Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson went to practice on Monday knowing that he won’t have starting point guard Mike Mitchell Jr. for Wednesday night’s game against North Texas.
By the time practice started, he knew it will probably be worse. Johnson started his media access on Tuesday by listing the players who weren’t able to go on Tuesday: Mike Mitchell (ankle) is out; so are big man Frank Mitchell (shoulder); guard Kadyn Betts (heel); and, gulp, forward Dawson Garcia (groin).
“Everybody talks about wanting to have a big role, and you want to be able to do certain things, especially offensively,” Johnson said. “Well, when a guy’s down, it’s time to step up.”
Or in this case, make that plural.
Mike Mitchell is out for at least two weeks, Johnson said, with a badly sprained ankle. Frank Mitchell “hasn’t done much of anything” since dislocating his right shoulder in an exhibition game against Hamline. Betts has a heel injury, and Garcia has a groin injury that appeared to bother him at times last Saturday.
In addition, Johnson said Saturday that Caleb Williams, a senior transfer from Macalester, has mononucleosis and isn’t practicing, either.
“I know this,” Johnson said. “The guys that were able to go yesterday are locked in and learned a valuable lesson from (the) last game.”
In that last game, the Gophers had to grit out a four-point victory over Omaha after trailing at halftime, and most of the second half. Johnson said his players overlooked the Summit League team, and senior forward Parker Fox agreed.
“There’s always key games where you get punched in the mouth a little bit, and you either lose or you find ways to adjust,” Fox said. “And luckily, this one came with a win; we didn’t have to lose a game to kind of realize that.”
Mike Mitchell landed badly after a steal and layup attempt in the second half of Saturday’s 68-64 victory over Nebraska Omaha and had to be helped off the floor.
“It just depends on what type of healer he is,” Johnson said. “Obviously, we won’t have him for this week, and probably next week. But then after that, it’s kind of (seeing) where he’s at, where the ankle’s at.”
As for Garcia, the team’s leader and leading scorer — he has averaged 27 points in the Gophers’ two games — he might be able to play against the Mean Green, 2-0 after wins over Evansville and Wayland Baptist.
On the other hand, Johnson said, “You’ve got to think short term and long term. We definitely want to be smart with something like that. If he can go, great; that means he’s feeling good. And if he can’t, we’ll figure it out like we always have.”
The Gophers (2-0) have four nonconference games at home before they travel to Orlando, Fla., for the ESPN Events Invitation to play Wichita State on Nov. 28, then either Florida or Wake Forest on the 29th. Then after a Dec. 1 game against Bethune Cookman, the Gophers open their Big Ten Conference slate at home against Michigan State on Dec. 4.
If Garcia can’t play, Johnson said, the Gophers might go small against North Texas on Wednesday, with four perimeter players and a center.
“The one benefit of it not being league games these next couple is you have a chance to go small, and you’re not going against two guys that are 6-10 at the 4 and the 5 (positions),” Johnson said. “So, we’ll have to do that. We’ll have to be smart with our rotations, but that will probably be what we look at.”
Minnesota Gophers Men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson talks to the media before the teams practice at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Oct 8, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
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