Richard Pitino appreciates when Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck attends basketball games at Williams Arena in the winter.

It’s a little different, though, when Pitino and his staff show up at TCF Bank Stadium in the fall.

Gophers basketball coaches aren’t just there to support Fleck’s football team. They’re trying to host recruits and show them passionate U fans enjoying warm and welcoming weather outdoors in Minnesota.

Having a great fan atmosphere at football games is pretty important for hoops recruiting.

“For basketball coaches these weekends are huge for recruiting,” Pitino said at the state fair. “That’s why everybody needs to understand when football games are packed it helps us all. I hope it’s a great crowd on Thursday … We’ve got to take advantage of as many weekends, because it does get cold. You can scare some people coming late October.”

The Gophers are hosting two official visitors Thursday with four-star 2021 point guard Frankie Collins from Arizona Compass Prep and three-star 2020 combo guard Ty Berry from Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.).

Several in-state prospects are also expected to join the Gophers basketball team Thursday at TCF, including 2020 prospects Dawson Garcia from Prior Lake, Kerwin Walton from Hopkins, Steven Crowl from Eastview and Ben Carlson from East Ridge.