While March Madness is officially over, the college basketball offseason is already in full swing. The Transfer Portal has been open for nearly three weeks and the Gophers have already had their fair share of departures. With Pharrel Payne, Braeden Carrington, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Isaiah Ihnen and Kris Keinys hitting the portal, and Cam Christie testing the NBA Draft waters Minnesota will have at least six open scholarships.
Players they’ve officially reached out to:
- Grant Huffman, G, Davidson
Listed at 6-foot-4, Huffman averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game last season and he has one season of eligibility remaining. He officially visited Minnesota over the weekend. After losing Braeden Carrington and his 21.0 MPG to the portal, Huffman is a great place to start as Johnson and his staff look for a replacement. He struggled shooting the ball from deep last season (26.9%), but he can be an ideal two-guard off the bench for Minnesota’s current roster.
- Frank Mitchell, C, Canisius
Joe Moussa reported that Canisius transfer big man Frank Mitchell will be visiting Minnesota on Monday. Mitchell, a Toronto, Canada native averaged 12.1 points and a nation’s 4th-best 11.6 rebounds per game. In 2021-22, he started his college career at Humber College, a CCAA school in his hometown of Toronto. He was an incredibly impressive rebounder at that level too, averaging 18.0 boards per game. He was forced to sit out the 2022-23 season, due to transfer rules, and last year was his first playing at Canisius.
Listed at 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Mitchell would be a possible Pharrel Payne replacement for the Gophers. Fans might scoff at the fact he played at Canisius, but after watching players like Cam Spencer (Loyola Maryland) and Tristen Newton (East Carolina) star for UConn en route to another National Title — there are talented players at every level. Landing either Mitchell or Huffman would be a huge win for Ben Johnson.
Gray will have an official visit with the Gophers after the dead period and he’s a name that all fans should know. A Brooklyn, New York native, he is a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 9.5 PPG on a Cornell team that qualified for the NIT this season. He wouldn’t start for the Gophers, but he could add some veteran depth as a grad transfer. James Madison and BYU are other schools interested.
- Luke O’Brien, G, Colorado
With their departures, the Gophers are in need of role players and shooting. Veteran 6-foot-8 win Luke O’Brien would provide that. He averaged 6.7 points, and 3.8 rebounds last season. He is also hearing from VCU, UCLA and Nevada, but he could provide Minnesota with some much-needed floor spacing and size.
Manon is one of two Cornell players that Minnesota has touched base with. Listed at 6-foot-5, he averaged 12.5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists this season. He will be a much hotter commodity also hearing from Arkansas, Pitt and Clemson, but the Gophers have reached out.
(Other) Minnesota Guys:
- Prince Aligbe, F, Boston College (Minnehaha Academy)
A former 4-star high school prospect, Agible struggled to reach his full potential at Boston College, averaging only 4.7 points per game a season ago. He has a very similar skillset to now former Minnesota forward Josh Ola-Joseph and could fit a very similar role on this team.
- Brody Fox, G, UW-Stout (Mahtomedi)
Fox is another player with a lot of Gophers connections. Breaking out at Mahtomedi High School, he averaged 26.6 PPG last season at Stout. Listed at 6-foot-6, he is the younger brother of Parker Fox. He has heard from a multitude of mid-major programs, so there’s a chance the Gophers stay away, but he’s still worth a mention.
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- Francis Nwaokorie, F, UC-San Diego (Champlin Park)
Nwaokorie is another former MN Mr. Basketball finalist (2021). He averaged 11.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG for the Tritons, but his final list of schools have already been released and the Gophers are not included.
- Ahjany Lee, F, St. Thomas (Totino Grace/Byron)
Ahjany Lee is a guy that Minnesota had interest in coming out of high school. He appeared in 32 games this season, averaging 4 PPG and 2.9 RPG. He would have two seasons of eligibility remaining, he likely will be a mid-major-type transfer, maybe within the Summit League, but he is still worth mentioning.
- BJ Omot, G, North Dakota (Mankato East)
Hailing from Mankato East High School, Omot was one of the best players in the Summit League last season averaging 16.7 points and 4.2 rebounds this season. Given T. J. Otzelberger’s Minnesota connections, he seems like an Iowa State guy and the fit would make sense, but he should still be on Ben Johnson’s radar.
Other notable guys:
- Dennis Evans, C, Louisville
Dennis Evans’ situation is one of the most interesting in the entire country. After getting out of his National Letter of Intent (NLI) with the Gophers and flipping his commitment to Louisville, he appeared in only seven games a true freshman. After averaging 1.6 PPG he suffered a shoulder injury in late November. Then in early January, Louisville made a statement regarding his status.
“[Dennis Evans] will not be medically cleared to compete at the University of Louisville moving forward,” per the school. “We are disappointed by the news and will not be releasing any additional information out of respect for Dennis’ privacy,” the release stated.
Louisville has officially moved on from head coach Kenny Payne after only two seasons, so the staff that lured Evans away from Minnesota will likely be cleaned out. Based on the vague nature of the school’s statement on Evans’ injury there is a lot of question whether or not he even plays basketball again. Ultimately, nobody outside of his circle likely knows the full situation, but if he was to enter the portal, Minnesota’s connection is certainly interesting.
