These Gophers can fly. ☝️🏀

Jarvis Omersa gets the #B1GStandout for @GopherMBB!

📍 @AutoOwnersIns pic.twitter.com/6YVnKqTWJp

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 1, 2020

After three seasons with his hometown team, Jarvis Omersa entered the transfer portal. He actually committed to now DI St. Thomas, staying close to home again, but never played a game before transferring out and effectively ending his collegiate basketball career.

What is former Minnesota Gophers basketball player Jarvis Omersa up to now? He’s a boxer.

You might recall Omersa posting a video on social media last year, showcasing his football skills in hopes of attracting interest from schools for a possible switch in sports.

Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out either. But that didn’t mean Jarvis was ready to shut down his athletic career. Instead, he’s trying his hand at yet another sport, this time, as a professional. Boxing.

Omersa started just one game as a Gopher, but he appeared in a total of 64 games during his career at Minnesota, averaging 1.5 points and 2 rebounds per game, and once Richard Pitino was fired, he decided to enter the transfer portal, which essentially ended his basketball career.

Omersa is currently under the guidance of “Shady Shane,” a coach at Element gym in St. Paul. It’s awesome to see Omersa leveraging his athleticism in boxing and pursuing it professionally. As reported, Omersa remains dedicated to his training regimen and is anticipated to make his official professional boxing debut in 2025.

In his latest scoop session with Mackey & Judd on SKOR North, Darren Wolfson reported that Omersa is expected to make his professional boxing debut in 2025.

Jarvis Omersa, the former Gopher basketball player. Remember him? I ran into him the other day at a gym in Saint Paul. I was with Slink Proper, who is a Saint Paul-based boxer fighting on ESPN in Miami on June 29th, Saturday the 29th. But Jarvis Omersa was there. He’s turning into a professional boxer, so he’ll probably make his pro boxing debut sometime in 2025. We’re in the very early stages, but he’s a really good athlete. He was a good football player in high school and obviously a really good basketball player.

Darren Wolfson – SKOR North

There’s a lot of flux within the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program right now. The elephant is no longer sitting in the middle of campus. Richard Pitino has been dismissed as head coach and found a soft landing spot at the University of New Mexico. Now, eyes turn to their coaching search and the current roster of players. What will this roster of talented kids decide to do in a world where transfering is as easy as filling out an online form.

One person who’s already made his decision is Jarvis Omersa, who “opted out” halfway through the 2020-21 season. Omersa’s name is in the transfer portal today. Jarvis is from Orono, MN and came in the same class as Gabe Kalscheur and Daniel Oturu.

Hearing that Jarvis Omersa has entered the transfer portal. Omersa was a junior at Minnesota this winter before opting out due to covid. pic.twitter.com/8jvLgiPbJ8

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) March 16, 2021

This transfer portal entry isn’t a surprise but that doesn’t mean others won’t follow. That’s why Mark Coyle made it clear in his press conference today, that they will not waste any time on hiring the next head coach. That’s what he told the players too.

We’ll see how quickly things move and what happens with others on the roster. I’m sure guys like Gabe and Liam are getting DM’s and text messages from across the country as you read this.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Please read. Took me at least 15 minutes to write it! https://t.co/tWOGqqW8Jr

— Richard Pitino (@CoachPitinoMN) July 30, 2019

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Want to get queasy for a second?  We ranked 300 out of 353 in 3-point shooting percentage last season.  Ranked 64 of the 68 teams in the tournament.  Pretty remarkable.  That has to improve moving forward and it will.  As I said before, we are making some big changes to the offense.  Feel free to tweet me your thoughts during the season.  Especially after losses!

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There are a lot of things I like about Richard Pitino. His regularly updated blog is definitely near the top of my list (so is his Twitter). It’s a good mix of his impressive writing ability, up-front and honest nature, and dry humor. I’m sure he’d love if you called him a good blogger.

In his most recent post earlier this afternoon, Richard brought his best yesterday, when writing his thoughts on the status of his basketball team in all aspects, as they enter the bulk of their summer program which includes a trip to Italy this week, to play some against some international competition. 

It looks like we should expect a pretty major change, offensively… drastic even. That is a major trend in this blog post and that’s good to see. He thinks he will have 4-5 guys on the floor at all times who will have the green light to shoot from distance. It also sounds like he has changed the schematics of his offense to reflect the additional launching from the deep line. The 3-point shooting is literally the first thing he talks about, basketball-wise:

We have had six practices and this team feels totally different.  The goal from an offensive stand point is to have at least four if not five players who can shoot the 3 on the court all the time.  I think this roster has that.  Our three point shooting will be substantially improved.  I have really tinkered with the offense and think it’s been looking good.  It will be fun to see how it all evolves. 

After a few paragraphs, Pitino quickly gets into his roster. Again, he is very open and honest about his evaluations and I have to appreciate that. Here are some of the evals that stuck out to me:

Alihan Demir

Alihan Demir – Has been terrific this summer.  Perfect in our offensive system.  So fundamental.  Great pickup for us by our staff.

Demir is a grad-transfer from Drexel and he’ll be a starter in 2019-20. When he committed to Minnesota for his final season of eligibility, I did some research on his game and quickly found out why Pitino wanted him so badly. He fits Pitino’s offense perfectly. He’s a true point-forward in the half-court and passes like a Divac-style European big man down low. His passing highlights in the lane are impressive.

It’s not just passing that he does well offensively, though. Don’t forget about Pitino’s 3-pt blog theme because Alihan can do that too. I’d imagine that a big part of the offensive change coming, involves that power-forward spot. Last year, Jordan Murphy caught the ball a lot around the 3-pt line in pick-and-pop’s on the wing and at the top of the key, as the swing-man in the regular offense. He didn’t shoot from deep often (or very successfully) so teams were giving him 5-8 ft. of space to launch (which he rarely did), clogging up the lane for Pitino’s high/low post offense. They won’t be giving Demir that room.

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Marcus Carr | Payton Willis

Marcus Carr – Tough!  Has terrific leadership qualities for a sophomore.  Should be a major factor on our roster this year.  Doesn’t care where he plays.  Just wants to win!

Payton Willis – Has been so solid across the board this summer.  Multi-positional.  Can really shoot!  Lives in the gym.  Love his work ethic. 

These two combo guards will also be MAJOR factors in the offense this season. You can tell that Pitino is excited about both of these two and a lot of things that they will bring both on and off the floor. Both can play different positions and both look like they have great work ethics. I haven’t watched practice or spoken with anyone but, going into this offseason, I thought we would see Carr starting and Willis coming off of the bench. We’ll see…

Tre Williams

Tre’ Williams – Very impressive summer so far.  Makes tough shots!  Can’t believe how underrated he was in high school.  Plays with great confidence.  Good size and skill. 

Tre is another kid who can play multiple positions and has good size. That will be apparent this season too. The Gophers are going to be pretty lengthy from top to bottom, comparatively speaking to positions. Guards will definitely be able to matchup size-wise with the biggest in the Big Ten.

Beyond more size and athleticism, you can tell that Pitino thinks he might have gotten a bit of a steal with Williams. That’s interesting because it’s not Tre was a walk-on. He was ranked as a very high 3-star prospect by 247 Sports. So, either Pitino is forgetting what kind of prospect Tre was, or he is really seeing something special early-on, with the Freshman.

Final Notes:

Alright, I have a lot more that excited me about this offseason update by Pitino but I’ve already written too many words in this blog so I’ll just end with some quick notes. DO NOT forget about Gabe Kalscheur. Pitino mentions more good things about his game, his offseason, and his improvements. Daniel Oturu‘s main focus has been expanding his game without the ball. They’ve been experimenting with his 3-pt shooting but Pitino seems worried about him liking it too much.

And, Jarvis Omersa…. I’m not worried about Jarvis, but Pitino’s blip about him made me slightly nervous AND made me feel more solid about Pitino’s honesty about the rest of his evaluations…

Jarvis Omersa – Needs to make a huge jump this summer and fall.  Got a lot out of that Michigan State game at the end of the year.  Sky’s the limit if he lives in the gym.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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Richard Pitino’s 2018 class was touted pretty highly, especially in the home-state of Minnesota. Little Ricky quietly landed 3 out of the top 4 High School seniors in the state.

Daniel Oturu was the gem of the class. A national top-50 prospect, and considered to be college-ready as a Freshman; able to block shots and post big rebound numbers, while still being effective offensively vs Big Ten front court opponents. Outside of looking a little overwhelmed at times in his first two games, there’s been no reason to doubt that Dan will live up to those lofty expectations.

However, the lowest ranked recruit of this Freshman class has caught my eye early. Gabe Kalscheur was touted as a 3-pt dead-eye coming out of DeLaSalle HS in Minneapolis. He was also mentioned by those at GopherIllustrated.com (among others) as a very solid defensive player. Your classic “3 and D” guy. Immediately I wondered if he might see extended playing time early, especially for a Freshman, given those are two areas on this team that needed drastic improvement.

With all of that being said, I didn’t expect him to start immediately. I also didn’t expect him to go 5-6 from deep in his first big game as a Gopher. Gabe will also suffocate you and eat you head-first on defense. It’s not in this video but you’ll see it for yourself if you haven’t watched yet and coach Pitino will tell you (2nd video below).

His game gets me so fucking jacked. His shot is so beautiful… Try standing up after watching him shoot. I dare you.

Here’s the thing about Gabe. He isn’t the fastest player on the floor but he makes up for it with quick twitch movements. You can really notice when you see how quickly he reacts to movement on defense. He’s also not going to jump through the roof like Jarvis will. But, he doesn’t need to.

But, Gabe is the perfect player for today’s game. In a day where defense isn’t instilled in most of the young players around the top programs nationwide, Gabe clearly has made that a priority. That sets him ahead of the curve. A curve that a lot of players will never get to, while at this level. On the offensive side, he’s made 3-point shooting a priority. Smart move. If you can shoot over 40% from deep, you will play. Anywhere.

Again, he’s the perfect weapon for this team and he would be successful elsewhere because of the 3-pt shooting and defensive ability. Kalscheur can still get physical and get into the lane though too. This shouldn’t surprise anyone because if a guy is known as a big time defender, they’re usually able to bang around inside at both ends of the floor.

All of these great qualities don’t even rise to the top of the list, though. The best part about Gabe seems to be the part that we don’t get to see as fans. He treats the game like an opportunity. He already approaches it as a professional. It makes sense because of where he excels. Being a dead-eye takes practice. Clean and simple. A lot of shots. Day-in and day-out. Defense takes hard work, concentration, and accountability.

Plus, I’ll take Richard’s word for it because you don’t hear him talk about all of his athletes like this. Little Ricky keeps it real:

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan
Follow @Realmnsportsfan

When it comes to the Gophers Men’s basketball team, ya’ll know what time it is!

Minnesota’s male hoopers had high expectations as they entered 2017-18 and the program looked to be on the rise. That was until an F-5 tornado of injuries and sexual assault allegations torpedoed all of those hopes and dreams. High expectations quickly turned to program-lows that reminded all of us of a 2015-16 season that put Pitino in the record books as coaching the losingest team in the program’s history. When the Maroon and Gold’s most recent season was all said and done, it wasn’t quite 2015-16 bad. But it felt pretty damn close, as Minnesota finished with a piss-poor 4-14 record in Big Ten play (15-17 overall), .

Ugh!!! #Gophers announce that Eric Curry suffered a knee injury today and will be out for the entire season.

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) August 31, 2017

Minnesota’s Reggie Lynch faces suspension, campus ban over alleged sexual assault https://t.co/N2yS1qxfaJ

— SB Nation CBB (@SBNationCBB) January 5, 2018

#Gophers sophomore guard Amir Coffey is out today with a right shoulder injury. Missing second straight game and seventh this season.

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) February 3, 2018

Richard Pitino said they made a decision to sit Dupree McBrayer down as he struggled to fight through his injury. Added, “I don’t know what his status is moving forward.” #Gophers

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) February 7, 2018

Isn’t there a saying out there where ‘things get worse before they get better’? If not, there is now.

That “keep your head up” mindset was ideal for Richard Pitino as he traveled from the 2017 season into the 2018 offseason. In case you missed it, the 35 year-old coach has lost two of his three assistant coaches and top recruiters to other teams. Panic started to set in at that point because the reason for Ben Johnson and Kimani Young’s departure wasn’t due to a promotion or what some would call positive attrition. Most of what I was seeing around GopherIllustrated.com and elsewhere showed program head coach instability was the reason for Pitino’s suddenly-fleeing right and left-hand men.

Not only that, but with the coaches, went some of the players. Jamir Harris and Davonte Fitzgerald bailed ship. Fitzgerald never fully recovered from his major knee injury that caused him to miss 2016-17 after sitting out a transfer year the season before. Losing Freshman, Jamir Harris, stung a bit more. Harris got a lot of playing time in his first season, mostly due to injuries to his teammates. However, it could certainly be argued that the New York native was the team’s best spot-up shooter, which is likely their weakest position.

The situation was ugly and it was getting difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But now, the light may be upon us. Richard Pitino seems to have shown his grit and “never give up” attitude with the news that is dropping currently at the assistant coach position and what we may hear about VERY SOON on the recruiting front.

But, let’s follow the old adage we spoke of earlier. ‘Things will get worse before they get better’. Let’s take a full look at all that was lost in the aftermath of the 2017-18 shit storm:

Departures from 2017-18 team:

Nate Mason:

Gophers guard Nate Mason invited to Florida pro combine https://t.co/gXk8gGWJ7Y pic.twitter.com/7XqLQep57I

— StribGophersBB (@StribGophersBB) May 5, 2018

Reggie Lynch:

??? Blessed to have a team of people around me helping me reach my goal! Reggie Lynch PreDraft Workout with FCS 2018 https://t.co/cABxuPKXlT via @YouTube

— Reggie♛Lynch (@Air_Regiinald) March 31, 2018

Jamir Harris:

Guard Jamir Harris will transfer from Minnesota, head coach Richard Pitino announced Friday. The 6-2 guard was a freshman this year

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) April 6, 2018

Davonte Fitzgerald:

Minnesota grad transfer Davonte Fitzgerald will head to Stephen F. Austin for his final season, source told ESPN. Head coach Kyle Keller recruited him out of high school.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 26, 2018

Ben Johnson (assistant coach):

New Xavier lead ass’t (and ex-#Gophers ass’t) Ben Johnson is already hard at work with the MN kids. He and head coach Travis Steele will see Roch. JM junior Matthew Hurt, DeLaSalle junior Tyrell Terry, and Minnehaha Acad. soph. Jalen Suggs this week.

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 17, 2018

Kimani Young (assistant coach):

UConn announces that Kimani Young will join Danny Hurley’s first staff at UConn. Big-time East Coast recruiter, who’s been at Minnesota the last few years. Great addition to an already loaded staff

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) April 4, 2018

Alright, alright…. let’s stop with the negativity and bring it back to where we sit right now. Obviously, some of these additions were on their way before all of these negative departures (outside of outgoing seniors) took place. However, when there is this much movement in a program, nothing is guaranteed. That includes any commitments made by recruits before the assistant coaches, who recruited them, leave. Not with these Minnesotan recruits.

Additions to 2018-19 team:

*Eric Curry (Played ‘16-‘17 before redshirt SO for knee injury):

The Eric Curry injury hurts this year but future wise? Two years of Curry AFTER Jordan Murphy graduates is a very nice thought.

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) September 1, 2017

Incoming Freshman:

Daniel Oturu (C – Cretin-Derham Hall):

Thank You all for the get well wishes??? I’m going to come back stronger than ever and give Gopher Nation everything I got!! ✨〽〽

— GTM DAN ??? (@oturu65) May 5, 2018

Jarvis Omersa (F – Orono):

High school career ends tonight for future Gopher Jarvis Omersa. But he showed what two areas he can be impact freshman with 18 rebs and 5 blks in Orono loss to DeLaSalle. Will be one of most exciting finishers in the Big Ten next season.

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) March 16, 2018

Gabe Kalscheur (G – DeLaSalle):

In his final HS game today, @GopherMBB recruit Gabe Kalscheur had 29 pts, 12 rebs & 3 stls in @DeLaSalleMBB third place game win over Austin. Next jumpers for @GabrielKalsche1 will be in maroon & gold 〽? pic.twitter.com/UInBpiFy7t

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) March 24, 2018

Transfers:

Payton Willis (G – Vanderbilt) (will sit 2018-19 due to transfer):

Vanderbilt sophomore guard Payton Willis is transferring to Minnesota. Willis averaged 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He shot 34.8% from the field, 65.7% from the line and 34.9% from three-point range. 38 of his 48 field goals were three-pointers.

— Chris Monter (@collegebbnews) April 22, 2018

Assistant Coach 1/2:

Rob Jeter (UNLV assistant):

Minnesota hires Rob Jeter as assistant basketball coach. Strong Midwest recruiting hire, and tremendous teacher. Off of the Bo Ryan coaching tree. @MinnesotaRivals @mjessenhoward

— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) April 9, 2018

What’s Next???

Ever since Rob Jeter was hired back in early April, news on the Gopher Basketball front has been quiet. Unless you follow the Gophers like I do and have subscriptions to sites like GopherIllustrated.com where you get insider content from the best in the state everyday. Behind the scenes, Richard Pitino & Co. have been ravishing the remaining prospects available for immediate use in the 2018 season, along with those who can help beyond, while also trying to steady the ships with the remaining open Assistant Coaching job.

The #Gophers men’s basketball program is one assistant coach and two players short of a full roster after offseason changes and a turbulent April recruiting season. @Marcus_R_Fuller has details on Richard Pitino’s high-speed search to fill those gaps. https://t.co/CZT3vOsXdv pic.twitter.com/Ze2LeYu3u1

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) May 2, 2018

Well, Pitino may be VERY close to finding everything he is looking for.

Today, we are getting closer and closer to seeing an official announcement that he has found his second assistant coach and it looks like he hit his second homerun. This seems to be all but official

Kyle Lindsted (Wichita State Assistant Coach):

Richard Pitino at #Gophers coaches road trip in Cannon Falls today confirmed he’s working on hiring Wichita State’s Kyle Lindsted as his third assistant: “We’re excited about him. He’s one of the best recruiters in the country and very passionate about it.” @StribSports pic.twitter.com/OFAU21PPFd

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) May 7, 2018

Payton Willis was his first transfer and he’s a great get for Minnesota. But as mentioned above, with a slim 2018 backcourt that is already dealing with the departure of Jamir Harris, guards and shooters are needed IMMEDIATELY. Gabe Kalscheur will make an immediate impact but another big time player is needed and a grad transfer would be perfect.

Enter Brock Stull: Grad-Senior – G/F (UW-Milwaukee):

Hey Brock Stull … how ya feeling?? pic.twitter.com/3QkTjrAi80

— Milwaukee Men’s Basketball (@MKE_MBB) November 14, 2017

Stull comes from UW-Milwaukee, which is the same school Akeem Springs hailed from before coming to Minnesota as a grad-transfer. He proved to be a big difference as the team was never the same after he went down with an injury late. Brock would be another huge UW-Milwaukee get for the Gophers, as he is exactly what they are looking for. Everyone important on Twitter seems to believe the same thing.

Not only that, the insider info over at GophersIllustrated has quotes like these from site insider, Ryan James, who got this from a coach familiar with the situation:

“Brock will go to Minnesota if they really want him”.

UW-Milwaukee grad transfer guard Brock Stull is said to have visited Xavier this weekend, Minnesota visit coming up potentially next weekend

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) May 6, 2018

Best case scenario for late recruiting period would be Marcus Carr and Payton Willis. Then Wisconsin-Milwaukee grad transfer Brock Stull to be a @SpringsAkeem type for one year. Stull could visit Minnesota soon.

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) May 6, 2018

There is one other transfer to look at and the likelihood he ends up in Minnesota seems to be getting higher and higher as the days go by. He was on campus this weekend and things seem to have gone really well. He would be a MASSIVE get for the Gophers.  Scratch that. As I was typing this, he just committed to the Gophers. He was already averaging 10 points for a power-5 school last year… And the insiders at GopherIlustrated feel like the commitment could be getting closer and closer.:

“Things are really looking very strong now that Carr is on campus. Not sure if any others have jumped in lately but Marcus on campus is huge news.”

“I agree with Ryan here. I think Minnesota has a very good shot at getting Marcus Carr.”

“I also think it could happen in the very near future. By all account he “loved” his visit to Minnesota“

However, like Payton Willis, Carr has to sit 2018-19 out due to the current NCAA transfer rules.

Marcus Carr: Sophomore G (Pittsburgh):

Former Pittsburgh guard Marcus Carr is visiting the #Gophers right now. Sit one year play three transfer. Avg. 10 ppg and 4 apg for Pitt as freshman last season.

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) May 6, 2018

A breakdown Marcus Carr’s time at Pitt and comparison to Mason, McBrayer, and Washington as freshman + @CoachDavidSisk gives an update on Carr’s transfer recruitment and Minnesota’s competition: https://t.co/FJvCTCgWER pic.twitter.com/IN29lCI8mh

— Matt Jessen-Howard (@mjessenhoward) May 6, 2018

Now, Pitino needs to make sure he lands Stull for 2018 and before making DAMN sure he has a successful season on the court. Although things are beginning to look better than they were a month ago, those assistants still left for a reason. If Little Ricky can’t make a good impression this season, he may not be able to see these recruits blossom.

Let’s remember though; because of the recruiting he’s already done, he has some ammo to work with already.

All this talk about recruiting guards and keys for #Gophers backcourt next season is Amir Coffey and Dupree McBrayer healthy and Isaiah Washington becoming a leader. Bet @Jellyfam_Dimes was in the gym today working on his game. ?〽?

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) May 6, 2018

Eric Strack (@RealMSF_Pres) & Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com