Cherry sophomore Isaac Asuma plays three hours away from the Twin Cities on Minnesota's Iron Range, but his reputation quickly traveled to get the attention of Gophers coach Ben Johnson and his staff this year.
After watching Asuma early in the spring AAU period, the Gophers were impressed enough to offer him a scholarship following an unofficial visit Tuesday.
The 6-2 point guard is now the third player in Minnesota's 2024 class to be offered by the Gophers, including Bloomington Jefferson's Daniel Freitag and Lakeville North's Jack Robison.
"It felt really good," Asuma said this week. "It was really exciting to meet all the coaches and some of the players. It was even better than I expected."
Asuma became Cherry's all-time leading scorer with 2,067 points this season, but his most notable accomplishment was leading the Tigers to their first state tournament since 1997.
"Our basketball team was 0-22 a few years ago," Asuma said. "I felt like we stepped up and took care of what we needed to do this year. We came down to state and competed."
A varsity player since the seventh grade, Asuma averaged 27 points, nearly 10 rebounds, and seven assists for a Class 1A semifinalist. He was barely on the radar of Division I teams a year ago.
"I'm more confident and playing my game now," he said. "My strengths are finding the open man, setting up my teammates and getting downhill. I also think I'm a good shooter and good defender."
Watching the Gophers in Johnson's first season, Asuma could see how well his game fits with their offensive system.
"They do a lot of ball screens with the point guard, so that's really nice," he said. "I knew at one point [the Gophers] would give me a look. It's super cool to get that chance and opportunity."
D1 Minnesota's 16U team coached by ex-Gopher Jonathan Williams will likely give Asuma even more chances to make a name for himself. His first goal was already reached: make Cherry hoops relevant again.
"We put Cherry on the map with the state tournament run," he added. "Hopefully they know where it is now. And it's cool to come down here to compete at the same level I did there."
