Time is running out to see one of the greatest Gophers men’s basketball players at Williams Arena. Senior forward Dawson Garcia has two remaining home games in his collegiate career, Tuesday against Northwestern and March 5 versus Wisconsin.
That’s it.
Minnesota (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten) sits 14th in the conference, and given his enormous impact it could be a nightmare to think where the U would be without its 6-foot-11 go-to scorer and unquestioned leader in the locker room.
“(He) has just given everything to me, to this program,” head coach Ben Johnson said last week. “(He) takes a ton of pride in, obviously, setting the bar and the standard for what we want to be about from here moving forward. And he has done it on and off the floor.”
Here are nine reasons to appreciate what Garcia has meant to the Gophers in his three seasons in Dinkytown:
Record book
Garcia has amassed 1,467 points so far from 2022-25, and he is on the verge of becoming one of the top 10 scorers in program history — a club currently composed almost exclusively of four-year players.
Garcia scored a combined 495 points during his freshman year at Marquette and sophomore season at North Carolina. If those points came when he was wearing maroon and gold, he would be threatening the U’s top all-time scorer, Mychal Thompson, who racked up 1,992 points from 1975-78.
“He’d be looking at setting a bar,” Johnson said. “In today’s culture, I don’t know how many times it’s going to get passed. … He has been super productive.”
He stuck around
A McDonald’s All-American from Savage, Garcia went elsewhere early in his career, but then remained loyal to the U despite much-more lucrative NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities at other marquee programs in the offseason.
“Anytime you get a step on this floor, wear the Minnesota uniform, it’s a pleasure,” Garcia said. “It’s an honor.”
A top scorer
Garcia’s 19.4 points per game puts him in a tie for third-highest scorer in the Big Ten this season, only 0.3 behind Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli and Wisconsin’s John Tonje.
The Badgers and Wildcats games at The Barn over the next week figure to play a big role in who might capture the Big Ten scoring title.
Garcia’s point totals have come with him atop the scouting report, with teams using different ways to try to slow him down. Sometimes opponents will sag, or downright not guard another Gophers player and throw double teams at Garcia.
“It is like that chess match every game to figure out, ‘All right, how is he being defended? How can we get him open?’ ” Johnson said. “College is not like the NBA, when you can just sit dudes in help (defense). It makes it a lot harder.”
Solid teammate
Gophers guard Lu’Cye Patterson of Minneapolis and Garcia have known each other since the third grade. But since Patterson transferred back home, the pair have been able to share constructive criticism with each other without taking it personally.
“Dawson is probably one of the realest people I know,” Patterson said. “From what I learned this year … he just wants to win. You know, he’s doing anything to win.”
That includes being a decoy of sorts against Southern California, scoring only seven points in the Gophers’ upset victory. But he didn’t let it faze him, he didn’t force shots, and he came back with a season-high 32 points in the upset of UCLA a few days later.
“You’ve got no issues; he’s no-maintenance,” Johnson said. “And that’s so hard these days to find a guy with his ability and match with his character.”
Off the court, too
An academic all-Big Ten honoree, Garcia was the program’s most active player when it came to a partnership with Team IMPACT and Rochester cancer patient Josh Hansen over the past few years, going out of his way to visit Hansen in his hometown and forming a genuine bond.
Indelible moment
Garcia joked last week about how he demanded the ball “nine” times before he finally got it at the end of an overtime against then-No. 20 Michigan on Jan. 16. Garcia then buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the block “M” logo to win it — a huge clutch moment.
Steady improvement
Garcia’s scoring average has gone up in his three seasons at the U — 15.3 to 17.6 to 19.4. So has have rebounding numbers, 6.7 in each of his first two years to 7.5 this season, and his 3-point shooting, which now sits at 35.4%.
Johnson pointed out how Garcia has gotten better with his (right) off hand, his decision making and his confidence as a shooter.
Underrated defender
Garcia averages 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals per game, but his defense is more fundamental than just those stats.
“We can switch 1 through 5 with him, and he’s 6-11,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if he gets enough credit for that.”
A pro game
While Garcia has stayed in college for five years, Johnson sees the 23-year-old becoming a player who will stick around in the NBA.
“Somebody’s gonna get him at whatever time he chooses to go,” Johnson said. “And they’re gonna get a guy who’s going to help impact winning.”
Minnesota Gophers forward Parker Fox (23), left, and Minnesota Gophers forward Dawson Garcia (3) try to stop Penn State Nittany Lions forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser (14) in the second half of a NCAA Men’s basketball game at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb. 22 2025. The Penn State Nittany Lions beat the Gophers, 69-60. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Minnesota Gophers forward Dawson Garcia (3), Gopher guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (2) and Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) dive for the loose ball in the second half of a NCAA Men’s basketball game at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb. 22 2025. The Penn State Nittany Lions beat the Gophers, 69-60. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
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