The Gophers recently met with a talented point guard prospect from Canada, but it looks like four-star senior Joel Brown will make his college decision before he can schedule an official visit to the Twin Cities.
Four-star Canadian PG has connection to Gophers, will announce decision Tuesday
Four-star point guard Joel Brown grew up with Gophers' Marcus Carr in Ontario. Brown is considering Minnesota, but will he get a U offer before announcing his decision on Tuesday?
September 28, 2018 at 4:08PM
Brown, who plays at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, will make an announcement on his future school Tuesday, he confirmed to the Star Tribune.
The news of Brown deciding next week among California, Clemson, Minnesota and Vanderbilt was first reported Friday by ZagsBlog's Adam Zagoria.
Minnesota coach Richard Pitino visited Brewster Academy to meet Monday with Brown, who told the Star Tribune the Gophers would "be a good fit, because of the system they run."
No scholarship offer from the U has been given to him yet, though. Brown's looking for a school with great academics, fits his style of play, where he has a good relationship with the coaches and players. He also wants "the opportunity to come in and contribute right away," he said.
Cal appears to check those boxes and is the frontrunner based on recruiting site predictions on where Brown will commit. The Golden Bears offered Brown earlier this month and are scheduled to get an official visit in October.
The 6-foot, 160-pound Brampton, Ontario native grew up, though, with Gophers sophomore guard Marcus Carr, who transferred this spring from Pittsburgh. Carr told Brown that Minneapolis was a beautiful city. He said the Gophers have amazing facilities and that Pitino "is a great guy on and off the court."
"I've known (Carr) since the sixth grade," Brown said. "I know him very well. Him and I spoke last night."
Whether Brown gets an offer from the U before he picks a school next week is uncertain. The Gophers are recruiting guards and big men to fill out the 2019 recruiting class. Four-star Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) forward Tray Jackson is the only one committed to Pitino so far, doing so earlier this month.
Georgia 2019 big man Jared Jones has an official visit set with Minnesota for next weekend.
Before that, the Gophers will host four-star 2020 point guard Jahari Long for an unofficial visit, he tweeted. Long is from Episcopal High School in Texas with offers from Wichita State, Rice, Louisiana Tech and Virginia Commonwealth.
College Hockey Insider: North Dakota-Denver series looms large, especially for the visitors
“We’ve got to start sweeping” is the Fighting Hawks' mantra, sitting at No. 23 in the PairWise rankings.
