Minnesota Basketball: Isaac Asuma returning for 2026-27 season
Minnesota guard Isaac Asuma will be back in the maroon and gold for a third season.
On Tuesday, Dinkytown Athletics announced that the Cherry (MN) native will be returning for the 2026-27 season.
Asuma is in the midst of wrapping up his sophomore season with the Golden Gophers. He’s played and started in all 32 games, averaging 34.5 minutes per contest. In his 32 games played, Asuma has averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per contest while shooting 40.0% the field.
The 6-foot-3 guard was Minnesota’s No. 2 guard throughout the season behind Langston Reynolds, who averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. With Reynolds exhausting his eligibility this season, Asuma is in line for a potentially bigger role within the Minnesota offense next season, though the Gophers are likely to address the position as well via the transfer portal.
What it means for Minnesota
After securing their frontcourt in Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Grayson Grove, and Bobby Durkin, the Gophers have now secured a key piece of their backcourt for next season.
Asuma enters the Crown tournament as Minnesota’s No. 4 scorer this season, taking a big step forward as a scorer after averaging 5.6 points per game last season.
An increased offensive style this season from Asuma did lead to some struggles. He saw his overall shooting percentage drop from 43.7% to 40.0% while his three-point percentage fell from 35.7% to 31.0%. One area he did improve in was at the free-throw line, seeing his percentage jump from 63.6% to 76.6%.
Defensively, Asuma is middle of the pack, but offers plenty of room for development. This season, his defensive rating is 109.4, which ranks sixth on the Gophers and third among regulars, only behind Grayson Grove and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson.
