Minnesota basketball coach Richard Pitino has secured his second 2015 recruit before the start of the fall classes.
Dupree McBrayer, a versatile guard out of New Jersey, verbally committed to the Gophers on Friday evening per a source. Evan Daniels of Scout.com was the first to report the news. The Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick's School senior considered a number of other schools, including Creighton, Seton Hall, Providence and Pittsburgh.
McBrayer joins four-star Virginia point guard Kevin Dorsey, who committed last month, to create a formidable future backcourt duo. The 6-4 McBrayer, a three-star athlete according to Rivals.com, is expected to play multiple positions with the Gophers as an excellent creator who is also a very effective shooter and attacker.
The four open scholarships in 2015 -- there are now two remaining -- should represent the signature recruiting class of Pitino's young coaching career. He inherited just a few scholarship players when he took his first head job at Florida International in 2012. One year later, he accepted the position at Minnesota, scrambling to add four players in a matter of two months. The early signing period for 2014 recruits came just seven months into his new tenure, a relatively brief window of opportunity considering many elite recruits are targeted for years before committing.
The Gophers are still hard after a few other guards, including DeLaSalle senior Jarvis Johnson, but netted two very talented backcourt options early certainly gives the staff some options.
