The Mbakwe Effect
Posted on October 24th, 2008 – 12:18 PMBy Myron Medcalf
When Tubby Smith signed a top 25 recruiting class for the upcoming season, a lot people were impressed. Past coaches have struggled to attract the kind of class Smith lured to Minneapolis. Now that he’s added former Henry Sibley and Marquette forward Trevor Mbakwe to his 2009 class, he may have one of the 10 best recruiting classes in the country.
California prep point guard Justin Cobbs, Robbinsdale Cooper’s Rodney Williams and Hopkins’ Royce White were a top 20 class all by themselves. But I think the 6-7, 220-pound Mbakwe puts them on that next level. And with two years to play once he arrives, Mbakwe will certainly play a role in the ongoing pursuit of a Big Ten title.
He’s the physical player that Smith has sought since he arrived. Mbakwe brings a lot of bulk to the post, a must-have in the Big Ten. But, the Gophers have a few hurdles to overcome before Mbakwe comes on board.
First, they don’t have enough scholarships to go around. There are 13 players on scholarship this season. Only seniors Jon Williams and Jamal Abu-Shamala are expected to leave after this year. That’s 11 returning players who will join four newcomers next season, making up a pool of 15 players seeking scholarships, in case you’re not a math wiz. The NCAA limit is 13 scholarships for men’s teams.
I can tell you that the five guys in the 2008 class and the four guys in the 2009 group have been promised scholarships. So that leaves four scholarships for six returning players next season (Al Nolen, Blake Hoffarber, Kevin Payton, Damian Johnson, Travis Busch and Lawrence Westbrook).
I think Al Nolen, Damian Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook, projected starters for the upcoming year, will keep their scholarships. So that leaves one scholarship for Hoffarber, Payton and Busch. Two guys will have to lose their scholarships, assuming everyone stays with the team.
Rumors have suggested that Hoffarber will give up his athletic scholarship and take an academic scholarship instead. But it seems more likely that Busch, a former walk-on, and Payton will wind up on the wrong side of this scenario.
But what about Mbakwe? What about all of the questions surrounding his commitment, or lack thereof, to various programs he’s played for throughout his career? Mbakwe was enrolled at Henry Sibley before briefly moving to Atlanta and eventually enrolling at St. Bernard’s. After his freshman year at Marquette, Mbakwe, who suffered a knee injury at the start of his first season, transferred to Miami-Dade Community College this summer. Current Marquette head coach Buzz Williams said he backed Mbakwe’s decision because he didn’t want someone who wasn’t committed on the team.
Mbakwe told me that he’s always been committed to every team he’s played for. He said he just didn’t feel comfortable at Marquette. He also said his commitment was tested when he decided to come back from a knee injury early in an effort to help his team.
“I think that’s funny how it was worded,” he said. “I came back early. It was just one of those things I had to do what’s best for me. I just didn’t feel comfortable at Marquette. If you ask anyone, I’ve always been committed to my team. I’m committed. My whole thing is I want to win.”
20 Responses to "The Mbakwe Effect"
I pulled down a few quotes from Mbakwe while he was at Marquette, talking about how happy he was to be playing for them. Now he’s saying he was not comfortable. I have some concern that he’s a problem child, but he’s worth the risk I suppose for his talents.
This Mbakwe dude sounds kind of like a flake to me. Looks like he is afraid to settle with one team/program, is that something Tubby wants to take on? Is the guy that good?
I followed Trevor while at Henry Sibley and a little at St. Bernard’s. His moving around and transferring unfortunately is more common among MN basketball players than it’s not. He’s a good player, but I can tell you that a big reason why he went to Marquette was Crean, and with him now at Indiana and gone from Marquette, it was probably harder for him to stay.
I also have concerns about Royce White and why he is no longer at De La Salle, but love his talent.
And I had earlier reservations about Rodney Williams and how he behaves during games, but think Tubby will be a great coach to change some of those negative things.
Bottom line is these are all kids, and sometimes because these kids are so talented and get so much attention that we forget they are kids and can make kid-like decisions. And frankly knowing exactly what to do with your future is a tough call for many kids.
Trevor is an absolute headcase. He may turn out to be a decent player (think 8 ppg, 6 rpg), but Average Joe has obviously seen some of it, not sure how much others have.
The fact of the matter is there were rumors that he was homesick, sad, missed his girlfriend, etc. when Crean was at Marquette and after Williams was named coach earlier this year. Then he tells everyone, ‘no no.. these rumors .. dont know what’s up with them, I’m staying at MU’… then the first week of classes, this nutjob sends a mass text msg to his teammates saying, “I’m moving on”.
PS - I don’t think the Gophers have a scholarship for him at this point in time. I’d be pissed if I was Busch or Abu Shamala and my scholarship was stripped because of some whiney emotional nut.
Myron -
C’mon dude. You’re a beat writer for a major publication. You need to know the rules. You can’t just switch a player from an athletic scholarship to an academic one. If it was that easy, everybody would be doing it to free up scholarships. Schools like Duke would have 20 guys on scholarship.
C’mon man, you’ve been reading the crap on Gopherhole too much.
Gotta give Hoffarber that last scholarship, he earned it last year and is one of, if not the best shooter on the team
Knowing Tubby, I am sure this matter has already been resolved. The speculation is therefore meaningless.
Jay Bee? Avg Joe? Good names because you do Not Know what the deal with Trevor was or is.Bor should be expected to. I do know
the real deal, and this is a great coup for Minnesota. He’ll do much more than avg stats. A lot more goes on behind the scenes than anyone would ever dream of regarding leaving schools, and the way these young kids are treated.
Busch and Payton will understand that they are losing their scholarship to a better player. That’s how it works.
Trust Me - were you one of the people in his ear all the time that told him to intentionally flunk summer school to get away from Marquette?
Why did it take you so long to get him out of Milwaukee? I mean, damn.. could have at least had him leave before classes were starting.
Loyalty to your teammates, to your school… this means nothing to him?
Dude’s a certified flake, as evidenced on multiple occasions. Cybil Mbakwe.
April 16, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal… Buzz Williams is the new coach.. rumors are Mbakwe is homesick… Trevor denies this and says its not true, he is all in for Marquette…
“I’ve been reading the papers and they’re saying all this stuff about me transferring for family reasons before Coach (Tom Crean) even left,” Mbakwe said then. “I just want to let everyone know that isn’t true. It was news to me. It was a shock. I didn’t know where it was coming from, and that’s never been an idea in my head.”
Several months later, and Marquette head coach Buzz Williams says,… “Trevor called me and said, “My people have decided I need to go to a junior college”". Trevor was also kind enough to send a mass text message to his teammates to tell them he was leaving.
This week…
Mbakwe said he needed six stiches on his left (non-shooting) hand this week after cutting himself.
Hmmm,.. I wonder if dude is a ‘cutter’.
LOL Like I said, keep hatin, and keep getting your sources from your newspaper.
Just remember that, and don’t jump on the bandwagon later.
Wow…a lot of hostility towards a 19-20 year KID!! Give the KID the benefit of the doubt. Sounds like he has quite a bit of talent and I’m sure Tubby will be the perfect coach for him.
Go Gophers!
8 ppg and 6 rpg per game while looking uncoordinated and undersized isn’t going to make me jump on a bandwagon. The above quotes are accurate and factual — if there’s some other angle we should be thinking about, then why not explain?
My sources aren’t “my newspaper”, papa… and I did see every second Trevor played last year (which wasn’t many, of course) and I did see his interactions with players when he was injured… sad that he his mentals are straight and that he’s got some people giving him questionable advice, that he chose to follow.
I hope he does well, for the sake of the U, but that doesn’t change the fact that dudes a nutso. Is he still dating that Minnesota girl while he’s in Miami?
I can’t wait til Trevor is done with his collegiate ‘basketball career’, so he can make me a nice sub at Subway.
Never been real impressed with his playing-hopeI’m wrong!
Are you out of your mind Myron? You have been reading way too much junk on GopherHole.
There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that Hoffarber will be forced to give up his scholarship. Why would a a kid take an academic scholarship (which usually covers way less than an athletic scholarship) when he earned his scholarship, not only to the U but like 20 other D1 schools?
You can’t simply take away our top shooter’s athletic scholarship. It’d be no different than taking away Westbrook’s, Nolen’s, Johnson’s, or any other Gopher’s scholarship. You can’t punish a kid because he’s done well in the classroom.
Ridiculous notion.
It works out pretty easy. Busch is a walk-on and his schollie is only on a year to year basis. If one is available he gets a free ride, if not then he goes without. Payton is going to graduate this year so he wont need one next season. Busch might even be on track to graduate this year, not sure about that.
The third post here by Mass Media Guy should be read by everyone. He nails it in the last sentence.
Let’s remember these are kids. They do not have everything figured out in life. Tubby will be able to handle anything dealt to him by his players.
And he will help them to become men of character and good, solid citizens who respect their sport, their fans, their opponents, their opposing coaches, and their officials. Tubby will not allow anything else.
There will not be one player on a Tubby team that in the end, we won’t be proud to call a Gopher.
Here’s the inside scoop on Jay Bee: Trevor stole his girlfriend and now his mission in life to to slander Trevor.
Much of the “emotional” stuff Jay Bee cites happens to many college freshman (whether they are playing basketball or just drinking in the bars after attending basketball games).
The wonderful thing about growing up Jay, honey, is that you live and you learn. Haven’t I taught you better than to hold a grudge so long–move on! There are plenty of young ladies out there who will like you if you just put a smile on your face and stop being such a grumpy gus all the time.
In fact, there’s a cute young lady who does my nails who think would be a great gal to take on a date. Come upstairs for lunch, son and we’ll discuss. Meanwhile, get off that dang computer and get out of the basement. Can’t meet any new gals down there.
Did anybody else notice that Monson had a number of players transfer “back home” after playing at other schools? I don’t recall that working out terribly well. Will Mbakwe be the exception to a previous trend? I hope so, but I have my doubts.
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