Gopher Basketball Recruiting Rumors: What We Know
Contents
The latest on Gopher Basketball Recruiting rumors, including what we know and what we don’t know.
Introduction
It’s that time of year again when college basketball fans start obsessing over recruiting rumors. As Gopher fans, we are no different. We want to know who the next great player to don the maroon and gold will be. Here is a roundup of the latest recruiting rumors involving the Gophers.
The Gopher’s Recruiting Class
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team is still in the midst of a very successful 18-19 season but that hasn’t stopped Head Coach Richard Pitino and his staff from working hard on the recruiting trail
The Gophers currently have two players verbally committed to their 2019 recruiting class in four-star point guard Tre Williams and three-star small forward Bryan Antoine. However, Pitino is still looking to add more talented players to his roster and there are a few rumors floating around about who those could be.
One name that has been mentioned is five-star small forward Precious Achiuwa. The 6-foot-9 native of Nigeria is currently ranked as the No. 8 player in the country by 247Sports and has offers from some of the biggest programs in the country, including Duke, Louisville, Kansas, and UCLA.
Achiuwa took an unofficial visit to Minnesota back in October and Pitino and his staff have been actively recruiting him since then. The Gophers are said to be one of the schools he is seriously considering and they could get a visit from him again before he makes his decision.
Another player who has been linked to Minnesota is four-star shooting guard Matthew Hurt The 6-foot-9 native of North Carolina is ranked as the No. 11 player in the country by 247Sports and already has offers from Duke, Louisville, Kansas, UCLA, Virginia, and many others.
Hurt has taken multiple visits to Minnesota over the past year or so and the Gophers are said to be one of his favorite schools. He recently said that he plans on taking all five of his official visits before making his college decision, so it will be interesting to see if he includes Minnesota in that group.
Minnesota also recently offered four-star Power Forward Isaiah Stewart, who is one of the most sought-after recruits in the country. The 6-foot-9 native of New York is ranked as the No. 5 player in the country by 247Sports and has offers from Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville, and many others.
Stewart has taken multiple visits to Minnesota over the past year or so but it’s unclear if they will be able to get him on campus for another visit before he makes his college decision.
These are just some of the rumors floating around about who Pitino and his staff could be targeting in their 2019 Recruiting Class Only time will tell which (if any) of these players end up becoming Gophers but it’s certainly an exciting time Minnesota basketball fans
The Gopher’s Recruiting Targets
There is always a lot of speculation surrounding recruiting targets for the Gopher Basketball team With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the rumors that have been circulating and what we know about them.
One of the biggest rumors is that the Gophers are targeting five-star center, Mohamed Bamba. Bamba is considered one of the best players in his class and would be a huge get for the Gophers. However, it is worth noting that Bamba has also been linked to Duke, Kentucky, and Texas. So, while the Gophers are definitely interested in him, they will have stiff competition for his services.
Another rumor is that the Gophers are targeting four-star point guard Immanuel Quickley. Quickley is considered one of the best point guards in his class and would be a great addition to the Gophers’ backcourt. However, it is worth noting that Quickley has also been linked to Louisville, Maryland, and Kansas. So, while the Gophers are definitely interested in him, they will have stiff competition for his services.
Finally, there have been rumors that the Gophers are targeting four-star small forward Jordan Tucker. Tucker is considered one of the best small forwards in his class and would be a great addition to the Gophers’ frontcourt. However, it is worth noting that Tucker has also been linked to Syracuse, Georgetown, and Villanova. So, while the Gophers are definitely interested in him, they will have stiff competition for his services.
The Gopher’s Recruiting Strategy
It is no secret that the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team has struggled to find consistent success in recent years head coach Richard Pitino has only been able to muster one NCAA tournament appearance and one NIT appearance in his five seasons at the helm.
The Gophers have had some recruiting success, pulling in top-50 recruits Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu in back-to-back seasons. Both Coffey and Oturu were ranked in the top-35 of their recruiting class and were highly sought after by other programs.
However, it appears that the Gophers may be shifting their recruiting strategy under Pitino. The team has recently landed commitments from a few lower-ranked recruits, including four-star point guard Tre Williams and three-star shooting guard Jarvis Thomas.
The Gophers are also strongly pursuing a few lower-ranked recruits, including three-star power forward Isaiah Ihnen and three star center Samjacobus “Sam” Hauser.
It is unclear what has led to this shift in recruiting strategy, but it will be interesting to see if the Gophers are able to find more success on the court with this new approach.
The Gopher’s Recruiting Results
It’s been a whirlwind week for Gopher Basketball Recruiting
On Tuesday, the biggest rumor of the offseason finally came to fruition when five-star point guard Tyrese Haliburton committed to Iowa State
Just 24 hours later, the Gophers landed a five-star commit of their own in center Daniel Oturu.
Oturu’s commitment gives the Gophers two top-40 recruits in the class of 2019, which is a Big Win considering they had zero top-40 recruits in 2018.
The Gophers are still in the mix for some other top recruits but let’s take a look at what we know about their recruiting results so far.
The Gopher’s Recruiting Challenges
The Gopher’s recruiting class for next season is one of the most talked about in recent memory. There are a lot of question marks surrounding the team, and it seems like every day there is a new rumor about who they might be targeting.
Here’s what we know so far:
– The Gophers have been in contact with a lot of high-profile recruits, but they haven’t been able to land any commitments yet.
– The biggest challenge for the Gophers is that many of the top recruits are also being pursued by other schools, including some of the biggest names in college basketball
– The Gophers Coaching Staff is putting a lot of emphasis on building relationships with recruits and their families, in hopes that it will pay off with commitments down the road.
Only time will tell how this all plays out, but one thing is for sure: the Gophers recruiting class for next season is going to be one to watch.
The Gopher’s Recruiting Future
The Minnesota Gophers Basketball team is coming off a strong season in which they made it to the NCAA Tournament and won their first game. They are losing some Key Players to graduation, but they have a lot of young talent on the roster. The Gophers are also losing Head Coach Tubby Smith, who was recently hired by the University of Memphis.
It is unclear who will be the next Head coach of the Gophers, but there are already some rumors about who the team might be targeting in the recruiting process Below are some of the rumors that have been circulating about the Gophers’ recruiting efforts:
-The Gophers are interested in 5-star point guard Tyus Jones, who is from Apple Valley Minnesota.
-The Gophers are also interested in 5-star Small Forward Rashad Vaughn, who is from Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
-The Gophers are also interested in 4-star shooting guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who is from Toronto, Canada.
Conclusion
We know that the Gopher basketball recruiting class is shaping up to be one of the best in recent years With multiple five-star recruits, the team is primed to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament While we don’t know exactly who will commit to the team, we know that the future is bright for Gopher Basketball