Star Gophers forward to return for senior season

The Gophers got some much-deserved good news Thursday when second-team All-Big Ten forward Dawson Garcia announced his plans to return to the program for his final season of college basketball.

“I take extreme pride and gratitude in wearing “Minnesota” across my chest,” Garcia said. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to run it back one last time and represent this state. Let’s make it a special year Gopher nation!

The Savage, Minnesota native averaged a career and team-high 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game a season ago. After transferring from Marquette and North Carolina back home, he has dealt with some minor injuries through two seasons, but he has performed like the McDonald’s All-American he was dubbed back in 2020.

After Pharrel Payne, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Braeden Carrington and Isaiah Ihnen all announced their intention to enter the transfer portal last week, many fans were nervous about what the 2024-25 season could look like. Dawson Garcia is now the first domino to fall in restoring faith back into Gophers’ fans in hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament bid next season.

I fully expect Elijah Hawkins to follow suit and join Garcia next season, while Cam Christie is no guarantee, but if he were to leave, I am pretty confident in thinking it would only be for the NBA. Christie will have until April 13th to announce if he would like to test the Draft waters, so that is an important day to mark down.

Overall, if Hawkins and Christie join Garcia next season, this team will have the core to be competitive in the Big Ten once again. One splash in the portal could raise their ceiling dramatically while addressing some team needs could get them back to the level fans had hoped if the entire team from a season ago returned. With a tournament appearance next season, Garcia has a chance to cement himself amongst some all-time great Minnesota big men.