Gophers lose out on Newton lottery putting recruitment of Whitehead in jeopardy
By Frank Bi
Top-50 point guard Ja’Quan Newton of Philadelphia committed to the University of Miami on Wednesday much to the surprise of Gopher fans.
Newton, a four-star recruit ranked 41st in the nation by Rivals, was rumored to have been working on a package deal with Isiah Whitehead, another top-50 recruit. With news of Newton’s commitment to Miami, it would seem that the chances of the Gophers landing Whitehead is in jeopardy as well.
Minnesota had been considered favorites to land Newton and Whitehead, both of whom had included the Gophers in their final cuts.
Newton averaged 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in the spring season of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League.
Besides offers from Minnesota and Miami, Newton was also considering Oregon, Syracuse, UCLA, and Texas A&M.
Whitehead also has an offer from Miami and it will be interesting to see if he follows Newton to South Beach.
In Other News…
- Gopher hoops coach Richard Pitino made a third entry to his blog Wednesday night, highlighting the last few weeks of practice as well as a mention of upgrades to their current practice facilities.
- The Big Ten Network thinks Jerry Kill and the Gophers could finish as well as 8-4 this season and make a bowl game or plummet to 4-8 in the worst case scenario.
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