Smith's recruiting aims at the top players - from anywhere

When Tubby Smith arrived at Minnesota in April of 2007, he immediately sought out two of the state's top high school players: Royce White and Rodney Williams. And in a few weeks that early effort might pay off if Williams joins White and California point guard Justin Cobbs in Smith's 2009 recruiting class.

"We feel we need to get a point who can help us, and in Al [Nolen] we feel we have this one point guard in our program," said Smith, who recruited a top 25 recruiting class for the upcoming season. "That was a high priority. We think we need to continue to get more athletic, especially on the wing."

Over the weekend, Smith played host to Cobbs and Robbinsdale Cooper's Williams. Cobbs, who led Bishop Montgomery in Torrance, Calif., to a state title last season, left Minneapolis on Sunday but not before he gave the Gophers a verbal commitment. After Williams made his visit, his mother, Shanell, said Minnesota is her son's top choice, but he still intends to take a trip to Santa Clara next weekend.

"It was a very good visit," she said. "It was productive. As a family, we were happy with it, and he was happy with it."

If Smith lands White and Williams, he'll have two players who have been listed among the top 50 preps in the country by various recruiting services. And two of the state's top recruits will stay home, a problem that former coach Dan Monson couldn't solve.

"We just need to get the best player," Smith said. "That's what everybody is trying to do."

The Gophers have three scholarships available for next season. But they'd like to add a power forward, even if Williams commits, meaning the Gophers would have to find a scholarship within the program.

Last weekend was critical, because Smith recently had failed to woo several other recruits. White, who will play for Hopkins this season, committed in the spring. The Gophers made a late pitch to Osseo power forward Sam Dower, who recently committed to Gonzaga. During that same weekend, three other post players chose other schools. Hopkins forward Mike Broghammer committed to Notre Dame, Colorado center Trevor Williams committed to Colorado State and Georgia power forward Torin Walker committed to Oklahoma State, leaving the Gophers without a young power forward -- potentially the missing piece to Minnesota's future league title hopes.

Baltimore prep forward Andrew Fitzgerald might visit Minnesota soon. And former St. Bernard's forward Trevor Mbakwe, who recently left Marquette and transferred to Miami Dade Community College, might also be an option.

But now, even if the Gophers don't find a power forward, they appear on their way to assembling a solid group of young talent. Freshmen Ralph Sampson III, Colton Iverson and Devoe Joseph all expect to contribute this season.

"I think last year, you look at their class as sort of a foundation class," said Dave Telep, a national recruiting analyst. "This is kind of the follow-up to that. This is the answer to the foundation where you really start to inject some serious talent into it."

White and Williams, as a duo, have the potential to become a pairing comparable to Bobby Jackson and Sam Jacobson, who played for two seasons for the Gophers in the mid-'90s.

But, more importantly, Smith has proven he can "lock up the borders," Telep said, and keep the best players away from rivals such as Iowa and Wisconsin.

Smith said recruiting Minnesota talent isn't his top priority. Talent, he said, ranks above high school location.

"We want to bring in the best players," Smith said. "If they're here, then we want them."

Getting them is the hard part, but Smith is on his way to proving he can.

Myron P. Medcalf • mmedcalf@startribune.com