Taison Chatman, the top-ranked player in Minnesota’s graduating class of 2023, announced his commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-4 combo guard from Totino-Grace is considered one of the top recruits in the country. He’s a 4-star recruit at 247Sports where he’s ranked No. 31 recruit in the country. He’s ranked 47th by On3, 39th at ESPN and 67th at Rivals.
His home state Gophers were among his final five, along Ohio State, Kansas, Xavier and Virginia.
“It was real difficult. It as a lot of long talks with my family about the right fit, where I think I can grow as a person and a player,” Chatman told 247Sports. “I feel like I made the right decision.”
With Chatman off the table, Minnesota’s attention is now on the No. 2 player in the state, Nolan Winter. the son of ex-Gophers big man Trevor Winter. Nolan is a 6-foot-10 forward from Lakeville North. He’s reportedly narrowed his choice to the Gophers or Wisconsin Badgers, with a decision possible in the coming weeks.
Gophers head coach Ben Johnson also recently traveled to California to watch 5-star recruit Dennis Evans, who is one of the highest-rated players in the country. We wrote about Evans earlier this summer.
Minnesota’s 2022 class, many of whom might play as true freshmen, features Park Center’s Braeden Carrington, Park of Cottage Grove’s Pharrel Payne and three out-of-state players in Jaden Henley, Kadyn Betts and Josh Ola-Joseph.
The Gophers open the 2022-23 season Nov. 7 at home against Western Michigan.
