With offseason departures flourishing, how different would Gophers look if they stayed?

While the Gophers men's basketball team is battling for a berth in its own conference tournament, its top transfer portal departures from the offseason are flourishing on some of the best teams in the country.

Here's a look:

Elijah Hawkins, Texas Tech

2024-25 stats (29.6 MPG): 9.6 PPG, 6.3 APG, 2.9 RPG on 34.3/33.0/90.4 shooting splits

Hawkins was known for his playmaking at Minnesota, and he's doing the same in Lubbock, Texas. His 6.3 assists per game rank 11th best in the country, and his scoring is coming along. He is averaging 13.3 points per game over the last four games for the No. 12-ranked Red Raiders.

Pharrel Payne, Texas A&M

2024-25 stats (19.4 MPG): 9.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.5 APG on 65.8/-/57.3 shooting splits

Much like Hawkins, Payne is playing his best basketball of the season on one of the hottest teams in the country. He averaged 11.8 points per game in January, and he's coming off a 20-point performance on the road against Missouri. He has only started nine out of 23 games for the No. 8 Aggies, which raises the question of how different his role could've been if he remained at Minnesota.

Cam Christie, G League (Los Angeles Clippers)

2024-25 G-League stats (31.7 MPG): 16.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG on 41.0/29.8/83.0 shooting splits
2024-25 NBA stats (5.8 MPG): 1.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.4 APG on 22.2/16.7/50.0 shooting splits

Christie opted to enter the NBA draft instead of returning to college, and he has spent much of this season in the NBA's G League. He is still only 19 years old and the youngest player in the league. Christie has showcased his potential in the G League, but he's still likely a few years away from being a serious rotation player at the pro level.

Subscribe to our free YouTube channel for fresh Gophers content

Joshua Ola-Joseph, Cal

2024-25 stats (18.1 MPG): 7.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.3 APG on 45.5/36.7/71.1 shooting splits

Ola-Joseph's role diminished during the second half of last season, so his decision to enter the transfer portal made sense to most. He has appeared in 10 of 22 games this season at Cal for head coach Mark Madsen, and his stats are almost identical to his two seasons with the Gophers.

Braeden Carrington, Tulsa

2024-25 stats (26.8 MPG): 8.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.8 APG on 34.1/32.4/70.4 shooting splits

Carrington struggled with his shooting consistency at Minnesota, leading to a diminished role, and that has continued at Tulsa. He has showcased his potential with two seperate 20-point games this season, but he is still shooting below 35% from the field as a guard.

Minnesota's had two other transfer portal departures last offseason. Isaiah Ihnen was averaging a career-high 10.4 points per game at Liberty before suffering a third season-ending knee injury, and Kris Keinys is averaging only 6.4 minutes per game at Pacific.

It would sound like a broken record to point out how different Minnesota's 2024-25 season could've been with Hawkins, Payne or Christie back with the program, but it is interesting to hypothesize how different their seasons could've looked. Payne and Christie are the two biggest wild cards, but the answer is something we will never know.