Gophers men's basketball gets added depth at forward with arrival of Kris Keinys of Lithuania

The arrival of Lithuanian forward Kris Keinys this week adds to the deepest position on the Gophers men's basketball team for next season.

After getting his student visa approved to travel to the U.S., Keinys is joining the Gophers for their final week of summer practice. The 6-8 freshman signed in late June with coach Ben Johnson's 2023 class that includes Cameron Christie and walk-on Erick Reader.

"He's going to be another exciting young player for us to develop," Johnson told the Star Tribune. "He's a legit 6-8, long and a really good athlete. He's skilled and can shoot it. Playing in Lithuania in the pro league, he's not going to be fazed. He's hungry to push guys and compete."

Keinys is expected to provide depth at wing and power forward. He'll be competing with sophomore Joshua Ola-Joseph, redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts and redshirt junior Isaiah Ihnen.

"There's a lot of versatility, a lot of options and a lot of size," Johnson said. "You look at all four of those guys. They're at least 6-7 with good size and good length. I think in our league when you have that 3-4 [position] that has size and combined with skill, it's big."

Ola-Joseph, who averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds, started 24 games at forward as a freshman last season. Betts (redshirt) and Ihnen (knee injury) sat out last season, but they're two of the best outside shooters on the team and have 7-foot wingspans.

The Gophers' frontcourt appears set with top returning scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia, a 6-11 junior, and Pharrel Payne, a 6-9 sophomore. But there will be several options on the wing this season.

Johnson hasn't mentioned redshirting as a possibility yet for Keinys.

"I really like what we've got," Johnson said. "Being able to have depth at that spot feels good. I haven't even talked to him about [redshirting]. All of that stuff will play out. We won't even look at that until we get going in October."

In 2022-23, Keinys played for Neptūnas-Akvaservis in the NKL (National Basketball League), a minor league in Lithuania. He averaged 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 38 games. He also averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Lithuania's U18 team in the European Championships last year.

"The Gophers were the best program for me," Keinys said this summer. "Everything is built here to make you better every day. We will have a strong team. Ben Johnson is a very good coach. I know that he can take me to another level as a player and a person."