Isaiah Washington to play in Ballslife All American game, Big time competition!

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Winning the 3-point shootout is fantastic news, though watching it, he didn't seem to be exactly automatic. Still, that's great to hear. Also impressed that he seemed to lead the whole game in rebounding. And obviously his ball handling is always off the charts good.
 





This is irrelevant but I tell my wife this stuff and she only sort of pretends to care.

Isaiah Washington has 157,000+ followers on Instagram. Gopher men's basketball has under 10,000
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
This is irrelevant but I tell my wife this stuff and she only sort of pretends to care.

Isaiah Washington has 157,000+ followers on Instagram. Gopher men's basketball has under 10,000
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I looked it up and he has more Instagram followers than 9 of the top 10 players in the country including more than any of the top 5 composite recruits. Trevon Duval was the only one I saw with more. It's amazing the popularity this kid has and he's ours.

One of his youtube videos has over 500,000 views with several others getting 200-300,000 views. On average, I'd say he gets way more view that Mo Bamba or Deandre Ayton, two of the top 3 recruits in the country this year with his highest viewed video having more views than any of theirs.

I forgot where I saw, I think in the comment section of one of his videos where people from China have said they are familiar with the Jellyfam movement and are fans of Isaiah Washington. Thats absolutely ridiculous. Kids from China? Fans of one of our gopher basketball recruits? Amazing.
 

I've just got a stinking suspicion that this is gonna come back to haunt us. Somewhere there's a NCAA infraction in this Jelly Fam thing.
 



Winasota Gopher said:
I've just got a stinking suspicion that this is gonna come back to haunt us. Somewhere there's a NCAA infraction in this Jelly Fam thing.
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The positive side is that it is likely that most of the major college basketball recruits are probably following him.So Minnesota is getting a lot of free publicity out of him. He could be a huge recruiting magnet. He's got ability and personality and it looks like he is going to be a fun teammate to play with.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
I've just got a stinking suspicion that this is gonna come back to haunt us. Somewhere there's a NCAA infraction in this Jelly Fam thing.
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So long as he isn't getting money from it there shouldn't be an issue?
 

Tim1406 said:
So long as he isn't getting money from it there shouldn't be an issue?
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He's got shirts, shoes. Youtube views, I'm not sure if he's running advertisements on them, but that kind of hit count will pay out quite a bit of money.

I've seen some crazy numbers on videos that get 100,000 views and what that can pay out. With the NCAA, if he got $2 it's a violation.
 



Winasota Gopher said:
He's got shirts, shoes. Youtube views, I'm not sure if he's running advertisements on them, but that kind of hit count will pay out quite a bit of money.

I've seen some crazy numbers on videos that get 100,000 views and what that can pay out. With the NCAA, if he got $2 it's a violation.
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This is something the NCAA needs to change and I think they will in the future. If a player wants to make money off his/her likeness they should be able to and still maintain amateurism. Signing autographs, making money from a YouTube account, or having your own brand shouldn't be against the rules.
 



die hard gopher said:
I looked it up and he has more Instagram followers than 9 of the top 10 players in the country including more than any of the top 5 composite recruits. Trevon Duval was the only one I saw with more. It's amazing the popularity this kid has and he's ours.

One of his youtube videos has over 500,000 views with several others getting 200-300,000 views. On average, I'd say he gets way more view that Mo Bamba or Deandre Ayton, two of the top 3 recruits in the country this year with his highest viewed video having more views than any of theirs.

I forgot where I saw, I think in the comment section of one of his videos where people from China have said they are familiar with the Jellyfam movement and are fans of Isaiah Washington. Thats absolutely ridiculous. Kids from China? Fans of one of our gopher basketball recruits? Amazing.
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I don't follow social media except vicariously through the 'hole, but I have heard that the guy is revered in New York for not abandoning the city like so many of the big time players do. He's stayed loyal to New York City and I suspect the locals love that and probably make up a bunch of his followers. We're not the only provincial people in the country.

I don't worry about the NCAA infractions as much as I worry about the distractions the whole social media thing could become. Isn't there some foundation connected with the Fam thing?
 

He just posted two videos with @smartwater saying "If you wanna be Jellyfam drink smart water" Could be a joke. Something about his social media and "brand" will become a problem per the NCAA, cause you know, UNC makes fake classes and that's ok.
 

I'm pretty certain the U coaches and compliance folks are more aware of his hugely popular social media standing, his Jellyfam brand and any possible messy scenarios. Do we really think that us as posters are the first people to think about this stuff? Obviously the kid wouldn't be going forward with Jellyfam if it was a legitimate threat to his eligibility to play college basketball.
 

WriterGoph said:
I'm pretty certain the U coaches and compliance folks are more aware of his hugely popular social media standing, his Jellyfam brand and any possible messy scenarios. Do we really think that us as posters are the first people to think about this stuff? Obviously the kid wouldn't be going forward with Jellyfam if it was a legitimate threat to his eligibility to play college basketball.
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No.

NCAA
 

Winasota Gopher said:
No.

NCAA
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That's why we have compliance people on staff at the U. To look at and head these kinds of concerns off before it gets to be an NCAA issue.

For example, the U self-reported a "minor" violation by Fleck on the football side just in the last month or so.
 

I really doubt he is making money off this, yet. A lot of the numbers you see about how much people make from having XXXXXX followers are greatly exaggerated.

It is amazing to see how quickly he is adding followers. During the NCAA tournament he was around 125,000, today he is over 162,000. No reason he shouldn't be over 250k when he arrives on campus.
 

DeathClutch said:
This is something the NCAA needs to change and I think they will in the future. If a player wants to make money off his/her likeness they should be able to and still maintain amateurism. Signing autographs, making money from a YouTube account, or having your own brand shouldn't be against the rules.
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You can't budge one bit on any of it. A booster could pay an athlete millions of dollars for his autograph, and then you may as well throw it open to everything and get rid of amateurism.
 

The more I see of this kid, the more I see potential for trouble.
 

Otis said:
The more I see of this kid, the more I see potential for trouble.
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We have to hear more on this. Please expound on this statement? What exactly has he done to signal trouble?

Because he came up with a cool concept at a young age and it's become successful?

Because he is invited to a bunch of all-star games? and plays with too much flash/zest in said games?

Because he markets himself well and has tons of adoring fans in NYC?

Or...because you're not used to having a coach who can successfully recruit high-profile athletes?

From what I see, Washington committed early and signed his LOI (never wavered), he is academically qualified and he reps the U on a national stage every chance he gets. Maybe that makes our staid, Lutheran-esque fanbase uncomfortable? Well, get used to it. With Pitino and Fleck, the national tides are starting to change for the Gophers. These two are not scared to go after the big boys - and, best of all, they don't go into recruiting with built-in excuses for failure ala Tubby ("we don't have the facilities") or Mason ("this is Minnesota, where there hasn't been success for 30 years).

The old-timer, sitting down all game, waiting for the other shoe to drop fan is about to be passed over in these coming years by those of us who believe anything is possible at Minnesota - and I personally CANNOT WAIT to witness it.
 

WriterGoph said:
We have to hear more on this. Please expound on this statement? What exactly has he done to signal trouble?

Because he came up with a cool concept at a young age and it's become successful?

Because he is invited to a bunch of all-star games? and plays with too much flash/zest in said games?

Because he markets himself well and has tons of adoring fans in NYC?

Or...because you're not used to having a coach who can successfully recruit high-profile athletes?

From what I see, Washington committed early and signed his LOI (never wavered), he is academically qualified and he reps the U on a national stage every chance he gets. Maybe that makes our staid, Lutheran-esque fanbase uncomfortable? Well, get used to it. With Pitino and Fleck, the national tides are starting to change for the Gophers. These two are not scared to go after the big boys - and, best of all, they don't go into recruiting with built-in excuses for failure ala Tubby ("we don't have the facilities") or Mason ("this is Minnesota, where there hasn't been success for 30 years).

The old-timer, sitting down all game, waiting for the other shoe to drop fan is about to be passed over in these coming years by those of us who believe anything is possible at Minnesota - and I personally CANNOT WAIT to witness it.
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+1,000,000
 

WriterGoph said:
We have to hear more on this. Please expound on this statement? What exactly has he done to signal trouble?

Because he came up with a cool concept at a young age and it's become successful?

Because he is invited to a bunch of all-star games? and plays with too much flash/zest in said games?

Because he markets himself well and has tons of adoring fans in NYC?

Or...because you're not used to having a coach who can successfully recruit high-profile athletes?

From what I see, Washington committed early and signed his LOI (never wavered), he is academically qualified and he reps the U on a national stage every chance he gets. Maybe that makes our staid, Lutheran-esque fanbase uncomfortable? Well, get used to it. With Pitino and Fleck, the national tides are starting to change for the Gophers. These two are not scared to go after the big boys - and, best of all, they don't go into recruiting with built-in excuses for failure ala Tubby ("we don't have the facilities") or Mason ("this is Minnesota, where there hasn't been success for 30 years).

The old-timer, sitting down all game, waiting for the other shoe to drop fan is about to be passed over in these coming years by those of us who believe anything is possible at Minnesota - and I personally CANNOT WAIT to witness it.
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I think you're taking this skepticism the wrong way, I at least, don't see the issue with Issiah, I see the issue with the NCAA/Minnesota. Issiah is different, Minnesota don't do different very well.

We DID, however, just hire PJ Fleck.
 

1. Plays with a little too much flash for my tastes. - I don't want a Westbrook type ego to upset the concept of teamwork the team established this past year.
2. His own brand is fine. - As long as he remembers, "The name on the front of the Jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back!" - Herb Brooks
3. I haven't seen a lot of defensive highlights. If he plays matador defense will he be able to outscore his deficiencies in the B1G?
4. He isn't going to be able to sashay his way to a finger roll without being touched. Can his flash handle some punishment?
5. Is he all flash off the court? That could be bad.

If he is a good kid fine. If he shares the ball, Great! Not an old timer waiting for problems. Just not so sure about all this hype.

oh yeah, in the Ball is Life game: 18 shots, 0-3 3pt, 8 reb, 4 assists and 4 tos. They scored 154 points and he had 4 assists as the principal ballhandler in 21 minutes. Not exactly Jason Kidd.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I think you're taking this skepticism the wrong way, I at least, don't see the issue with Issiah, I see the issue with the NCAA/Minnesota. Issiah is different, Minnesota don't do different very well.

We DID, however, just hire PJ Fleck.
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That post was inspired by Otis saying that Washington "looks like trouble."

As far as your concerns, I hear what you're saying, but I'm trusting that Pitino and staff being a younger set of coaches (and definitely more aware of social media) have been aware of Washington's "celebrity" and would certainly be proactive about any potential issues.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
He's got shirts, shoes. Youtube views, I'm not sure if he's running advertisements on them, but that kind of hit count will pay out quite a bit of money.

I've seen some crazy numbers on videos that get 100,000 views and what that can pay out. With the NCAA, if he got $2 it's a violation.
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1. Are the videos of him actually being uploaded by him? Is it his Youtube account? If not, then he isn't seeing a dime.
2. Can you elaborate on the numbers you've seen? I've been a Youtube partner and know for a fact that 100,000 views results in very little money (roughly $100 if I'm remembering correctly). Maybe they're paying out a lot more than they used to, but I doubt it.
 

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