Ahmad Gilbert became the second recruit this week to give Minnesota the nod when he committed to coach Richard Pitino during his official visit on Thursday.

Gilbert, who originally committed to George Mason, but who reopened his recruitment after coach Paul Hewitt was fired recently, is a lefty three-star wing from Philadelphia with a knack for shooting the three ball using his length and athleticism on the defensive end.

After the Gophers traveled to Pennsylvania for a home visit at the beginning of the week, Gilbert journeyed to Minneapolis and quickly made his decision. I caught up with his four-year coach at Constitution High School, Robert Moore, about Gilbert's development, strengths, weaknesses and his attraction to Minnesota.

Did you see Ahmad pulling the trigger this week?
I could kind of tell on Monday from the look on the kid's face that he was excited and leaning towards [Minnesota]. I left the home visit on Monday feeling like it would be done by the end of the week. The Penn State coach [Patrick Chambers] called and wanted to set up a visit. I told him basically if [Gilbert] comes back from Minnesota uncommitted, then we'll bring him up. But in my mind, I didn't expect him to come back uncommitted.

I was just impressed by coach Pitino and [assistant] coach [Kimani] Young, just their sincerity and what they brought to the table, their professionalism and everything else associated with how they've recruited Ahmad. I just felt like it was going to be a good fit.

How did Minnesota's commitment compare with that of other programs, and what was Ahmad attracted to?
They really wanted Ahmad. They'd seen the opportunity to see him over a couple of years. As soon as the opportunity came about once Coach Hewitt got fired at Mason, coach Kimani was at several games. It's not like Minnesota is THAT far but it's not like he's driving up the block either. We had seen him consistently at a lot of our playoff games. We'd look up and there's Kimani. It was just a gut feeling for me, really with Kimani and with coach Pitino.

They brought us a lot of renderings of what they're doing [with transforming Bierman Athletic Building]. I've never been to Minnesota but just the pictures of the campus and the way everything is set up really really looked amazing to me. The kid was there in April and not in January so that definitely made a big difference. I imagine it's not the best of times in January. The kid is very interested in studying business, Minnesota has a great business school [Carlson]. I think that things started to click.

The small forward spot was really the biggest wildcard for Minnesota. Do you think that play into Ahmad's decision as well?
One of the things about the George Mason roster is there were seven or eight guys who were small forward type of guys. And when you look at Minnesota, there are none -- there is nobody. You have a kid who is a 4 [power forward] playing the 3 [small forward] or a kid who is a 2 [shooting guard] playing the 3. And even with the kids that have committed so far this year, there is still that gaping hole.

But all three of my seniors that just got Division I scholarships, I didn't play any of them their freshmen year [because they had talented guys ahead of them]. So they know what it's like. They're going to come in and say if I'm not the man right away, this is the same process I'm going to go through again to be better. I told coach Pitino and Kimani that him being able to play right away is great, but the only thing we care about is is he going to be better in four years, is he going to reach his potential.

How much of his identity is as a shooter?
He's 6-7 and he can really shoot the ball. He shot 6-for-12 from beyond the arc in our state championship game. And none of them were like high school threes. He pulls up, he's shooting NBA threes in high school. Down the stretch, our last two games – our semifinal game he didn't make a shot. He was 11-for-12 or 12-for-13 from the floor and the one shot he missed was a dunk and he was fouled on it. He went to the foul line and hit both foul shots.

I've coached a lot of kids and there are not a lot of kids that have come along that can shoot the ball like him. He's got an up-and-down game like Pitino likes to play, and as long as he gets some open looks. The reality is he's got to get a little bit stronger in order to defend, and he's got to work on being able to create his own shot at this level. But it's going to come because he has all the tools, all the resources.

You played him mostly at power forward, right?
It's the nature of college basketball. I had a 6-6 guy in the middle, and I played three guards and Ahmad...He wasn't the kind of four man that is going to take the ball in the post and pound it down. No, he'll take the ball, he'll spin away. He's got a beautiful fadeaway jumpshot. He would do those types of things out of the post… He's really good at finding seams in the zone where he can just turn and get his shot off really quick and he just makes it at a really high rate. I think he's a three. That's his natural position.

Ahmad originally committed to George Mason last summer, quite early in his recruitment. Then coach Paul Hewitt was fired this March. How did he take that turnover?
It was bad. Imagine being so committed. He committed maybe too early for my liking but ultimately I tell a kid if you're comfortable, I'll support you. Ultimately, once I met [the coaches at George Mason], I was comfortable. I knew he was going at a lower level than he could have …I knew he was cutting himself short a little bit by not seeing some other schools. It worked out the way it worked out, unfortunately for the coaching staff there, but now I think Ahmad gets the chance to really prove himself.

You mentioned getting stronger and learning how to better create his own shot -- what other things are critical for him to work on this summer in your opinion?
He needs to work on a lot, but who doesn't need to work on a lot at 18 years old? ...The strength and conditioning coach for the basketball program, that's got to be Ahmad's best friend. He's a typical high school kid – I'm sure he eats more McDonald's than he should and he's never touched a weight. I joked with coach Pitino that we he does his preseason physical they need to check him for a tape worm because he eats all the time but he hasn't put on a lot of weight. So I'm thinking once he starts eating and he's meeting with the strength and conditioning people, that he's getting there. Once you see him, he's long and his frame is amazing. He can be really really dangerous once he puts on 20-25 pounds of muscle and once he reaches his potential.

Do you think he's versatile enough offensively to contribute right away at the next level, or would you like to see him grow his scoring potential outside of the long-range jumper?
He definitely needs to improve his ability to take the ball to the hole and find different ways to find his shot, get a little better at coming off of screens and setting screens. I told coach, he can be really good at pick-and-pop. He sets a good screen and he can pop out and really hit the shot. But that's why they get paid the big bucks. I only make like $6,000 as a high school coach but they get paid the big bucks to take him from where he is now and make him into a man and a Big Ten college basketball player.