Gophers recruiting push pays off when Jarvis Johnson picks home team

The scene was all too familiar.

The building. The high school coach giving the introduction. The DeLaSalle Islanders basketball jerseys in the crowd.

University of Minnesota fans watching Jarvis Johnson stride to the podium at DeLa­Salle on Friday might have had a flashback to a year ago, when Minneapolis phenom Reid Travis stood there, considering the Gophers along with two other programs.

That day, the star forward and homegrown recruit opted to leave — accepting a scholarship from Stanford and disappointing legions of Gophers fans.

Friday elicited a different response from Gophers fans, who unleashed their excitement about Johnson on social media when, as expected, the Brooklyn Park native and former teammate of Travis officially announced his commitment to the University of Minnesota.

Flanked by his parents and two older siblings — including sister Tyseanna, who plays at Iowa State — Johnson made a short speech, pausing to remind the crowd of friends, students and media that he was nervous.

"I gave more thought and time to my college decision, and in the end I realized it was important to come back to where I started the process," Johnson said.

"I'm proud to announce I've accepted a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. I look forward to joining coach [Richard] Pitino, assistant coach [Ben] Johnson and all the other coaches at the Minnesota. ... I can't wait to work with the coaches and teammates to bring a championship back to the U."

Johnson could be one of only three Minnesotans on the Gophers' 2015 roster, and Johnson is Pitino's first in-state recruit out of a local high school.

DeLaSalle coach Dave Thorson said Johnson represents the results of a new recruiting culture building at the university, under the second-year staff.

"I think they've taken a different approach than what [Tubby] Smith did, and that approach, at least in this situation, was extremely effective," Thorson said. "I get the sense that relationship-building is something [Pitino has] really emphasized in terms of how he's spread the word about his program. So I think in that way, it's probably a little different."

Johnson cited his relationship with Pitino and Ben Johnson as well as the chance for his parents to come to games regularly as the main reasons for his decision.

Tubby Smith was at Minnesota for six years and recruited a number of in-state recruits, including Trevor Mbakwe — who transferred from a Miami junior college — and Rodney Williams. But any legacy of local talent was tinged by the weak recruitment efforts of the 2014 "Big Three" group — Travis, Duke's Tyus Jones and UNLV's Rashad Vaughn.

Those three made their decisions a year ago, after Pitino had been at Minnesota for about seven months. But the Gophers managed to land in Travis' top three, despite the short recruitment.

"No question," Thorson said when asked if he thought Travis had felt the difference between Smith's recruiting style and that of Pitino's. "They did a great job kind of digging out of a hole to get in the position they were with him."

Now, he said, Johnson's commitment could help open the pipeline for future local players to decide to stay at home.

"I sure hope so for the Gophers, and I know how that works," Thorson said. "I think we're going to have more players here at DeLa-Salle, I have to tell all of you. We've got two more seniors [in Sacar Anim and Josh Collins], we've got other underclassmen that I think are going to be able to play at that level. So at least here, I think that will happen."