Gophers guard Tyler Cochran to miss time after minor foot surgery

Gophers men's basketball transfer guard Tyler Cochran underwent "minor" foot surgery last week and will miss some time to start the season, with the U aiming to get him back in December, coach Ben Johnson said on Tuesday.

Cochran, a sixth-year senior, transferred to the U in late June out of Toledo. The guard started 26-of-32 games for the Rockets last season and averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Cochran figured to be a key contributor, and potentially a starter, for the Gophers this season. Johnson said he's emerged as a team leader.

"Thankfully, we have some pretty good depth, especially at the guard spot, so we're not going to rush him back," Johnson said. "Make sure that he's back 100%, but still expect when he's here in practice to still have that voice and still have that leadership and kind of that veteran leadership mentality that he has."

“We’re not going to rush him back.

Thankfully we got some really good depth, especially at the guard position.” pic.twitter.com/Dl5tK0OQig
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) October 8, 2024

In addition to returning starting shooting guard Mike Mitchell Jr., the Gophers have added a number of guard transfers this offseason in Lu'Cye Patterson, Brennan Rigsby, Femi Odukale and Caleb Williams. They're also bringing in freshman point guard Isaac Asuma and sophomore Max Sheridan, who served as a student manager for the team last season.

The Gophers certainly have depth at the guard position, but the loss of Cochran's veteran presence is still a tough early blow. Cochran has 115 games of experience across his five collegiate seasons and has career averages of 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists across stints with Northern Illinois, Ball State and Toledo.