Gophers men's coach Ben Johnson and his staff spend as much time recruiting the transfer portal as ever, which is the reality in today's college basketball landscape.
Having to compete for players with NIL (name, image, and likeness) is often a determining factor, making recruiting the portal harder than ever. The Gophers had some portal hits, but the misses lately have been tough to swallow for a fan base anxious to turn around from a 9-22 season.
Most recently, the Gophers saw Bryant's Charles Pride and Montana State's Darius Brown II announce commitments to St. Bonaventure and Utah State, respectively. What makes losing those players bigger blows to the Gophers is that they both visited Minnesota's campus last week.
Pride and Brown would have been quality pickups for Johnson to solidify a Gophers backcourt in desperate need of experience and depth for the 2023-24 season.
But the need remains at guard, where the Gophers only returning player is Braeden Carrington, a freshman last season. They also signed four-star recruit Cameron Christie in the 2023 class.
Last year, the Gophers landed their final transfer with Dartmouth's Taurus Samuels on May 9, so they've been able to add one to their roster this late in the past. Filling two scholarships will be even tougher.
More than two dozen guards who were contacted by the Gophers after entering the portal committed elsewhere this spring, mostly to other high major programs. But here are several guard targets still available who could be a good fit:
