Gophers to host Cornell transfer Isaiah Gray on official visit

A potential Gophers option in the portal Nate Heise officially committed to Iowa State Tuesday and Minnesota has already shifted its focus. Cornell transfer guard Isaiah Gray will be in Minnesota on an official visit with the Gophers in the coming days, per source. James Madison and BYU are other programs interested in his services.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 219 pounds, Gray averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists on a Cornell team that went 22-8 this season, en route to an NIT appearance. He started 27 games for the Big Red and was an impressive two-way defender.

Isaiah Gray has been a fan favorite since the first day he put on a uniform for @cornell_mbb. He's already led the Big Red to one of the best seasons in school history, and it's not over yet. #YellCornell pic.twitter.com/9er3I5MQ5a

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 7, 2024

The Ivy League obviously breeds a different kind of collegiate athletes than the rest of the country. Hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y. he played an extra year of high school ball at Cushing Academy in a post graduate year. He was pretty under-recruited coming out, but landed at Cornell, where he graduted with a degeree in Sociology. He progressively got better every season, blossoming into a solid two-way combo guard on a impressive team last season.

If he opts to use his extra “COVID-year” I believe that Gray would have two seasons of eligibility remaining as a grad-transfer. He would slot into Braeden Carrington’s role perfectly. With Hawkins, Mitchell and Christie all set to return with freshman Isaac Asuma coming in, the Gophers do not need a whole lot in the backcourt.

Gray struggled from beyond that arc last season, shooting 24.1%, but he only attempted one per-game. He is a smart player that had an impressive 64.2 true shooting percentage. He might not do anything to jump off the page, but he is the exact type of guard this team needs. He can facilate with the second unit and play off the ball with anyone on the court.