Tubby off to a great '09 Start

[Scott M]

Myron Medcalf, Star Tribune

Former De La Salle basketball star Royce White, who was dismissed from the school this spring for undisclosed reasons, called Gophers head coach Tubby Smith at 7 this morning to verbally commit to playing for Minnesota, beginning with the 2009-10 season.

White, a four-star recruit and the No. 32 prospect in the nation according to rivals.com rankings from late 2007, has attracted interest from UCLA, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Arkansas. He averaged more than 21 points per game.

White, a high school junior who now attends Hopkins High School, said Minnesota's proximity to home, his familiarity with the program and Tubby Smith's coaching were all big factors for him.

"I believed just the fact that Coach Smith is probably one of the best coaches," he said. "I love the Gophers, I love the U of M."

For a while, White's collegiate future was up in the air. He admitted Wednesday that an "academic mistake" he made while at De La Salle to his dismissal from that school and his transfer to Hopkins. White did not elaborate on the details of that error, but he said it was a learning experience that jeopardized his basketball career.

It didn't help that Minnesota is not even 10 years removed from an academic scandal that wiped out most of the team's accomplishments during the late '90s and insistence from Gophers officials that recruits with academic issues would be held to a much higher standard during the recruiting process.

"Any time you make a mistake, it can always hurt your future," White said. "I don't want to do anything to hurt my future academically or basketball wise."

White said he talked to Gophers coaches about academics and vowed to balance his life both on and off the court.

"They always tell me you've got to work on academics, you've got to work hard in the classroom," he said. "You've got to excel in both areas."

White is the biggest recruit of Smith's tenure thus far. And he might come as a package deal. White said he will try to lure his friend and Robbinsdale Cooper star Rodney Williams to Minnesota.

"I'm definitely going to try to persuade him to come here," he said.

****************************************************************

Got an email pretty early this morning when the story broke but I see it made the Minneapolis and Saint Paul papers now. At 7 a.m. this morning Royce White committed over the phone to Coach Smith. The guy is pretty talented, but can't afford to have troubles academically. With the amount of tutoring and mandated time management freshmen athletes get he should be able to adjust. I like Tubby's chances of landing Williams as well. That guy is an athletic freak. I would love to see him here. Add those two guys in the mix and you are looking at one heck of a lineup. Some of these guys with 1 year scholarships aren't going to get extended...You better walk the straight and narrow if you are a leftover from the Monson years because Tubby is definitely upping the quality of players in Maroon and Gold. Travis Busch and Shamala have one year scholarships, and someone like Kevin Payton could have his yanked if anything whatsoever should go wrong. I like Busch and Shamala but I don't know if they are D1 athletes. Tubby can't play nice guy and win championships.

Now the Gophers are looking at Verdell Jones, a PG in IL (08 class). Could be a nice pickup but he has lots of visits coming up. The Gophs also lost out on 6-11 California big man Krys Faber.

Still, lots of enthusiasm and great recruiting continues and looks like it will be more than a one year aberration.

[Dotch]

I saw that update in my in-box after spending a day riding 4 wheeler and assessing stand loss on alfalfa fields. Nice day and had lots of fun visiting but I already miss Gopher basketball...lol! Sounds like a great athlete and hope he can convince his buddy to come with him. Thanks for the insider update, especially for those of us who can't keep up on the "who's who" in recruits or don't know the status of some of the present players. It's a cruel world out there and while they hustled and played hard, the 3 you mentioned weren't major cogs in the machine. Erasing Monson's dismal recruiting record ASAP will go a long way towards getting this team on to bigger and better things.

[tisosy11]

"Tubby off to a great '09 start"

Is this some kind of joke? Do they start the year with wins already. Getting recruits mean nothing until they prove it on the floor. Sure its a nice touch to get these guys but it means squat if they don't produce.

I don't see Tubby and co. being next years Purdue but they have to improve. You just have to hope the improvement continues!

[Scott M]

PG Justin Cobbs verbally committed to Minnesota. Cobbs is a 2/5 star (Scouts HSOforum rating) rated PG from Torrance, CA (class of 09).

[hamrej23]

That is where it all starts tisosy... a huge part of the college game.

[Sandmannd]

Heard this morning that his nephew was murdered. Sad story.

[beer batter]

Thought I heard on the radio that a stud player on one of the Minneapolis schools (Washburn maybe) gave a verbal commitment to Tubby. They said he was a top 50 recruit nationally. It all sounds good, be nice to make the barn a tough place for vistors to win again.

EDIT: that recruit was Rodney Williams from Cooper, not Mpls Washburn.

[ozzie]

yeah and from what I have seen and heard Rodney Williams won't amount to much.........hopefully he puts on a few pounds and learns a few post moves cause the one thing this kid can do is jump out of the gym!!!

[Scott M]

Once you got Royce White you knew Rodney Williams would come too. He's pretty highly regarded on the national recruiting scene.

[Scott M]

From GophersIllustrated

Tubby scheduled to visit big man

Gophers coach Tubby Smith might not be finished with his recruiting for the 2009 class as he was scheduled to visit Monday with Brewster Academy (N.H.) power forward Andrew Fitzgerald, according to rivals.com.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior from Baltimore also has scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Maryland and Texas A&M to name a few. He is planning to visit Minnesota, but will wait to make his decision until the spring, according to reports.

Fitzgerald is the kind of big-bodied, physical rebounding and defensive presence the Gophers need in the paint to go along with post players already in the program like Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson.

Fitzgerald and St. Paul native Trevor Mbakwe, now at Miami Dade Community College, are the two candidates to fill the need for a power forward in the 2009 recruiting class. The Gophers already have three oral commitments from Hopkins forward Royce White, Cooper wing Rodney Williams Jr. and Bishop Montgomery (Calif.) point guard Justin Cobbs.

*************************

Tubby could have back to back recruiting classes that are in the top 25 nationally if he can score a few more to compliment White (PF) and Williams (SF). Fitzgerald ©, Darius Smith (SG), and Eric Bledsoe (PG) are all being recruited, although its safe to say he won't get all of them and perhaps none of them with the competition he's running up against. Still, he has built a strong class already and the idea that it could get better is a tantalizing thought. He recruited talent at all five positions in this year's incoming class and could do the same thing for '09.

[Scott M]

Just a little follow up. As was said in another thread this fall, Trevor Mbakwe is transferring to Minnesota from a Miami CC. Not signing a huge class isn't necessarily all bad, as the Gophs need to save a few scholarships as they only graduate 2 this year (Shamala and Williams).

Here's some video to get you excited for next year's deeper tournament run:

[machohorn]

Thanks Chise. Tubby is the real deal period!

[Scott M]

Bum deal with Mbawke. He has some charges filed against him Florida which may prevent him for ever playing for the Gophs.

Mbakwe faces enrollment, suspension issues to hurdle

by Myron Medcalf, Star Tribune

Unless Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi intervenes, highly touted men's basketball recruit Trevor Mbakwe will start the school year suspended from all team activities, if he is allowed to enroll at all.

Mbakwe faces a felony battery charge stemming from an alleged assault against a woman in Miami in early April, which triggered an automatic suspension, according to the university's student-athlete code of conduct. Mbakwe, who was expected to be a major contributor for the Gophers next season, played basketball for Miami Dade Community College last season.

The code of conduct states: "Violations involving physical and/or sexual violence, use of illegal weapons, or driving while under the influence will be subject to immediate suspension from team activity pending further investigation."

School admission officials also could deny Mbakwe enrollment based on the felony charge, although the likelihood and timing of such a development was unclear Thursday night.

If Mbakwe is allowed to enroll, Maturi said he has the authority to lift Mbakwe's automatic suspension. He will make a decision about whether he'll do that by Sept. 8, when school starts.

"Different decisions have to be made each step of the way," Maturi said. "That doesn't say Trevor is going to be playing basketball for us in December. ... That will all be determined."

A Miami woman accused Mbakwe of assaulting her April 3, resulting in a fractured cheekbone and ruptured sinus for the victim and a felony charge for Mbakwe. Mbakwe's lawyer recently submitted an alibi, which claims four people can support the junior college transfer's defense that he was at home at the time of the attack.

On Thursday, Mbakwe's lawyer requested and received a new trial date of Dec. 14. Defense attorney Gregory Samms said he's confident the trial would not interrupt the season for Mbakwe -- a former Henry Sibley and St. Bernard's standout forward --because he'll eventually seek an even later date.

"We won't be going to trial during the season," Samms said via e-mail. "The court gave a date which I will extend at the next [calendar] call."

But Maturi said there's no guarantee Mbakwe will play this season. In the past, Maturi said he's suspended athletes in similar situations but he's also allowed others to continue playing until their cases were resolved. He said every disciplinary decision is made on a case-by-case basis.

In recent years, the Gophers have suspended multiple athletes who were charged or arrested for felonies, even before some of their cases went to trial. Schools officials suspended Robert McField, a 2006 football recruit, in October of that year when they learned he was facing charges in a pair of armed robberies in the St. Louis area. He eventually pled guilty and was dismissed from the team.

The most recent high- profile case involved former Gophers football player Dominic Jones and three of his teammates, who were all accused of participating in a sexual assault in 2007. All four players received immediate suspensions, even though Jones was the only one charged in the case.

Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith refused to comment recently about Mbakwe's legal case, but he told the Star Tribune in July: "It's something we're aware of. It's something that he's going to have to deal with, whatever he has to do. Hopefully, it's untrue."

Maturi said he's spoken to police and prosecuting attorneys to determine the disciplinary action for student- athletes charged with felonies in the past. He said he's taking multiple factors into consideration in Mbakwe's situation.

"A charge is better than being accused, but obviously being found guilty is even more serious," he said. "I need to be sensitive to the young man. In this case, he says he's innocent. ... You don't just charge someone blindly. I have to determine what is the right thing."

[CJH]

Some positive news:

Jim Jackson impressed by Cobbs this summer

By Marcus Fuller on August 27, 2009 7:08 PM

Gophers incoming freshman point guard Justin Cobbs had a chance to play against NBA players in pickup games at UCLA while he was back home this summer.

Big Ten Network analyst and former Ohio State All-American Jim Jackson watched Cobbs hold his own in several of those games. Jackson was there because he wanted his son Traevon to also hone his game in a supremely competitive environment.

"I had a chance to see him, and I was impressed," Jackson said of Cobbs. "For what (Gophers coach) Tubby (Smith) wants to do and is searching for in a point guard, Justin has a lot of those qualities and attributes. He's strong. He's quick. He's athletic. He has a nice jump shot right now.

"Once he starts playing defense and making plays for his teammates, he's going to be a great addition. Tubby has a nice little project that he can work with."

Jackson said Cobbs consistently made plays defending and penetrating against NBA point guards such as Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Earl Watson of the Indiana Pacers and Marcus Williams of the Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook is Cobbs' cousin.

"It gave Justin a really good feel," he said. "Against that kind of competition, you can see where you're at. I think his athleticism stands out. When you compare him to a lot of other point guards, he's physically strong and can really do a lot with his body."

Junior Al Nolen is expected to start going into the season for the Gophers at point guard, but Jackson said Cobbs will push him for the job.

"I think he can (start)," he said. "The question is going to come down to how he shoots the basketball. One of Nolen's weaknesses right now is shooting the basketball well enough at the point guard position. If Justin can not turn the basketball over, make plays and knock down the open shot, that gives you a different dimension at point guard. Now, you don't help out and sag as much in the lane. It just depends. The door is open for him to make a run at it."

Cobbs, who is from Torrance, Calif., might be the least heralded of the 2009 recruiting class, which includes hometown studs such as Royce White, Rodney Williams Jr. and Trevor Mbakwe. But with there being only one true point guard on Minnesota's roster, Cobbs immediately gives the Gophers more depth at maybe the most important position on the floor. If he can shoot the ball with consistency, Smith's team is so much more dangerous this season.

-- Jackson's son is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior shooting guard from Westerville, Ohio. Jackson said the Gophers watched Traevon play during an AAU tournament in Florida, but he was getting offers from mostly mid-major schools.

-- The Gophers have made the final cut for 6-11 Nebraska center Elliott Eliason, who plans to visit Minnesota on Sept. 11, according to reports. Eliason has narrowed his list down to Minnesota, Stanford and Creighton.

"I think that all three schools share some characteristics," Eliason told CardinalReport.com. "Academically, they each have a lot to offer. All three have great coaching staffs and great people at the school. I think those are the things that are important to me, and all three have them. It's not to say that the other schools didn't have those things, but these three stood out."

-- I've been hearing that Mbakwe has done what was neccessary academically to become eligible to transfer, but it will be up to the U admission's if he becomes a student on Sept. 8. After that, it's athletic director Joel Maturi's decision to suspend Mbakwe from the team or let him play until his trial for alleged felony battery.