Dawson Garcia on last year with Gophers: 'Just a great sense of pride'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota men's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season with an exhibition against Division II Bemidji State on Saturday at Williams Arena.

The Gophers are coming off a 19-win season, and return Dawson Garcia, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season. His goal is to lead the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament. FOX 9 caught up with Garcia at Media Day at Williams Arena.

What are the emotions heading into the season-opener?

I’m really just excited to get back out there and compete with this new group. What we’ve been doing in practice so far, just bringing it to the court. My emotions are really just excitement.

You decided to stay home with the Gophers despite opportunities at other schools. Why?

I chose to wear Minnesota across my chest, I say this all the time but it’s so true. It just means something to me. Every single time I walk out that tunnel and I’ve got this Minnesota across my chest, it’s a great sense of pride. Being able to do with a great group of guys, it’s something that gives me great purpose in life. I can’t wait to do it for another year.

What was the conversation like with Ben Johnson when you told him you were coming back?

I remember texting him how to go about it that I was coming back and then he called me right after and he was just pumped, excited. I went into the facility after, and him and Thor (Dave Thorson) came in, dapped me up and gave me a big hug. Said they were super excited for this year, respected me a lot for having a pride and belief in Minnesota.

What’s it like when you wake up and it’s game day?

It’s just a feeling that you can’t really describe. It’s a mix of good nerves, excitement. You’ve done a lot of preparation, so it’s just time to go out there and kill.

You won 19 games last year, 9 Big Ten games and an NIT game. What’s the next step?

The goal is the NCAA Tournament. We got a lot of guys in their last year, so it’s a heightened sense of urgency and I can feel that, see that every single day in practice. Mostly just worrying about ourselves, because we know what we’ve got in the locker room.

You want to be First Team All-Big ten and an All-American. What goes into that?

I feel like it’s just goals that I have every single year for myself. I know if we’re winning games and everybody is playing well, all that stuff takes care of itself. I’m not going to look too dep into it, just give it my best effort out there and go out and try to kill every game. 

What’s it like to finish out with a bunch of Minnesota kids as teammates?

It’s great, it’s amazing. A lot of people got brought together that you didn’t think would ever get the chance to play with. Me and Lu’Cye (Patterson) have been playing against each other since third grade. Isaac and Grayson are the young guys, I didn’t think I was going to be here for my fifth year, it’s just a surreal and really great experience.

The Gophers have two exhibition games before opening the regular season Nov. 6 against Oral Roberts.