems: Pitino landed the type of prospect we hoped he'd be able to attract when hired and that Washington is the PG of the future at Minnesota.
 

GopherMike said:
Awesome news. It always makes me wonder though with a kid rated this highly, was he not recruited by St. John's or Villanova or any of the other top schools out east?
Click to expand...

St. John's got Ponds last year, not sure they want another pg this year (or that another highly ranked one would go there). Villanova and Syracuse are in on higher prospects. Seton Hall, Rutgers were on him hard. Butler and VA Tech offered. There were a few others. I agree, though, that you'd think there would be more.

Grades were good enough to take the OV.
 

EG#9 said:
I am pretty skeptical of this commitment, the pieces of this puzzle just don't fit all that well. I emailed a couple of fellow Gopher fans prior to Washington's visit with the thought that the Gophers would try to push for a commitment from him before Wright's announcement on the 15th (now 13th). I felt like Wright was going to announce for Dayton which would be an unprecedented recruiting loss for the Gophers in the time I've followed recruiting closely (almost 20 years). The only kids I can remember that a coaching staff at the U prioritized that went to non Blue Bloods were Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn, and Lawrence McKenzie...and none of them chose a school like Dayton. Obviously, the Travis/Vaughn recruitments were right when Pitino got the job. Now they land Washington who, despite playing very well on the Summer circuit, did not receive the offers commensurate with his play or consensus National rating. It feels like something is up here; that's there is a piece to this puzzle we don't know yet. I don't want to speculate as to what they may be, I just have my guard up as a fan. I hope this is just as it seems: Pitino landed the type of prospect we hoped he'd be able to attract when hired and that Washington is the PG of the future at Minnesota.
Click to expand...

There is a video of some clips from a playground game in New York, he was playing against a mid major PG recruit, the clip was touting the match up , his defense was a bit suspect, he got beat a number of times with terrible defense, not sure if that is indicative of what to expect but I am guessing he has some work to do when he gets here, it sure looked like the kid can score though.
 

jovs said:
There is a video of some clips from a playground game in New York, he was playing against a mid major PG recruit, the clip was touting the match up , his defense was a bit suspect, he got beat a number of times with terrible defense, not sure if that is indicative of what to expect but I am guessing he has some work to do when he gets here, it sure looked like the kid can score though.
Click to expand...

Their is also a video of him going up against the #1 PG recruit in 2017, Trevon Duvall, where he had a couple of nice defensive sequences against him and Isaiah actually outscored him in the game as well.

Edit: Here is the video

 

jovs said:
There is a video of some clips from a playground game in New York, he was playing against a mid major PG recruit, the clip was touting the match up , his defense was a bit suspect, he got beat a number of times with terrible defense, not sure if that is indicative of what to expect but I am guessing he has some work to do when he gets here, it sure looked like the kid can score though.
Click to expand...
This match up where he outplayed the number 1 point guard prospect in the country?

From U Sports:
Class of 2017 five-star point guard Trevon Duval, who 247Sports ranks as the best point guard in the 2017 class and the No. 5 recruit in the country, was involved in a heated duel with class of 2017 four-star point guard Isaiah Washington, who was cheered for as a native of the city.

While Duval’s team edged out Washington’s squad, Washington put on a show. He erupted for 36 points, the second most in Elite 24 history. (Lance Stephenson is the only player who scored more: 38.)

Washington, who 247Sports ranks as the No. 95 overall recruit in the 2017 class and the 18th-best point guard in the country, made a statement in this game. His speed, quickness and agility dropped a lot of jaws, especially against a player of Duval’s stature.

http://www.todaysu.com/recruiting/c...saiah-washington-dazzle-in-elite-24-showcase/
 




Winasota Gopher said:
This thread is CLASSIC Gopherhole.
Click to expand...

So spot on. Had this thread been about losing a recruit like Wright, the world would be ending. And since this thread is about a highly rated recruit from NYC, something must be up. No way could the Gophers land a kid like this.

You just can't win...
 

Looks like a good deal to me.

Never forget Minnesotans ability to understate.
 



Blitzkrieg said:


So spot on. Had this thread been about losing a recruit like Wright, the world would be ending. And since this thread is about a highly rated recruit from NYC, something must be up. No way could the Gophers land a kid like this.

You just can't win...
Click to expand...

We actually have people downgrading his rating as well.
 

Have seen him in person three times and he is a very good player that the staff deserves tremendous credit for. I could care less that his offer list does not include a blue blood program. Villanova, UVA , UW, Butler and several others have built wonderful programs with players that did not get blue blood offers.
 

Welcome aboard! Might have to find a way to get Bball season tix to go with our football ones.
 

Cayman said:
Might be strictly referring to the "Rivals era," basically 1999 or so onward. I only started following Gopher basketball when Tubby got here, but I think most of Monson's big time recruits were from in-state. I wanna say Devoe Joseph and Ralph Sampson III were both close to the top 50 though.
Click to expand...

Devoe was, and so was Andre Hollins.
 




Just emerging from a demanding weekend. Was a thrill and delight to see this news when it came across. Hard work pays off for the staff; many kudos to them. I had been fretting, but this totally takes the sting away from losing Dorsey and not getting Davison.

I love his videos. Looks like at least a four-tool point guard (out of six), which is awesome. I love his decisiveness, footwork and skill.
 

I only have access to espn recruiting, which definitely doesn't keep up like some others, but it had Sampson III as the #23 center, and Joseph as the #81 pg. I believe that was low compared to other sites. Mo Walker as the #9 center, Dre Hollins as the #22 SG. They have Washington as the #18 PG.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Just emerging from a demanding weekend. Was a thrill and delight to see this news when it came across. Hard work pays off for the staff; many kudos to them. I had been fretting, but this totally takes the sting away from losing Dorsey and not getting Davison.

I love his videos. Looks like at least a four-tool point guard (out of six), which is awesome. I love his decisiveness, footwork and skill.
Click to expand...

+1 - times were getting nervous with 3 top 100 Minnesota recruits going elsewhere (including 2 to WI..). Huge relief to get Isaiah committed at this stage. I like Davidson's game a lot, but do feel Isaiah's game is going to be a better fit in Pitino's "system" at the guard position. NYC kids make me a little nervous as the fundamentals can be missing with all of the blacktop ball, but he seems to have a pretty complete game and a great demeanor (a high profile player that actually smiles and seems to enjoy himself!). Will be nice to see some NYC swagger in the barn!
 

Bad Gopher said:
Just emerging from a demanding weekend. Was a thrill and delight to see this news when it came across. Hard work pays off for the staff; many kudos to them. I had been fretting, but this totally takes the sting away from losing Dorsey and not getting Davison.

I love his videos. Looks like at least a four-tool point guard (out of six), which is awesome. I love his decisiveness, footwork and skill.
Click to expand...

Please tell me the two skills he is missing are NOT dribbling and shooting!
 


Otis said:
Please tell me the two skills he is missing are NOT dribbling and shooting!
Click to expand...

Evaluations I've seen say his 3 point shooting could be better but at least needs to be respected by opponents. He seems to be a pretty skilled ball handler from what I've seen though.
 


So with the commitment, how many more are we taking this year?
 

upnorthkid said:
So with the commitment, how many more are we taking this year?
Click to expand...

2 scholarships open up from Springs and Haugh after this year. Washington has taken one of them, so that leaves one more. Some people are speculating that we'll take 2 more for a total of 3 in the fall, but Pitino hasn't oversigned yet, so I'll believe that when I see it.
 

Otis said:
Please tell me the two skills he is missing are NOT dribbling and shooting!
Click to expand...

I don't know that he's missing them, which is why I wrote "minimum." On the video, I didn't see him play defense, and he didn't seem to exhibit crazy athleticism at any point. My apologies if I missed anything. Like I said, he still might have those attributes.
 

Cayman said:
2 scholarships open up from Springs and Haugh after this year. Washington has taken one of them, so that leaves one more. Some people are speculating that we'll take 2 more for a total of 3 in the fall, but Pitino hasn't oversigned yet, so I'll believe that when I see it.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think we take 2 in the fall. Then when the inevitable scholarship or two opens up in the Spring, you can look into potential grad transfers/JUCO's/good high school players that didn't sign in the fall.
 

per Marcus:

Years before he was the Gophers starting point guard on a Final Four and Big Ten title team in 1997, Eric Harris grew up in the Bronx and was a star at St. Raymond High School in New York.

Harris has followed New York City basketball and the University of Minnesota closely over the years.

So imagine his excitement when the U picked up a commitment Sunday from Bronx native Isaiah Washington, a four-star point guard from Harris' former high school.

"Everybody respects the work he put in," Harris said. "You see the progression of his game in terms of finishing with both hands and being able to create off the dribble. He can get anywhere on the court he wants to get to because of his creativity. Obviously, he has to continue to work on his jump shot and defensively he has to get better. But New Yorkers love the underdog -- people who put the work in and improve. So the city is really high on him."

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...n-continues-with-isaiah-washington/393130271/

Go Gophers!!
 

I'm assuming there was a "Everything Isaiah Washington Recruiting" page, but my account doesn't allow for me to use the search feature of the forums, and I couldn't find it paging through. Could someone bump that thread. Much appreciated.
 

Anyone who isn't excited about this signing is crazy. If I had to make a comparison, his game reminds me of Chris Paul. Of course, CP was a 5 star consensus coming out of HS, so I am not saying that's what Washington will be from day 1. There are similarities though, Isaiah has a little flair to his game and seems to love the alley oop's and both are CP3-esque. He isn't a polished 3 point shooter, which CP was criticized for in college. I think the guy is going to be an absolute star and I would take him over the MN recruits any day. Caveat - this is my OPINION
 

Wow, this is huge. We need a young PG like we need oxygen and Washington seems to be a best-case-scenario pickup. Kudos to Pitino & co., I assume Kamini was heavily involved in this one.
 

Did Washington break the Theo news on Twitter?!

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom