There is a lot of buzz going on in the Twin Cities right now with the impending announcement on Wednesday by Dawson Garcia. But there is more going on than just that.
Let's start with Garcia. He will announce Wednesday afternoon. His final four are Minnesota, Marquette, Indiana, and Memphis. Corey Evans just spoke with him and put up the interview earlier today. Here is what he said about some key subjects.
On Minnesota - "I just think that it would be dope to wear the Minnesota across my chest and really rep for my state and having people rally around you. That has kind of been their pitch to me and I have a really good relationship with Coach (Richard) Pitino and Coach Kyle Lindsted is my guy. Their players, I have been growing up with them my whole life so I have a really good relationship with all of the players there."
What will be the biggest factor - "Deciding factor will definitely be my relationship with the coaches and their vision for me."
I have spoken with several people about the recruitment and the across the board consensus seems to be that Marquette is the favorite, but it interesting that not many are willing to go all in with a public prediction for them yet. I did put in a FutureCast for Marquette just before I started on this piece.
They have recruited him longer than anyone, and I do believe that staff has the best relationship with him. There is no way I would bet my life on it so the question does beg to ask if it's not Marquette then who? I can make the case that Minnesota is second on the list. There is the appeal of staying at home, and I have also heard from one individual that he thinks the Gophers are ahead of Indiana. But there are also several who think they may be the strongest competitor.
So obviously, there are mixed messages which gives the other schools hope. But privately, just about everyone thinks it's going to be Marquette.
Dwayne Koroma - He is another name to watch in Minnesota's 2020 class. The 6-foot-6 German attends Bishop Walsh High School in Maryland. He has a great upside, but has not been seen. Koroma has a Minnesota offer, and the staff was hoping they might be able to land him this fall, but wisely he is going to wait until the spring. Expect his recruitment to blow up by then. Also expect him to come to Minnesota on an official visit before Npvember concludes.
Treyton Thompson - The local 6-foot-11 junior now attends La Lumiere in Indiana, but he will be back in town on an official visit next Monday the 25th. Thompson has offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, but expect many more to follow. He has already taken one official visit to Iowa City back in October.
Kerwin Walton - Your guess is good as ours. He is coming off an official visit to Vanderbilt this past weekend which is his final one. He has also taken others to Arizona and North Carolina, as well as unofficial visits to Creighton and several to Minnesota.
Kerwin previously told us that he will commit either late in November or early December and then sign in the spring. There was lots of talk early about the Tar Heels and Kansas, but it appears that each program may have recruited over him at the guard spot. That leaves his recruitment open and lots of questions unanswered right now on what he will decide to do.
Let's start with Garcia. He will announce Wednesday afternoon. His final four are Minnesota, Marquette, Indiana, and Memphis. Corey Evans just spoke with him and put up the interview earlier today. Here is what he said about some key subjects.
On Minnesota - "I just think that it would be dope to wear the Minnesota across my chest and really rep for my state and having people rally around you. That has kind of been their pitch to me and I have a really good relationship with Coach (Richard) Pitino and Coach Kyle Lindsted is my guy. Their players, I have been growing up with them my whole life so I have a really good relationship with all of the players there."
What will be the biggest factor - "Deciding factor will definitely be my relationship with the coaches and their vision for me."
I have spoken with several people about the recruitment and the across the board consensus seems to be that Marquette is the favorite, but it interesting that not many are willing to go all in with a public prediction for them yet. I did put in a FutureCast for Marquette just before I started on this piece.
They have recruited him longer than anyone, and I do believe that staff has the best relationship with him. There is no way I would bet my life on it so the question does beg to ask if it's not Marquette then who? I can make the case that Minnesota is second on the list. There is the appeal of staying at home, and I have also heard from one individual that he thinks the Gophers are ahead of Indiana. But there are also several who think they may be the strongest competitor.
So obviously, there are mixed messages which gives the other schools hope. But privately, just about everyone thinks it's going to be Marquette.
Dwayne Koroma - He is another name to watch in Minnesota's 2020 class. The 6-foot-6 German attends Bishop Walsh High School in Maryland. He has a great upside, but has not been seen. Koroma has a Minnesota offer, and the staff was hoping they might be able to land him this fall, but wisely he is going to wait until the spring. Expect his recruitment to blow up by then. Also expect him to come to Minnesota on an official visit before Npvember concludes.
Treyton Thompson - The local 6-foot-11 junior now attends La Lumiere in Indiana, but he will be back in town on an official visit next Monday the 25th. Thompson has offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, but expect many more to follow. He has already taken one official visit to Iowa City back in October.
Kerwin Walton - Your guess is good as ours. He is coming off an official visit to Vanderbilt this past weekend which is his final one. He has also taken others to Arizona and North Carolina, as well as unofficial visits to Creighton and several to Minnesota.
Kerwin previously told us that he will commit either late in November or early December and then sign in the spring. There was lots of talk early about the Tar Heels and Kansas, but it appears that each program may have recruited over him at the guard spot. That leaves his recruitment open and lots of questions unanswered right now on what he will decide to do.
