Dawson Garcia announces he'll play for the Gophers

Former McDonald's All-American Dawson Garcia is returning home to Minnesota. 

Garcia, a standout at Prior Lake High School before starting his college career at Marquette and then North Carolina, announced Monday that he's transferring to Minnesota to play for head coach Ben Johnson and the Gophers. 

Garcia, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound guard/forward, had a season high 26 points with eight rebounds against Purdue, played in 16 games for the national runner-up Tar Heels. He started 12 of 16 games he played 

Leaving North Carolina was a decision Garcia made in February. He hadn't played in six straight games when he announced that he needed go return to Minnesota to be with family members whose health had been ailing. 

"After the loss of several very special family members this past year, I came close to losing my dad in December and my grandma is currently in the ICU," Garcia said in a statement Feb. 10. "With my dad recovering and my grandma fighting for her life, it's not even a question to me where I need to be right now."

Garcia averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds as a freshman at Marquette, and then averaged 9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 16 games with North Carolina. 

Garcia was a 4-star recruit and the No. 37 senior in the nation in the Class of 2020, according to 247 Sports, which ranked him only behind Jalen Suggs in Minnesota's graduating class that year.