Gopher Basketball All-Time Great Finds First NBA Home

Former Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball head coach Ben Johnson had very few wins during his four seasons running the show in Dinkytown. In that time, Ben’s Golden Gophers went 56-71 overall (22-57 in Big Ten play).

While Johnson was head coach, Minnesota failed to make any NCAA Tournaments, settling for one NIT appearance in 2023-24, the only season his Gophers finished with a winning record (19-15).

But you know what would’ve made Ben Johnson’s four years at the U of M even worse? If he wouldn’t have been able to convince Prior Lake’s Dawson Garcia to come home back in 2022, and stay for the rest of his collegiate career, despite continuous large NIL offers elsewhere.

Dawson Garcia signing with Detroit Pistons

Three years later, Dawson Garcia ranks near the top of most career University of Minnesota men’s basketball statistical categories (see below). And on Friday, according to Darren Wolfson (KSTP), the an undrafted Garcia found his next basketball home, agreeing to terms on a contract with the Detroit Pistons, where he will play NBA summer league ball next month.

Told Garcia agreed to a deal with Detroit. He had a good pre-draft workout and visit with the Pistons. All he needs is a chance and he’ll have that. #Gophers https://t.co/4S8fLxAqeN

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) June 27, 2025

Related: Total Minnesota Gophers MBB RevShare + NIL Budget Revealed for 2025-26

The University of Minnesota men’s basketball program has a relatively star-studded history, some of which has been deleted, due to the late-90s cheating scandal that the Gophers have yet to recover from, 25 years later.

But no matter how messy the Gopher MBB record books are, there’s no doubt Dawson Garcia will go down as one of the all-time greats to play in Dinkytown, even if the team results were never there.

Dawson stayed home for the next three seasons, despite NIL offers each offseason worth double what he was making in Minnesota. As a Golden Gopher, the 6’11” stretch big racked up 1557 points (17.5 PPG), 621 rebounds (7.0 RPG), 171 assists (1.9 APG), 65 steals and 32 blocks.

💥 31 PTS
💥 13-19 FG
💥 6 REB
💥 3 BLK

Dawson Garcia recorded his 5th straight 20+ point game in @GopherMBB's upset over No. 15 Oregon 😤#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/UrspRhvAkt

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 26, 2025

Where does Garcia belong in Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball history

Garcia ended his U of M career as one of the most decorated Gophers of all-time, finishing just outside the top 10 in points, behind guys like Quincy Lewis (1614), Kevin McHale (1704), Sam Jacobson (1709) and Nate Mason (1731).

He finished his career with the highest usage percentage of any Gopher, ever (though that stat leader category at sports-reference is incomplete prior to 2011), higher than Marcus Carr (26.5), Daniel Oturu (26.4) and Rick Rickert (25.5). Garcia also ranks second all time in U of M history in defensive rebounds, behind only Jordan Murphy (890).

After arriving on campus before the 2022-23 season, Garcia became the only constant on Ben Johnson’s roster for the next three years, until he was ultimately fired. He stayed, while everyone else left, taking multiple smaller NIL deals, to do so. For that alone, Dawson Garcia deserves a place in Gopher basketball fan hearts forever.

Now, we will find out if he has what it takes to make it in the league, something few Minnesota Gophers in modern history have done.