Webster To Play For Utah State

The Bryce Webster mystery has taken another twist in the last few days, with news breaking in Utah that the former Golden Gopher forward/center has committed to play for Utah State.

This is the same Bryce Webster who was fairly highly regarded coming out of St. Thomas Academy. Webster played sparingly for the 9-22 Gophers last season. Shortly after Tubby Smith arrived on the scene, rumors began to circulate that Webster was on his way out.

As I reported here and here, the local media didn't provide any real reasons for Webster's decision to leave. Was it his teammates? Did he prefer the Monson era to Tubby Smith? Did he just crave to play ball in Utah? We'll never know, but now we do know that the rumors put out by that Webster was leaving to play for Harvard were unfounded.

Perhaps I've overblown this situation in my search to find answers. My instincts tell me something related to Webster and his time at the U is fishy. Does anyone know anything? Either way, I think this effectively ends this story.

Webster Staying In Minny After All

Though it was previously reported in the Minnesota periodicals that Minnesota's sophomore center/forward Bryce Webster was leaving the university to attend Harvard, Sid Hartman reports today that Webster is staying at Minnesota but will not be part of the basketball team.

I still contend this is a strange, strange story and there is something we're missing here.

In other news, I've made some additions and subtractions to the links to the right. One of my favorite bloggers, Sonia at I Heart KG, has moved on. That blogger is now working at TWolvesBlog.com. Check out that site if you're a T'Wolves fan. Also, in the College Sports section, I've added Run for the Roses, a blog dedicated to the Big Ten and Pac Ten chase for the Rose Bowl, and Big Ten Chronicle, a blog that does a good job of keeping a reader up to date on all things Big Ten. A nice one-stop shopping type of site.

Life has been a little hectic the last couple weeks. I haven't been able to post here as much as I'd like. That should change soon, as the new job settles down. I'll be back tomorrow with a look at Miami (Ohio).

Bryce Webster Says So Long To Minnesota

A week or so ago I posted about the mysteries surrounding Bryce Webster's rumored decision to leave the Minnesota basketball team. Now it's official according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press piece linked to above, like all the reporting on Webster's departure, is completely lacking of any insight into why he decided to leave. The AP suggests he was overmatched in the Big Ten: "Webster often looked overmatched against Big Ten competition. He appeared in 28 games last season, starting seven ties on a 9-22 team, and averaged 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.3 minutes per game."

Minnesota blogger Down with Goldy also suggests Webster was slightly overmatched.

I won't go that far, considering he was a true freshman last year playing limited minutes.

But I would like to reiterate what I said in my previous Bryce Webster post. The reporting on this situation has been embarrassing. Rumors have circulated on message boards that pointed to various factors contributing to Webster's departure. But no solid reason has ever been given. The rumors made Webster so umcomfortable he apparently contacted the message board to put some rumors to rest.

In any real college basketball town, the reporters would be fighting over this story no matter the real reason Webster decided to leave. If a sophomore leaves Billy Gillespie's team at Kentucky, I'd wager just about anything that the papers across the state would get to the bottom of the situation.

It was previously reported that he wanted to step away from the team--not transfer--because of academics and family issues. A transfer smacks of something more than a desire to hit the books and "family issues."

Did he feel outmatched? Did he want to concentrate on academics? Does he want to travel to Cali to play for Dan Monson? Is he not a Tubby Smith type of player? Does Tubby have plans that don't include him?

Or, does he want to transfer to Normandale Community College to be closer to his girlfriend? That might sound silly, but no one has reported any solid reason. Hopefully the Star Tribune andPioneer Press will pick up the slack.

UPDATE: Our two local periodicals continue to tell us next to nothing. Here's the Star Tribune's nothingness. The Pioneer Press at least tried, with this article by Marcus Fuller. The reporter quoted Webster's coach from his days with Howard Pulley as saying Webster didn't like the social aspect. But it's not clear if he meant that concerning his Gophers teammates. It was also reported he could be off to Harvard to play for Tommy Amaker.

Oh, and by the way, Charley Walters, in this series of blurbs published Friday, is still citing his famous birdies. Can someone tell Mr. Walters that once a press release is out about the situation, one need not cite unidentified sources to get out the same material? Sheesh. Correction: I read Walters' blurb wrong. He was citing a birdie that indicated Webster might head to Harvard. My bad. I still see no need for a 'birdie,' considering Fuller cited a source and reported the same thing. But I hereby take back the "Sheesh."

Whatever the real reason, I wish Webster well. If he's off to Harvard, I say congratulations.

The Bryce Webster Mystery

As many Gopher fans know, sophomore power forward Bryce Webster apparently plans to leave Tubby Smith's maroon and gold. Unfortunately, there has been more rumor and innuendo than actual substance to report on the mysterious decision by Webster.

I've hesitated to discuss the scuttlebutt in the local papers that the Minnesota forward is planning to leave the team. The GopherHole served as a home to considerable gossip about the cause for the Webster's departure, eventually forcing the sophomore to contact the message board putting some rumors to rest.

But this week the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman and Pioneer Press' Charley Walters weighed in again. Walters wrote that Tubby Smith indicated publicly for the first time that Webster would not be back this upcoming season. Hartman cited anonymous friends of Webster's who indicated it is unlikely the former 3-star Rivals forward will be back next season. Both of the columnists reported Tubby would talk with Webster again soon to try and convince him to stay.

There has been an incredible lack of reporting on this situation, which has lasted now for more than a month. Sid Hartman and Charley Walters, for non-Minnesota readers, are columnists who print more rumor than fact. I'm not doubting the information they've provided here, but this is a situation where the sports editors at the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune ought to realize their readers want facts, or as I like to say, the closest possible version of the truth. Both newspapers have let us down.

Webster, according to Hartman was the 2006 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. Rivals indicates that he had offers from Marquette and Boston College. He started seven games as a true freshman last season under Dan Monson, averging 9.3 minutes in 28 games. He is certainly a player that has/had the potential to blossom into a quality Big Ten power forward.

The best information about Webster comes from the aforementioned email he apparently sent to the GopherHole. He apparently indicated that his decision to leave the team centered around academics and family issues. I'll take him at his word, but because other rumors floated around, it might be a good idea for the local rags to have their beat reporters ask a few questions and put any and all rumors to rest once and for all.