By R.L. Bynum
Most people familiar with the situation have known for some time that Dawson Garcia wouldn’t be coming back to the North Carolina program, so the news Wednesday that he’s entered the transfer portal, first reported by Inside Carolina, came as no surprise.
Garcia, who averaged 9.0 points and made 37.5% of his 3-point attempts for the Tar Heels, transferred from Marquette and was expected to be one of the key players. He had scored 24 points the previous season in the Smith Center to lead Marquette to an 83–70 upset of the Tar Heels on Feb. 24, 2021.
His best game was a 26-point afternoon with three 3-pointers in the 93–84 loss to Purdue on Nov. 20. He scored in double figures in five non-conference games (Purdue, 22 against Elon, 20 against Furman, 14 against Michigan and 12 against Loyola of Maryland) but his best output in an ACC game was seven against Wake Forest.
He started 12 of his 16 games and battled through a concussion. But he left the team after back-to-back road losses to Miami and Wake Forest.
Carolina announced on Jan. 24 that he was returning to Minnesota because of an illness in his family and then announced a couple of weeks later that he wouldn’t return for the season.
After his departure, the Tar Heels went 19–4 and team chemistry seemed to get better with Brady Manek entrenched in the starting lineup and flourishing.
Four players were asked at a press conference after the Marquette win in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, if they had spoken with Garcia after the game. All four smiled, Bacot laughed and none of them offered an answer.
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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