All the long hours and days college coaches spent hopping from gym to gym evaluating prospects across the country during the July recruiting period is over.

Another important step in the recruiting process starts soon. Three of the state's top seniors and Gophers targets -- Jericho Sims, Theo John and McKinley Wright -- are planning official visits.

Sims, a 6-foot-9 forward from Cristo Rey Jesuit, is working on scheduling Texas and Minnesota visits later this month. There was also buzz Friday about Sims receiving heavier interest from North Carolina, which first made contact with him last month after he shined in Las Vegas.

The Tar Heels haven't offered Sims a scholarship. And there aren't any plans to visit yet. So it still seems the biggest threat to Minnesota landing Sims is Texas. He talked this week about why the Longhorns are one of the schools he's strongly considering.

"I think they're a very good program," Sims said. "We saw what coach (Shaka) Smart did at VCU. And I just like the vibe that coach gives off. A lot of people say the same thing about Coach Smart and that coaching staff at Texas."

Sims also appreciated Gophers coach Richard Pitino and his assistants being visible at most of his AAU games with D1 Minnesota.

"I saw them every game," Sims said. "I'm not going to miss them. I know who they are. They come to my games. They hit me up on the phone. It just shows how interested they are."

Wright, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Champlin Park, said he'll visit the Gophers from Sept. 2-4, Dayton from Sept. 9-11, Memphis on Sept. 17 and Xavier from Sept. 23-25.

Xavier might be out of the mix before Wright visits. Four-star Indiana point guard Paul Scruggs is visiting the Muskateers this weekend.

Minnesota's visit coming first might be a sign, but Wright didn't put any significance to it.

"Staying home would be nice," he said. "But I just want to figure out what's best for me personally. If it is here, then it is. But I'm not too shy to take other visits and see how it plays out."

John, who is Wright's high school teammate, has official visits scheduled for California (Aug. 25-28), Marquette (Sept. 1-3) and Minnesota (Sept. 9-11). The 6-9 forward also had Purdue, Illinois and Oklahoma among his final six schools.