The biggest story of the past few days has been the Notice of Allegations Kansas has received from the NCAA. It included three Level I infractions as well as an accusation of lack of institutional control.
Whether or not any of that sticks is hard to tell. But we can expect a dark cloud to follow the Jayhawk program on the recruiting trail. These type of charges often result in probationary actions such as a postseason ban, loss of scholarships, vacating wins, or even a suspension or termination of the Head Coach. Or nothing might happen at all based on an appeal. Even with that, programs are often tied up in litigation for months if not years, which hampers the program’s ability to sign players.
We recently spoke with a high school coach about the charges. He responded that he has no idea it they are true or what the result will be. But the speculation of what could happen does damage. Recruits want to go the NCAA Tournament and compete for championships.
Adam Zagoria covered this situation going back to the FBI trial as closely as anyone. He cited Stan Wilcox, who is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the NCAA as telling CBSSports.com in June that six schools would receive a Notice of Allegations for Level I violations. North Carolina State received on in July. Zagoira mentioned other programs such as Auburn, Creighton, LSU, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Oregon, and USC as other teams that were name in the bribery trial.
This impacts many other programs who are locked up with these schools for recruits. Minnesota finds itself in that category as much as anybody in the country. There are several players who are at the forefront of Richard Pitino’s efforts.
Dawson Garcia - The 6-foot-10 forward out of Prior Lake recently narrowed his list to seven schools. Minnesota, Indiana, Marquette, Memphis, and North Carolina are not linked with NCAA woes to our understanding, but Kansas is, and Arizona very well could be. Zagoria quoted a legal source in his recent Forbes.com article who stated, “They are going to hammer Arizona.”
Kansas was seen as a heavy contender because they are the blue-blood on the list. Arizona was in the same company for several reasons including his former D1 Minnesota teammate, Zeke Nnaji, being on the roster as well as their interest in his current compadre, Kerwin Walton.
But those are not the only programs that might be in situations that would allow Minnesota to see the light at the end of the tunnel. North Carolina and Memphis have not been mentioned by the NCAA, but they are recruiting the power forward spot heavily.
Isaiah Todd and Greg Brown are both top ten players in the 2020 Class who are being recruited heavily by the Tar Heels. Todd goes to high school in Raleigh, and has been on several unofficial visits to Chapel Hill. They are considered one of the favorites for him. Brown will take an official visit there this weekend along with his AAU teammate, Cade Cunningham.
Besides Garcia, Memphis is also strongly recruiting Brown and Todd as well as centers Gethro Muscadin who they just offered, and Clifford Omoruyi. So the question is could programs eliminate themselves and help the Gophers to be the last one standing.
Kerwin Walton - The local shooting guard also has Arizona and Kansas offers. In fact, he has an official visit set up to Tucson this weekend. Eyebrows were also raised when North Carolina became the most recent team to offer. Even though he hasn’t named a list of finalists or set up all of his officials, Walton’s recruitment is somewhat similar to Garcia’s when it comes to schools.
The NCAA actions could perhaps put the Jayhawks and Wildcats in a tough spot to get him, and North Carolina could be recruiting over him as well. Cade Cunningham and Earl Timberlake are two players who can play the shooting guard spot that the Heels are recruiting heavily.
There are a lot of other programs in on Walton as well. We still believe it is early on in his recruitment and only time will tell where the Gophers stand amongst lots of competitors.
Gethro Muscadin - Corey Evans featured Muscadin earlier today in Twitter Tuesday.
“The top of the center position is already depleted, which makes the talents of Gethro Muscadin that much more valuable. The Rivals150 prospect boosted his stock tremendously this summer, which brought some of the nation’s best into his recruitment. He just took an official visit to Kansas over the weekend, and has also been to the campuses at Kansas State and Minnesota. Next on tap is an unofficial visit to Louisville this weekend, before completing his official visit tour to Texas Tech on the weekend of Oct. 4.
He could potentially take his final allotted official visit before deciding, but Muscadin is not someone that is willing to play out his recruitment. A commitment is not entirely too far off and he could potentially decide a week or so after his visit to Texas Tech. For now, the Red Raiders should be deemed the favorite with Kansas State sitting as the dark horse.”
Those around the Gophers program think that an outstanding official visit put them in the lead group for Muscadin if not in the lead. His high school coach, Jeremy Kipness, told us last Sunday that his center was blown away by the visit. For now, the staff hopes as the visits have continued that he doesn’t go on another one that impresses him more. Like the others he has a Kansas offer, and he went on a visit last weekend. But they are not considered a leader for him.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. - The shooting guard does not have Kansas or Arizona ties, but Eric Bossi had a ton to say about him this morning in his 3-Point Play.
“Finally, if it seems like there's not been a lot of news about four-star scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. over the last few months that's because, well, there hasn't been any news to report.
However, look for things to start heating up for the senior at Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Prep in a hurry.
Mashburn gets onto the visit trail this weekend with a visit to California this weekend and next weekend he will see Minnesota (for a second official visit). Next, he'll visit Wake Forest in mid-October and barring any changes of plans those will be the three programs that he focuses on from here on out.
Richard Pitino and the Gophers clearly have a strong connection and are in good shape given that Mashburn's father played for Pitino's father in college and the fact that Jr. will return for a second visit to Minneapolis. Many feel the Gophers may be tough to beat but this isn't a done deal. At Cal, new coach Mark Fox is looking to make his first big splash on the recruiting trail. Wake Forest has a roster that features two players from Mashburn's summer program, the PSA Cardinals, so Danny Manning and his staff have enjoyed some success with players Mashburn is familiar with.”
Those around the Minnesota program love the position they are in. The hope is that if he hasn’t committed by the time he visits Minnesota, he will do so shortly after he leaves the Twin Cities.
Whether or not any of that sticks is hard to tell. But we can expect a dark cloud to follow the Jayhawk program on the recruiting trail. These type of charges often result in probationary actions such as a postseason ban, loss of scholarships, vacating wins, or even a suspension or termination of the Head Coach. Or nothing might happen at all based on an appeal. Even with that, programs are often tied up in litigation for months if not years, which hampers the program’s ability to sign players.
We recently spoke with a high school coach about the charges. He responded that he has no idea it they are true or what the result will be. But the speculation of what could happen does damage. Recruits want to go the NCAA Tournament and compete for championships.
Adam Zagoria covered this situation going back to the FBI trial as closely as anyone. He cited Stan Wilcox, who is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the NCAA as telling CBSSports.com in June that six schools would receive a Notice of Allegations for Level I violations. North Carolina State received on in July. Zagoira mentioned other programs such as Auburn, Creighton, LSU, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Oregon, and USC as other teams that were name in the bribery trial.
This impacts many other programs who are locked up with these schools for recruits. Minnesota finds itself in that category as much as anybody in the country. There are several players who are at the forefront of Richard Pitino’s efforts.
Dawson Garcia - The 6-foot-10 forward out of Prior Lake recently narrowed his list to seven schools. Minnesota, Indiana, Marquette, Memphis, and North Carolina are not linked with NCAA woes to our understanding, but Kansas is, and Arizona very well could be. Zagoria quoted a legal source in his recent Forbes.com article who stated, “They are going to hammer Arizona.”
Kansas was seen as a heavy contender because they are the blue-blood on the list. Arizona was in the same company for several reasons including his former D1 Minnesota teammate, Zeke Nnaji, being on the roster as well as their interest in his current compadre, Kerwin Walton.
But those are not the only programs that might be in situations that would allow Minnesota to see the light at the end of the tunnel. North Carolina and Memphis have not been mentioned by the NCAA, but they are recruiting the power forward spot heavily.
Isaiah Todd and Greg Brown are both top ten players in the 2020 Class who are being recruited heavily by the Tar Heels. Todd goes to high school in Raleigh, and has been on several unofficial visits to Chapel Hill. They are considered one of the favorites for him. Brown will take an official visit there this weekend along with his AAU teammate, Cade Cunningham.
Besides Garcia, Memphis is also strongly recruiting Brown and Todd as well as centers Gethro Muscadin who they just offered, and Clifford Omoruyi. So the question is could programs eliminate themselves and help the Gophers to be the last one standing.
Kerwin Walton - The local shooting guard also has Arizona and Kansas offers. In fact, he has an official visit set up to Tucson this weekend. Eyebrows were also raised when North Carolina became the most recent team to offer. Even though he hasn’t named a list of finalists or set up all of his officials, Walton’s recruitment is somewhat similar to Garcia’s when it comes to schools.
The NCAA actions could perhaps put the Jayhawks and Wildcats in a tough spot to get him, and North Carolina could be recruiting over him as well. Cade Cunningham and Earl Timberlake are two players who can play the shooting guard spot that the Heels are recruiting heavily.
There are a lot of other programs in on Walton as well. We still believe it is early on in his recruitment and only time will tell where the Gophers stand amongst lots of competitors.
Gethro Muscadin - Corey Evans featured Muscadin earlier today in Twitter Tuesday.
“The top of the center position is already depleted, which makes the talents of Gethro Muscadin that much more valuable. The Rivals150 prospect boosted his stock tremendously this summer, which brought some of the nation’s best into his recruitment. He just took an official visit to Kansas over the weekend, and has also been to the campuses at Kansas State and Minnesota. Next on tap is an unofficial visit to Louisville this weekend, before completing his official visit tour to Texas Tech on the weekend of Oct. 4.
He could potentially take his final allotted official visit before deciding, but Muscadin is not someone that is willing to play out his recruitment. A commitment is not entirely too far off and he could potentially decide a week or so after his visit to Texas Tech. For now, the Red Raiders should be deemed the favorite with Kansas State sitting as the dark horse.”
Those around the Gophers program think that an outstanding official visit put them in the lead group for Muscadin if not in the lead. His high school coach, Jeremy Kipness, told us last Sunday that his center was blown away by the visit. For now, the staff hopes as the visits have continued that he doesn’t go on another one that impresses him more. Like the others he has a Kansas offer, and he went on a visit last weekend. But they are not considered a leader for him.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. - The shooting guard does not have Kansas or Arizona ties, but Eric Bossi had a ton to say about him this morning in his 3-Point Play.
“Finally, if it seems like there's not been a lot of news about four-star scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. over the last few months that's because, well, there hasn't been any news to report.
However, look for things to start heating up for the senior at Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Prep in a hurry.
Mashburn gets onto the visit trail this weekend with a visit to California this weekend and next weekend he will see Minnesota (for a second official visit). Next, he'll visit Wake Forest in mid-October and barring any changes of plans those will be the three programs that he focuses on from here on out.
Richard Pitino and the Gophers clearly have a strong connection and are in good shape given that Mashburn's father played for Pitino's father in college and the fact that Jr. will return for a second visit to Minneapolis. Many feel the Gophers may be tough to beat but this isn't a done deal. At Cal, new coach Mark Fox is looking to make his first big splash on the recruiting trail. Wake Forest has a roster that features two players from Mashburn's summer program, the PSA Cardinals, so Danny Manning and his staff have enjoyed some success with players Mashburn is familiar with.”
Those around the Minnesota program love the position they are in. The hope is that if he hasn’t committed by the time he visits Minnesota, he will do so shortly after he leaves the Twin Cities.
