More Gopher Recruiting News

Seems we are in a hotbed of recruiting activity this time of year, which is news to me but whatever. A few quick notes on some goings-on:

The dude I'm most excited to see next year, Devoe Joseph, is seemingly having a wee bit o' trouble getting eligible for next season. According to Scout.com, he's still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse for next season, and being from Canada sometimes makes the process a bit more difficult - which may be why his brother transferred to a prep school in Nevada for his final two high school seasons.

No clue just how serious this is, and his coach Ro Russell, thinks he will be cleared in a day or two, so that's good. Of course, I've heard coaches describe players like JR Rider as "misunderstood" so you can't really trust anything coaches say. Iowa signed a couple of Canadian a few years ago but neither was able to qualify.

Probably nothing, but still worth keeping an eye on. To cheer you up, here's a video of Devoe hitting a jump shot at the buzzer to win a game for his high school. It's old, from March, but I haven't seen it yet and if you haven't seen it it's new to you:

[REMOVED DUE TO BITCHING]

In 2009 news, offeree Sam Dower took an unofficial visit to Minnesota yesterday for about three and a half hours. According to his head coach at Osseo, he really enjoyed his visit and had a nice conversation with the coaches - pretty much what every recruit says about every visit ever. He also said that it being his hometown school definitely gives the Gophers an advantage.

I have to say I'm a bit skeptical about Dower. A commenter a few posts below here has watched him and has no come away impressed. I know it's weird to trust a random anonymous commenter over people who scout for a living, but I guess that's how often scouts have been wrong. I'm pretty sure they're idiots. And some of the facts back our commenter up. His scholarship offers haven't exactly come from high end schools here: Iowa, California, Penn State, St. Louis, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Gonzaga, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, George Mason, Montana, Marquette, Illinois State, Santa Clara and Drake. The Gophers, with the exception of Gonzaga, are probably the highest profile school in that mix. Makes me nervous. Very Monson-y.

On the other hand, he's left-handed. So we'll have to see.

[EDIT: Looks like the GopherHole snagged an interview with Sam after his visit. Nothing too earth shattering here, but if you're interested take a look.]

Finally, looking to 2010 the Gophers made an offer to Kentucky shooting guard Aaron "hey hey hey" Cosby. Cosby had originally committed to UMass, but re-opened his recruitment when coach Travis Ford moved on to Oklahoma State. He's one of the top recruits in Kentucky for 2010, but currently only has offers from the Gophers, Western Kentucky, Miami (OH), and Oklahoma State, but with teams like Louisville and Purdue sniffing around, things are sure to heat up in a hurry.