The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Malik Smith has signed a tender to play for the Gophers. Smith will be eligible immediately pending an NCAA waiver based on a possible APR induced post-season ban at Florida International University, his previous school.Smith joins previously signed guards Deandre Mathieu and Daquan McNeil as part of head coach Richard Pitino’s inaugural recruiting class at Minnesota.

“I was a pleasure to coach Malik last season at FIU and I am excited that he has decided to join the Golden Gopher program,” said head coach Richard Pitino. “His knowledge of our program on and off the court will be invaluable as we start to integrate our system here at Minnesota.”

Smith comes to the University of Minnesota after playing his junior season for Coach Pitino at FIU. He started 31 of 32 games for the Golden Panthers and was named Third Team All-Sun Belt Conference after averaging 14.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. His 451 points scored last season are the eighth-most in the history of Florida International basketball.

Smith set an FIU record for three-point field goals made in a single season with 96 treys and ranked number one in the conference and 16th nationally with an average of 3.0 three-pointers made per game. He set the Sun Belt Conference Tournament record with 15 total three-pointers made, including an 8-for-10 game in the opening round against Arkansas-Little Rock.

Prior to his junior season at FIU, Smith played his sophomore season at Jacksonville College and his freshman season at South Plains College. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game at Jacksonville, earning all-region and all-conference honors. Smith played 27 games as a freshman and averaged 5.0 points per game.

Smith, a native of Boston, Mass., led the State of Massachusetts in scoring as a senior while at Madison Park High School in Boston with an average of 26.6 points per game. He went on to play one season at Notre Dame Prep, where he averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

University of Minnesota men’s basketball head coach Richard Pitino and the Golden Gopher basketball program today announced that guard Joe Coleman has asked for, and will be granted release from his scholarship.

“Joe Coleman has made the decision to leave the Golden Gopher basketball program. We wish him the very best in the future,” said Pitino. “We appreciate the contributions he has given the program the last two years.”

Coleman played in 72 career games in Maroon and Gold, including all 34 games last season. He contributed career-highs in multiple categories as a sophomore, including points (8.7 ppg), rebounds (3.6 rpg), assists (1.5 apg), steals (1.1 spg) and minutes played (26.3 mpg). He will leave the program with career averages of 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.

The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Deandre Mathieu has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gophers.

Mathieu joins previously signed Daquan McNeil as part of head coach Richard Pitino’s inaugural recruiting class at Minnesota. Both players will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season.

“Deandre is the type of player that fits our style of play, both offensively and defensively,” said Golden Gopher head coach Richard Pitino. “He is an up-tempo point guard that does just about everything on the court, which was really evident in the numbers he put up last season. He is a great addition to our program.”  

The Knoxville, Tenn. native was an NJCAA First-Team All-American for Central Arizona College last season. He averaged 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists on the way to being named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Mathieu helped lead the Vaqueros to the second round of the NJCAA Division 1 Tournament. He scored a season-high 29 points in a win at Eastern Arizona College, and also posted a pair of 28-point games during the season. He finished the season shooting 52 percent from the field.

Prior to arriving at Central Arizona, Mathieu walked on at Morehead State. He played in 29 games as a freshman, starting the last seven games of the 2011-12 season. 

Mathieu is a graduate of Knoxville Central High School. 

University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino today announced the addition of former Golden Gopher guard Ben Johnson to his coaching staff.

“I have been impressed with what I have personally seen and heard from a variety of knowledgeable people when they talk about Ben Johnson,” said Pitino. “In addition to being a proud Minnesota alum, he brings the work ethic I am looking for and a knowledge of the university, the Midwest and the Big Ten Conference.”  

Johnson returns to his hometown and alma mater after spending one season as an assistant coach on Tim Miles’ University of Nebraska staff. While with the Huskers, the former Gopher captain assisted in all-day-to-day basketball-related duties while also serving as recruiting coordinator. Johnson also led the development of Nebraska’s backcourt players.

Prior to his role at Nebraska, Johnson spent four seasons on the staff at Northern Iowa. The Panthers went a combined 93-77 in that timeframe, winning at least 20 games in all four years. The four-straight 20-win seasons is the longest stretch in program history, reaching postseason play in all four years, including a run to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2009-10. That year, UNI won a school-record 30 games and upset top-seeded Kansas in the second round.

During his tenure at UNI, the Panthers boasted three first-team All-MVC selections, including 2010 Missouri Valley Conference MVP Adam Koch in 2010. Four players were named to the MVC All-Freshmen or All-Newcomer teams, including a pair in 2011-12.

Prior to his stay at Northern Iowa, Johnson served as an assistant coach for two seasons at the University of Texas-Pan American. He was heavily involved in recruiting, worked with the Broncos perimeter players and coordinated UTPA’s summer camps. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton during the 2005-06 season.

Johnson’s coaching career began at the University of Dayton, where he served as a graduate assistant during the 2005-06 season.

Johnson started his collegiate playing career at Northwestern and played two seasons before returning to the Twin Cities to finish his career. He was a two-time captain at Minnesota and finished with 533 points in 59 games in Maroon and Gold. He scored a total of 1,202 career points between the two Big Ten Conference institutions. 

The Minneapolis native enjoyed a standout prep career, leading DeLaSalle High School to a pair of state championships. He was a two-time first-team all-state selection in both football and basketball, and as a senior, was named a Street & Smith All-American, as well as an honorable mention Nike All-American.

He was listed as the 60th-best basketball player in the country by Bob Gibbons in his senior season, totaling more than 2,200 points during his high school career. Johnson also was listed on Tom Lemming’s High School Football All-American list as a top-20 national recruit and was a two-time all-state performer on the gridiron.

Experience

University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino today announced the first members of his staff, assistant coaches Mike Balado and Kimani Young.

“I am excited about the additions of coach Balado and coach Young to our staff at the University of Minnesota,” said Pitino. “Both of these guys played a huge part in our turnaround at Florida International. They are well respected within the coaching community as terrific recruiters and leaders of student-athletes.”

Mike Balado Bio:

Balado comes to the Twin Cities after spending one season on Coach Pitino’s staff at Florida International University (FIU). While at FIU, Baldo assisted with all aspects of the program, most notably recruiting, scheduling and academic monitoring, as well as practice and game preparation.

Prior to his time in South Florida, Balado spent three seasons at High Point University as an assistant coach. His main role at High Point was as the program’s recruiting coordinator and played a key role in recruiting the program’s first two classes under head coach Scott Cherry. That class helped HPU to 17 wins overall this season, including 12 conference victories and the program’s first Big South Conference’s North Division title since moving to NCAA Division I prior to the 1999-2000 season.

Balado joined the HPU staff after spending the 2008-09 season on the University of Miami basketball staff in player development as a graduate assistant. That year the Hurricanes compiled a 19-13 record and a trip to the National Invitation Tournament.

Prior to coaching at Miami, Balado spent three years on the Florida Atlantic University basketball staff. In Balado’s first season at FAU in 2005-06, the team posted its second-consecutive winning season, the first time since the early 1990s that the Owls had consecutive winning seasons. In 2006-07, the Owls won 10 Sun Belt Conference games, the third-most for a first-year Sun Belt member. The team also set a program scoring record, averaging 74.9 points per game. The Owls went 15-18 and 8-10 in Sun Belt Conference play in 2007-08.

Balado spent two seasons at Miami Dade College before taking the post at FAU. While at Miami Dade, he helped lead the Sharks to back-to-back winning seasons, including a program-best 27-5 mark, en route to the conference championship. He recruited four of MDC’s 2004-05 All-Conference selections, including thePlayer of the Year.

Balado began his collegiate coaching career at Augusta (Ga.) State University where he served as a graduate assistant from 1998-2000.

Balado played collegiately for two seasons at St. Thomas University in Miami, where he was a two-year starter and team captain, and two seasons at Warner Southern College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1998 from St. Thomas and added a master’s of education in exercise and sport science from Augusta State in 2000.

Balado and his wife Alicia are the proud parents of twins, Aiden and Adalina.

Experience

Kimani Young Bio:

Young also comes to Gold Country after spending last season on Coach Pitino’s staff at Florida International University (FIU). Young assisted with all aspects of the program including recruiting, scouting of opponents and practice and game preparation. He was also in charge of creating and running individual training sessions for the guards and coordinated community service activities for the program.

Young arrived at FIU after two stints (2006-08 & 2009-12) at New Heights Youth, Inc. in New York City as the program’s athletic director. While at New Heights, Young managed all aspects of the basketball program, including the athletic budget, and built relationships within the basketball community.

In between stints at New Heights, Young spent one season at St. John’s University as the program’s head team manager and video coordinator. He coordinated film exchange with opponents and oversaw the taping of all games and practices for the 2008-09 season. Young was also heavily involved in coordinating the team’s community service activities in the New York City area.

Working with youth is a passion for Young. He has served as the center director for the Police Athletic League of NYC at the Wynn Center (2005-06), assistant center director for the Police Athletic League at Miccio Center (2001-05), a therapeutic recreation assistant at Jewish Board of Family Children Services Kaplan House (1999-2000 and 2001-06) and the program director at Aim High Foundation/S. Carter AAU program in Brooklyn (1998-2000 and 2001-06).

A graduate of Texas-El Paso in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Young starred on the hardwood for UTEP and legendary coach Don Haskins from 1993-97. He finished his tenure with the Miners as one of only 22 all-time players to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. Young enrolled at UTEP after starring as an all-city performer for Forest Hills High School in Queens, earning honorable mention McDonald’s All-America honors as a senior in 1992.

Experience