What should the Gophers' team-building strategy be this off-season?

Minnesota has a lot of different ways it could go this offseason.

Dec 21, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Terrence Brown (2) works around Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Minnesota has officially been knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament, and it now has a huge offseason ahead of itself. No matter who's coaching the team next season, they will have a drastically different roster, so let's try to predict how it could look.

The Gophers had nine scholarship seniors participate in Senior Night festivities, but two of them have an opportunity to return. Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell Jr., Lu'Cye Patterson, Parker Fox, Femi Oduklae, Trey Edmonds and Caleb Williams are all out of eligibility.

Brennan Rigsby

There was a ruling from December that can grant a waiver to give an extra year of eligibility to players who played at the JUCO level. Rigsby began his career at Northwest Florida State, so he would be eligible to return to the Gophers.

Tyler Cochran

Many Gophers fans might not recognize Cochran because he hasn't played one game in a Minnesota uniform. He transferred in last off-season after earning Mid American Conference (MAC) Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023-24 at Toledo. He will likely be granted a medical redshirt, so he would be eligible to return to the Gophers, but early indications are that he might look elsewhere.

Potential 2025-26 roster

Position	Starter	Rotational		PWO/Redshirt
PG	Isaac Asuma	transfer?		*Max Sheridan
G	transfer?	transfer?	transfer?	Kai Shinholster
F/G	transfer?	Jacob Ross	transfer?
F	Kadyn Betts	Grayson Grove	transfer?	*Erik Reader
F/C	Frank Mitchell	Parker Jefferson	transfer?

If Minnesota can convince Rigsby to keep playing college basketball, that could be a substantial boost for their potential backcourt next season, but I would be pleasantly surprised if Cochran opts to return.

As for players coming in, both Parker Jefferson and Jacob Ross are good enough to be rotational players as true freshmen, but I would expect Kai Shinholster to redshirt. The question then becomes, how good? At 6-foot-9, are you going to want to play Jefferson alongside Frank Mitchell and have a relatively undersized frontcourt? Is Ross good enough to fill the Cam Christie/Femi Odukale role on day one, or do you want to add a veteran?

Kadyn Betts and Grayson Grove are two more players expected to return, but how big of a role do you want them to have in 2025-26? Johnson raves about Betts's work ethic, but he's played more than five minutes in a game only 10 times in his college career. After Grove redshirted as a true freshman, how much will he contribute next season?

Team-building strategy

If Rigsby and Cochran don't return, and then Minnesota is able to retain the rest of its roster, that would leave eight open scholarships. A large benefit of bringing back Johnson is saving money and not paying a $2.92 million buyout. How aggressive would they become in the transfer portal?

Two potential targets have already entered the transfer portal. North Dakota guard/forward Treysen Eaglestaff and Fairleigh Dickinson guard Terrence Brown. Given Minnesota's current roster, both players would start next season, but both players will also be pursued heavily by other top programs. If the Gophers want to build an NCAA Tournament-level roster, these are the types of players they will have to add, but do they even have the money to do so?

Ultimately, the chances of landing Eaglestaff or Brown might be low. Something they will need is perimeter scoring. Asuma could be a great point guard, but I am not sure you want him to be your leading scorer. That leaves a huge void at the two, three or even four positions for a player that can create their own shot.

What if they move on from Ben Johnson?

If Minnesota opts to make a coaching change, almost everything I said flies out the window. I would highly doubt any of the three incoming freshmen will remain committed to the program, and there's a chance none of the four returning scholarship players will opt to return.

Depending on the replacement, I think Asuma and Grove would strongly consider remaining with the Gophers as Minnesota natives. The chances of Betts or Mitchell doing the same would be unknown. One point against bringing in a new coach is that he would likely have to find an entire new roster.

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