Coach Johnson Previews the 2024-25 Season

Head coach Ben Johnson met with the media as the Golden Gophers kick off the 2024-25 campaign.

University of Minnesota Men's Basketball Preseason Notes
• Ben Johnson enters his fourth year at the helm of Golden Gopher men's basketball. In Johnson's third year, the Gophers held a 19-15 overall record in 2023-24. The Golden Gophers finished as the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, a five-seed improvement from the 2022-23 season. Minnesota improved from 2-17 in Big Ten play and 9-22 in 2022-23, to 9-11 in league action and 19-15 overall in 2023-24. That win improvement marked the best in the Big Ten and one of the best nationally among power conference teams. The Gophers had their first winning season in five years in the 2023-24 campaign.

• Minnesota returns two of its top three scorers in Dawson Garcia and Mike Mitchell as well as sixth-man Parker Fox, Kadyn Betts and walk-on Erick Reader. Garcia, a second and third-team All-Big Ten selection, returns for his final year after averaging 17.6 points and is the top returning Big Ten scorer from a year ago. Of the returning Big Ten athletes, Garcia ranks first in scoring and only one of six returners who received All-Big Ten honors in the 2023-24 season. Mitchell Jr. is also a returning starter for the Gophers. He ranked third on the team in scoring when he averaged just over 10.2 ppg. He and Fox saw action in all 34 games in 2023-24, the only two Gophers to do so.

• Minnesota practiced eight weeks over the summer from June 10-August 1 and begin the fall season on Sept 25. The Golden Gophers add seven seniors (Tyler Cochran, Trey Edmonds, Femi Odukale, Lu'Cye Patterson, Brennan Rigsby, Caleb Williams as well as walk-on Lincoln Meister, a junior (Frank Mitchell) and two freshmen (Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove). Max Sheridan is also an addition as a sophomore walk on.

• The returners are joined by veteran athletes, three of which have seen action in over 100 Division I collegiate games (Patterson, Odukale, Cochran), while two have played at power 5 conferences (Odukale, Rigsby).

• Frank Mitchell joins the Gophers after a stint at Canisius College. A Toronto, Ont. native, Mitchell switched from hockey to basketball at age 18. After sitting out a year for NCAA rules in 2022-23, Mitchell was named an All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Second Team selection, Mitchell was the only MAAC player to average a double double in points (12.1) and rebounds (11.6) in 2023-24. His 11.6 rebounds ranked fourth nationally, his offensive rebounds ranked sixth (4.1), and defensive rebounds ranked 14th (7.55). Mitchell had 15 double doubles last season, the MAAC best, and tied for 21st nationally.

• Lu'Cye Patterson returns home to join the Golden Gopher men's basketball program. A transfer from Charlotte, the Minneapolis native was Second Team All-American Athletic Conference selection and Second Team All-District last year with Charlotte. He led the 49ers in scoring when he averaged 14.6 points, which ranked second in the AAC. Patterson started in all 31 games for Charlotte and scored double figures in 24.

• Femi Odukale has played in over 110 collegiate games and 80 starts in his previous stints. Last year, Odukale ranked second in Aggie scoring when he averaged 10.7 points in 26 games played. He shot 43 percent from the field and averaged a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game en route to All-CUSA Third team honors. With Minnesota roots, Odukale played youth basketball in St. Cloud, Minn., until he moved to New York in sixth grade.

• Tyler Cochran was the last to join the Gophers when he committed in June. Cochran, is a sixth-year senior guard, joins Minnesota after a two-year tenure at Toledo. He has over 115 collegiate games played, including nearly 70 collegiate starts.

• The Gophers signed their second-straight top 100 recruit this year. As one of the top athletes out of Minnesota, Isaac Asuma is a three-sport athlete and was ranked a four-star recruit in both Rivals and 247 and topped as the 98th recruit in the nation and ninth-top point guard.

• Minnesota will play 19 contests at Williams Arena this upcoming season. Two exhibition games have also been scheduled for October 19 and October 29 vs. Bemidji State and Hamline. Minnesota highlights nine home nonconference games spanning from the opener on Nov. 6 against Oral Roberts to Dec. 29 vs. Morgan State. Minnesota welcomes three teams within a six-day stretch, all of which competed in postseason play last season. North Texas comes to Minnesota on Nov. 13, followed by Yale on Nov. 16 and Cleveland State on Nov. 19.

• Minnesota will compete in the 2024 ESPN Events Invitational, Nov. 28-29, at State Farm Field House (ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex) in Kissimmee, Fla. The ESPN Events Invitational field includes Minnesota, Florida, Wake Forest and Wichita State, with the Gophers playing the Shockers on Thanksgiving morning and either the Gators or Deacons on Black Friday. The 2024 tournament will mark Minnesota's third time in Orlando for a nonconference tournament and the first since 2011.

• Minnesota will play 20 Big Ten regular-season conference games during the 2024-25 season, the league office announced earlier this year. The Golden Gophers will face three conference opponents twice next year (Michigan State, Penn State Wisconsin), with another 14 games in a home or road contest. The Gophers open the Big Ten slate at home against Michigan State on Dec. 4 and on the road at Indiana Dec. 9. After two nonconference games to close out the year, the Gophers resume Big Ten action on Jan. 2 and Jan. 6 in back-to-back home games vs. Purdue and Ohio State.

• The 2025 TIAA Men's Basketball Tournament will be held in Indianapolis (Gainbridge Fieldhouse) March 12-16. The events will be the first to feature a 15-team field following the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington this summer.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Isaac Asuma

Kadyn Betts

Tyler Cochran

Trey Edmonds

Parker Fox

Dawson Garcia

Grayson Grove

Lincoln Meister

Frank Mitchell

Femi Odukale

Erick Reader

Brennan Rigsby

Max Sheridan

Caleb Williams