Tuesday, May 11, 2010

THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNSOTA GOPHERS SIGN MAVERICK AHANMISI

The Minnesota men's basketball program announced the signing of Maverick Ahanmisi (a-hawn-ME-see) to a National Letter of Intent. Ahanmisi will be eligible to compete during the 2010-11 season, joining fall signees Elliott Eliason (Chadron, Neb.) and Austin Hollins (Memphis, Tenn.) and fellow spring signees Oto Osenieks (Riga, Latvia) and Maurice Walker (Scarborough, Ontario).

"Maverick is a very good shooter from the perimeter and will help us by stretching the defense," said Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith. "He is a year older and more experienced having played in prep school this past season. He will balance this year's recruiting class that already includes two post players, a forward and a wing. We welcome him to the Golden Gopher family."

Ahanmisi averaged 20.0 points this season at Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif. A 6-2 senior guard, Ahanmisi originally attended and graduated from Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita, Calif. Ahanmisi averaged 12.5 points as a sophomore, 15.8 points as a junior and 20.2 points as a senior and finished his scholastic career as the all-time leading scorer and three-point shooter at GVHS. He also maintained a 3.5 grade point average. The Gophers wrapped up the 2009-10 with a loss to Xavier on Mar. 19 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was the second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Gophers and the 16th overall appearance for a Tubby Smith-led team.

The Gophers finished 21-14 on the season, the 17th-straight season a Tubby Smith-led team reached the 20-win plateau. It is the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest streak in NCAA history. Minnesota reached 20 total wins for just the 10th time in school history.

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