The 7-foot big man from Prior Lake is expected to initially be a walk on at the U.
Minnesota signed three players in the early signing period and have one scholarship available for the 2014-15 season.
Former Cooper guard Rashad Vaughn, who is playing at Findlay Prep, recently released his list of five schools, Kansas, UNLV, North Carolina, Iowa State and Kentucky, eliminating Minnesota.
The Gophers will likely hit recruiting trails, looking for junior college help or a player under the radar. Ninety-six of ESPN’s Top 100 seniors signed in the early signing period.
One possibility is Carson Shanks, who recently left Utah State. The former Prior Lake seven-footer is expected to initially walk-on at Minnesota and would be eligible in the second semester in 2015. The Gophers, who have junior centers Maurice Walker and Elliott Eliason on the roster, would be patient with Shanks’ development as he adds strength to his frame. He is more of an outside player than inside threat, but runs the floor well and is a shot blocking presence.
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The three Gopher signees have performed well this winter.
Carlos Morris of Chipola has helped lead his team to a 14-1 start and is averaging 14.8 points, 5.0 boards and 2.0 assists. He is shooting 50.4% from the field, 29.8% from three-point range and 68.8% from the line. They are ranked #5 in the country with their lone loss to top ranked Indian Hills.
Nate Mason of Arlington Country Day scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures in a 100-90 loss to Northside Christian in the Wild Wing Cafe Hoops Classic last Friday and bounced back to defeat Vance 72-39 Saturday. They fell out of the USA Today Top 25 after being ranked #13. They beat St. James (Maryland) 51-43 Monday to improve to 12-3 this season.
Bothell big man Josh Martin continues his strong start. He had 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and was named the Bothell Holiday Classic MVP, despite battling foul troubles in a 45-42 win over Ballard in the title game. He had 24 points & 12 boards in a 68-50 over Edmonds-Woodway in the tournament opener. His 16-point effort was his lowest of the year. His previous low was 24. He has 3 games of more than 30 points and five other of 20 or more. He is averaging 26.9 points per game and has led the Cougars to a 6-3 mark.
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Six-four guard Chip Armelin from Sulphur, LA, transferred from Minnesota to Southern Mississippi after his sophomore season. Armelin averaged 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 11.1 minutes as a freshman and 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.7 minutes as a sophomore.
He sat out the 2012-13 season and is averaging 5.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game this season. Armelin has scored in double figures in four of 12 games, but has gone scoreless five times. Southern Mississippi is 12-2 with their only losses to defending national champions Louisville and Western Kentucky.
Senior guard Justin Cobbs is leading California in scoring and assists this season. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 assists per game for the Golden Gophers as a freshman. He transferred back to the West Coast and averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 assists as a sophomore and 15.1 points and 4.8 assists as a junior. Cobbs is contributing 14.2 points and 6.0 assists this season and has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games with a season-high 31 points versus Dayton. He had fractured a bone in his right foot in the offseason.
The Golden Bears are 9-4, having won their last five games.
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Minnesota signed two players in the fall of 2012, only to see those two decide to ask to be released from their letter of intent.
Alvin Ellis is averaging 2.0 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 8.2 minutes per game for Michigan State. The Spartans are currently 12-1 and are ranked fifth in the country. Gopher fans will get a chance to see what could have been when Minnesota travels to East Lansing January 11th.
Alex Foster elected to follow former Gopher head coach Tubby Smith to Texas Tech. He has been held scoreless in five of nine games this season. Foster has not played in the last three contests for the Red Raiders.
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Lourawls Nairn, Riley LaChance and Reid Travis were the three official visitors that did not sign with Minnesota.
Nairn, who signed with Big Ten rival Michigan State, has led his Sunrise Academy team to a #6 ranking by USA Today and #15 by Student Sports. He was named MVP of the recently completed Tournament of Champions and lead Sunrise to win over Barking Abbey and New England prep power Brewster Academy (former school of Maurice Walker).
LaChance, who inked with Vanderbilt, has helped lead Brookfield Central to a 9-0 start and a #2 ranking in Division 4. He is averaging 24.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in all nine games this year. They will face Germantown, who set a state record with 67 straight wins and has won back-to-back state titles January 14th. Recent Minnesota football Luke Rasmussen also plays for the Brookfield Central basketball team.
Travis, who signed with Stanford, has yet to play this season, due to a stress fracture in his foot. DeLaSalle, which lost just one game last season, is 4-3 and will face Chicago St. Rita’s at the Target Center Saturday.