Braeden Carrington stepping away from Gophers men's basketball program

Sophomore guard says he's looking to improve areas of his life and 'put myself first.'

Gophers sophomore guard Braeden Carrington said Tuesday on social media that he is stepping away from the men’s basketball program.

“There’s areas of my life I am looking to improve and must step away from the program and put myself first,” he said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I plan on returning to the team when the time is right. For now please respect my space and allow me to ultimately do what’s best for me. Thank you gopher fans.”

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. For now please respect my space and allow me to ultimately do what's best for me. Thank you gopher fans

— braeden carrington (@braedencarri4) December 12, 2023

After Minnesota beat IUPUI 101-65 Tuesday night at Williams Arena, Gophers coach Ben Johnson said Carrington showed a lot of courage by taking the step aside and that the team is supporting him any way it can.

"For him to be able to understand himself and where he's at, I'm extremely proud as a coach to have a guy that has the toughness to admit, 'Hey, you know, I need a break,'" Johnson said. "From our standpoint, we're going to give him as much time as he needs."

Johnson said that the Gophers use a team counselor, something that's been very helpful for the program and something he encourages.

"I think sometimes we forget because you see this guys every day, as a coach, you demand so much of them and you want so much of them, you forget that they're 18, 19 years old," Johnson said, "and they deal with a lot of stuff."

Carrington, a Brooklyn Park native, has started all 10 games for Minnesota and averages 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

He had recently been dealing with an ankle injury but still played 21 minutes in the U's 77-57 home win over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.

Carrington’s absence further depletes a Gophers team that has already been without leading scorer Dawson Garcia, who has missed Minnesota's last two games with an ankle injury.