Arizona interested in Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia

The Arizona Wildcats are one of several programs that have expressed interest in Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.

The 6-foot-11 forward entered the transfer portal on Friday and has also declared for the NBA Draft. He noted in a tweet that returning to Marquette is a possibility too.

Garcia, a rising sophomore, averaged 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds in 2020-21 while shooting 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3 and 78 percent from the free throw line. That was enough to earn him Big East All-Freshman honors. Garcia started all 27 games, had three double-doubles, and posted six 20-point games.

The Minnesota native was the No. 37 player in the country and a McDonald’s All-American coming out of Prior Lake High School. He was also the MVP of the 2019 USA Men’s 3x3 U18 World Cup Team that claimed the first gold medal for the USA.

247Sports described Garcia’s game this way coming out of high school:

Length allows him to block shots, and he is a capable rebounder. As he gets stronger, all parts of his game should begin to come together. He isn’t an elite athlete, but he does have solid explosion off the court. He is very skilled. Can make shots out to the three-point line, is very good going off the dribble, and also can pass. His upside is significant, and he does have a little bit more potential than production. Keeps improving and has an excellent chance to stick in the NBA for a long time.

Arizona was among Garcia’s top 7 schools, along with Marquette, Indiana, Kansas, Memphis, Minnesota, and North Carolina. He did not have an offer from Tommy Lloyd and Gonzaga.

The Wildcats currently have 11 scholarship players in the fold for the 2021-22 season, two under the NCAA maximum.