Payne has opted to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M, while Hawkins has chosen Texas Tech. This means both players won’t be wearing maroon and gold jerseys next season.

In today’s world of college sports, transferring has become increasingly common. Many athletes are drawn to the possibility of greater financial rewards or a more lucrative NIL deal elsewhere. In his latest column, Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) revealed some intriguing numbers, making it no shock in why they decided to transfer.

Former Minnesota Gophers, Pharrel Payne and Elijah Hawkins are making NIL bank with new teams

Pharrel Payne, originally from Cottage Grove, has long been touted for his promising talent during his time with the Gophers. Now, he’s set to take his skills to Texas A&M, marking a significant step in his athletic journey. According to Walters, Payne is poised to earn a hefty $40,000 monthly salary… and a Mercedes.

Hawkins caused quite a stir when he suddenly revealed his decision to transfer, just a week after affirming his commitment to staying for another season with the Gophers. Almost as quickly as he made his announcement, he committed to Texas A&M, and it’s no surprise that he’s expected to receive a hefty financial package there too.

There’s buzz that ex-Gopher Pharrel Payne will get $40,000 a month over two years in NIL money from Texas A&M, plus use of a new Mercedes automobile. Another Gophers transfer, Elijah Hawkins, reportedly is getting $30,000 from Texas Tech.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

It’s becoming clearer as Walters disclosed the NIL budget for the Gophers, revealing it’s only a quarter of what the top schools in the Big Ten, like Illinois and Purdue, have at a hefty $2.5 million.

Related: Charlotte PG Lu’Cye Patterson Transferring to Hometown Gophers

And if you’re interested in delving deeper into that topic, you can find more information here. However, it’s clear that Ben Johnson is currently facing a significant loss of talent on his own team, and he needs to find a solution quickly in the NIL world.

This, after a recent announcement that he had decided to stay in Dinkytown.

NEWS: Minnesota guard Elijah Hawkins is entering the transfer portal, he tells @On3sports.

The junior averaged 9.5 points and 7.5(!) assists per game this season. https://t.co/bc04d1sieM pic.twitter.com/MnwHxuxMy4

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 22, 2024

Losing Hawkins is a big blow for the Gophers. He was a key player, ranking second in the country for assists per game with an impressive 7.5. Not only that, he also contributed to scoring, averaging 9.5 points per game. It’s worth noting that he only played one season for the Gophers after starting his college career with the Howard Bison.

Losing key players like Pharrell Payne, Josh Ola Joseph, and Braeden Carrington to the transfer portal was a tough blow for the team. However, it was a relief to see players like Dawson Garcia, Parker Fox, Mike Mitchell, and Hawkins sticking around. Sadly, Hawkins has made a last minute decision not to return as a Gopher next season, leaving many questions.

Related: Ben Johnson Optimistic that Worst of Gophers’ Transfer Portal Season is Behind Them

Just a dozen or so days after making his return announcement, it sounds like Hawkins likely stumbled upon a more enticing NIL opportunity elsewhere. According to Ryan James (247Sports), “several” inside the Gophers program were “blindsided” by today’s news that their starting point guard had entered the portal.

“Earlier [this offseason] Elijah said he was returning to the University of Minnesota. In a move that blindsided several at the University of Minnesota, Hawkins has put his name in the transfer portal today.”

Ryan James – GopherIllustrated.com (247Sports)

Why Did Elijah Hawkins Leave Minnesota Gophers?

Hawkins had an incredible season as the Minnesota Gophers point guard, averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 assists per game, and making history along the way. Elijah set U of M men’s basketball records for most assists in a single season (211) and a single game (17), becoming easily the best one-season distributor in Gopher basketball history.

Related: Gophers MBB Loses Another Hometown Kid to Transfer Portal

There’s no doubt Hawkins’ departure leaves a noticeable gap in the team’s backcourt. Unless head coach Ben Johnson can dig into the portal and find someone just as good, if not better, this portal loss will hurt.

Elijah Hawkins is No. 1⃣. pic.twitter.com/Dlww6iCGZq

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 2, 2024

But this time, their roller coaster came to a stop without the Gophers vomiting up a late lead or victory of any sort. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Minnesota fought from behind for much of the 2nd half, and it was the Gophers who made clutch, winning plays late, to seal a sphincter-tightening 73-72 victory at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Survive and advance! pic.twitter.com/wA6GnQMBSF

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 20, 2024

Dawson Garcia, Elijah Hawkins lead Minnesota Gophers to NIT win

Let’s jump right to the game-winning play and clutch free throws that secured yet another memorable NIT win for the program. After a huge Dawson Garcia drive to the basket brought Minnesota within one point (with 22 seconds remaining) Ben Johnson made what seemed to be a curious decision NOT to foul the Bulldogs immediately upon them inbounding the ball.

A closer look reveals his reasoning. The Bulldogs were able to inbound the ball to their best free throw shooter, DJ Davis, who shot 95% (95/100) from the line this season. That refusal to foul Davis seemed to cause some confusion for Butler, and after dribbling into trouble, Davis tried to pass but didn’t see Parker Fox, who made a heads up play to jump the passing lane.

Related: Cam Christie Doesn’t Appear Interested in Transfer Portal but NBA Draft is a Real Threat to Gophers

Suddenly, trailing 71-72, the Gophers had one final possession of chaos that somehow led to Elijah Hawkins with the ball under the basket, where he was fouled in the act of shooting. Of course, the Howard transfer and U of M single-season assists leader, canned both free throws, to put Minnesota up by one-point; a lead they wouldn’t give back.

Big steal, big free throws, big win

📺: @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/PjcF5wD4D6

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 20, 2024

All of the upperclassman showed up for this 1st round NIT matchup and that’s why Minnesota pulled out the victory. It was Dawson Garcia who assumed the role of team battery on offense in Indianapolis tonight.

Anytime Minnesota needed a bucket to stymie a Butler run, they went to Garcia and he delivered repeatedly, finishing with a team high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Hawkins and Pharrel Payne were the closest Gopher scorers behind Dawson. They scored 11 points apiece.

Related: Tom Izzo: Gophers Could be Team to Beat in Big Ten if Ben Johnson Keeps Them Together

Even more impressive overall, than Garcia, was Hawkins, who continues to blow me away with his skillset, competitiveness and feel for the moment every time I watch him play basketball. On Tuesday night, he was simply sensational, finishing with the aforementioned 11 points… to go with 15 assists, 6 rebounds (I know the roster says he is 5-11 but that’s on a stool) and 3 steals to go with only 4 turnovers.

Next up, the Gophers will play the winner of Indiana State (the No. 1 seed in their region and one of the teams viewed as a massive small school snub for the NCAA Tournament) and SMU, a game that will take place tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Gophers’ chances of an at-large bid are pretty much dead so they’d have to win the Big Ten tourney this week, to make the NCAA Tournament. (Editor’s note: That has never happened in the tournament’s 25-year history)

Officially official. The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket is here. pic.twitter.com/QD94U3mcFU

— Connor Onion (@ConnorOnion) March 11, 2024

Minnesota Gophers basketball players earn All-Big Ten Honors, Awards

But no matter how next week goes down, the 2023-24 season has already been the exact type of bounce-back year that head coach Ben Johnson needed in his 3rd-year. Entering the season, the DeLaSalle grad had a total of six Big Ten wins since taking over the program prior to the 2021-22 season.

Minnesota’s resurgence can be attributed in large part to the play of four Gophers, Dawson Garcia, Cameron Christie, Elijah Hawkins, and Parker Fox. The latter three players were all new to Ben Johnson’s lineup this season, in one way or another. All four, including super senior Parker Fox, still have eligibility remaining next season and all four were recognized by the Big Ten on Tuesday.

Dawson Garcia (Jr) : All-Big Ten – 2nd Team

𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐁𝟏𝐆 🏆

Back-to-back years with All-B1G honors for @Dawson23lee! #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/kqT4oicd7N

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 12, 2024

Though @GopherMBB dropped a 86-77 game at Williams Arena to @IowaHoops last night, Minnesota's leading scorer Dawson Garcia paced all players with 30 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Here's all 10 of those points which came from the field:@kare11 #Gophers pic.twitter.com/rbwn76woAW

— J.T. Messinger (@JTMessinger) January 16, 2024

Dawson Garcia earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team as voted by media members, while also securing a spot on the All-Big Ten Third Team as voted by coaches. The Prior Lake native wrapped up his second season with the Gophers after transferring from Marquette and North Carolina to play closer to home. Garcia posted impressive averages of 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.

Elijah Hawkins (Jr.): All-Big Ten – Honorable Mention

𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐁𝟏𝐆 🏆

After setting the Gopher single-season assist record, @eslimee_ earns All-Big Ten honors!#SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/rZBVuLKoi1

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 12, 2024

Elijah Hawkins, the Gophers starting point guard, made a strong impression in the Big Ten this season and received an honorable mention. In his first year with the Gophers after transferring from Howard, the diminutive point guard showcased his exceptional passing abilities over and over and over and over and over…

The Washington DC product set a University of Minnesota program record with 17 assists in a single game, earlier this year, and broke the all-time single-season assists record, with 224 (and climbing), too. Hawkins averaged 9.4 points and 7.5 assists per game. All that production and only an honorable mention? The aforementioned Dawson Garcia isn’t happy about that.

Related: Gophers #1 Team in Nation Against the Spread and Oddsmakers are Dumbfounded

Cameron Christie (Fr.) : Big Ten All-Freshman Team

𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐁𝟏𝐆 🏆@24CameronC has been named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team!#SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/GYnQnPMYXj

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 12, 2024

Cam Christie is set to be a top focus for NBA teams at next week's Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, emerging as a prospect who may arrive earlier than anticipated. His sharpshooting, length & budding trajectory at 6-foot-6 have captivated evaluators. Won't turn 19 until July. pic.twitter.com/6LKc6G3dvJ

— League Him (@League_Him) March 5, 2024

Cameron Christie had a standout season and emerged as one of the top freshmen in the conference, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Christie showcased his talent by starting in 23 games this season, averaging 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in his debut season with the Gophers.

Related: Gophers Beat Jamison Battle’s Buckeyes

Parker Fox (Sr.) : Big Ten Sportsmanship Award

And last but most certainly not least… @Parkerfox24 earns the B1G Sportsmanship Award! pic.twitter.com/QRFSYdyw87

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) March 12, 2024

Parker Fox, who bleeds maroon and gold, was honored for his sportsmanship. Fox, who played high school basketball at Mahtomedi before committing to Northern State and later transferring to the Gophers, overcame injury setbacks that sidelined him for two seasons.

This season, he finally had the chance to showcase his talent and undoubtedly brought a contagious energy to the locker room. Fox averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Related: Elijah Hawkins Tweets “lol” Over No-Call that Cost Gophers vs Badgers

On Friday, Ben Johnson met with reporters and told them that he and his team remained optimistic about where their season was heading, that they were so close to being a good team, “it’s scary”. Well, their play at the end of the first half Saturday vs the Nittany Lions was legitimately terrifying too, which is why the Gophers entered the 2nd half down 14 points.

Minnesota Golden Gophers shine in 2nd half @ Penn State

A different team came out of the Bryce Jordan Arena locker room following the halftime intermission, though. And whatever “secret stuff” Ben Johnson had them drink kicked in immediately. Penn State scored the first two points out of the break, temporarily pushing their lead to 16.

Then, the Gophers rattled off 10 points in two minutes and cut the lead to six, before the home team needed a timeout. Cam Christie, Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell and Elijah Hawkins took the game over and never gave it back.

He almost flew. 😳@show_time_josh x @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/54lnZOWldA

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 28, 2024

It was like they suddenly realized in the locker room, ‘hey, we three are better than just about everyone on their roster minus maybe one dude (Kanye Clark)’, who didn’t have a very good game. Once that happened, the Nittany Lions never really stood a chance.

Minnesota outscored Penn State by a whopping 23 points and struggled to even keep it close, late. In the end, the whistle blew with Ben Johnson’s squad up a rather comfortable nine points, 83-74. Reminder: the Gophers were down 16 points with slightly over 19 minutes remaining in this contest.

This dunk by Parker Fox broke hearts in Happy Valley.

Huge turning point in the game. pic.twitter.com/KJAsOi9fm0

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) January 28, 2024

When the dust settled, Dawson Garcia led the way with 20 points and 4 rebounds; Cam Christie ended two rebounds away from a double-double with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists to boot.

Related: U of M Plans to Renovate Williams Arena; New Gophers Basketball Venue Unlikely

Minnesota Gophers guard Elijah Hawkins tweets lol over no-call

Yeah, I said no-calls. The referees weren’t the sole reason Minnesota fell short tonight vs their border rival but, upon further review, it was absolutely part of the reason. Gophers point guard Elijah Hawkins feels the same way and expressed as much on Twitter after the game, along with a video to prove his point. He kept the caption short and sweet. “lol”.

lol pic.twitter.com/Ytyt5fexQB

— Elijah Hawkins 3 (@eslimee_) January 24, 2024

Elijah Hawkins returned from a one game absence vs Michigan State and the Minnesota offense was much more fluid with him on the floor. It’s become clear he is the straw that stirs the Minnesota Gophers drink offensively. The Howard transfer finished with 16 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Gophers need to start winning

Unfortunately, Elijah’s post isn’t going to put a W up in place of tonight’s L. Entering Tuesday night, the Gophers ranked #99 in the NET rankings. They are 12-7 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. The season is far from over and losing to a top 15 team in the country is nothing to be ashamed of.

Related: Future Gopher Isaac Asuma Nearly Posts Triple-Double in Star-Studded ‘Border Battle’ Showcase

But if Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 squad wants any chance at making the NCAA Tournament, come March, they need to start winning some of these close games, no matter how good or highly ranked the opponent is.

But it was pretty clear early on that, after two really difficult seasons to start his head coaching career in Dinkytown, Johnson’s squad this season was different. They were bigger, faster, stronger, more talented… and most of all, better shooters than what we had seen in years one and two.

Related: Can 2023-24 Minnesota Gophers Make the NCAA Tournament?

Minnesota Gophers beat Maryland Terrapins

Last week, after returning from Christmas break, the Gophers went to Ann Arbor and upset Michigan to move to 2-1 in Big Ten play. On Sunday night the Gophers welcomed the Maryland Terrapins to The Barn and, after falling behind early, found their footing and won another close one, 65-62, moving them to 12-3 on the season and 3-1 in the Big Ten.

There were some @GopherMBB dunks in that first half. 🔨 pic.twitter.com/KeTgrg1ui1

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) January 7, 2024

Just like in Ann Arbor, Sunday’s win was a team effort. No Gopher finished with more than 12 points but six Gophers scored 8 points or more and four finished in double figures. Elijah Hawkins could prove as one of the most important transfer portal pickups of Ben’s coaching tenure.

He had 9 assists tonight and hit multiple big shots down the stretch, scoring 10 points in total. But it’s his peskiness on defense (6 steals) that jumps off the boxscore. No doubt, he was the game’s MVP. You could say the same thing about their season, even after Hawkins struggled to find his place early on.

Truth: Elijah Hawkins creates a lot of offense with his defense. 💥@eslimee_ x @GopherMBB

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/dAmbmI1Sqq

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) January 7, 2024

0️⃣ is having a night. 🤩@eslimee_ x @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/yhAvEzsuyu

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) January 8, 2024

Related: Buy the Right Brand of Bacon in January and 100% Goes to Gophers NIL Fund

It’s their 7th-straight victory and 3rd conference win in just four tries. For context, they won two Big Ten games all of last season. Prior to Sunday’s victory, Minnesota had climbed to #88 in the NET Rankings prior to tonight’s game, the biggest determining factor in whether or not a team makes the NCAA Tournament.

That should climb quite a few spots, after the victory. It’s been quite the climb for a team that started at #157 when those rankings debuted on December 4. Last season, they finished #222.

Last year, you probably could have said the same thing. Minnesota entered the 2022-23 season with 35000-to-1 odds of winning the National Championship. Pretty bad, right? Well, not if you compare it to their 50000-to-1 odds entering 2023-24.

2023-24 Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball off to hot start

Ben’s new squad isn’t worried about what Vegas thinks, though. They new what most of the basketball world didn’t. This is the first team in Johnson’s 2+ years as head coach that has legitimate Big Ten talent.

Big Warrior @eslimee_

Victory Thursday into the holidays! 🎁 pic.twitter.com/dUZdoOIKk8

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 22, 2023

And they’ve mostly played like it. Not only have the Gophers already exceeded preseason predictions, but at 9-3, they’ve already matched their 2022-23 win total, with nearly 2/3 of the season left to play.

Related: Can 2023-24 Minnesota Gophers Make the NCAA Tournament?

The entire team is playing much more cohesively, evidenced not only by the eye test, but by ranking 7th in the nation in assists per game. New transfer point guard, Elijah Hawkins, is proving to be a program-changing get for Ben Johnson.

The dudes making it happen

His diminutive stature (listed at a GENEROUS 5’11”) is what allowed him to land in Dinkytown and he’s struggled at times in the few games they’ve played vs Big Ten teams so far, but he’s the motor to their offense, averaging 7.6 assists and 8 points per game, to go along with 1.5 steals.

The find by @eslimee_ 🔥

The finish by @ihnen_isaiah 👌

Stream on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/KTa0lJwioN

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 22, 2023

Dishing at a record rate 👨‍🍳@eslimee_ pic.twitter.com/f94nPmFTNh

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 16, 2023

With Hawkins playing distributor, the Gophers are taking better shots and they’re loaded with better perimeter talent to make those shots. True freshman Cam Christie (11.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.3 APG) is a future star, depending on how long he stays in school, because the NBA will be calling for him soon enough.

But other new snipers have had their nights too, including Mike Mitchell Jr (10.8 PPG, 39% 3PT) and Braeden Carrington (who is currently away from the team). All of this talent and production has combined for a completely different Gophers product on offense, compared to what we saw in 2022-23.

Related: Firing Richard Pitino is Looking Like a Massive Mistake by Minnesota

Minnesota currently ranks 23rd in field goal percentage, nationally, and 13th when shooting from inside the perimeter. That’s an incredible leap over last season, where they ranked 258th and 252nd in the same categories.

Start your holiday weekend early with highlights from our 80-63 win over Ball State last night! pic.twitter.com/7ETzUyRrHJ

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 22, 2023

It goes to show the steps that sophomore big men Joshua Ola-Joseph (10.7 PPG, .640 FG%) and Pharrell Payne (9.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG) have taken, but most of all, how great of a college basketball player Dawson Garcia (18.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG) is.

But even with Garcia nursing an injury that’s kept him out of their last two non-conference matchups, the Gophers have destroyed lesser competition all season, something they struggled to do in Ben Johnson’s 2nd year.

Minnesota climbing up KenPom and NET Rankings

And when you play well and win games, you start to climb up the all-important college basketball ranking systems, which we are starting to see with the Golden Gophers in both the Ken Pomeroy (KenPom) and NCAA Men’s basketball NET rankings.

Related: Did Drake Just Curse the Minnesota Gophers?

When the 2023-24 NET rankings first dropped on December 4, the 5-2 Gophers debuted at 157th in the nation. At that same time, they were 118th in the KenPom. Go back to the end of the 2022-23 season, Minnesota ranked 216th in the KenPom and 222nd in the NET.

But… it appears those dark days may finally be behind us. As of Christmas Eve morning, the Gophers have climbed all the way to 85th in the KenPom rankings, nearly identical to how they measure up in the NET (89th).

It may be early, but the all-around effort, with four Gophers averaging double-digit scoring figures on the season, has been a pleasant surprise for longtime loyal Minnesota fans eager to see better basketball in Dinkytown.

NEWS: Howard transfer Elijah Hawkins has committed to Minnesota, he told @On3sports.

The 5-11 point guard averaged 12.9 points and 6.0 assists this past season. Shot 46% from three.

Story: https://t.co/nKQmso0fPN pic.twitter.com/KvBYqo3RjL

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 8, 2023

Hawkins — who has two seasons of eligibility remaining — is a lightning quick mover who can push the pace on offense and lock down perimeter players with his defense. He averaged 12.9 points, 6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game last season, as a Sophomore, helping to lead Howard to the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and Elijah made 54 of his 116 3PT attempts last season, good for 47%, one of the best percentages in the country.

Hawkins’ biggest weakness is his lack of height. He is listed on the Howard University website as 5’11” but he must have been standing on a bucket when measured. I’d be surprised if he’s over 5’8″ (see highlight video below). Because of that, Elijah will have to find ways, in the Big Ten, to remain a scoring threat, when driving to the basket.

Nonetheless, this is a huge get for Johnson, whose job is probably on the line this season.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan