Gophers still among finalists as Paul White reopens his recruitment

Weeks ago, we had received news that elite Chicago big man Paul White had cut his list to the five teams of Arizona, UConn, DePaul, Minnesota and Georgetown. It was a big step for the Gophers in their pursuits but now it appears that White has reopened his recruitment.

White’s coach at Whitney Young, Tyrone Slaughter, had been given information about new interest in White. He sat down with White’s family and discussed the situation. He told Joe Hendrickson of the Chicago Sun-Times of the decision making process to open his recruitment back up.

"“Paul and his family took the information, gave it some consideration and thought, and decided it was best for everyone involved if he did open things back up and revisit things. I believe he owes it to himself to open it back up and listen to people who may be interested.”"

White suffered a severe broken arm this summer that served as a speed bump in the recruiting process. A lot of teams that were high on Paul White seemed to focus their attention elsewhere. Many close to the situation suggested that White was underwhelmed by the commitment. Georgetown, in particular, had buzz around it as a team that focused its attention elsewhere after the injury.

I think Minnesota still has a chance regardless of the open recruitment. He has said that he still plans on keeping his planned visits and he has one to Minnesota in early October. It has been said that Richard Pitino was diligent in recruiting White even through his injury.

This will be a interesting story to keep an eye on. Reports are that Miami might jump into the race. Maybe we will see some of the teams that were concerned about his injury slip off the current list. Hopefully we can still get Paul White to Minnesota for a visit and, better yet, get him to commit.