Gophers basketball recruits excited watching comeback over USC

Erasing a 10-point deficit in the second half in Saturday’s victory at Southern California, the Gophers men’s basketball team caught the attention of the Big Ten.

But their peers in the conference weren’t the only ones watching. Gophers coach Ben Johnson’s Class of 2025 recruits were excited about the performance.

Inglewood, Calif., senior big man Parker Jefferson was in attendance to see his future program in person for the first time. Other recruits Jacob Ross and Kai Shinholster followed from afar.

“It was a great time,” said the 6-10 Jefferson, a four-star recruit, after he watched the comeback at Galen Center, when the Gophers won 69-66 by scoring the final eight points of the game. “Everyone played well.”

A 6-6 wing at SoCal Academy in Los Angeles, Ross was out of town playing in a tournament in Arizona, but he hopes to attend Tuesday’s Gophers game against UCLA at historic Pauley Pavilion.

“Man, that was a big win,” Ross said about the USC game. “I was able to watch it from my phone. I thought it was a good win on the road for sure.”

The Gophers (13-12, 5-9 Big Ten) have three road wins this season, the others being at Iowa and Penn State. A 6-5 guard at Philadelphia Penn Charter, Shinholster was impressed with the Gophers on Saturday pulling off another comeback win like they did against the Nittany Lions last month.

“I love the fight of this team,” said Shinholster, who went undefeated to win his conference title this season. “They never give up.”

Jefferson, Ross and Shinholster have been in contact during their senior season and talked about what they hope to accomplish as freshmen.

“We want to be the group that turns this thing around,” Jefferson said.

During the Christmas break, Johnson and his staff traveled to see members of their talented 2025 recruiting class play at their high schools, including Ross and Jefferson in Southern California.

“Our brand is hitting the West Coast,” Johnson said. “Anytime you can find the best talent you can in areas that make sense you need to do that.”

After an 0-6 start to Big Ten play this season, the Gophers have won five of their past eight games, which included a three-game win streak in January. They have to finish in the top 15 in the conference to qualify for the Big Ten tournament next month. They were in 14th place after Saturday’s games.

“They had a lot of transfers and new guys coming in, so I feel like they didn’t really have a good chance to gel until the season progressed,” Ross said. “I feel like getting hot at the right time is the best thing for the team. Trying to make a run down the stretch and keep getting wins in the Big Ten will push us toward that conference tournament.”

In the early November college basketball signing period, Jefferson picked the Gophers over USC, but he didn’t need to see Saturday’s game result to have no regrets.

“I feel like I made the right decision and would do it a thousand times over and still pick Minnesota,” Jefferson said. “Just love the program, the genuine vibe from the head coach all the way down to the bottom of the depth chart.”