The Gophers cannot be criticized for making loud noise over the signing of point guard Isaiah Washington on the second day of the early signing period in November 2016. He was the player of the year in the state of New York, and also came with an internet full of highlights as the "Jelly'' in the JellyFam (family) of dynamic shot-makers.
There were two notable senior point guards in the Twin Cities that winter: McKinley Wright at Champlin Park and Brad Davison at Maple Grove. Davison was locked in for Wisconsin and Wright signed with the Dayton Flyers.
Wright became Minnesota's Mr. Basketball. When Archie Miller left Dayton for Indiana in April 2017, Wright was let out of his commitment and signed with Colorado.
Richard Pitino did reach out to Wright, but his point guard of the future was Washington, and Colorado was a much-stronger opportunity for Wright. At least, it seemed that way in late April 2017.
We are now 40-some games into the college careers of Wright, Davison and Washington. Wright is the leading scorer and a star at Colorado. Davison is enough of a presence at Wisconsin that he has been accused in the national media of being the No. 1 flopper in the country, which is quite a claim in a country that includes Duke.
Meantime, the Gophers opened the Big Ten home schedule vs. Nebraska on Wednesday as thin in the backcourt and with a strong need for Washington to become a facsimile of the point guard anticipated when Pitino and his now-departed recruiter, Kimani Young, convinced Isaiah to leave The City for the Midwest.
A year ago, the Gophers had senior Nate Mason playing through injury as the point guard. Washington received plenty of minutes after other injuries, but he was not often put in a position to run the show.
The Gophers attempted to fill the point guard gap late with Marcus Carr, a transfer from Pittsburgh, but the NCAA decided that the sophomore had sit out the traditional one year before playing.