Anfernee Simons, a top-10 player in the Class of 2018 from IMG Academy in Florida, is considering an official visit to Minnesota, he told 247Sports.com.
Simons, the seventh-best player and No. 1 combo guard in 2018 by 247Sports.com, recently visited North Carolina State. The five-star recruit told 247Sports.com's Evan Daniels that he has yet to work out the timing of a Gophers visit.
"I'm planning on it," Simons said in the article, "but we haven't talked about a date yet."
The 6-4, 170-pound Florida native played his final year of high school at Edgewater in Orlando last spring but went to prep school this season. Simons committed to Richard Pitino's father, Rick, at Louisville in 2016, but he decided not to sign with the Cardinals after Rick Pitino was dismissed amid the FBI's investigation into a recruiting scandal.
Simons, a year removed from high school graduation, is also considering entering the 2018 NBA draft in June. He was ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the draft by ESPN.com. Simons has taken two official visits to North Carolina State and Tennessee and also mentioned Florida, Southern Methodist and Dayton as potential landing spots, along with Minnesota.
The Gophers also are recruiting another former Louisville commit: Courtney Ramey, a 6-3, five-star Class of 2018 point guard from St. Louis. Ramey does not have a Gophers visit scheduled, but his father told 247sports.com that Minnesota was among the new schools he was interested in.
Local players Daniel Oturu, Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Thomas Omersa are already signed to Minnesota's 2018 class, and the Gophers have one scholarship slot available right now.
Starting guards out
Starting guards Amir Coffey and Dupree McBrayer were sidelined for their second consecutive game Tuesday night against Michigan State.
Coffey, the team's third-leading scorer at 14 points per game, missed his 10th game and fifth in a row because of a lingering right shoulder injury. The 6-8 sophomore did some light shooting drills before the game, but he did not dress.
The 6-5 McBrayer, who averages 9.5 points, was out for his fifth game this season because of a sore lower left leg.
