Marquette's Dawson Garcia Withdraws From NBA Draft, Transfers to UNC

When the 2021 NBA Draft kicks off in a couple of weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers won't have the opportunity to consider former Marquette forward Dawson Garcia. According to ESPN's Myron Medcalf, Garcia has withdrawn from the draft process and will return to the NCAA for next season.

Last year, Garcia started and played in 27 games for Marquette. In an average of a little under 30 minutes of playing time, the young forward collected 6.6 rebounds per game and averaged 13 points per game while shooting 48-percent from the field and 36-percent from three in a little under three attempts per game.

After testing the draft waters, Garcia ultimately decided he'll return to school for a Sophomore season. However, it won't be at Marquette. Instead, Garcia will start fresh by playing at the University of North Carolina, where their newest head coach believes he'll be a "perfect fit," according to Gregory Hall of Inside Carolina.

"We recruited Dawson in high school because we thought he'd be a perfect fit here," UNC’s first-year head coach said in a released statement. "He's talented and versatile, has size and athleticism and can be dominant on both ends of the floor.

"He can score at the rim, he rebounds, shoots the three and runs the floor. He has the prototype skills of today's big men. I don't think people understand how good he can be defensively. In high school he was one of the few players I watched who could guard all five positions."

Had he remained in the draft pool, Garcia would've likely been a second-round selection. Now that he's returning to school and playing at an even bigger program such as North Carolina, he'll have an opportunity to turn his second-round projections from this year into firsts.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.