Having lost two of the “big three” recruits in the 2014 basketball class, Richard Pitino and Co. have one more chance to lock up one of Minnesota’s prep superstars.
It won’t be Reid Travis, who is headed to Stanford, or Tyus Jones, who will play at Duke. The funny thing about the other Minnesota product that is drawing national attention, is that he too, is playing elsewhere.
Standout guard Rashad Vaughn, formerly of Robbinsdale Cooper, transferred to Findlay Prep (NV) this summer, which is renowned for its basketball, to finish high school.
Will he return home? He won’t say, but he’s reportedly deciding between seven schools, one of which is the University of Minnesota.
Vaughn is the 17th-ranked recruit in the class of 2014 by ESPN.
He does things like this.
This past weekend, he visited Iowa State, and took in the Cyclones win over No. 7 Michigan yesterday. Impressions don’t get much better than that.
Vaughn spoke while on his tour about his relationship with former Wolf Fred Hoiberg, the rumors that he has narrowed his possible destinations to ISU and UNLV, and when he might make his choice.
Vaughn had some fun at Hoiberg’s expense while in Ames, saying he could outshoot the former three-point marksman.
He also said the most important thing to him in the recruiting process is developing relationships with coaches and players, and while chiding Hoiberg, said he has the best rapport with “The Mayor,” saying he’s been recruiting him since his first year in high school.
Just food for thought on Iowa State and Vaughn. If you recall another former Minnesota product, Hopkins’ Royce White, he headed to Iowa State to play under Hoiberg after his stint at the University of Minnesota went up in flames.
Let’s just say White, who was ranked 19th in his graduating class according to Rivals, had a fair amount of success while he was a Cyclone.
Vaughn No. 17, White No. 16. Vaughn ultra-athletic, ditto for White. White had success at Iowa State, Vaughn has a chance to do the same.
You may have noticed there isn’t much mention of the Gophers in this post, and that’s because there isn’t much steam on Vaughn coming back home.
The last time we heard, he loved the Gophers, but we heard just yesterday, that Iowa State appears to be at the head of the pack.
