Junior college combo guard Julian Welch commits to Gophers

The Gophers found a veteran point guard.

Julian Welch, who averaged 19 points and five assists per game for Yuba Community College in Yuba City, Calif., this season, said he committed to the Gophers Saturday. He visited the school earlier this month.

Welch averaged 7.8 points per game for UC-Davis last season before transferring to the junior college. The 6-3 guard said he's capable of playing both positions but he spent the bulk of this season at point guard.

The Gophers continue to pursue a fourth player for their 2011 recruiting class, even though they currently have three scholarships.

Stephen Keese, a prep shooting guard from Fort Gibson, Okla., Henry Brooks, a prep standout for Miller Grove in Lithonia, Ga., and Nemanja Djurisic, a 6-8 power forward from South Kent, Conn., are all targets.

But they've landed Welch, who will be a junior next season. That's a key acquisition for a Gophers team that faded down the stretch without a veteran point guard.