Gophers men's basketball adds Lithuanian forward Kristupas Keinys to incoming freshman class

Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson went international with his final scholarship for the 2023-24 season by adding Lithuanian forward Kristupas Keinys.

The 6-7 Keinys announced his commitment Tuesday to play for the Gophers next season. The incoming freshman was sold on Minnesota's program after visiting campus on June 12 during his first ever trip to the U.S.

"I wanted to thank all the coaching staff for recruiting me — all the staff is amazing," Keinys told the Star Tribune on Tuesday. "The Gophers were the best program for me. Everything is built here to make you better every day. We will have a strong team. Ben Johnson is a very good coach. I know that he can take me to another level as a player and a person."

Keinys recently played for Klaipėdos Neptūnas-Akvaservis in the second best basketball minor league in Lithuania. He averaged 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 38 games. He also averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for his native country in the U18 European Championships in 2022.

Johnson and his staff started recruiting Keinys last month, wanting to add perimeter talent to the 2023-24 team, which opened summer practice last week.

In the Gophers' freshman class, Keinys joins former Illinois four-star guard Cameron Christie and walk-on Erick Reader from Woodbury. He's expecting to give the Gophers another scoring presence on the wing next season. He hopes to return to Minnesota as soon as possible this summer after getting his student visa.

"I will do everything I can to help the team win," Keinys said. "I think that I can help the team play fast pace and defend. I want to be a player that can help everywhere and do everything."

The Gophers are deep at the wing forward position for 2023-24, including sophomore Josh Ola-Joseph, redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts and junior Isaiah Ihnen.