CHICAGO — Ta'Lon Cooper sounded like a proud mentor when he talked about Gophers guards Braeden Carrington and Jaden Henley after Thursday night's season-ending loss to Maryland in the Big Ten tournament.
Cooper, a junior and veteran presence at point guard for second-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson, praised the growth of his younger teammates, especially in the last few weeks of the tough 9-22 season.
"They're going to have a bright future," Cooper said. "Those two came a long way, especially from the beginning of the year."
The Gophers' future backcourt might not include Cooper or Henley, though. When asked if he would consider returning to the team next season with his final year of eligibility, Cooper's answer Thursday was "only time will tell."
And signs point to Henley, a 6-7 California native, entering the transfer portal, as well. He played AAU basketball with former Gophers recruit Dennis Evans and was close to the five-star center. Evans was released from his letter of intent last month.
Where would the Gophers go from here in the backcourt without Cooper, Henley, and graduate transfer Taurus Samuels? Johnson is likely to seek help in the portal, but the Gophers have Carrington and are adding four-star Illinois guard Cameron Christie.
Cooper played only one season with the Gophers, but the 6-4, 195-pound Morehead State transfer still made his mark on the team record books.
Cooper, the only Gophers player to start all 31 games this season, averaged 9.8 points and ranked second in the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game. That assist average and his 196 total assists both rank No. 2 for a single season in program history behind Marcus Carr.
Cooper's best game with the Gophers arguably came this week. His 16 points and team Big Ten tournament-record 12 assists were a big lift in Wednesday's 78-75 win against Nebraska. He also went 8-for-10 on free throws to help seal the victory in the last minute.
Foul shooting was a struggle all season for the Gophers and Cooper, but he hit the key free throw in the final seconds of the Jan. 12 win at Ohio State. Last week vs. Rutgers, Cooper had 11 assists and zero turnovers in the U's only Big Ten win at Williams Arena.
"It meant a lot," Cooper said about playing for the Gophers this season. "As a kid growing up, I dreamed of playing in the Big Ten. I want to thank everybody in Minnesota for giving me the opportunity to do that."
Cooper, Henley and Jamison Battle were starters and could all be gone, with Battle interested in pursuing a professional career. The Gophers should return leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia. Freshman Joshua Ola-Joseph averaged 7.4 points and started 24 games. And fellow freshman Pharrel Payne averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds off the bench, which included a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds Thursday against Maryland.
"It's tough to think about it right now," Garcia said of potential roster adjustments. "Just [need to] continue to be connected in the gym together and really strive for something special. Because I know we can be really good."
Henley, who had 14 points Wednesday vs. Nebraska, finished with seven Thursday before fouling out in 19 minutes.
Carrington showed glimpses of his potential. The former Minnesota Mr. Basketball at Park Center had 12 points on four three-pointers against Maryland. Earlier in the season before missing seven games with a leg injury, he had 20 points vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
"I feel like the whole team just kind of had our back through the whole season," Carrington said about the freshmen. "We had our ups and downs, but just feel like we stuck with it."
