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Alex Foster will not be a Gopher next season; Minnesota is left with four scholarships and no recruits for 2013

New Gophers coach Richard Pitino has a lot to work with going forward.

April 10, 2013 at 11:43AM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Four days after Richard Pitino stepped in as Minnesota's new head men's basketball coach, the Gophers' recruiting slate was wiped clean.

Multiple outlets reported on Tuesday evening that Alex Foster, the last Gophers recruit that remained, will not be attending the University of Minnesota this fall.

According to Gopher Illustrated, Foster received a call from "an assistant" said to be Kimani Young, who told the Chicago native that Minnesota plans to move in a different direction.

The news comes after the other 2013 recruit, Foster's former teammate Alvin Ellis de-committed early Wednesday before Pitino's hiring was announced.

With both out of the picture, Pitino has four scholarships to work with for the upcoming season – or choose to stockpile for next year, and the loaded 2014 prep class.

It's possible that Pitino – who has an entirely different vision for the Gophers than former coach Tubby Smith, the person who originally recruited Foster – could want to bring his own players, or that he feels the Gophers' greatest needs lie elsewhere.

The small forward had already received offers from Harvard, Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin, to name a few.

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