The future of the Golden Gophers men’s basketball team continues to look brighter after North Carolina transfer and Prior Lake native Dawson Garcia committed earlier this week, followed by Morehead State point guard Ta’lon Cooper committing on Wednesday.
Cooper committed during an Instagram Live video, saying he picked the Gophers over USC, Xavier and Cincinnati.
“Just being a true point guard, getting my teammates involved and scoring when I need to,” Cooper said of his priorities on the floor, adding that his main goal is to graduate and then “win the Big Ten” and “be one of the best point guards in the nation.”
Cooper is a 6-foot-4 point guard who averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a sophomore. He was seventh in Division I in assists per game, which helped him become an All-Ohio Valley Conference first team selection.
Cooper’s decision comes a day after Elon transfer Hunter McIntosh visited the University of Minnesota, according to Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune. The 6-foo-2 point guard averaged 13.3 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 37.8 percent from three as a junior this past season.
Cooper and Garcia give the Gophers a lot of options and for the starting lineup. Garcia and Battle are excellent ball-handlers, so one option Johnson could consider is starting Battle at shooting guard and Garcia at small forward, which would give Minnesota a very tall starting lineup.
- PG: Ta’lon Cooper, 6’4”
- SG: Jamison Battle, 6’7”
- SF: Dawson Garcia, 6’11
- PF: Parker Fox, 6’8”
- C: Treyton Thompson, 7’0”
They also have incoming freshmen Braeden Carrington (projected shooting guard), power forward Pharrel Payne and fellow forwards Jaden Henley and Josh Ola-Joseph.
