INDIANAPOLIS – The Gophers decided to wait another game to unveil highly touted freshman Isaiah Ihnen after he was cleared to make his season debut in Tuesday night's loss at Butler.
The 6-9 German native was a four-star recruit in the 2019 recruiting class, but he missed his third consecutive game after injuring his right wrist last month.
"It's just so hard right now during this stretch to get him meaningful minutes," Gophers coach Richard Pitino said. "But we need him to be a part of it. We need that length."
Ihnen was ranked as a top-100 recruit when he picked Minnesota over Texas Christian and Tennessee in the spring, but Gophers fans have had to wait to see him play.
Pitino previously said if Ihnen lived and went to high school in the U.S., he would "probably be a top-50 recruit."
After playing for the International Basketball Academy in Munich (IBAM), Ihnen spent the summer with the German U20 national team and participated in the FIBA U20 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ihnen finally joined the Gophers in August in time to make a trip to Italy for three exhibition games, during which he had a 19-point performance.
The Gophers were initially hoping the talented 19-year-old with guard skills and length (including a 7-4 wingspan) could help them on the wing with the loss of Amir Coffey to the NBA.
