Minnesota Basketball Recruiting

With the Amir Coffey commitment, Minnesota jumps to No. 25 in the 2016 top 25 class rankings.

— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 21, 2015

As I said on Twitter...this is NICE! These rankings are fluid and I'm not getting hung up on them at all. Still, it's a nice way to emphasize what a big commitment this is for Pitino and the Gophers. Amir Coffey Commits - Full Coverage Amir Coffey Commits: Minnesota lands commitment of talented local player with a Gopher legacy! Amir Coffey: The highlight films!

I am having a press conference at Hopkins high school tomorrow at 3:30 for my announcement

— Amir Coffey (@coffeyshop_) September 21, 2015

UPDATE: Amir Coffey has committed to the University of Minnesota! Gopher recruit Amir Coffey will make his college selection at Hopkins High School on Monday, 9/21 at 3:30 pm CT. Predictions are always dangerous on these things, but the general sense I'm getting from those who follow recruiting more closely is that Minnesota stands a very good shot of landing the local 4 star prospect. Cross your fingers and of course stay tuned to The Daily Gopher for updates on his decision!

Well this isn't good news. The talented four star guard has been highly sought after by Coach Pitino and the Minnesota staff, but it looks like Ponds has reduced his list to three: Shamorie Ponds won’t take his official visit to Minnesota this coming weekend and could make his decision soon. "This week’s visit is off," Thomas Jefferson coach Lawrence "Bud" Pollard told SNY.tv on Wednesday. The 6-foot-1 Ponds has now taken officials to Providence, St. John’s and Creighton and is expected to pick from among those three. Shoot.

#Gophers basketball cuts bait on St. John's center Chris Obekpa http://t.co/YKI9qgHP7e

— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) July 6, 2015

Per Marcus, the Gophers are no longer pursuing St. John's transfer Chris Obekpa: Minnesota has a scholarship available for the 2015 class but decided the 6-foot-10 center wasn't the right fit. The Red Storm's all-time leading shot blocker is transferring because of an issue with new coach Chris Mullin's stricter rules. Personally I'm ok with this. Tying up 3 scholarships to transfers in a year where depth is an issue seemed off. Then again, this assumes they'll land an impact player if they bank it until the 2016 class too. So mileage on that TAKE may vary.

Just confirmed that Jonathan Nwankwo will be released from his LOI to University of MN. First reported by @TheRecruitScoop

— Amelia Rayno (@AmeliaRayno) May 18, 2015

Well this is less than ideal news. It appears as though C/PF Jonathan Nwankwo has been released from his letter of intent by Minnesota. Per Marcus, it appears as though this could be due to an issue with getting Jonathan admitted to the U. This loss could prove to be relatively significant. Nwankwo is a strong inside presence who should have been able to pick up minutes at a position of need next season. For those of you unfamiliar with Nwankwo, here's part of GN's signing day profile for the 6'9" post player: Defensively ready to compete and should be a beast on the boards. The staff's job is to get his footwork perfected and help Nwankwo develop an offensive skill set. I love having toughness and tenacity in the paint, especially in the Big Ten. If Nwankwo can find his offensive niche he is going to be another great find for this 2015 recruiting class. There is no word on whether Pitino will continue to look for another late addition to the 2015 class, but Marcus is hearing that he might.

Malik Ellison has committed to St. Johns over Minnesota. This isn't a big surprise since the recruitment of Malik was being led by former Gophers assistant Dan McHale. Still though...boo.