Gophers’ target Lourawls Nairn set to announce decision on Thursday

Lourawls Nairn announced on Tuesday that he will be announcing his commitment on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT. The schools left in the running are Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan State, and Indiana.

Minnesota came into Nairn’s recruitment late but picked up a lot steam towards the end of the summer with Nairn giving Richard Pitino a lot of praise on his diligence in showing him that he was wanted in Minnesota.

Nairn told Zagsblog.com after his visit in late August that Pitino told him he was their No. 1 recruit. Of everything I’ve heard, Pitino has done a fantastic job of the recruitment of the young man. He is up against stiff competition, however.

Michigan State came in to the recruiting process very late in the game. Only after they struck out with Tyus Jones and Tyler Ulis did they extend an offer but because of their basketball prestige, they are still a major player and an intriguing offer for Nairn.

Indiana has been after Nairn for a good time now though their persistence hasn’t been revered as Minnesota’s. They were his fourth and final visit this past weekend and things went very well.

They did well to mention player development, which has been their bread and butter in the recruiting pitch ever since the unranked high school basketball player Victor Oladipo excelled in their program and was the second overall draft pick in the NBA draft this summer. He also watched practice and attended church with Tom Crean.

Finally, Oklahoma is an intriguing option because they have been recruiting him the hardest and one of his best friends is currently on the team.

Who is going to get him? Lots of Minnesota fans are grumbling about the lack of commits thus far and I’m afraid they might have more to grumble about after his announcement Thursday morning. It has been quite a while since he’s been to Minnesota and a buzz is growing around Indiana and Michigan State.

Minnesota was set to visit him this Wednesday but he cancelled the in-home after announcing the date of his decision. Word is that he has already made his decision but wants to sit on it for a couple days in order to make sure he’s confident.

I wouldn’t rule Minnesota out like many fans already have. He’s only spoken highly of the program and expressed high thoughts of his visit. Making a recruit feel wanted is invaluable in the process and Pitino put in work in that department.

Nairn is no fool. On his Twitter page, he has favorited several tweets from Gophers fans expressing that our need for him to run our offense compared to Michigan State’s open roster spot for a role player. I think Indiana is the biggest threat here. They have had proven success with guard play and he is a very comparable player to Yogi Ferrell, Indiana’s very talented point guard with pro-potential.

If I get a crystal ball prediction, I’d be in the very small percent of the people who would give the Gophers a shot Thursday morning. He would be a great fit and him and Pitino are very close. Until Thursday, we wait.