Charlotte transfer Lu'Cye Patterson officially commits to Gophers

Minnesota has found it's replacement for Elijah Hawkins at PG.

Charlotte transfer Lu'Cye Patterson officially committed to the Gophers Friday after taking his second visit to the program earlier this week.

BREAKING: Charlotte transfer PG Lu'Cye Patterson has officially committed to the #Gophers.

I am under the belief that he will be the frontrunner to start at PG next season for Ben Johnson and Gophs. Only one open scholarship remains. https://t.co/Nw3rLYQpuz pic.twitter.com/V5A5sESB46

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) May 10, 2024

Last season for the 49ers, he averaged 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, en route to earning second-team All-AAC honors. He split point guard duties with teamatte Nik Graves.

Listed at 6-foot-2 (on a good day), Patterson is a bit undersized to play the two, so he will likely slide into the starting point guard role for Ben Johnson and the Gophers in 2024-25.

A Minneapolis, Minn. native, he broke onto the scene at Brooklyn Center High School, where he averaged 24.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game to lead the school to its first state tournament appearance 30 years. He was a just a sophomore. He then finished his prep career playing two years at Minnesota Prep Academy and averaged 21.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game as a senior in 2019-20.

He began his college career at Missouri State for two seasons. He played in 23 games as a true freshman, but then started 26 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He has been at Charlotte for the last two years. He will have only one year of eligibility at Minnesota.

Potential Rotation

• PG: Lu'Cye Patterson, Isaac Asuma

• SG: Mike Mitchell Jr., Brennan Rigsby, Caleb Williams

• SF: Femi Odukale, Kadyn Betts

• PF: Dawson Garcia, Parker Fox

• C: Frank Mitchell, Trey Edmonds

The Gophers now have only one scholarship open and I expect them to keep that open as Cam Christie's NBA Draft situation plays out. This is the roster that we will see next fall at the Barn. Ben Johnson has been busy in the transfer portal, but adding Patterson to the fold gives Minnesota an intriguing rotation given the roller coaster of an offseason that it has been.