Dawson Garcia’s Unexpected Reason for Quitting UNC in 2021–2022 is revealed by Armando Bacot.
In the midst of the 2021–22 collegiate basketball season, Dawson Garcia moved back home to Minnesota from North Carolina. On January 24, 2021, the school made an announcement on the Marquette transfer’s return to Minnesota due to a family illness. Garcia’s decision to depart was influenced by family, according to former colleague Armando Bacot, but he also mentioned team-related concerns.
Bacot stated, “We started Dawson (over Brady Manek) because, at the time, he was supposed to go to the league,” in a recent Run Your Race podcast interview with Theo Pinson. “He had several advantages going for him. He was an expert. Although he was a skilled player, he was unaware of Carolina’s core values. He was unaware that they would inform you if you played a poor game. He found a lot of the stuff difficult. He was dealing with a lot of family matters. Coach Davis then started Brady, and after that, he simply got over it and walked out.”
Manek was instrumental in leading UNC to the national championship, and Bacot concurred, saying, “We didn’t realize how much of an impact Brady had on us.” In all honesty, Brady was our best player on the down low, even though Caleb and I received all the attention that March. He was the nation’s greatest marksman.”
Out of the transfer portal, Garcia was seen by UNC head coach Hubert Davis as a noteworthy addition. In 16 games for UNC in 2021–2022, Garcia averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. He made 37.5 percent of his three-pointers and 40.5 percent of his field goals from the field.
Garcia began his career at position four until sustaining a concussion on January 2, 2022, at Boston College. Before the university announced on January 24 that he was going back home to Minnesota to take care of a family illness, he appeared in two games off the bench. The school stated that the sophomore forward would not be returning to the basketball program in 2021–22 due to family medical concerns after six games and seventeen days. After the season, he went onto the transfer portal.
Garcia entered the portal and immediately took to social media to write, “Congratulations to all of Tar Heel Nation on a great finish to the season,” “After all that has transpired with my family over the past year, I have made the decision to maintain a tighter relationship with them. I’m grateful that Tar Heel Nation welcomed me into your family. Best wishes.”