Gophers men's basketball coach Niko Medved and his staff were searching hard for their future center, and that work finally paid off Wednesday with a commitment from Central Arkansas transfer Nehemiah Turner.

The 6-10, 265-pound sophomore-to-be should be a strong candidate to start in the middle for Medved, who has one of the top signed transfer classes in the Big Ten.

Turner, who visited the Gophers this week, averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in 18.1 minutes as a freshman last season.

An Auburndale, Fla., native, Turner opened eyes nationally when he scored 37 points on 13-for-15 shooting and added 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in a 77-72 victory over Stetson on March 2 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.

Turner averaged 18.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 blocks in 29.3 minutes in his last 10 games this past season, which included 24 points vs. Lipscomb and 23 points on 11-for-14 free throw shooting vs. Austin Peay.

Turner and 6-8, 260-pound San Jose State transfer Robert Vaihola will likely share center duties for the Gophers. Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is expected to be the team's top option at forward.

The Gophers have signed six transfers this spring, including Northern Colorado's Langston Reynolds, Davidson's Bobby Durkin, Cal's B.J. Omot and Western Michigan's Chansey Willis Jr.