The difference? A tear to Dawson’s left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in March 2012, ending his stellar freshman season on the final regular season game of the year. And when he returned to open 2012-13 season after not practicing for much of the summer, Dawson struggled to find his form on the court for long periods of time.

But with Dawson entering his junior season, head coach Tom Izzo said Dawson is “a different guy,” looking much closer to the player that mesmerized the country two seasons ago than the shell of it he was last year.

“He’s playing harder, he’s worked harder, he’s spent an incredible amount of time in this gym and I don’t think he’s even thinking about his injury anymore,” Izzo said. “I watched some film with him and I definitely think last year — even I couldn’t see it at times — subliminally, there was vibes that he wasn’t the guy I recruited.”

Dawson started 31 games as a freshman, averaging 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game prior to his ACL injury. As a sophomore, Dawson appeared in all 36 games, increasing his averages to 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest, but Izzo said the injury often was on his mind.

That fact was never clearer than in the second half of a January victory against Nebraska when Dawson fell to the floor in pain after a breakaway attempt, causing Breslin Center to fall silent waiting for the verdict. After clutching his knee before being helped back to the locker room, Dawson reemerged several minutes later to a thunderous applause from the Izzone.

“It was just planted wrong and my knee kind of buckled,” Dawson said at the time. “You know, my body went through a shock and I was just telling myself, ‘Not again.’ I had a flashback of what happened against Ohio State. (But) I just planted the wrong way.”

When discussing Dawson’s injury, Izzo often references Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, or RGIII, as both athletes suffered ACL injuries in the NFL.

Izzo said Peterson’s recovery set a high standard for the recovery time for that type of injury, given Peterson’s ability to bounce back into relevance. However, Izzo said Dawson’s injury is more similar to the Redskins’ gunslinger, noting RGIII also has not immediately regained his previous form.

“To me, Branden Dawson is a freak of nature, RGIII is and Adrian Peterson is but one of them, and maybe only one, is a double freak of nature because it didn’t seem to slow him down,” Izzo said. “I actually have grown an appreciation for what Branden Dawson went through. I think you’ll see a different guy.”