Ex-UNC Basketball Forward Now Posting Eye-Popping Numbers

Former one-season UNC basketball player Dawson Garcia has put the Golden Gophers on his back.

Former UNC basketball forward Dawson Garcia / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) do not boast a high-powered offense. No, they're averaging only 63.2 points per contest. But centerpiece forward Dawson Garcia, who drew 12 starts for the 2021-22 UNC basketball squad before returning to his home state, has been nothing short of lethal in carrying the bulk of the load.

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In fact, the 23-year-old Garcia is the Golden Gophers' lone double-digit scorer. And his 23.0 points per game, including a 30-point performance in the season opener two weeks ago, amount to almost 40 percent of Minnesota's average.

Plus, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound stretch-four is leading the Golden Gophers with his career-high 7.2 rebounding average. He's adding 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals across his team-high 32.0 minutes per outing.

Moreover, although the season remains in its infancy, Dawson Garcia's shooting percentages thus far are approaching off-the-charts status for his position at 54.5 from the field, 53.3 beyond the arc, and 87.5 at the charity stripe.

Garcia, a former top-tier four-star recruit who transferred into the UNC basketball program and averaged 9.0 points per game following his freshman year with the Marquette Golden Eagles, helped fuel a 58-47 home win over the Cleveland State Vikings on Tuesday night.

He and the Golden Gophers now have several days off before hosting the Central Michigan Chippewas at 8 p.m. ET Monday (Big Ten Plus Network).

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