|
David Levine -> RE: Gopher Basketball (Mens) (9/12/2016 10:53:03 AM)
|
Minnesota Basketball Recruiting: Gophers Get Commitment from 4-star PG, Isaiah Washington
Gophers Get Commitment from 4-star, New York City PG, Isaiah Washington
By GopherNation @TheDailyGopher Sep 11, 2016, 11:45p
Isaiah Washington is a 4-star rated point guard from the Bronx. On Sunday he gave a verbal commitment to Richard Pitino and the Golden Gophers. This is simultaneously an impressive get for the Gopher staff and a very interesting turn of events for the staff as they work on filling out the 2017 class. But first, let’s get to know Washington, the newest Golden Gopher commit.
quote:
isaiah Washington @Jellyfam_Dimes
I'm officially a gopher 〽️🏀
8:10 AM - 11 Sep 2016
Washington plays his high school ball for St. Raymond’s High School and according to Scout is the number one point guard in the state of New York. Scout ranks him 65th overall in the class of 2017 and ESPN ranks him 96th.
What you read about him is that he is tough, hard-nosed, a good distributor and fast.
From Scout’s analysis...
quote:
2017 guard Isaiah Washington is a tough, quick and aggressive lead man that can both score it and facilitate. Washington, who stands 6-foot-1, is average athletically, but he has a quick first step, is a strong ball handler and finds ways to get by defenders and get into the paint.
Ryan James of Gopher Illustrated also claims this is the top rated point guard the Gophers will have brought in since Ariel McDonald.
ESPN’s strengths...
quote:
Washington is the prototypical NYC point guard. He's hard-nosed, competitive and fearless in his approach, not to mention a talented playmaker with some flair to his game. Perhaps most importantly though, he's a player who has consistently improved and added to his game with each passing year. His most natural ability is to make plays with the ball in his hands. He's got a tight handle, good quickness and the ability to both create for himself and his teammates. He's developed his body enough to take some contact on the way to the rim and also developed into a more consistent shooting threat from the perimeter. Defensively, he can guard the ball the length of the floor and apply pressure in the half-court.
The Gopher staff has been all over Washington from the beginning and were the first program to offer him. His official visit this past weekend was enough to get him to give the verbal that many expected he would eventually give.
Now things are a little bit interesting when it comes to scholarships the Gopher are able to give out this year. They technically only have 2 to give and desperately need a point guard in the class of 2017. So this is a huge win right?
Well...there just so happens to be a local point guard who is also highly rated and would seem to be a great fit for the Gophers. He happens to be McKinley Wright and he is planning to announce his decision (between Minnesota and Dayton) on Thursday.
So would the Gophers take 2 point guards in this class with only 2 scholarships available? They will potentially take the commitments from three guys, knowing that transfers are likely. But then the question is would two, 4-star point guards both want to go to the same school when they play the same position?
It becomes very interesting heading into Thursday when Wright makes his announcement. Oh...and Theo John was visiting this weekend as well. A 4-star power forward, who is a teammate of Wright’s, was on his official visit this weekend as well.
But today, we have Washington in the fold. An NYC, 4-star point guard who wants to be golden (as long as Syracuse doesn’t offer). How the scholarships shake out, will be discussed another day. But today we landed the first recruit in the 2017 class and he’s a good one.
Welcome to Gopher Nation Mr. Washington.
http://www.thedailygopher.com/2016/9/11/12884680/minnesota-basketball-recruiting-gophers-commitment-new-york-city-top-100-4-star-pg-isaiah-washington
|
|
|
|