Minnesota Basketball: Dawson Garcia Named Big Ten Player of the Week
University of Minnesota men’s basketball standout Dawson Garcia has been named Big Ten’s Player of the Week, as announced today by the conference office. It marks the first big…
University of Minnesota men’s basketball standout Dawson Garcia has been named Big Ten’s Player of the Week, as announced today by the conference office. It marks the first Big Ten Player of the Week honor for Garcia and Minnesota’s first since Payton Willis received the award on January 24, 2022.
In his first week of play, Garcia averaged 22.5 points when he recorded back-to-back 20-point games. He currently ranks second in the league in scoring, fifth in rebounding (10 rbg) and tied for seventh in assists (4.5 apg). In the opening game of the season last Monday against Bethune-Cookman, Garcia earned a double-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. He was one of three Big Ten individuals to record a double-double in the first game of the season.
The last Gopher to open a campaign with a double double was Daniel Oturu in 2019 (16 points, 10 rebounds vs. Cleveland State). Garcia also went 14-of-16 on free throws, the first Gopher since Marcus Carr in 2021 to score 10-plus in a game. On Friday, Garcia added his second 20-plus scoring game when he produced a team-best 22 points against UTSA. He went 7-of-14 in field goal attempts, 7-of-7 at the charity stripe, six rebounds and three assists.
