TRAVIS BUSCH AND KEVIN PAYTON TO FORGO SENIOR SEASONS

University of Minnesota men’s basketball head coach Tubby Smith and the Golden Gopher basketball program today announced that guards Travis Busch and Kevin Payton will forgo their final season of eligibility at the University of Minnesota. Both players are seniors academically and are on scheduled to graduate this spring.

“We are grateful for what Travis and Kevin brought to the University of Minnesota during their time on campus,” said Tubby Smith. “We are proud that both will leave the university with a degree and wish them the best of luck in their life after college.”

Busch, the winner of the 2005 Minnesota Mr. Basketball award, transferred to the University of Minnesota after spending his freshman season at Cal Poly. He leaves having played 50 career games in two seasons, averaging 2.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Busch established most of his individual career highs this season, including scoring 13 points against the University of Louisville in the Stadium Shootout at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Busch is well-known for making one of the most memorable passes in Gopher history, as he connected with Blake Hoffarber on a three-quarter court pass with 1.5 seconds left on the clock against Indiana in the 2008 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

Payton, a native of Camden, N.J., played in 67 career games at the U (17 starts) and averaged 1.5 points, 1.7 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 13.9 minutes per game. After spending the 2005-06 season as a red shirt, Payton played in all 31 games (13 starts) in 2006-07 and established career-highs in points (12 vs. Penn State), assists (9 vs. Arizona State), rebounds (7 vs. North Dakota State) and minutes (39 at Alabama-Birmingham).

The Gophers wrapped up the 2008-09 with a loss to the University of Texas on Mar. 19 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Gophers since 2005 and the 15th overall appearance for a Tubby Smith-led team.

The Gophers finished 22-11 on the season, the 16th-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 ninth time in school history while Minnesota’s 21 regular season wins is the second-most in school history behind the 24 victories in 1976-77.