“He hurt the next day,” Johnson said. “That tells you something.”

There aren’t many players in the Big Ten having a better start to the season than Garcia, but the 6-11 junior hasn’t been caught up in gaudy numbers in his second year with the Gophers.

Garcia is averaging career-highs in points (18.8), rebounds (8.8), blocks (1.5) and free throw shooting (90.3%), but there are two numbers he cares about more than anything: wins and losses.

Last Thursday’s blown 20-point lead in a two-point loss to Missouri motivated Garcia to lead the U in a bounce-back 67-43 win Saturday vs. South Carolina Upstate. The Gophers (3-1) hope to continue that momentum into Thanksgiving, playing well Tuesday night against Arkansas Pine Bluff at Williams Arena.

“He doesn’t get caught up in scoring, he doesn’t get caught up in numbers,” Johnson said about Garcia, whom he challenged to become a vocal leader. “All that kid wants to do is win. Win for himself. But he also wants to win for the program. He wants nothing more than for this place to be packed and for us to be successful.”

A former McDonald’s All-America at Prior Lake, Garcia’s Marquette team finished 13-14 in his freshman year in 2020-21. Golden Eagles coach Steve Wojciechowski was fired after the season.