White, Cousins turn down top programs for familiarity of home
Minnesota's Tubby Smith hopes Royce White can be a cornertsone for his program.
Kelly Kline
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. --
Royce White understood coaches at North Carolina and UCLA couldn't possibly find him as quickly as hometown Minnesota could. White, a 6-foot-7 forward from Minneapolis, considered that fact when he chose a school in April.
"I know that schools on the coasts like North Carolina and UCLA don't get to see you every day like the people on their coasts," White said Monday after he and the Howard Pulley Panthers finished a game at the Nike Peach Jam. "I took that into account, and I still thought Minnesota was the best place for me."
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Though the low-key White and the fiery Cousins have completely different games and personalities, they do share one trait. They are cornerstone recruits for a pair of coaches who are letting their actions prove that they might have been run out of their previous jobs -- both at iconic programs -- a tad too early.
Minnesota coach
Tubby Smith left Kentucky of his own volition following the 2007 season, but by that point, the Wildcat faithful had begun to make Smith's life miserable. Some Kentucky fans believed Smith led the Wildcats to the 1998 national title only because he had predecessor
Rick Pitino's players. As the years passed without more Final Four appearances, patience in Big Blue Nation wore thin. So Smith left for Minnesota, where he promptly took a team that went 9-22 in 2006-07 and led it to a 20-14 record.
If White follows through with his commitment and lands at Minnesota in 2009, Golden Gophers fans will owe a thank-you to former coach
Dan Monson. Monson never won consistently, but he did clean up the program after the
Clem Haskins academic fraud debacle. He also identified White early and made him a recruiting priority.
White, meanwhile, paid special attention to how the Gophers handled the transition from Monson to Smith. He had offers from Michigan State and Illinois, and the aforementioned national powers had jumped into the fray as well, but Monson's recruitment had left an impression. "When coach Smith came, I watched closely -- how he coached, his intensity, how he was looked at off the court, his reputation and what he did for the team," White said. "He brought that team really far with the talent that he had. ... I just liked the way the program was going."
Entire article:
White, Cousins looking to make help build programs at home - Andy Staples - SI.com
