Transfer Springs' father: Akeem was impressed by team, coaches, his expected role and the lure of the Big Ten

The lure of the Big Ten, a bond with players and coaches, the promise of a major role and the expectation that the University of Minnesota men's basketball team would perform much better than a year ago were the major ingredients in Akeem Springs' decision to choose the Gophers last week his father, Dwayne Springs told the Star Tribune on Monday.

The 6-4 guard from Illinois announced on Friday that he had committed to Minnesota and coach Richard Pitino after graduating from Milwaukee and transferring as a fifth-year senior. He will be eligible to play right away per NCAA rules.

Dwayne Springs said the move for his son was the clear choice.

"[Leaving] Milwaukee was a checker move," he said. "It was easy. It was time to leave …we appreciated our opportunity with Milwaukee but it was just time to move onto another stage."

Akeem, who has one year of eligibility remaining, averaged 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in his junior season at Milwaukee. The Panthers beat Minnesota at Williams Arena on Dec. 23, a game in which Akeem scored 15 points and shot 6-for-11 from the field.

Shortly after reopening his recruitment this spring, Akeem narrowed his choices to Ole Miss -- where he visited earlier this month -- and Minnesota, whose campus he toured just over a week ago. That visit put the cap on what his father dubbed an impressive recruitment.

"Akeem was telling me 'Man, I feel really good about my team, I feel good about the guys, I feel good about the coaches and playing in the Big Ten and all those things,'" said Dwayne, who also mentioned he has some family in the Minneapolis area. "We were weighing the pros and cons for about 24 hours and it just came down to how do we pass up the opportunity to play in the Big Ten? How do we pass up the chance to play against the teams you thought should have recruited you out of high school? All of those things were huge …to play on a huge stage, that's what won out."

"He wouldn't go anywhere just to be a role player, to be a complimentary guy," Dwayne said. "But to come in and be a big part of it –definitely a team-oriented thing, but for him to be a big part of the team."

The elder Springs said he believes his son is naturally a combo guard who thrives at point guard and shooting guard, but said he believes Akeem is able to defend the small forward and power forward spots as well. Springs also averaged 35.1 percent from three-point range a year ago, a skill that is surely attractive to the shooter-sparse Gophers.

However, it remains to be seen how Minnesota's staff will deal with what appears to be a big of a log jam at the wing spots. Star recruit Amir Coffey, Rochester recruit Michael Hurt, transfer Davonte Fitzgerald, sophomores Dupree McBrayer and Ahmad Gilbert and now Springs are all expected to play at the shooting guard and small forward spots, which are somewhat interchangeable in Pitino's system.

While crowded, the Gophers backcourt appears to be far superior, at least on paper, to that of last year's team. That, in part, is why the Springs are not concerned about the Gophers' 8-23 season a year ago or their ability to be competitive moving forward.