Dawson Garcia and Ta'Lon Cooper were visiting the Gophers men's basketball team at the same time last week, but it was clear who was the big man on campus — literally.
Garcia, a 6-11 North Carolina transfer and former Prior Lake star, stole the spotlight when he committed while both players were with Ben Johnson and his coaching staff.
Cooper, a point guard from Morehead State, wasn't jealous of the attention, though. Garcia's announcement made him excited to join the Gophers as well. The two sophomore transfers officially signed on Tuesday.
"That was a big steal for us," Cooper said. "It can get real dangerous with us in pick-and-rolls. He can pop, shoot or roll. I could get to the rim. You've got to pick your poison."
Garcia, who started his career at Marquette, generated excitement with fans locally giving the Gophers their first McDonald's All-American since Kris Humphries in 2004. And that's coming off a 13-17 season in Ben Johnson's first year as Gophers coach.
"We're really excited to have Dawson join our program," Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. "He brings that competitive fight, has a warrior mentality and is a big time talent. Dawson has played high level basketball both at Marquette and North Carolina and shown great versatility. He can play both inside and out, can score, rebound and will bring a much-needed piece to our team."
The 6-11, 235-pound sophomore entered the transfer portal two weeks ago after averaging 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and shooting 37.5% from three-point range in 16 games, including 12 starts.
"Ben's done an unbelievable job to establish a culture in one year," Garcia told the Star Tribune last week. "I can only imagine what he's going to do in Year 2 and beyond. I'm excited to put on the uniform, but also when the time comes to be a proud alum and say I was part of the process of getting Minnesota basketball back."
