Gophers, Pitino Lose Out On Another Recruit, Ho-Hum
Another day, and another big time hoops recruit from the state of Minnesota has spurned Richard Pitino and the Gophers. 5-star wing Kendall Brown from Sunshine Christian Academy (formerly of East Ridge HS), declared his commitment to play for Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears this morning.
Baylor beat out the other two finalists: Minnesota and Kansas. Drew and his Minnesotan assistant, Jared Nuness, are on a roll recently in The Northstar State. In back-to-back recruiting seasons the Bears have now lured Brown, along with Park Center alum Dame Dainja, before him. Baylor has seemingly created a pipeline straight into the great hoops talent of the Twin Cities.
There aren’t any surprised Gophers fans wondering how we missed out on Kendall Brown. It has been extremely difficult to attract big time talent to the stay home lately.
Interest Can Only Go So Far…
Brown sounded interested when the Gophers were named in his final-three…
“That is my hometown school. It would be awesome to play in front of friends and family. They tell me that I could accomplish anything at home, and that I could be the face of the program.”
Kendall Brown via 247Sports
“[Minnesota] told me I would be like a big guard who could initiate the offense for them,” Brown said. “Just use my passing ability as an advantage and everything. [Pitino] has been recruiting me a lot recently … That means a lot being from here and the love they are showing me right now.”
Kendall Brown via Star Tribune
Let’s not forget the hometown kid Pitino does have staying home in 2021. Treyton Thompson is a stud and should be a big part of this program’s future. Nonetheless, Thompson seems to be the exception to the rule and this latest news stings for the Gophers. The Baylor Bears are clearly getting one heck of a kid in the fold for their 2021 class.
Big-time get for coach Drew, Twin Cities native Jared Nuness, and Baylor. This was the #Gophers loss I alluded to in last podcast late last week. The former East Ridge HS star is one of the best 2021 players in the country. https://t.co/5iNXgolaaW
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 20, 2020
Ameer Eldiamotti | Minnesota Sports Fan
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