Wesley Washington Visits the Gophers

Beyond the miserable weather though, all reports are that Wesley's visit went very well. He and his mother got to see some of the local sights and spent a lot of time getting to know the Gopher coaches and players. Wesley also got a chance to meet a couple of potential future Gopher teammates in Spencer Tollackson and Miles Webb when he scrimmaged with the team and a number of Minnesota high school players Sunday at the Sports Pavilion.

Wesley is a very quick and athletic player who has a lot of ability to penetrate and get to the basket. His outside shot is coming along, as the several 3-poiners he made on Sunday made obvious to everybody in attendance. And most importantly, Wesley is a competitor and is capable of stepping up his game when it matters most.

He made that abundantly clear last February when his high school team took on #1 ranked Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. Oak Hill was riding something like a 52-game winning streak, but Wesley made sure that came to an end by putting up 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. For a junior to have a game like that against a team that had 7 seniors sign Division 1 scholarships last year is extremely impressive. Not to mention the fact that at least a couple of them figure to be playing in the NBA in the not too distant future.

Coach Monson and staff definitely hope to have that talent wearing Maroon & Gold in The Barn next season. Perhaps it was more than a coincidence that Wesley wore maroon shorts during this weekend's scrimmage? Maybe, maybe not.

There's still a likely trip to Oklahoma State in the coming weeks, and it's possible that some other big names will get involved, but it appears the Gophers have a legitimate chance of landing possibly the highest-ranked non-Minnesota recruit they've had in several years (along with Aliou Kane).

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