Ben Johnson and his Gophers men's basketball program showed some interest when former Park Center standout Dain Dainja entered the transfer portal two years ago.
Dainja played in three games at Baylor after redshirting on the 2021 national championship squad, but he eventually transferred to Illinois and sat out the rest of last season.
The Gophers focused more on recruiting Cottage Grove's Pharrel Payne for this freshmen class — and already started early on California 7-footer Dennis Evans III in the 2023 class.
But the 6-9, 270-pound Dainja eventually became the Illini's man in the middle this season. And he'll face his home state Gophers (7-16, 1-13 Big Ten) for a second time Monday in Champaign.
"We had talked to him briefly," Johnson said on Dainja earlier this season. "But with Pharrel coming and being in the mix, I didn't want to go down that route. You kind of want to make sure you have the right balance. And I thought they were more similar than different."
Two of the most physically imposing and athletically gifted young post players in the Big Ten, Dainja and Payne are beginning to tap into their potential with expanded roles.
Recently, the 6-9, 230-pound Payne started four games when the Gophers' leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia was sidelined with a foot injury. Garcia returned to score 23 points in Saturday's 76-69 loss against Penn State, but Payne had a career-high 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists off the bench.
"I'd say I built some confidence in the past few games," said Payne, who averages 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. "I feel like it helps a ton because my coaches have my back in that [confidence] aspect. It makes it much easier to go out there and play."
