Royce White, the state's 2009 Mr. Basketball and a former Gophers forward, signed a "financial agreement" with Iowa State Monday, according to Cyclones spokesman Mike Green.
The university issued a release about White, a five-star forward at Hopkins, on its website that describes him as "one of the nation's best players from the high school class of 2009."
Although White has encountered a variety of recent off-court challenges, Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg said he's not concerned about his newest recruit.
"I am aware of Royce's situation at Minnesota," Hoiberg said via the school's release. "I have talked with a lot of people who are close to him, spoken with Royce in person multiple times and feel he is sincerely committed to meeting the expectations we have for our players. On one of his campus visits, Royce also met with institutional staff both inside and outside of the athletics department and he left very positive impressions on everyone."
White, however, will need an NCAA waiver to play next season. Right now, he's academically ineligible and cannot receive a scholarship from a Division I program because he left Minnesota in the middle of the second semester. Iowa State's release said the school expects to hear more about White's waiver request by the end of the summer.
White led Hopkins to a 4A state title in 2009. He joined the Gophers that summer but never played a game due to legal trouble.
He pled guilty to misdemeanor theft and disorderly conduct after an incident at the Mall of America in October. Police questioned White about an on-campus laptop theft in November. White maintained his innocence in the latter case but eventually pled guilty to one count of misdemeanor trespassing.
The Gophers suspended White indefinitely as a result of his legal problems.
