Minnesota Basketball Recruiting: Amir Coffey Picks Hometown Golden Gophers

“I developed a strong relationship with all the coaches, [assistant] coach [Ben] Johnson and [head] coach [Richard] Pitino”, Coffey said at a news conference.

Coffey picked Minnesota from a long list of schools that included Texas, Alabama, SMU and Oregon. Richard played for coach Clem Haskins 1986-1990.

Coffey, who had scholarship offers from Big Ten schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin, is ranked as the 33rd best player in the 2016 class by ESPN.com. White never played for the Gophers before transferring to Iowa State, and 2015-16 will be Humphries’ 12th season in the National Basketball Association . “It felt like I was supposed to be there and it felt like home”.

The Gophers have been hard after Coffey, who would provide the kind of size and skill that Richard Pitino’s teams have so far lacked.

It’s a big day for Gophers as they await the decision of Hopkins star basketball player Amir Coffey. This was Pitino’s second commitment of the 2016 class, as Coffey will join three-star small forward Michael Hurt of Rochester, Minnesota.

“Coffey, a 6’7”, 180-pound shooting guard from Hopkins, Minnesota, is viewed as a four-star recruit according to 247 Sports.

Amir Coffey flips the ball to a teammate during a Howard Pulley practice at High Performance Academy in Eagan, Thursday May 22, 2014. Still, he indicated playing close to home was important for him.

After missing out on the Big Three prospects in the 2014 class (Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis), Pitino and assistant coach Ben Johnson, a former DeLaSalle standout and Gophers guard, made it a priority to make Coffey feel wanted.

“It means a lot”, Amir Coffey said. “After his visit, he came home and said, ‘I think I want to go to Minnesota.’ I started to get real excited”.