Gophers basketball transfer portal watch: North Dakota State big man visiting

The Gophers men’s basketball team has followed the transfer portal since it opened last week, but the first visitor is expected Thursday with North Dakota State’s Andrew Morgan.

The 6-10, 245-pound Waseca native averaged 12.9 points on 56% shooting and 5.0 rebounds this season, which included 22 double figure scoring games. His highs were 27 points vs. North Dakota and 31 points vs. Kansas City.

Morgan, an all-Summit League second team selection, started 59 games the last two seasons for the Bison, who finished 15-17 this year.

Adding inside depth is key for next season for the Gophers with uncertainty surrounding which players will return, especially in the frontcourt with Dawson Garcia, Pharrel Payne and Parker Fox. Redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts is expected back.

Johnson wasn’t surprised several teams opted out of the NIT to focus early on roster management. The Gophers were among teams at a slight disadvantage not knowing player decisions until after the season.

“There’s going to be a lot of uncertainty,” Johnson said before the loss at Indiana State in the NIT second round. “Guys are going to make decisions sooner than later with the portal. You have to kind of deal with it as it comes.”

Sophomore Joshua Ola-Joseph, who averaged 7.5 points in 15.7 minutes for the Gophers this season, entered the portal on Wednesday. That gave Johnson three open scholarships for next season, but two roster spots will go to high school recruits Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove.

“My staff has been on it with everything,” Johnson said on the transfer portal. “It’s what you got to do. We’ll put the necessary time in.”

The Gophers have made contact with several transfer guards and wings, including Northern Iowa transfer Nate Heise, who is from Lake City, Minn.

Heise, a 6-5 junior combo guard, averaged 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot 36% from three-point range last season for the Panthers.