Commitment Report: Amir Coffey
Head Coach landed a very important recruit today when Rivals 150 guard pledged his commitment to the University of Minnesota. The 6-foot-7, 185 pound Coffey took a seat in front of a large gathering of Twin Cities media members and…
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Continue ReadingHead Coach landed a very important recruit today when Rivals 150 guard pledged his commitment to the University of Minnesota.
The 6-foot-7, 185 pound Coffey took a seat in front of a large gathering of Twin Cities media members and quickly stated, “I want to thank everybody for coming out. I want to thank my parents for always supporting me. I want to thank my coaches, my trainers, and my teammates as well.
“Next year I will be attending the University of Minnesota!” Immediately after Coffey said Minnesota a big applause followed as classmates, fans, and family members who slid to the back of the room instantly showed their support.
Amir's father Richard Coffey also played at the University of Minnesota. He was one of the first recruits that Clem Haskins landed in his first days on the job. Gopher fans took a liking to the former paratrooper because of his toughness and rebounding which helped the team to the Sweet 16 in 1989 and the Elite Eight in 1990.
Richard Coffey remains in the Twin Cities as an inspirational speaker as well as a color commentator for channel 45 sports. Richard is a former Gopher but he was very open about letting Amir decide his future school on his own.
A big reason that Amir selected Minnesota was the bond formed with the Minnesota staff and players.
“For the past year I have developed a strong relationship with all of the coaches,” said Coffey. “I have a good relationship with Coach Pitino and I believe in the coaching staff that is there right now.
“I want to help this program get back to playing at a national level and I want to be one of the first (in the Pitino era) to stay home and play for the hometown team.”
Coffey took his lone official visit to the University of Minnesota along with Arkansas forward the first weekend of September. Coffey and Curry arrived on campus for the Minnesota versus TCU football game and stayed through Saturday.
Amir's bond with local players (a former Hopkins teammate), , , and (a former opponent) was built over that visit and a couple unofficial trips in the week that followed.
“The official visit helped out a lot and I have been thinking about that for the past couple weeks. After the visit I felt like the bond that I had with the coaches and players, it felt like I was supposed to be there.”
Coffey's list of offers includes Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Florida, Iowa State, Indiana, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, SMU, Texas, Wisconsin, and several others.
Coaches from SMU, Texas, Oregon, and Michigan recently met with Coffey at his school but the Hopkins, Minnesota native decided that the only official visit he would take would be to Richard Pitino's Gophers.
“I just liked the Gopher players, coaches, and school a lot,” Amir said. “It just felt right so I canceled the Texas visit.”
Coffey is a versatile 6-foot-7 guard who has spent time playing the point guard position and on the wing for Hopkins High School as well as AAU clubs D1 Minnesota and Howard Pulley. Pitino's u- tempo style of play fits Coffey perfectly.
“Minnesota runs a fast paced style of offense,” he said. “It uses a lot of ball screens and a lot of five in, five out motion. The ball is always on the move and (Pitino) wants to play me as a combo (he will play both the point guard position and shooting guard).
“Coach Pitino put together a video to show me how I would be used in their offense. So he is going to use me as a two, or as a combo guard within their offense. I'll be a combo guard that comes off of ball screens and set screens.”
As far as Richard Pitino goes, he was extremely excited to land the University of Minnesota's highest rated recruit since 2009 (). Amir will be the highest rated recruit to wear a Minnesota uniform since Kris Humprhies was a Gopher in 2003-2004 (White never played a game for Minnesota).
“Coach Pitino was really excited. actually started screaming on the phone when mid dad talked to him,” Coffey explained. “Coach Pitino was excited, our relationship is great. We talk on the phone a lot and our relationship has grown over time.
“The Gopher coaches are good people. I've been talking to them for years now and I feel comfortable with how they are going to use me as a player. I started building this relationship over two years ago and we've been talking about who they are going to help me grow as a player, and as a man.”
Amir led Hopkins to the state championship game as a sophomore averaging 15 points a game. He then scored 50 points in the first two games of his junior season but Amir tore his ACL in the first minute of game three.
Coffey battled back quickly through an exhausting rehabilitation and was on the court six months later. Amir played his first competitive game in early August scoring 56 points in the first two games of the Pacesetter Sweet 16. Coffey is now fully healthy and hopes to led the Royals back to the top of Class AAAA.
“I'm really excited for this season. I'm looking forward to joining my teammates as we push to our goal of a state championship.”
Amir joins as 2016 commitments to the Minnesota Gopher program. The pair hope Arkansas forward Eric Curry is next in line. He plans to make his college decision this Wednesday choosing between Minnesota, Iowa State, and Arkansas.