Gophers forward Dawson Garcia named to preseason All-Big Ten men's basketball team

For the second time in his tenure, third-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson had a player named to the Big Ten all-preseason basketball team Friday with redshirt junior forward Dawson Garcia named to the 10-player team.

Garcia, a 6-11 former Prior Lake star, returns as the Gophers' leading scorer (15.3) and rebounder (6.7) from a 9-22 team last season. After transferring from North Carolina, he scored double figures in 22 games, including a career-high 28 points in a win at Ohio State on Jan. 12.

Purdue's Zach Edey, the league's top player last season, was named preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Friday. Edey and Garcia were joined on the all-league preseason team by Northwestern's Boo Buie, Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker, Illinois' Terrence Shannon, Rutgers' Clifford Omoruyi, Maryland's Jahmir Young and Julian Reese and Nebraska's Keisei Tominaga.

Garcia missed five games with a bone bruise but returned to average 17 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists during an eight-game stretch. He scored 18 points with 13 rebounds and six assists in a win vs. Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament in March.

After playing his first two seasons at Marquette and UNC, Garcia has embraced a bigger leadership role entering in his second year with the Gophers. This was the first all-league preseason honor of Garcia's career.

Last season, former Gophers forward Jamison Battle was named to the all-preseason team. Battle transferred to Ohio State after the season.

The Gophers, who return four players who saw minutes last season, open Nov. 6 against Bethune-Cookman. They host an exhibition game Nov. 2 against Macalester at Williams Arena.