Minnesota is building its frontcourt of the future in its 2018 class without even leaving the Twin Cities.
Jarvis Thomas, a four-star forward, committed to the Gophers on Tuesday evening, becoming the second in-state frontcourt player in Richard Pitino’s newest class.
The 6-foot-7 forward hails from the Minneapolis suburbs and joins another local product, four-star center Daniel Oturo, to forge a potentially formidable future frontcourt for Pitino and Co., who are coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance in four seasons at Minnesota. Both Thomas and Oturo play for the Howard Pulley program.
“I’m headed to Minnesota & I picked them because it’s home. I have a good relationship with the staff. I’m just comfortable,” Thomas said, according to Ryan James of Gopher Illustrated. “I made a decision for myself, but Daniel was a plus to it. Me & Daniel room every tournament we play.We are always together.”
"I'm headed to Minnesota & I picked them because it’s home. I have a good relationship with the staff. I’m just comfortable" - Jarvis Thomas
— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) July 18, 2017
"I made a decision for myself, but Daniel was a plus to it. Me & Daniel room every tournament we play.We are always together" -Jarvis Thomas
— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) July 18, 2017
Landing two high-profile in-state recruits is a major development for Pitino after the Gophers went 0-for in the 2017 class despite offering numerous Minnesota prospects. In fact, Thomas’ commitment, presumably, sent Pitino to Twitter to celebrate with a Gopher GIF from ‘Caddyshack.’
While this is a strong tweet from a sitting head coach, the response it generated from Xavier assistant Luke Murray, son of ‘Caddyshack’ star Bill Murray, might have been just as good.
👀
— Luke Murray (@CoachLukeMurray) July 18, 2017