Gophers’ Carrington taking leave from program to ‘put myself first’
Gophers starting guard Braeden Carrington is taking time away from the basketball program for personal reasons, he announced Tuesday.
A sophomore and former Minnesota Mr. Basketball at Park Center, Carrington posted on his social media pages Tuesday afternoon: "There's areas of my life I am looking to improve and must step away from the program and put myself first. I plan on returning to the team when the time is right."
The Gophers later announced Carrington was taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on mental health.
"We fully support Braeden as he takes this time to focus on his mental health," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said in a statement. "Myself, our administration and our team will do whatever we can to help him and I admire Braeden for his courage. We will be here to assist him every step of the way."
Carrington, who averaged 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10 starts this season, played a big role in the comeback victory against Nebraska in the Big Ten home opener with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes.
As the team's best perimeter defender, Carrington also shut down Nebraska's top scorer Keisei Tominaga, who only had four points on 0-for-5 shooting from the field.
But Carrington was limited to six of his 21 minutes in the second half of Saturday's 77-57 win against Florida Gulf Coast.
Johnson said on his prerecorded radio show earlier Tuesday that Carrington was dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered late in the Nebraska win. Still, he talked glowingly about his top defender going into the game against IUPUI at home.
Last season, Carrington missed nine games because of injuries and illness, but he showed promise at times as a true freshman, including a career-high 20 points vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
"I have a ton of confidence in Braeden defensively," Johnson said. "I know he's taking a lot of pride in that … He is a guy who can score. So, now once that starts to come and he sees a couple shots fall, now you really got something. You got a defender and you got a guy offensively I trust."
The Gophers played without leading scorer Dawson Garcia (ankle) and reserve center Jack Wilson for the second consecutive game Tuesday. Sophomore Pharrel Payne (groin) was available to play.
