Blake Hoffarber: Made in Minnesota

Blake Hoffarber has a very logical mind and his father is a CPA, so when it came time to sort out the nearly 40 scholarship offers he received from Division I college basketball programs, the Hoffarbers naturally put everything on a spreadsheet. Pluses and minuses, strengths and weaknesses, coaches and locations, academic options and basketball prospects -- everything carefully ranked according to specific criteria, looking for the best fit. And one school eventually stood out as Hoffarber's obvious No. 1 choice.Notre Dame.

Oh well. It was a fun exercise anyway.

"I really thought I'd be at Notre Dame. I was ready to commit. I was going on an official visit, and I planned to give them my [verbal commitment]," the Gophers senior captain said. "And at the last minute, Minnesota called and offered me [a scholarship]. And I knew right away this was where I wanted to be."

From that victory of passion over planning came one of the most notable and unique careers in school history, a four-year journey of incredible highs, painful lows and lots of three-point jumpers, one that gives perhaps its final campus performance Sunday not in South Bend, Ind., but at Williams Arena. Hoffarber can't believe his time at Minnesota is up, can't figure out why the Gophers didn't win more games -- but can't wait for whatever is next, either.

"It's been a great four years, and I'll definitely be a little sad on Sunday," said the 22-year-old senior, whose 1,230 career points rank 18th in Minnesota history. "Playing at Minnesota has been even better than I expected. I've loved every minute of it."

Well, maybe not every minute. Few moments can match the euphoria of his spin-and-flip game-winner to beat Indiana in the Big Ten tournament three years ago, but the disappointment of losing eight times in the past nine games, shredding the promise of what was supposed to be a breakout senior season, has added a note of melancholy to Hoffarber's farewell.

The adjustment won't just be his, however. Hoffarber's parents have attended virtually every game, home and away, of their youngest son's career, making Gophers games a family outing two nights a week. Bruce Hoffarber's job as vice president of market development for an energy company requires plenty of travel, allowing him to build up frequent-flier privileges that the family cashes in for road games.

"People say, 'Oh my gosh, you've given up your life to do this,' and I say, 'Are you kidding?' It's so much fun that we all get to root for one thing," said Shauna Hoffarber, Blake's mother. "I would have been happy no matter where he went, but it's been such a blessing that he's been right here so we can do this."

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Hasn't been bad for Blake, either. Only a handful of teammates have the option of getting away from the pressure of basketball season by driving 15 minutes to eat a home-cooked meal, play with the dog, hang out with buddies.

"She does my laundry, too," Hoffarber said of his mom, slightly embarrassed.

Basketball is in the family's genes; Hoffarber's grandfather Ken Novak Sr. coached for more than five decades, and his uncle Ken Novak Jr. coached Blake to two state championships at Hopkins High School. Hoffarber made national news with the first of them. The Minnetonka native's buzzer-beating heave from a seated position sent the 2005 Minnesota state championship game to a second overtime and made the sophomore guard a national sensation and earned him an Espy Award for play of the year.

Must have been the family's best moment ever.

"I'd say no," Shauna Hoffarber said. "It's fun when the kids are happy, but the end results don't matter. For me, it's the journey that's worth treasuring. My favorite memories are of driving to and from practices. We had a rule: no radio, no headphones in the car. So we'd just talk."

Blake didn't do much of that early on, his parents said, and was almost painfully quiet until he was 4. But he's gradually developed into an outgoing personality -- and a leader, as his captaincy with the Gophers attests.

"In junior high, someone was picking on another kid, and Blake, who never said much, went over to him. And everyone backed off," Shauna Hoffarber said. "It was amazing how he led by setting an example. He doesn't want to be the center of attention, but he knows when to speak up."

And when to move on.

"It really just flew by. I'm going to miss being a part of this team," he said. "At the same time, I'm the type of person who looks forward. And it's exciting to think about all the possibilities out there, to not know what my future is. Scary, too."

That's a fear that all college seniors can relate to these days, but Hoffarber has less cause for worry than most. For one thing, he's already being recruited -- again.

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A student at the university's elite Carlson School of Management, Hoffarber this spring will receive a degree in finance. He served an internship last summer at Cargill Inc.'s Minneapolis headquarters, learning up close about international finance, and walked away with an offer to come back full-time after graduation. He's heard from a handful of investment banks and financial-service companies, too, and should have his pick of jobs once he's ready.

"It's weird being recruited again, almost like it never stopped," Hoffarber said. "I'm always competitive, and that's a big part of finance. Whether it's beating the market or investment banking or whatever, I'm looking forward to competing" in the business world.

But that competition will wait until after he's finished doing what he began training for as a 2-year-old in diapers, tossing sponge basketballs through a toddler hoop while watching "Sesame Street." He's still a basketball player, and he'd like to try to make a living at it.

Ideally, that ambition would take him to the NBA, but his draft prospects are iffy (though several agents already have contacted his father about representing him). He's angling for an invitation to the league's Portsmouth Invitational tournament in April, where college seniors try to impress scouts enough to earn a second-round selection or training-camp invitation. A strong showing could change opinions, though even his current coach wonders whether he's ready yet for basketball's top league.

"The thing is, you've got to play both ends of the court," Tubby Smith said, citing Hoffarber's lack of quickness on defense. "But he can get better. A lot of guys that are playing [professionally] didn't have the foot speed for it. And he's got something most people don't have -- he can really shoot the ball."

That he can -- Hoffarber is a career 41.2 percent three-point shooter, and he's only three treys away from Voshon Lenard's school-best total of 276 (though the university doesn't recognize 139 of Lenard's threes, vacated by NCAA violations). One NBA talent evaluator, who scouted Hoffarber during his sophomore and junior seasons but has not seen him this year, considers the 6-4 guard a long shot for the draft but sees potential in his skill set.

"The [NBA's tighter] hand-check rules have made guys who can really bury it on a drive-and-pop more valuable. Still, you've got to be able to do more than that. And he'll have to demonstrate he has the range for NBA threes," said the executive, prevented from commenting on the record until after the college season is over. "He reminds me a little of [former North Carolina State sharpshooter] Rodney Monroe -- his shot wasn't enough [in the NBA], but he had a great career in Europe."

Which is not a bad second option, Hoffarber said with evident enthusiasm.

"I'd love to play overseas -- travel the world, live in a foreign country for a few years. I just know it'll be great," said Hoffarber, who has spent his entire life in the Twin Cities. "I've got buddies who have played over there and really enjoyed it."

Former Gophers guard Jamal Abu-Shamala played in Jordan for a season and now plays in Mexico. Forward Dusty Rychart is in the Australian League. Burnsville native Ryan Amoroso plays in Italy, and Hoffarber's former AAU teammate Jaycee Carroll is in Spain.

It's not a bad way to make a living; Americans who fail to make the NBA can expect to earn more than $100,000 in Spain, $50,000 to $150,000 in Germany and as much as $400,000 in Italy.

"I really think he'll play somewhere, because he's such a great shooter, and a great person," Smith said. "He has values and integrity and great sportsmanship. He may be the most complete person I've ever coached. He doesn't have an ego, and he's our hardest worker. He's the model for the type of player I want in our program."

This season was supposed to be a big step forward for Hoffarber and the Gophers, but a variety of disruptions -- most notably, point guard Al Nolen's broken foot -- have ruined those plans. Rather than deflating opponents with his long-range accuracy, Hoffarber was asked to become the offense's distributor.

He's handled it well -- "It's amazing, actually, how he has cut down our turnovers," Smith said -- but without someone handling the ball while he works his way open, Hoffarber's effectiveness has been muted. He's averaging a career-best 13.9 points, but his shot is inconsistent; he's eclipsed 20 points four times but has mixed in a handful of 1-for-8 and 2-for-10 games. The season that opened with triumph in Puerto Rico, where Hoffarber averaged 16 points as the Gophers defeated Western Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia, has fizzled.

That shouldn't affect Gophers fans' regard for the team captain, athletic director Joel Maturi said.

"The sacrifice he's made personally, taking on a new role as a senior, those are things people don't fully appreciate when things aren't going well," Maturi said. "When he's gone, I think people will have an even greater respect for Blake than they may have today. He's represented the university very well."