On Friday, Chase Carter received an offer from Minnesota. With that invite, Carter became the fourth in-state player in the Class of 2022 to receive one from the Gophers. The other three are Prince Aligbe, Camden Heide, and Trejuan Holloman.

Despite not having started his sophomore year of high school yet, Carter already has an impressive group of offers that include the Gophers, Florida, Vanderbilt, and Hampton. Expect more to come as interestingly enough the Commodores and Gophers both offered on the same day.

Carter's exposure to the Gopher program is not short sighted. Besides being in this elite group of 2022 prospects that have offers, he also is on the Minnehaha Academy basketball roster that includes Jalen Suggs, Chet Holmgren, and Aligbe, who are some of the most coveted prospects for Pitino.

His father, Randy, was a well-known player at Minnesota from 1991-94, and is still a household name across the state. He had 1,186 points and 736 rebounds for his career. The Gophers won the NIT under Clem Haskins in his junior season and went to the NCAA Tournament, winning 22 games his senior year.

Mr. Carter was generous enough with his time on Saturday to go in-depth about his son's game on the floor and his recruitment by Minnesota off to it.

Q: You've been around the game for a long time. Tell us what you see from him as a player right now.

Carter: "When you watch him, Chase is a kid for me that doesn't jump off the pages at you. He's just a solid all around kid. He's and IQ kid that does everything. He's. a 6-6 post player. He's a 6-6- power forward with the ability to handle the ball and shoot the three. More importantly though he's. a playmaker. The player that comes to mind when we talk about when people talk about Chase; he's a poor man's Draymond Green. When I say poor man, you understand what I'm saying. He's not there yet, not even close. But his ability at the end of any given night, Chase's typical stat line will be 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and will take 3 charges, 1 block. He's been such a late bloomer. He's still coming into his body. For me, that has been the best part of his game. He hasn't been able to rely on athleticism. He has to think the game. So footwork, post moves, understanding where everybody is on the floor, kind of like a point forward."

Q: You're game progressed too from the early stages as well. Do you see the similarities with how you improved?

Carter: "Yeah, and he's developing like me. Right now, most people say he plays just like I did, but in my thirties. That's where his game is at like it was patient it was seeing what was going on and set up, and that was the way I played. But in high school it's coming along. I didn't really start playing big time varsity until I was a junior. I played as a sophomore, but it was spare minutes. It was go set the screen, rebound for these dudes, do things like that. So all of a sudden as a junior, I pick up twenty-five or thirty scholarship offers when my time came. So Chase is definitely a late bloomer, and he's still coming. He's just going into his sophomore year."

Q: He's got four high major offers and he's not started his sophomore year, so there's obviously a lot of talent there.

Carter: "There's a lot of potential there. When you watch this kid play, and the little things that he does, it's like I see if this kid continues to develop this is going to be a problem. I think that's what people are seeing. I'm probably his biggest critic. I'm like we've got to do better. We've got to do better. So right now he has to continue to push himself and develop. I think a lot of this is still based on potential because his upside is what's crazy."

Q: Going to Minnehaha and playing with Jalen, Chet, Prince, and all of those guys; how do you think that will help him?

Carter: "For sure the challenge of practicing. The challenge of practice everyday where you're playing against Jalen and Chet and Prince. We have the number one football player in the state. He play's basketball. I coach at Minnehaha, so practices are definitely more intense, more physical. We've had to sit down and have a conversation like we'd love to have you at Minnehaha, but Minnehaha is going to be an adjustment. It's going to be tough. This isn't about dad. This is your way. He's walking away from playing thirty minutes a night to having to fight for play8ing time with these guys. In the long run I think it is going to be a good thing. It's going to prepare him because initially, I think he is going to have some frustrating days over there against see studs. He's playing against some studs every night in practice."

Q: How did the Minnesota interest come about and how has that come along?

Carter: "Minnesota has been in contact with us for awhile. I'm a Gopher, so I'm around the program from time to time. We go to games and things like that. So things are always asked about Chase. I think Pitino first met Chase when he was nine, so he's seen him over there and things like that. So when he got into this recruiting class they were like 'Hey,, bring Chase over, let him tour the campus,' and things like that. So when the kids come over, I think for the Gophers the thing that their trying to do now that's a little different is that theiy're going after the kids younger as opposed to waiting.

Here is what is happening with guys now. Your hometown school cannot extend you an offer after you have ten others. It just doesn't carry the same weight. So I think Pitino, Jeter, and those other guys are trying to do a better job at catching theses kids young now because Minnesota is a hot spot. It just is. Players are coming out of here that can play, and they're going all over the place. I think their philosophy now is to find a way to keep these kids at home. I get it because I think a lot of theses college coaches are reluctant to offer a kid before they play a game as a sophomore, and it makes sense. But by the same token, you don't want to be late to that party and offer a kid after ten other schools have offered. Now your offer is not special anymore."

Note - Chase Carter is No. 21 for Sizzle in the following video.