That was my first thought unfortunate.Marcus R. Fuller @GophersNow
Nwankwo wanted to play for #Gophers, but had trouble being admitted into the university, per sources. But could have opportunity elsewhere.
Marcus R. Fuller @GophersNow Nwankwo wanted to play for #Gophers, but had trouble being admitted into the university, per sources. But could have opportunity elsewhere.
As a poster previously mentioned, it seems like he was going to have trouble seeing the court anyways with Kanote and Diedhou this year and Lynch ready to play the following year.
Hopefully the staff sees this as an opportunity to use the vacated commit on a more highly touted recruit
Isn't Nwankwo a national honors society kid?
Right now it would be Konate and Diedhiou at the 5 spot and both seemed to have a little trouble with fouling as freshmen. Right now I would guess the open scholarship just gets banked to 2016.Still, the depth at center this year is going to be rough. One of Kanote's biggest problems is his propensity to foul. I don't even want to image what we would do if Kanote gets in foul trouble early
I know this might sound weird, but I almost hope that Nwankwo was released for basketball reasons. Maybe the Murphy signing inspired the staff to go after a big name recruit as opposed to using it on Nwankwo. I'm sure Nwankwo would have been decent for the program, but if he was indeed the one freshman that needed the most time to develop (I swear I have heard either Pitino or Johnson intimate that), than now is a good time to make this move.
I'm anxious to see what he does now, wish him the best. I hope he ends up at another high major and performs well. Two years in a row of admissions issues now.... Pitino won't forget (unless Goodin/Coffey commit as a package deal)... I don't think you add another player with those open scholarship.. unless it's a graduate transfer who can play center.I feel bad for the kid if this wasn't a truly mutual decision. He seemed genuinely excited when he committed, and tweeted often to the other recruits. Some may have considered him a "raw" or "under the radar" recruit, but he's a four-star on ESPN, and athletic, sculpted 6-10 guys don't grow on trees.
Why didn't he announce this on GH like he did his commitment? I have no idea what kind of player he would become, but IMO saving the scholarship for another 2016 recruit gives the staff more flexibility in building a roster that if nothing else is more balanced between classes.
From what I've seen it sounds like it was basically a problem getting into Minnesota and both parties thought the best option was for him to look elsewhere where academic standards might not be as high. Unfortunate deal because he seemed genuinely excited about being a Gopher and looked to have good potential.I feel bad for the kid if this wasn't a truly mutual decision. He seemed genuinely excited when he committed, and tweeted often to the other recruits. Some may have considered him a "raw" or "under the radar" recruit, but he's a four-star on ESPN, and athletic, sculpted 6-10 guys don't grow on trees.
I'm anxious to see what he does now, wish him the best. I hope he ends up at another high major and performs well. Two years in a row of admissions issues now.... Pitino won't forget (unless Goodin/Coffey commit as a package deal)... I don't think you add another player with those open scholarship.. unless it's a graduate transfer who can play center.