This is Amelia Rayno's second season on the Gophers' basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina (Go Tar Heels!), where fanhood is not an option. In 2010, she joined the Star Tribune after graduating from Boston's Emerson College, which sadly had no exciting D-I college hoops to latch onto. Amelia has also worked on the sports desk at the Boston Globe and interned at the Detroit News.
 Follow Rayno on Twitter @AmeliaRaynoAnnouncing via a video (embedded below) that he has "unfinished business," Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe will officially return for another season with the men's basketball team.
Mbakwe, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in late November, was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. He had hinted he was going to return, but Monday's announcement makes it official.
"I think it is beneficial for many reasons. It gives me the opportunity to play another year of college basketball and hopefully contribute to a team that showed it can be dangerous," Mbakwe said in a statement. “It also provides me with the opportunity to leave the university with a Master’s degree. That means a ton to me. Not many athletes have that chance to get multiple degrees during their stay and unfortunately it took an injury for me to have this opportunity but I am going to take full advantage of it. I am excited to get back on the court with my teammates.”
Said Gophers coach Tubby Smith: “He has obviously proven to be a dominant player in this league and I have no doubt that he will return to the form that made him that type of player. He will certainly be a welcomed addition to next year’s team.”
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