Gophers guard Braeden Carrington taking leave from program to 'put myself first'

Gophers starting guard Braeden Carrington is taking time away from the basketball program for personal reasons, he announced Tuesday.

A sophomore and former Minnesota Mr. Basketball at Park Center, Carrington posted on his social media pages: "There's areas of my life I am looking to improve and must step away from the program and put myself first. I plan on returning to the team when the time is right."

The Gophers later announced Carrington was taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on mental health.

"Braeden showed a lot of courage," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Tuesday's 101-65 win vs. IUPUI. "For him to be able to understand himself and where he's at, I'm extremely proud as a coach to have a guy who has the toughness to admit 'I need a break.'"

Last season, Carrington missed nine games because of injuries and illness, but he showed promise as a freshman, including a career-high 20 points vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Carrington averaged 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10 starts this season. He played a big role in the comeback victory against Nebraska in the Big Ten home opener with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes.

As the team's best perimeter defender, Carrington also shut down Nebraska's top scorer Keisei Tominaga, who only had four points on 0-for-5 shooting from the field.

But Carrington was limited to six minutes in the second half of Saturday's 77-57 win against Florida Gulf Coast. He was dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered vs. Nebraska.

Johnson wouldn't say when he spoke to Carrington about needing time away from the Gophers, but he expects him to still be around his teammates.

"From our standpoint, we're going to give him as much time as he needs and as much support as he needs," Johnson said. "He's obviously going to still be around our team and around our guys."