During Wednesday’s season-opening victory, Dawson Garcia provided many reasons for Gophers men’s basketball fans to be grateful the 6-foot-11 forward wears maroon and gold.

Garcia was dialed in with 30 points in only 23 minutes, shot 78% from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Up for national and conference awards this season, Garcia received a nice applause from the sparse crowd at Williams Arena when he exited the 80-57 blowout win over mediocre mid-major Oral Roberts.

But one of the biggest reasons for U fans to appreciate Garcia didn’t appear in the box score.

Sources told the Pioneer Press that Garcia turned down a couple of NIL paydays worth roughly $1 million — including from some traditional powerhouse programs — to remain at Minnesota for approximately $500,000.

Entering his fifth collegiate season, Garcia, an all-Big Ten performer, had other suitors for this year but remained loyal to Minnesota. He wasn’t swayed by big dollar signs.

As a McDonald’s All-American coming out of Savage, Minn., Garcia attended Marquette for his freshman year, then transferred to North Carolina for his sophomore season. It didn’t work out at those stops, so he came back to Minnesota in 2022 and is beginning his third season at the U.

Seeing how the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere played a factor in his decision to stay home.

NIL — name, image and likeness — compensation totals have been mostly under wraps since college players first gained the right to be paid for marketing opportunities in 2021, but sums are growing and more figures and estimates are coming out publicly this year.

For instance, while Garcia stayed at Minnesota, two of his fellow U starters left after last season. Center Pharrel Payne went to Texas A&M and point guard Elijah Spencer headed to Texas Tech. They received NIL packages in the same ballpark as Garcia’s current total at Minnesota, sources said.

Payne and Spencer are quality players who helped Minnesota make a 10-win improvement a year ago to 19-15 (9-11 in Big Ten play), but they are not in the same tier as Garcia. That comparison underscores the appreciation within Dinkytown over Garcia’s decision to remain with the Gophers.

The day before the season opener at The Barn, Garcia and senior guard Mike Mitchell Jr., were on the court before any of their teammates and more than a half hour before practice. They each took a basket and were getting in extra work with members of the U staff.

“Mike and Dawson have been like this all the time,” head coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday. “But I would say we had unbelievable workouts in the spring, in terms of guys putting in extra. They have always done a lot, but … to the point I was telling guys you have to get out the gym. You have to rest. …

“The good part is when those two guys are doing it as returners, the new guys, they don’t know any better, so they come in and just figure out, ‘This is what we do.’ ”

After Wednesday’s victory, Garcia credited the work he has put in behind the scenes. On Tuesday, he shared how he is trying to become a defensive anchor on top of providing multiple forms of leadership.

“Trying to be vocal, as well,” he said Tuesday. “But the one thing that I’ve always done in my career, and I feel like I’ve done it at a high level — Mike feels the same way — is set the example by action.”

The Gophers will play host to Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m.

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