Gophers looking for next point guard in the portal after addressing frontcourt needs

Ben Johnson landed his biggest addition this offseason with North Carolina big man Dawson Garcia, but the Gophers are far from done in the transfer portal this spring.

The recruiting never stops with roster building, especially when the backcourt is bare. Point guard is the biggest need for the Gophers after standout Payton Willis' eligibility was up.

The next players to help fill that role could be Elon's Hunter McIntosh or Morehead State's Ta'Lon Cooper, who are both visiting this week.

McIntosh, who arrived on Minnesota's campus on Tuesday, said earlier that the Gophers "expressed it would be a great opportunity for me if I came."

The 6-2, 180-pound McIntosh started 85 games in three years at Elon and is a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, including second team and third team honors the last two seasons.

The Snellville, Ga., native ranked second on the team in scoring (13.3) and assists (2.8) and was second in the CAA in three-point percentage (37.8) and third in threes per game (2.7) as a junior this year.

In his last 12 games, McIntosh averaged 16.2 points and scored in double figures 10 times including a season-high 23 points on 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc and 8-for-8 foul shooting in a win vs. James Madison.

After entering the portal earlier this month, McIntosh heard from a number of programs, including South Carolina, Clemson, Loyola-Chicago, Colorado State and Wichita State.

McIntosh and Garcia actually played against each other this season in Elon's 80-63 loss at North Carolina on Dec. 11. McIntosh led the Phoenix with 16 points. Garcia tied for the Tar Heels game-high with 22 points.

Cooper, a 6-4, 190-pound sophomore, will visit with the Gophers on Friday and Saturday, he told the Star Tribune recently.

The South Carolina native averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and ranked seventh in Division I with 5.9 assists per game as an All-Ohio Valley Conference first team selection. Cooper had double figures in four of his last six games, including 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in a 71-67 loss to Murray State in the OVC tournament championship.

High-major schools flocked to Cooper after he entered the portal, including Georgetown, Iowa State, South Carolina, USC, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.

Johnson and his Minnesota staff recently hosted Indiana's Parker Stewart (last weekend) and Illinois State's Josiah Strong from Champlin Park (Monday). Purdue's Isaiah Thompson also has a visit to the U scheduled for April 25.

But the Gophers only have three scholarships currently available for next season after highly-touted Minnesotan Garcia committed Monday. It will be interesting to see which backcourt transfer joins him first.

The only returning guard on scholarship is freshman Abdoulaye Thiam, who averaged 3.3 minutes per game this season. Johnson also signed guards Braeden Carrington from Park Center and Jaden Henley from the Colony High (Calif.) to his 2022 high school recruiting class.

Willis, who competed in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for NBA prospects last week, set the standard for point guards in Johnson's system with the Gophers.

As a redshirt senior and co-captain last season, Willis averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and led the Big Ten shooting 42.3% from three-point range. Those numbers might not be duplicated so easily next season but replacing his leadership will be critical moving forward.

"I know whoever comes in next, [Johnson's] going to mold and develop them into an even better player than me," Willis said after his last game. "Whoever steps into that role will be successful here."