Minnesota vs. South Dakota State: Nate Wolters not mad about local team passing on him

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have looked pretty solid this thus far - their only loss came to the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils - but they face a rather difficult task against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Tuesday night. Normally that matchup wouldn't sound daunting, but the Jacks feature a Minnesotan that's becoming pretty prominent in NBA circles.

Nate Wolters, a former high school standout from St. Cloud, wasn't recruited by the Gophers out of college but has earned quite a bit of praise while playing in Brookings after leading the Summit League standouts to the NCAA tournament last year.

The 6-foot-4 guard believes that not being recruited by Minnesota isn't a bad thing, though, as he told the Argus Leader's Terry Vandrovec that it likely worked out better to get the minutes on what's perceived as a lesser team:

"I've played a lot of minutes. I don't think I would have gotten that opportunity if I went to a high-major school and sat a couple of years. I may just be playing right now. It's made me a way better player."

Minnesota is currently riding a 15-0 winning streak against the Jackrabbits and they've won their last three contests against South Dakota State by a combined margin of 64 points.