Assistant coach says local recruits will always be 'bedrock' of Gophers basketball

Jason Kemp called Minnesota a good basketball state.

Jan 12, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson coaches during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports / Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The return of college basketball is just under three months away, and it's been a busy offseason for Ben Johnson and the Gophers amid transfer portal shuffling as they look to take another step forward as a program this upcoming season.

Assistant coach Jason Kemp was recently on Bardo's Breakdown, a podcast hosted by Big Ten Network basketball analyst Stephen Bardo. Kemp was asked about the construction of Minnesota's roster and specifically how they go by recruiting in-state talent.

Minneapolis is Hotbed of Talent pic.twitter.com/9X4Pf5H26W

— Stephen Bardo (@stephenbardo) August 21, 2024

"This is a good basketball state, specifically in the metro area, Minneapolis and St. Paul and the suburbs," Kemp said. "If you look back to Coach Haskins' teams, I think what you'd see is a roster that was 50% Minnesota and 50% other places."

Local players like Cottage Grove's Sam Jacobson and Minneapolis native John Thomas were the heart and soul of Haskins' successful teams in the 90s.

When Johnson was hired in 2021, he was expected to improve the Gophers' track record of recruiting in-state. The last decade has seen some of the best basketball players in the history of Minnesota come through the high school ranks. Players like Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs and Matthew Hurt all chose to go elsewhere.

"Minnesota will always be the bedrock of the successful teams that play here," Kemp said. "We knew coming in that we couldn't take everybody in the metro area, but we also knew there was good enough talent to build a sustainable winner in this area alone."

Since Johnson arrived, the Gophers have focused on landing players in state. Highlighted by Dawson Garcia, Pharrel Payne and now Isaac Asuma, there has been a notable improvement in keeping some of the top recruits within the border.

"Coach Johnson went to work right away, rekindling a lot of those relationships, and it's paid big dividends," Kemp said. "We've got some guys that came here from Minnesota and done some nice things and we're going to continue to do that."

Johnson has not turned the Gophers into a sustainable winner yet, but last year's 19 wins were the program's most since 2018-19. They will have six Minnesota natives this season.