Gophers 7-foot target Dennis Evans sets official visit; Ben Johnson to watch him in California

Gophers basketball coach Ben Johnson and his staff continue to make an all-out effort to land 7-1 California senior Dennis Evans III, who scheduled his official visit to the U.

Evans, ranked 13th nationally by Rivals.com and 27th by 247Sports.com, will likely have Johnson and assistant Marcus Jenkins attending his practice on Wednesday at Riverside Hillcrest High.

Although no timetable for his decision is known, Evans scheduled his Gophers visit for Sept. 29. He visited TCU over the weekend. Defending national champion Kansas also has him among its invites to Midnight Madness in October.

"He's definitely considering TCU and Minnesota," Hillcrest coach H. Jackson Wood said. "I would say TCU and Minnesota are right there together up top."

Arguably the top shot blocker in the 2023 class, Evans was offered a scholarship by the Gophers, TCU, and Kansas on the same day in late May. He was named to the USA U17 World Cup team that won a gold medal this summer.

An advantage for the Gophers in recruiting Evans is that his former Inland Empire AAU teammate and friend Jaden Henley is currently a freshman guard at the U.

Last season, Henley, a 6-7 guard from Colony High in Ontario, played against Evans' Hillcrest team with Gophers coaches in attendance. Evans only had one Division I offer from UC Riverside at the time. Henley was under the radar as well.

"I think that's where they initially saw Dennis," Wood said. "California's big and there's a lot of players out here. I'm surprised when more people don't recruit out here. It kind of blows my mind sometimes. I think Jaden is really good."

Inland Empire AAU coach Elvert "Kool-Aid" Perry said Henley has a chance to be one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten this season. And he thinks the Gophers have a very good shot at landing Evans, too.

"Dennis would change the game for them because he's a tremendous shot blocker," Perry said earlier. "Dennis is a lot better offensive player than people imagine. He can shoot the three. If he comes there, they'll be in the tournament."

Johnson already received a commitment from four-star Rolling Meadows combo guard Cameron Christie, the No. 1 player from Illinois' 2023 class.

Lakeville North forward Nolan Winter, the No. 2 senior in Minnesota, is expected to make his college decision soon. The Gophers and Wisconsin are favorites for the 6-11 sharpshooting big man.