Gophers add another transfer in Rice’s Drew Peterson

While the Gophers may have missed out on adding Kerwin Walton they got a nice consolation prize when Rice guard Drew Peterson announced his intent to transfer and join up with Minnesota. Peterson was a sought-after prize on the transfer market, and had interest from the likes of Creighton and Vanderbilt. He will add additional depth to the backcourt and, at 6-8, provides some good size that can help him work down low as well.

Peterson’s strength is his versatility. It’s unfair to call him the next Amir Coffey, but his build and approach to the game have similar shades. Peterson averaged 11.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Owls in 2019-20, so he’s shown the ability to not only score but to shoot well and deliver the ball as well.

Looking at last year’s game log, Peterson was up and down for the first half of year, regularly scoring 16 or more points with the occasional double-double and even flirting with a triple-double on multiple occasions. He also had some single-digit stinkers but finished the season strong, scoring in double figures in seven of the final 10 games, including a career-high 24 in the final game of the season.

Ordinarily Peterson would have to sit out a year and would have two years of eligibility remaining, however with the NCAA discussing whether to allow immediate transfers in 2020 it’s conceivable that Peterson would be able to contribute right away.

Peterson joins Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins as transfers that Pitino has picked up this offseason, and gives that much more depth to a team that all of a sudden has a quite a few players that can contribute meaningful minutes.