With NCAA recruiting restrictions lifting, Minnesota's summer basketball scene about to bloom

College basketball coaches sat in offices, eyes glued to laptop screens. Players ran up and down the court in muggy, empty gyms not knowing who was watching.

No packed crowds and wall-to-wall coaches. No college visits before players picked a school.

That was summer basketball last year, barely surviving during the pandemic. This stripped-down version made it tough on college programs and prep players in the recruiting process.

A year later, the summer hoops scene is back — and so is in-person recruiting for all Division I sports. The NCAA opened up the process again with COVID-19 restrictions lifting nationwide. The "dead period" ends Tuesday, allowing coaches to attend certified events during the critical June and July evaluation period. Schools again can host prospective athletes on visits.

"Last year was kind of a quiet year in terms of playing and recruiting," Wayzata four-star wing Camden Heide said. "This year now that we can finally start to go on campuses and play in front of coaches this summer, I think it will be big."

High school juniors and seniors are allowed five official visits again during the recruiting period from Tuesday through early July. Big AAU basketball events attracting thousands of coaches across the country run from June 18 through July 11.

During an age when the transfer market is growing astronomically each year, this summer will give players and coaches a better chance to find the right fit the first time around.

"I can't wait," new Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson said. "It's going to be great to get out and see kids. You can watch all the tape you want, but I won't have a true feel until I see players live."

Gophers women's basketball coach Lindsay Whalen echoes that sentiment, calling in-person recruiting "much needed."

"It's better to do in-person for sure," Whalen said. "You can see body language. How they really move and react to things. I hope it will be a fun summer for sure with that back."

Since Johnson was hired to replace Richard Pitino as Minnesota's head coach in late March, prospects have only gotten to know him and his staff through text messages and phone and video calls.

He worked to build new relationships this spring but could only do so much.

The Gophers are looking forward to inviting as many local players to the U campus as possible in June for official and unofficial visits. The NCAA previously had suspended all campus visits since last March.

"It just gives you more confidence as a head coach," Johnson said. "I can sit down and get face to face with a family, a player and coach. And I can figure out the personality, the feeling, the vibe, the energy. It is like night and day when you have to make tough scholarship decisions. It's huge. I'm super excited for it."

Among the local 2022 players expecting to at least visit the U unofficially in the next month are Heide, Cretin-Derham Hall's Tre Holloman, Byron's Ahjany Lee, Totino-Grace's Demarion Watson-Saulsberry and Park Center's Braden Carrington. All of them have scholarship offers from the Gophers.

Minnehaha Academy's Chase Carter, who has Power Five football and hoops offers, plans to attend a Gophers football camp. The 6-6, 225-pound forward and defensive end hopes that could turn into an offer from P.J. Fleck.

"They definitely want me to come down there in June," Carter said. "… I'm more of a late bloomer in football recruiting and even in basketball. Just want to build relationships and see where the cards fall."

Chet Holmgren's breakout summer two years ago vaulted him to the No. 1 spot nationally in the 2021 class. The top Minnesota players in 2022 didn't have the same opportunity last summer to prove worthy of even top-50 national status.

Heide and Minnehaha Academy's Prince Aligbe were two of the most highly regarded sophomores in the country two years ago, but they saw their ranking fall last year.

"I haven't even played in front of college coaches since they could contact me," said Heide, who lost some ground after returning from a broken foot late last summer.

Aligbe sat out AAU a year ago because of COVID-19 concerns to make sure his family was safe.

"That was my first priority," Aligbe said. "Now having that summer where I got better and bringing that all together for my last AAU season, I see a standard for myself I want to meet nationally."

Minnesota's 2022 class has nine players with high-major scholarship offers. There are several others waiting for bigger offers to come after being seen up close on the AAU circuit.

"I don't really stress the offer process," said Osseo forward Josh Ola-Joseph, who has Iowa State and Purdue showing interest. "I put in the work, and I've been hearing from a lot of schools lately. So, I'm trying not to focus on recruiting right now as much as getting better."

Five-star status is only given to a select group. Minnesota had a run of five straight years producing five-star prospects in national rankings, including Kendall Brown and Holmgren in the 2021 class.

The next in line could be Totino-Grace sophomore point guard Taison Chatman. The only player in the state with a blue-blood offer is Lee, the power forward from Byron who has one from Kansas. But more offers could start flowing once Chatman and others are seen live again.

"It's definitely a blessing to have all the recognition I have now," said Chatman, the 26th player in 247Sports's 2023 composite rankings. "I know I can do way more. There's way more on the table for me to accomplish. … Every time I step on the court, I have to keep producing and showing why I have the recognition and high profile I have."

With so many local players having intriguing potential — from Holloman and Heide to Chatman and Watson-Saulsberry — Minnesota talent could again draw major summer attention with recruiting returning to normal this year.

"This is our last summer playing, and we just want to make our names known — to end with a boom," the 6-8 Watson-Saulsberry said. "Last year, coaches were still trying to get their college teams situated with theCOVID situation. This year, we're just happy to play in front of them and get our names out there."