**************************************************************************************
***************************************************************************************
North Carolina sophomore forward Dawson Garcia has entered the transfer portal.
Garcia left the team in late January to be home with his family in Prior Lake, MN, as they continued dealing with myriad health issues, that has now resulted in the deaths of several family members.
The 6-foot-11 forward left the team a day after the Tar Heels lost by 22 points at Wake Forest, which was in the same week they dropped a game at Miami by 28 points. He suffered a concussion two minutes into a win at Boston College on Jan. 2 forcing him to miss the next two games. But Garcia struggled upon returning to the lineup, scoring just 14 points over his final three contests before heading home.
Garcia struggled in games versus Kentucky and Appalachian State before the concussion, so in the last five games in which he was fully available, Garcia managed to score only 22 points on 6-for-29 from the field, including 1-for-9 from three-point range, with 25 rebounds.
Multiple sources told THI the week Garcia went home it wasn’t expected he would return to UNC. The family problems were of primary concern, but there were other factors as well, some of which were related to basketball.
The belief at the time was Garcia would eventually enter the portal and apply for a waiver from the NCAA to have immediate eligibility at a new school given the family circumstances. Sources also indicated to THI it was expected all along the waiver would be granted and UNC would aid in that process.
In his brief Carolina career, Garcia played 16 games averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. He shot 40.5 percent from the floor, including 37.5 (12-for-32) percent from three-point range. Garcia also handed out 11 assists against 21 turnovers, with seven steals and five blocked shots.
