UNC Basketball: Dawson Garcia to transfer to North Carolina

Hubert Davis and his UNC Basketball staff have done it again in the transfer portal.

Just a few months after landing former Virginia guard Justin McKoy and former Oklahoma forward Brady Manek, the staff has gone back to that well once again. And this time it’s for a player who should enter the starting lineup to play alongside Armando Bacot right away.

On Thursday, former Marquette forward and four-star recruit Dawson Garcia ended his time in the transfer portal and announced he will be attending UNC. Garcia made the decision just a few weeks after entering the portal while testing the NBA draft waters and participating in the G-League Combine.

Garcia picked North Carolina over Illinois, Arizona and returning to Marquette. He took visits to UNC, Illinois and Arizona and in the end decided that playing in Chapel Hill under Davis is the best fit for him.

The commitment is huge for North Carolina as it gives them a starting forward opposite of Bacot who elected to return for his junior season. Garcia averaged 13 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field. That included a 24-point and 11-rebound performance in Marquettes’ win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last season.

UNC’s frontcourt lost Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler after just one year but it reloads with a talented forward in Garcia. They now have one of the top frontcourts in the country and it makes them a legit contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference for this season.

Garcia was also a recruiting target of UNC back in the 2020 recruiting class with Roy Williams still as the head coach. But he opted to go to Marquette over offers from North Carolina, Memphis and Kansas among others.

For more on Garcia and other UNC Basketball players, please check back with Keeping It Heel.