For Gavin Schilling, Minnesota has at least one characteristic that is critical for him: its "urban environment" as coach Tubby Smith called it last year. "I like big cities," said Schilling, a 6-9 forward from Chicago who made a recruiting visit this past weekend. "I don't want to be locked in a small town where there's nothing to do. I gotta have something around me; something always has to be going on. I can't be living a boring life." Dinkytown seemed to give just the flavor he was looking for, with all the "nice restaurants" in the U of M-centered Minneapolis neighborhood enticing to Schilling. Some other schools that have been courting Schilling – Wisconsin, Colorado State and Oregon State, for example – are in smaller, college towns. But Schilling has several other urban campuses to choose from: he's also been offered by Vanderbilt, TCU and USC. So far, Schilling hasn't scheduled any other official visits, but says he plans to before making a decision in late spring of next year. "I'm still trying to narrow down my list; I haven't really started doing that yet," he said. "I'm still trying to decide what schools to do and what schools not to do." Other notes from our conversation:
- On coach Tubby Smith: "He's a real cool guy, and I think we could definitely build a strong relationship in the future."
- Schilling is interested in economics and thinking about majoring in international business. He speaks three languages fluently: German, French and English (his dad is German, and he was raised in France).
- On the type of system he wants to play in: "I like to play fast, a fast-paced team that pick and pops, taking it off the dribble for a score, stuff like that. I like to shoot the mid-range shot and I like to get in the post, too."
- Living in Chicago, Schilling watches a lot of Big Ten games involving Illinois and Northwestern. "I've been watching the team for a while," he said of the Gophers." My mom can like come out and see me play, so that would be the good part about it."
- This year will be Schilling's fourth high school in four years. He played at Loyola his freshman season, an elite school in Germany as a sophomore and at Chicago's DeLaSalle last season.
- Per the popular pick, Schilling stated "the weather" as the biggest deterrent to choosing Minnesota.
* Schilling is a 6-9, 205-pound forward from Chicago who currently plays at Findlay Prep.* Other schools that have offered him include: Colorado State, DePaul, Illinois, Oregon State, TCU, USC and Vanderbilt.* Schilling is strong and a good presence down low, but needs to refine his shot.
