A Gophers insider told me earlier this week that former Gophers point guard Lawrence McKenzie recently received an offer from a German professional team for $60,000 a year.

McKenzie, a 6-2 guard, has been working out six days a week at a local YMCA with his father, Larry, to stay in shape. Larry McKenzie said at least seven European teams are interested in McKenzie’s services, but some of the teams want him to play point guard, while the others want him on the wing.

Larry McKenzie said his son is currently weighing his options, but he thinks Lawrence will have to prove himself as a point guard overseas, if he hopes to make a transition back to an American team. If given the chance, Larry McKenzie said Lawrence would probably be torn between plying his trade in Europe and playing in the NBA’s D-League.

-This summer, Damian Johnson has played with a ferocity that Tubby Smith would admire, but he’s not allowed to attend Johnson’s Howard Pulley pro-am games. Johnson has added 15 pounds to his frame, and he now weighs 207, but he’d like to get up to 215 by the start of the season, he said.  Al Nolen has also gained five pounds since the end of the year.

-Blake Hoffarber must be excited about the upcoming ESPYs, his second trip in three years. Johnson said he witnessed Hoffarber dunk for the first time in a recent open gym.

-After watching Colton Iverson in Howard Pulley, it’s clear to me that that Gophers should go after his clone (based on style of play): Hopkins’ Mike Broghammer.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Gophers men's basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.