Gophers incoming recruit Cameron Christie remains committed to Ben Johnson

CHICAGO – Four-star recruit Cameron Christie has been following the ups and downs of the Gophers men's basketball program. And he remains committed to joining Ben Johnson's team next season.

The 6-6 guard from Rolling Meadows finished his senior season as one of the top players in Illinois. Christie is now the lone recruit in the Gophers' 2023 class after five-star center Dennis Evans was released from his national letter of intent last month.

Christie hasn't let a lengthy losing streak with his future team or Evans' decision make him feel any different about the Gophers, who he watched beat Nebraska on Wednesday night to start the Big Ten tournament.

"I never second-guessed my choice on whether I still should be going there or not," said Christie, who attended the game with his family at United Center. "I trust the program. I trust coach Johnson and the plan he has in place. So, I never wavered."

Admittedly, Christie said, it was tough to hear about Evans because "I was looking forward to getting to know him better and play with him in the future, but you can't dwell on it."

Christie averaged 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, shot 88% on free throws and set a school record with 101 three-pointers this season. Rolling Meadows finished 27-7 and undefeated in its conference.

The Gophers aren't afraid of playing freshmen. Christie was encouraged by the development of the four freshmen this season, especially big man Pharrel Payne. And he was excited to see Johnson's team pull out its first Big Ten home win last week against Rutgers, which snapped a 12-game losing streak.

"They play really hard," Christie said. "That's one of the things I like about this team is they never back down and always battle. Prime example of that was the Rutgers game. They were down 10 with [64 seconds left] and they never stopped playing. There's definitely been lots of improvement as the season has gone on."

After the regular-season ending loss vs. Wisconsin, Johnson said he didn't expect second-leading scorer Jamison Battle and starting guard Ta'Lon Cooper to be back next season. The opportunity for extended minutes at point guard has Christie preparing to help lead the offense as a freshman.

"Point guards are usually one of the leaders of the team," Christie said. "I'm going to have a lot of teammates next year that can knock down shots and can make plays. So I know I can trust them and get them the ball. It takes a high IQ to play at that position. It's a really fast-paced game. You have to be able to make quick decisions and quick reads. It will be a lot of fun to tackle it next year and do my best."

Minnesota natives Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl had a short stay in Chicago with Wisconsin in Wednesday's 65-57 loss to 13th-seeded Ohio State.

The Badgers cut a 27-point deficit to four points down the stretch but couldn't pull it out. Wahl finished with 17 of his 19 points in the second half, to go along with 10 rebounds. Crowl had eight points.

Their NCAA tournament hopes were kept alive in Sunday's win against the Gophers, but they're likely now on the bubble.