Former Gophers forward Jarvis Omersa enters transfer portal

Former Gophers forward Jarvis Omersa entered his name in the transfer portal Tuesday, he told the Star Tribune.

Omersa, a 6-7 junior, opted out in December this season due to concerns during the pandemic. He averaged 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 64 games in two seasons with the Gophers.

The former Orono standout was the U's most athletic player and one of the top dunkers in the Big Ten. He was part of former Minnesota coach Richard Pitino's high-profile all-Minnesota recruiting class in 2018, which included Cretin-Derham Hall's Daniel Oturu and DeLaSalle's Gabe Kalscheur.

Oturu is an NBA rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers. Kalscheur was a starting guard, but he finished his junior season with the Gophers with a broken finger injury.

Omersa's best season was in 2019-20 playing in all 31 games with one start as a sophomore. He ranked second on the team with 16 blocks. He had a career-best game against North Dakota with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Last summer, Omersa was active in the community supporting social injustice causes and local peaceful protests after George Floyd's death. He's on track to graduate this spring.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Omersa said Ole Miss, Florida International and Montana were the first to reach out to him.