Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson centered his recruiting efforts in the backcourt recently toward Canada’s No. 1 senior Tristan Beckford.
The bouncy 6-6, 195-pound Beckford has an official visit to Minnesota scheduled for Monday. He has power conference scholarship offers from the Gophers, Iowa, Oregon, Mississippi State, Arizona State and Seton Hall.
An Ontario native, Beckford led the Canadian junior national team in scoring (13 points per game) and rebounding (7.3) at the FIBA U18 AmericaCup in Argentina this summer. He earned all-tournament team honors after leading Canada to the bronze medal.
Beckford, who is ranked as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, transferred from Hillcrest Prep in Arizona to finish his high school career back in his homeland with Fort Erie International Academy in Canada.
The Gophers have a chance to make a big splash with Beckford, but the scheduled official visit this week is in limbo with Cretin-Derham Hall’s 6-10 senior Tommy Ahneman. Ahneman, the No. 1 senior prospect in Minnesota by 247Sports, had a great visit to Notre Dame this past over the weekend.
