Gophers to host two (2) Transfer Portal visitors

It was a busy week for Gophers basketball, as Elijah Hawkins and Parker Fox announced their return, while Cam Christie announced his plan to test the NBA Draft waters. While all that was going down, the Transfer Portal “dead window” officially ended and Ben Johnson got busy scheduling two visits with Davidson combo guard Grant Huffman (this weekend) and Frank Mitchell (Monday).

Grant Huffman, G, Davidson

From my understanding, Huffman’s visit to Minnesota began Friday and it has currently extended through the weekend. Listed at 6-foot-4, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game last season and he has one season of eligibility remaining. He improved his PPG every season throughout his four-year career. The Aurora, OH native started 64 consecutive games across the last two seasons, proving to be a leader for a proud Davidson program.

Four years. 117 games. 917 points. 364 dimes.

Thank you for every second of it, G. pic.twitter.com/wLdhmjcfQ4

— Davidson Basketball (@DavidsonMBB) March 12, 2024

Coming out of St. Edward High School, he was under-recruited and chose the Wildcats over top offers from Xavier, Miami (OH) and Duquesne. 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 Martin, F, 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.