Photo Credit: Alex Conover
Gabe Kalscheur, a 6-foot-2, 189-pound rising junior guard from Minneapolis (MN) DeLaSalle, is considered one of the top players in the Minnesota Class of 2018. Kalscheur recently received a scholarship offer from Minnesota.
Kalscheur scored 27 points to lead DeLaSalle to a 79-56 victory over Fergus Falls in the 3A title game to become the first boy’s team in Minnesota history to win five straight state championships.
Kalscheur averaged a team-best 19.0 points per game this past year for the Islanders, who finished 24-4. He has scored in double figures in all but three games, including a season-best 30 points versus Champlin Park.
Kalscheur recently caught up with Gopher Hole to talk about the latest on his recruitment and summer plans.
Gopher Hole: The Gophers offered recently. What was the reaction?
Gabe Kalscheur: I was a little surprised, but they were talking to me a little before and they were very interested, so I was just very blessed to receive the phone call today.
Gopher Hole: Schools are now about to contact players who completed their sophomore years. What other schools are you hearing from?
Gabe Kalscheur: I have heard from Drake, Marquette, Indiana and UNI.
Gopher Hole: What offers are you up to right now?
Gabe Kalscheur: Minnesota, UNI and North Dakota.
Gopher Hole: I know that it is new with the schools being able to contact you now, but do you like the recruiting process so far?
Gabe Kalscheur: Yes. I like it.
Gopher Hole: What has been your favorite part so far?
Gabe Kalscheur: My favorite part of the recruiting process is finding out who is interested in me and knowing that they want me in their organization.
Gopher Hole: Besides the three offers, what schools have been sending you mail or have you heard that are interested in you either from your high school coach or AAU coach?
Gabe Kalscheur: Indiana and Marquette.
Gopher Hole: You had a great sophomore season after coming off the bench as a freshman and playing really well in the state tournament. You lost some talented seniors the year before like Jarvis Johnson, Sacir Anim and Josh Collins, but this upcoming season, you return most of your players. What are the expectations for the upcoming season as you and Goanar Mar are back? Have you talked much about winning a sixth straight title?
Gabe Kalscheur: We know that that is ahead of us, but we don’t just shoot for a sixth straight title. We let that come to us and we just work on each game to get better and even if we lose one, we know what we did wrong there, so that can help us in the future and get us ready for March to win that sixth straight title.
Gopher Hole: You played some pretty tough teams early in the year and started the season 2-3, but once you got rolling, you played extremely well. DeLaSalle is known for playing a tough non-conference schedule. Did you think that helped you this year since you had so many new faces on the team?
Gabe Kalscheur: Yes. That is why we play such a hard schedule is to get us ready for March. We will find the hardest games to get us ready and get us in situations to prepare us for March, so we know once we get into March what we are doing and how to win.
Gopher Hole: You are playing for the Howard Pulley team and are off to a great start. How pleased are you with how well you have been playing this spring?
Gabe Kalscheur: I am really happy how well we have been playing this spring and the kids that I have been playing with are playing well and I am glad that we have got a chance to make it to the Peach Jam.
Gopher Hole: You are playing well individually, but I think that sometimes college coaches like to see a team that is winning and you are having good team chemistry. Do you think that has helped too that you share the ball well and do the little things that are not only going to help you win games here, but show college coaches that you really know how to play the game?
Gabe Kalscheur: Yes. The chemistry helps a lot. Playing with Gary (Trent Jr.), Brad (Davison) and Tre (Jones) has helped me a lot and become a lot better player. It also helps that I provide defense to the team and offense and our defense as a team has gotten a lot better.
Gopher Hole: Is Ben Johnson talking to you the most of the Gopher coaches?
Gabe Kalscheur: I talk to Ben the most.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, he has a contact to DelaSalle having played there. Has he talked to you much about his time at DeLaSalle and at Minnesota and have you gotten to know him much?
Gabe Kalscheur: Yes. He has come by DeLaSalle quite a bit and he has told me about the times that he had at DeLaSalle and what he did and the experiences that he had at DeLaSalle. He has brought those stories to me.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are going to hear from more schools, but what would it mean to play for the hometown team in college?
Gabe Kalscheur: It would be great, because it would be fun to play close to home and close to my family, because I know a lot of people.
Gopher Hole: What things have you really been working on this summer to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Gabe Kalscheur: I have been working on a lot of my one-on-one moves and a lot on my offense. It will help me become a better player with the ball and not so much off the ball like I was last year. Just like to add more game to my game.
Gopher Hole: You played in the recent Nike Elite Top 100 Camp in St. Louis with the top players from the Class of 2018 and 2019, What was that experience like?
Gabe Kalscheur: It was fantastic. It was really cool playing the top players in my age group and around the nation. It was a little different because it was like a little evaluation. I knew that coming into that playing with them and learning new things down there was really fun and made me a better player.
Gopher Hole: You and Pulley teammate Daniel Oturu were both down there. Was it nice to have a familiar face down there?
Gabe Kalscheur: Yes and we roomed together, so that helped, too, just having someone to room with that I knew.
Gopher Hole: Do you talk to him or some of your other Pulley teammates recruitment much? Do you share stories or talk much about that?
Gabe Kalscheur: We don’t talk a lot about that, but when one of us gets an offer, we are psyched for one another.
Gopher Hole: Have you talked about wanting to play with some of the guys on the team in college or has that ever come up?
Gabe Kalscheur: No. That has not come up. Who knows, maybe we could play with one another.