Breck senior forward David Roddy announced in front of family and friends at his high school gym Friday night he would be signing with Colorado State.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound three-star prospect picked the Rams over Minnesota and Northwestern.

North Star Hoops (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

After his football season ended last week, Roddy made it clear he wanted to play college hoops. Since tweeting his final three schools recently, it sounded like Colorado State and Northwestern were ahead of Minnesota.

Northwestern's Chris Collins was the first high-major coach to offer Roddy a scholarship in July, while also inviting him to take an unofficial visit to Evanston over the summer. But Collins landed four-star power forward Robbie Beran and big man Jared Jones this fall.

Colorado State coach Niko Medved, a former Gophers assistant and St. Paul native, recruited Roddy harder than anyone, especially with assistant and former DeLaSalle coach Dave Thorsen leading the charge with his strong local ties.

In mid-September, Roddy's official visit with the Gophers went well. He toured the new Athletes Village facility, watched practice and hung out with players at the Miami (Ohio) football game, especially former Howard Pulley AAU teammates and Gophers freshmen Daniel Oturu, Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa.

"It's just really cool to see those guys be in the place they're in now, representing Minnesota in the most positive way they can," Roddy said. "I'm excited for them and what they'll do this season. It was a really fun spending time with them and getting to know their everyday life and what it is to be a Gopher."

As close as Roddy is to his AAU teammates, that wasn't enough to persuade him to join them at Minnesota. Where does that leave Richard Pitino for the 2019 recruiting class?

The Gophers lost four-star Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) forward Tray Jackson when he switched his commitment to Missouri last month. So there are four open scholarship spots for next season.

La Lumiere Prep (Ind.) senior wing Gerald Drumgoole recently visited Minnesota, as did Lee High School (Ala.) forward Kobe Brown last month. Drumgoole and Brown haven't indicated signing in the early period, which starts next Wednesday. But I'm sure the Gophers would like to get them committed in November.

The U's No. 1 2019 target has always been five-star Rochester John Marshall forward Matthew Hurt, but he could be leaning toward a decision in the spring. So Pitino's best recruiting pitch to any future recruits in this latest class might just be having his current team get off to a strong start this year.