Local 2015 recruit Marshawn Wilson is hoping a summer of focused improvement will land him on the priority lists of Minnesota and other high major programs.

For now, the Gophers are certainly recruiting the Hill-Murray shooting guard, but have yet to extend an offer, and appear to be waiting to see Wilson take the next steps on and off the court.

"At the beginning of his junior year last year, he had quite a bit of contact with them -- as of late there hasn't been as much," said Dick Ghizoni, who coached the Pioneers last year before retiring at the end of the season.

Right now, Wilson's only scholarship offers come from Colorado State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, and most recently, La Salle, but a handful of high-major universities, including Minnesota and Michigan State, have stayed in contact.

Wilson has struggled academically in the past, Ghizoni said -- transferring to Hill-Murray from Tartan High School after his sophomore year with his GPA, "a mess" -- but the 6-foot-1 guard has picked up his study habits and improved his grades in the last semester.

"Like a lot of young kids, they don't realize how important is is until they get a little bit older and time gets a little bit smaller to fix it," Ghizoni said. "He's done a really good job of getting help and seeking help and concentrating on becoming a better student."

On the court, the physical, driving guard, has worked to better his outside shooting ability. Ghizoni saw that improvement capped at the end of last season, when Wilson sank nine three-pointers for a school record in a February game against Henry Sibley.

Wilson, who is playing AAU ball with Wisconsin United, has shown a knack for rebounding and running the floor, but is focusing on finding better balance in his offensive game and staying focused on defense, Ghizoni said.

He hopes the effort will lead to a renewed interest from Minnesota, which Wilson visited a couple of times during his junior year.

"He's made some big strides in the last year or so," Ghizoni said.