Ganden Gosch had a tricky resolution to make throughout his recruiting course of.
The Mankato East standout performs soccer and basketball and was a robust faculty prospect in each sports activities. However given the timing of the 2 seasons, he knew he’d have to decide on one on the subsequent stage.
“I like each (sports activities) equally,” Gosch mentioned. “I used to be pondering rather a lot … it was undoubtedly exhausting.”
Gosch, a senior, made the choice to go together with basketball earlier this summer time, committing to remain dwelling and play at Minnesota State.
Gosch mentioned he was break up between pursuing soccer and basketball till his basketball recruitment picked up this summer time, together with a number of gives from faculties within the Northern Solar Intercollegiate Convention.
He additionally thought of Sioux Falls and Mary for basketball, however the path turned clear when MSU supplied.
Gosch attended a number of MSU video games final season and mentioned he watched each sport within the playoff run that culminated in this system’s first nationwide championship.
Carson Schweim, who graduated from East within the spring and can play basketball at MSU this season, helped Gosch study extra about this system. Gosch has already completed some exercises with MSU gamers and has sturdy relationships with the coaches.
“They’ve an amazing neighborhood, they’ve an amazing fan base. It simply felt proper,” Gosch mentioned of MSU. “They clearly received a nationwide championship. …
“I am going into one thing I do know.”
Gosch is coming off an amazing junior basketball season, his second as a starter for the Cougars. He averaged 10 factors, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per sport en path to incomes All-Huge 9 Convention honors. East completed second within the Class AAA match, and Gosch was on the all-tournament staff.
In his sophomore season, he averaged 10 factors, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a pair of steals, garnering all-conference honorable point out.
Gosch is already top-10 in program historical past in assists (190, tenth) and steals (119, sixth). He’ll seemingly make it there in each factors and rebounds by the tip of his senior season.
At 6-foot-5, Gosch has the scale to play inside, however can also be nimble sufficient to play on the perimeter, which has allowed him to publish sturdy numbers in practically each statistical class.
“The sport has developed extra into position-less basketball, it was once very structured,” Mankato East coach Joe Madson mentioned. “The position-less basketball helps guys who can do a number of issues, Ganden being one in every of them.”
Added Gosch: I can play one by way of 4, figuring out all of the positions. I can guard one by way of 4. … It may assist me out rather a lot.”
From a bodily standpoint, Madson feels Gosch is already ready to play in opposition to faculty gamers, and expects his sport to get extra refined as a senior.
Madson will nonetheless use Gosch in a hybrid function that takes benefit of his various skillset, however mentioned he’ll in all probability get extra probabilities to attain within the publish as a senior.
“He is only a matchup nightmare in opposition to a variety of different staff’s huge guys as a result of he is faster,” Madson mentioned. “In the event that they put somebody small and faster on him, he is simply going to be greater and stronger.”
Coming off back-to-back state match appearances, East gamers are persevering with to thrive on the faculty stage.
Together with Schweim, 2022 Mankato East graduate Puolrah Gong will even be on the MSU roster this season. When Gosch is a freshman in 2025-26, there could possibly be three former Cougars enjoying for the Mavericks.
“All of us got here out of the identical program, all of us went to state — we’re simply a lot alike,” Gosch mentioned. “It’s going to be actually cool.”
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