Gopher Basketball lands 2020 commit Jamal Mashburn Jr

Jamal Mashburn Jr took his official visit to the University of Minnesota two weeks ago. And after giving it careful consideration he has gavin Richard Pitino and staff his verbal commitment to be a Golden Gopher. Yes, Mashburn Jr. is the son of “that” Jamal Mashburn who played his collegiate career at Kentucky playing for Rick Pitino. Now the younger Masbhurn is going to play his collegiate career for the younger Pitino.

Obviously the first thing regarding Mashburn is that he has a famous and talented father, but what do we know about the one who will be a Golden Gopher?

Jamal Mashburn Jr.

Pos: combo guard
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 160
High School: Brewster Academy
Other Offers: Cal, Wake Forest, Auburn, UConn, Florida, Florida St, Illinois, Miami, Ohio St...many others

What we are getting from Mashburn is a scoring combo guard. He will likely be called upon to handle the ball in this Gopher offense but will certainly be used off the ball as well. And he’ll be a scoring threat from both spots.

This past summer Marshburn averaged 17.2 ppg on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit. He shot 42.6% from the field and over 40% from three.

He is ranked 84th in the country by 247. He is a Miami native who will be playing his second year at Brewster Academy, in New Hampshire.

Mashburn’s game is his own but I would fully expect you will him utilized very much like Nate Mason was utilized in his last couple seasons.

What is Next?

So now the Gophers have their ball handler and big man locked up for this class. Technically they have one scholarship remaining and what they do to finish out the 2020 class will be rather interesting.

First option is to lock down an elite, top 25 caliber player who will turn this into a highly ranked and formidable class. Dawson Garcia is the name at the top of this list. Bringing in the local forward would make the Gophers potential Big Ten contenders immediately when this class is paired with the returning roster.

Secondly, the staff could hang on to the scholarship till the spring. Rumors circulating potential sanctions against multiple teams over this Adidas scandal could lead to significant transfers. Within the season the spring. Having an available scholarship to land one of these guys might be wise. If you don’t land one, you still have the spring to bring in one more piece to this class. And while I have had some concerns about how this staff recruits, they really have fared well in the spring.

Or the third option is a combination of both. They may still plan on bringing in two more commitments. How? Well, there is always roster turnover. A player may transfer out, a player may end up being removed from the team, significant injuries may force a player to retire...a lot may happen over the next several months and the 2020 class very well could end up being 4 new names.

Today we landed our second 4-star recruit and this is very much a player to be excited about.