Ben Johnson, Gophers Receive Transfer Portal Commitment from Oregon Guard Brennan Rigsby

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Head coach Ben Johnson and the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team finally got some good news out of the transfer portal on Wednesday, when Oregon Ducks guard Brennan Rigsby announced his commitment to the U of M, now Big Ten rival of U of O.

Brennan Rigsby commits to Minnesota Gophers out of transfer portal

A quick look at the his stat sheet won’t get you too excited. Rigsby started 13 of the 36 games he played in 2023-24 with the Ducks, averaging 22.2 minutes per night, up from about 18 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2022-23. His numbers are underwhelming too. Brennan averaged 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds last season and 247Sports.com has him listed as a 6’3″ point guard.

Nonetheless, Rigsby had a very solid offensive (106.5) rating and and seems to be improving on that side of the floor. He was not a good outside shooter in his first season at Oregon (27%), but bumped that percentage pretty drastically as a junior, up to a respectable 35% in 2023-24.

Related: Ben Johnson, Gophers Blindsided by Elijah Hawkins’ Surprise Transfer Portal Entry

But don’t get confused, Brennan isn’t going to blow you away with his shooting abilities. Where Rigsby stands out, though, is with his athletic ability. Look at this kid get up. Seriously, when he takes flight, watch out below.

Brennan Rigsby started his collegiate basketball career at Northwest Florida State College (JUCO), where he played for one season, before catching the eyes of Oregon coaches. Out of high school, he wasn’t on anybody’s radar and doesn’t have a high school recruiting profile at 247Sports.com.

Seeing has how much his numbers improved both years at Oregon, I can certainly see why Ben Johnson wanted to get Rigsby on roster. If he can continue to get better as a shooter, and bring the same type of aggressiveness when going to the hole, he could be one of the more underrated gets of the offseason.

Related: Homegrown Gophers Transfer Pharrel Payne Commits to Texas A&M

It hasn’t been a great portal season so far, for the Gophers men’s basketball team… but they still have time. As long as they don’t lose anyone else, bring Cam Christie back, and maybe grab one more big time talent from the portal, they could still have something next year.

With that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another exit or two before this thing is over. We just have to hope those exits aren’t existential.

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