A year from now Blake Hoffarber will have finished his Gopher basketball career, a career that will likely leave few if any shooting records unbroken. The loss of Hoffarber will leave the Gophers with a big void to fill and Coach Tubby Smith with a great need for a dead-eye outside threat. Such a threat lives in the Badger state as the Gophers find themselves in a recruiting battle for Paul Jesperson, a 6-7 SF with a great outside shot and a developing all-around game that has high-major D1 coaches calling at an increasing rate. Jeperson has been on the Gopher radar for some time as he has already made unofficial visits for both a Gopher football and basketball game, and he recently was back in the state playing in the Sabes Invitational AAU Tournament where his performance added to his growing hype. He just received an offer from Tubby Smith and the University of Minnesota today.

GopherHole.com caught up with Jesperson at the Sabes tournament, right before he received his offer, to learn more about his recruitment, what he’s working on in his game and what he’s looking for in a college program.

GH: How is the tournament going?
PJ: It’s going pretty good. We’re playing good as a team and I am having a good tournament too.

GH: What kind of contact have you had with the Gophers?
PJ: I talked to Coach Tubby Smith quite a bit now. I like him and I am very interested in Minnesota. We’ll have to see if they make an offer.

GH: What do you like about Coach Smith?
PJ: He’s real down to earth and I like the way he coaches and the his teams play the game.

GH: Have you had much interaction with the Gopher assistants?
PJ: Yea, I talk to Coach Jirsa a lot. He talks to me about the role that I could have here.

GH: How would you describe your game and how it fits at Minnesota?
PJ: I like to get out and run and spot up for threes and I like to find the open man.

GH: You’ve been compared to Blake Hoffarber, would you say that is accurate comparison?
PJ: Yeah, I’d say we’re pretty close to style of play. He’s a great shooter though and fun to watch.

GH: Have you seen the Gophers play before?
PJ: Yeah, I came down here for two visits. I went to a football and basketball game this year. I was very impressed with the facilities and
the overall program.

GH: Speaking of facilities, what did they tell you about a practice facility?
PJ: They didn’t mention that.

GH: What other schools have offered?
PJ: Butler and Arizona State are recent offers. I’m going to visit Butler, Notre Dame and Northwestern this upcoming weekend.

GH: What is Coach Stevens like?
PJ: He’s a really good guy. He’s a younger guy and relates well.

GH: What schools would you like offers from besides Minnesota?
PJ: Virginia would be a good school to get an offer from.

GH: What timeline are you looking at?
PJ: I am thinking about committing in September or October.

GH: Are you interested in Wisconsin?
PJ: I am interested in them but not as high as Minnesota. They haven’t been recruiting me as hard as Minnesota, Butler, Virginia or Arizona State.

GH: What else are you looking for in a program?
PJ: Academics are very important to me and my family?


GH: What parts of your game are you working on?
PJ: I am working on getting stronger. I am hitting the weight room a lot and getting shots up.

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