Gophers lose starting point guard for the season

Minnesota will be without Chansey Willis Jr. for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Nov 18, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Chansey Willis Jr. (0) works around Chicago State Cougars guard Chauncey Gibson (5) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Starting Gophers point guard Chansey Willis Jr. has been ruled out for the season due to a foot injury. Head coach Niko Medved announced the news on the coaches’ show on Tuesday.

BREAKING: Gophers starting PG Chansey Willis Jr. will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury, Niko Medved announced today.

He started the first 7 games of the season, averaging 6.3p, 3.0r and 3.3a per game. They will pursue a medical redshirt.… pic.twitter.com/fzgAgzMD47

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) December 2, 2025

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Willis started the first seven games of the season for Minnesota before leaving last week's game against Stanford early, which limited him to only four minutes. He averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 26.7 minutes per game. His 2.4 steals per game ranked 34th-best in the country.

Willis was one of 13 players Medved added to his first Gophers roster in the offseason. He averaged 16.8 points per game last season at Western Michigan after beginning his career at Division-II Saginaw Valley State. He had two years of eligibility remaining entering this season, and Medved says they plan to pursue a medical redshirt, so he could still have two years left heading into 2026-27.

Minnesota started Northern Colorado transfer Langston Reynolds in Willis's place against Santa Clara. Their starting backcourt will now likely be Reynolds and Isaac Asuma for the remainder of the season. True freshman Kai Shinholster is their top option off the bench.

Maryland transfer guard Chance Stephens is already out indefinitely with a unique health concern, and Cal transfer B.J. Omot has missed every regular-season game this season due to injury. Omot is expected to return at some point, but emergency guard Maximus Gizzi, or even walk-ons RJ Spencer and Max Lorenson, could begin to factor in if Minnesota has another injury to its backcourt. Starting center Robert Vaihola has missed the last three games due to injury as well.

The banged-up Gophers will be back in action on Wednesday night, and they will look to break a three-game losing streak. They will host first-year head coach Darian DeVries and the Indiana Hoosiers in their Big Ten opener at Williams Arena.