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Gopher hoops has had a second consecutive season with a significant amount of roster turnover and today landed what appears to be the final scholarship player for the 2020-21 team. And Gach comes at a position of need for Richard Pitino’s roster.
I would love to give a huge Thank you to all the schools that took the time to recruit me but at this time I’m excited to commit to the University of Minnesota and join coach Pitino and his staff ..... Excited to be back home 〽️ pic.twitter.com/NeIeN2AtQB
— Both Gach (@TutBoth) June 15, 2020
Here is what we know about the latest transfer.
Both Gach
Pos: SF
Ht: 6’6”
Wt: 183
Gach played his high school basketball for Austin, leading the Packers to the 2016 3A state championship game. He then played one season for a prep school in Arizona before committing to Utah. Out of prep school Gach was a 4-star recruit who ranked among the top 150 recruits in the country.
For the Utes Gach started 14 games as a true freshman and then started 25 out of 27 games as a sophomore. He ended his sophomore season averaging 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He played just over 30 minutes per game and recorded a triple-double against Mississippi Valley State.
What does Gach mean for this season?
First and foremost, Gach needs to get an NCAA Waiver to be able to play this coming season. Minnesota has been rather unlucky in getting such a waiver from the NCAA while the rest of college basketball seems to get them annually.
The hope is that with Gach transferring back closer to his family & hometown that he’ll get the necessary waiver.
If so, there is a very good chance that he is your starting SF for the Gophers. His length, athleticism and ball handling would be a good fit. Gach comes to the Gophers with starting experience at the P5 level. It is believed that Gach can also fill in a few minutes at point guard if necessary.
Assuming he gets his waiver and starts, Gach appears to be a very inconsistent scorer. In the team’s final regular season game, Gach scored 28 points against Colorado, earning himself Pac 12 Player of the Week honors. In fact he scored 15, 19 and 28 in the Ute’s final three regular season games. Then in their opening Pac 12 Tournament loss to Oregon State he scored just 4 points while shooting 2/7 in 38 minutes. The sophomore had 9 games where he scored 5 points for fewer and 7 games while scoring 15 or more. Typically a good free throw shooter and a poor three-point shooter.
So expect a guy capable of some scoring outbursts who hopefully starts to show more consistency. But it all depends on that elusive NCAA transfer waiver before we get to see Gach play for 2 seasons in maroon and gold.