Here is what I know. First, the coaching staff was totally caught off guard as was I. Peterson was the only player since I've been doing this to call me beforehand and tell me he was getting ready to commit. He actually kind of went out of his way to get in contact with. He certainly seemed assured in what he was doing. I was also told second hand that another individual was with him Wednesday night in Chicago, and Peterson was fired up about his decision.
I have also found out that Peterson said he felt rushed in making is decision, not from Richard Pitino or the coaching staff, but by the entire process plus social media. Minnesota is still under consideration, but he wants time to rethink things. I've also been told that his parents want him to attend Minnesota.
Theory: This is no more than speculation, and I am going to throw out a couple of hypotheticals. The first thing that crossed my mind is that with COVID-19, a lot of players are looking at staying close to home. The other schools he mentioned while being recruited were Creighton, Vanderbilt, and TCU. He lives in the Chicagoland area, so none of those are closer.
Since he committed, the NCAA has shot down a proposed one-time automatic transfer for next year. Did that cause him to have a change of heart? Personally, I don't see what the difference would be in sitting out a year in Minneapolis compared to Omaha, Fort Worth, or Nashville.
Maybe he's waiting on another school. The first thing that popped into my mind was Northwestern. They reportedly were in on Javon-Freeman-Liberty, a transfer from Valparaiso announced he was choosing DePaul instead. Peterson announced he was opting to de-commit an hour later. I''m curious if Chris Collins may have reached out after being snubbed by Freeman-Liberty. If he was going to sit out a year, he could do it in his own backyard.
The antithesis to that argument is the Northwestern presents virtually the same environment he had at Rice; a losing team with his academics, playing in front of empty seats.
Minnesota isn't done with Peterson, he could very well decide once again he wants to be a Gopher. But for now, that is what we know. The rest is a guessing game.
I have also found out that Peterson said he felt rushed in making is decision, not from Richard Pitino or the coaching staff, but by the entire process plus social media. Minnesota is still under consideration, but he wants time to rethink things. I've also been told that his parents want him to attend Minnesota.
Theory: This is no more than speculation, and I am going to throw out a couple of hypotheticals. The first thing that crossed my mind is that with COVID-19, a lot of players are looking at staying close to home. The other schools he mentioned while being recruited were Creighton, Vanderbilt, and TCU. He lives in the Chicagoland area, so none of those are closer.
Since he committed, the NCAA has shot down a proposed one-time automatic transfer for next year. Did that cause him to have a change of heart? Personally, I don't see what the difference would be in sitting out a year in Minneapolis compared to Omaha, Fort Worth, or Nashville.
Maybe he's waiting on another school. The first thing that popped into my mind was Northwestern. They reportedly were in on Javon-Freeman-Liberty, a transfer from Valparaiso announced he was choosing DePaul instead. Peterson announced he was opting to de-commit an hour later. I''m curious if Chris Collins may have reached out after being snubbed by Freeman-Liberty. If he was going to sit out a year, he could do it in his own backyard.
The antithesis to that argument is the Northwestern presents virtually the same environment he had at Rice; a losing team with his academics, playing in front of empty seats.
Minnesota isn't done with Peterson, he could very well decide once again he wants to be a Gopher. But for now, that is what we know. The rest is a guessing game.
