It was first reported by Inside Carolina earlier this morning that Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia is on campus today, visiting the Tar Heels less than a week after entering the transfer portal. His visit to UNC comes after he also visited Illinois earlier this week (Illini Inquirer & Inside Carolina), as once he entered the portal, Garcia became the most valuable transfer on the mark. Additionally, Texas, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Minnesota (ESPN) are all interested in Garcia as well, after he averaged 13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, on his way to All-Freshman honors in the Big East last season.
UNC has a lot of history with Garcia, starting with him scoring 24 points, and grabbing 11 rebounds in Marquette’s road victory in Chapel Hill last February. That loss in the Smith Center was the only home defeat for Carolina last season. Roy Williams recruited Garcia, but with UNC already bringing in Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe to add to a frontcourt that already consisted of Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot, Garica went to Marquette. Not only does UNC already have an established relationship with Garcia, but he also played with current Tar Heel Kerwin Walton while growing up in Minnesota.
UNC has already added two transfers this season in Brady Manek and Justin McKoy, but Hubert Davis isn’t stopping there. Adding Garcia would dramatically improve the frontcourt depth and vault the Tar Heels into legitimate ACC and Final Four contenders, entering Hubert Davis’ first season as the head coach. When Davis was hired he was adamant about using the portal as a great way to build championship teams in Chapel Hill, as that has become just as important as recruiting high school players.
While being in the transfer portal, Garica is also going through the NBA Draft process, where he had some good moments at the NBA Combine in Chicago. He’s currently weighing that option and a potential return to Marquette and new head coach Shaka Smart. Garcia has until July 7th to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft.
Make sure to stay tuned to the Heel Tough Blog for all the latest recruiting news around Carolina Basketball.
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