Dawson Garcia Transfers to North Carolina

Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia, who torched the Tar Heels in the Smith Center last season, will now help fill out the frontcourt.

Isaac Schade | Jul 8, 2021

Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia has committed to North Carolina, he announced on his Instagram on Thursday morning.

Garcia, after testing the NBA Draft waters, ultimately decided to return to college, and on June 25 announced he was entering the transfer portal. The rising sophomore narrowed his list to Arizona, Illinois, North Carolina, or a return to Marquette.

⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cVps2yAVjl
— Dawson (@Dawson23lee) June 25, 2021

Following Garcia's commitment, Carolina now has one available scholarship for 2020-21. Here's the breakdown:

The 6’11”, 220-pound power forward initially held a scholarship offer from Carolina (offered on June 24, 2019), but Walker Kessler’s commitment essentially shut the door on that possibility.

In his freshman year at Marquette, Garcia averaged 13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 0.3 steals in 29.7 minutes per game. He shot 48.0% from the field, 35.6% from three, and 78.3% from the free throw line while starting all 27 of the Golden Eagles’ games.

Garcia was also named to the 2020-21 Big East All-Freshman Team.

Marquette beat North Carolina 83-70 in Chapel Hill on February 24, 2021. The game was announced just four days earlier after Carolina’s game at Boston College on February 23 was postponed due to COVID-19.

Garcia led all scorers in the victory, torching the Tar Heels for 24 points, while shooting 9-for-13 from the field, 1-for-4 from three, and 5-for-5 at the free throw line. He also hauled in 11 rebounds and passed out two assists in 36:57 of action.

The storyline is quite similar to Cam Johnson, who had a big game in the Smith Center against the Tar Heels before ultimately becoming one.

Coming out of high school, Garcia was ranked 33 by 247Sports, 43 by Rivals, and 49 by ESPN.

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Published Jul 8, 2021

ISAAC SCHADE

I grew up in Atlanta knowing that I was going to be the next Maddux or Glavine or Chipper. Unfortunately, I never grew six feet tall, ran 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, threw 90 m.p.h. on the radar gun, or hit 50 home runs. So I had to find a different way to dive head first into sports - writing about it. My favorite all-time sports moment? 1992. NLCS. Game 7. Sid Bream. Look it up. Worst sports moment ever? Two words: Kris. Jenkins. I live in the bustling metropolis of Webb City, MO, where ministry is my full-time job. I spend my free time with my wife, Maggie, and my two children, Pax & Poppy.