By
Bryan Rosenbaum
Dear Rick Rickert -
You don't know me, but I've heard plenty about you. The other week, you said you were going to sign for Arizona, but held out at your own press conference Wednesday and said you were still deciding between here and Minnesota.
Being a Midwesterner myself, I understand the predicament you're in. But let's face it - Tucson is a heck of a lot better than Minneapolis, especially for a top young player looking to develop and go to the NBA. And besides, the weather is much better here, and our university....well, just look at it.
You may remember the controversy Minnesota has been going through recently regarding academic fraud. Sure, the Gophers got off lightly when the NCAA decided its punishment - Minnesota can still go to the postseason and appear on television - but many scholarships were taken away and its reputation was killed. And this was by no means a one-time thing - Minnesota's athletic department has always run into problems with the NCAA.
We don't have those kind of problems here. Nobody will write your papers or do your homework for you, Rick. I'm sure your parents want you to get a good education, too, and while Arizona isn't an Ivy League school, it certainly isn't Minnesota, either.
Have I mentioned the weather? The girls? The beautiful campus? The way Arizona basketball players are treated like gods here?
Where else could a guy like Josh Pastner thrive?
And speaking of Pastner, he's a part of one of the finest coaching staffs in the country. Head coach Lute Olson's track record speaks for itself - Arizona is the winningest program over the last decade and has produced a number of NBA players.
Sure, the school is known for producing great guards. Sean Elliot, Steve Kerr, Damon Stoudamire, Mike Bibby, Mike Dickerson and now, Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas are continuing the legacy. But this school has had its fair share of quality forwards- Chris Mills, Brian Williams (now Bison Dele) and Ben Davis weren't too bad.
And then there's that small issue of today's team. Are five future first-round draft picks in the starting lineup not enough to convince you? Throw in sophomore Luke Walton, seniors Justin Wessel, Eugene Edgerson and Lamont Frazier, and you have the deepest team in the country.
Worried that you won't be able to get enough P.T.? Let's face it, Michael Wright, Richard Jefferson, Gardner and Arenas may not be here next year. Olson is well prepared for that, signing one of the best recruiting classes in the country that features your boys Dennis Latimore and Salim Stoudamire, whom you know well from your AAU team. Add Will Bynum and yourself to that list, you have a better team right there than Minnesota's all-time team.
You honestly think Minnesota, having produced Voshon Lenard, Bobby Jackson, Joel Przybilla and all, is a better choice? You won't win anything there, and after grappling as a forward in the Big Ten for a few years, you might as well become a tight end in football or a professional wrestler - you hardly have a future in the pros because other conferences produce better all-around and faster players. There's a reason highly-touted forwards at Michigan, Indiana and Iowa have failed at the next level.
Finally, why settle for UM head coach Dan Monson, a one-hit wonder with Gonzaga, when you have the tried and tested Olson?
Since Monson lashed out at the Minnesota student paper this week when it rightly said the school should have been given a harsher probation, you have to wonder where the coach's mindframe is.
Nobody's ever had to say that about "cool hand" Lute.
Take a big step, Rick. Come out West. It will be the best decision you'll ever make.
