The Gophers men’s basketball team added some depth to its corps of frontcourt players Friday when it signed 6-foot-10 Antoine Broxsie. The center/forward from Tampa, Fla., will help replace big men John Thomas and Trevor Winter, who used up their eligibility last season.
Purdue, Nebraska and Michigan heavily recruited Broxsie, who led Tampa Technical High School to a 23-4 record during his senior year. At 220 pounds, Broxsie averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks per game. He set a career high with 17 blocks against Tampa Robinson High School in his final season.
“The sky is the limit for this young man,” Gophers coach Clem Haskins said. “He has tremendous physical ability, is a great shot blocker and is very young for his class. He will be an excellent addition to our frontcourt and will give us some additional athleticism and depth in that area.”
Broxsie earned All-Florida second-team honors this year and led his team to a combined 46-10 record his junior and senior years at Technical.
The Gophers have one more scholarship to give for next season but might hold onto it for the fall signing period. Broxsie joins junior college guard Kevin Clark and swingman Kevin Nathaniel, who played in the Air Force the past three years, in the 1997-98 recruiting class.
— Todd Zolecki