Gophers' Dawson Garcia returns from ankle injury with stronger supporting cast

Getting Dawson Garcia back healthy from an ankle injury before Big Ten play resumes was always the ideal situation for Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson.

A late Christmas gift arrived Thursday, when Johnson announced Garcia is available to play Friday against Maine. The Gophers (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) have one last nonconference warmup before traveling to play Jan. 4 at Michigan.

"He looks really good," Johnson said. "He'll be ready to roll for sure."

Sitting their leading scorer and rebounder the past three games helped the Gophers with Garcia's recovery, while also developing the rest of the team in the process.

"We had to step up and become more of a presence as far as scoring with Dawson out," point guard Elijah Hawkins said.

The 6-11 junior is averaging 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, but he suffered a left ankle injury in the first half Dec. 6 against Nebraska.

Last season, the Gophers went 0-5 in Big Ten games Garcia missed because of a bone bruise in his right foot. This season, the Gophers went 4-0 without Garcia's help. That includes when Garcia was limited to seven scoreless minutes after rolling his ankle in the 76-65 comeback win vs. Nebraska at home.

The Gophers recently have leaned on the backcourt of Hawkins, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Cam Christie, who combined for 43 points and 20 assists in the 80-63 win Dec. 21 vs. Ball State.

But sophomores Pharrel Payne and Joshua Ola-Joseph have seen the most growth in Garcia's absence in the frontcourt.

Ola-Joseph has scored in double figures the past four games, averaging 14.5 points on 64.7% shooting from the field and 75% shooting from three-point range (6-for-8).

The 6-7 Brooklyn Park native has started the past 36 games, but his role changed from wing to starting power forward with Garcia sidelined. The Gophers asked him to improve his defense and rebounding, adding to his all-around game this year.

"[Garcia] was our main guy, so a lot of things ran through him," Ola-Joseph said. "We had to adapt to him being out and other guys stepped up. When he rejoins, it's only going to make our team better. Now everyone knows what they can do."

Payne was battling through a foot injury earlier this season, but he received a confidence boost as the go-to inside presence with Garcia out. The 6-9 Cottage Grove product had 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting against Ball State in his third consecutive start.

The Gophers are excited about being at full strength soon, but they also can't wait to see the potential of Garcia and Payne playing together. They've only started in the same frontcourt once this season in the opener vs. Bethune-Cookman.

"We had those two guys playing together in practice [Wednesday]," Johnson said. "I think it's good for [Payne] because I don't want him to feel like he's got to shoulder the load all the time. One day he needs to be Batman. I think he will. But I think he's a pretty good Robin."

In his last full game, Garcia resembled a superhero with a career-high 36 points in an 84-74 Dec. 3 loss at Ohio State, including 28 points in the second half.

Garcia looked ready to play when dressing in uniform for Ball State, but Johnson kept him out to give his standout big man more time to recover during the Christmas break.

Getting Garcia back to playing at his best with an improved supporting cast was the best-case scenario for the Gophers with the bulk of the Big Ten schedule around the corner.

"You didn't want to put him in a tough spot where his first game back was on the road in the Big Ten," Johnson said. "To get him a game under his belt, just to get the timing back, the rhythm and get his body back moving defensively was key."