Is Gophers backcourt Big Ten ready? Elijah Hawkins, Mike Mitchell Jr. lead the way

Ben Johnson's first Big Ten victory as Gophers men's basketball coach came three years ago at Michigan with a team that was led by a veteran backcourt.

As the Gophers resume conference play Thursday in Ann Arbor, Johnson sees similarities between his first backcourt and the one led by transfers Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr. this season.

Hawkins, who leads the nation in assists, led Howard to the NCAA tournament last year.

Mitchell, arguably the team's hottest offensive player, had some of his biggest games at Pepperdine the past two seasons playing in tough West Coast Conference games.

The experience of Hawkins and Mitchell, complemented by promising younger guards, could be the difference for the Gophers (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) as they try to extend their winning streak to six.

"You're looking at a lot of trust in your backcourt," Johnson said. "I don't think they'll be rattled. I don't think they'll be shaken by the [road] environment. That trickles down to everybody else."

It's been no secret that guard depth was something severely lacking on Johnson's 9-22 team last year.

Hawkins and Mitchell, both juniors, brought 118 combined starts to Dinkytown this season. It was reminiscent of senior guards Payton Willis, Luke Loewe and E.J. Stephens being added out of the transfer portal in 2021-22.

Willis, Loewe, and Stephens combined for 44 points and just one turnover to help the Gophers to a 75-65 victory at Michigan three years ago, the program's first victory in Ann Arbor since 2011.

The Gophers' best backcourt since then has Hawkins and Mitchell and more depth behind them. Cam Christie leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring (11.3 points). Sophomore Braeden Carrington is the team's top defender and is expected to play in his first game since taking a leave for mental health on Dec. 12.

"I feel like guards help control the game a lot," said Mitchell, who led the Gophers in scoring the past two games. "If the guards aren't playing well, I feel like the game won't go as well. It's on us to keep being aggressive, knowing time and score, playing defense and control the game."

Dawson Garcia, the Gophers' leading scorer and rebounder, returned in a victory on Friday vs. Maine after missing three games because of an ankle injury. Johnson relied heavily on his backcourt in Garcia's absence.

Mitchell, who started all 63 games of his career at Pepperdine, showed the most growth the past three games as a starter after opening the season coming off the bench.

"Just getting more comfortable with the offense and playing with everybody," the 6-2 Mitchell said about his biggest adjustment.

Mitchell, who is shooting 14-for-24 from three-point range in his past four games, had his fifth consecutive double figure-scoring game with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three vs. Maine. That followed his season-best 20 points, five assists and three steals vs. Ball State on Dec. 21.

The speedy 5-11 Hawkins turned into an assist machine by recording 58 over the past five games to reach an NCAA-best 7.8 assists per game. Hawkins set a program record with 17 of the team's 31 assists in a 101-65 victory over IUPUI on Dec. 12.

"We have a lot of weapons," Hawkins said. "You've got guys who can shoot, guys who can attack and score at all three levels around me. It makes the job easier for me to get my teammates involved."

Playing at national power DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, Hawkins was high school teammates with former Wolverines center Hunter Dickinson, who transferred to Kansas this season. Hawkins is also familiar with current Michigan guard Dug McDaniel, who played nearby at Paul VI in Virginia.

Hawkins' DeMatha team defeated McDaniel's squad for their Catholic school league's title in 2020, and now they are both point guards leading respective Big Ten teams.

Johnson loves his backcourt this season, but he also respects how much of a challenge McDaniel and the Wolverines will be Thursday night.

"Michigan's always talented," Johnson said. "Dug McDaniel is not only one of the best guards in our league, but he's [one of the most] electric guards across the country."

Soon, the Gophers backcourt could be getting the same national respect, too.