The Waters for Dawson.

[jaygall31]

With Dawson testing the draft waters, what are your initial thoughts?

Will he be back? Impress at workouts?
Does he go only if he hears he will be first round?

Next year would sure be fun with him!
Have a good week!

[bilsu]

He only goes, if he does not like college. He is not ready for the NBA.

[jaygall31]

He only goes, if he does not like college. He is not ready for the NBA.

Well Said.

[marquette20]

With the current NBA rules there is really no reason to not declare if you have NBA dreams. It's free consulting with NBA personal on what to improve in your game.

Dawson's statement is very well crafted and leaves a big wide door to return. The telling sign is not hiring any agent even the ones that college have approved that still allow you to return.

[CountryRoads]

It'll be interesting to see what happens. He has the measurables and shooting skills, but at 6'11 he still plays below the rim most of the time. Strength and interior toughness (on both sides of the ball) are his biggest weaknesses right now. Wishing him the best in any case and happy he isn't in the portal. Minnesota fans are pretty annoying actually.

[Mu8891]

I think ( and hope ) he comes back

He's not close to ready  - not listed on
ANY draft boards / projections I have seen

[BCHoopster]

I am not sure he will be ready in 2 years much less next year.  Physically not strong enough, has no hops, did he have a dunk last year?  Decent shooter, slow release, lot to work on!  Defensively, not even close yet.  If I was an NBA scout, I would tell him to work on his game and One more in college would be beneficial.

[onepost]

Checks out with everything we've been told so far: declare for feedback and unless it's shockingly optimistic, return to MU.  About as encouraging as we could have hoped given he didn't hire any agent, explicitly stated if they tell him to go back he will go back, and that he didn't simultaneously enter the transfer portal ala Mac McClung.

Just glad it's out in the open now as opposed to that strange radio silence while the rest of the team is practicing.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

I am not sure he will be ready in 2 years much less next year.  Physically not strong enough, has no hops, did he have a dunk last year?  Decent shooter, slow release, lot to work on!  Defensively, not even close yet.  If I was an NBA scout, I would tell him to work on his game and One more in college would be beneficial.

Agreed.  Garcia has a lot to work on and at this point he has upside but not one, current NBA skill.  I could see him being a better version of Chris Crawford in his 3rd/4th year. 

[rocky_warrior]

did he have a dunk last year?

Yes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Z7U0E91ic&t=22s

Though not many.  He was a master of (smartly) using the backboard most of the year.

[BCHoopster]

He used the backboard because he is not a quick jumper off of 2 feet.  A kid that is 6' 11"  should be able to dunk on the run.  He had a few, I knew that. Highlight tape was pretty good as well. Now put  the highlights of the Seton Hall game on, Manu ate his lunch. And Mamu is not a top 60 player and may not be drafted as well.

[JakeBarnes]

Yes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Z7U0E91ic&t=22s

Though not many.  He was a master of (smartly) using the backboard most of the year.

I mean...he got blocked the 6 other times he tried to dunk

[muwarrior69]

It'll be interesting to see what happens. He has the measurables and shooting skills, but at 6'11 he still plays below the rim most of the time. Strength and interior toughness (on both sides of the ball) are his biggest weaknesses right now. Wishing him the best in any case and happy he isn't in the portal. Minnesota fans are pretty annoying actually.

...and so can we all here.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Dawson is simply not very athletic. He needs several more years of seasoning to polish his game. He has the height sand potential to play much better. Shaka will make him a better young man and player.

[4everwarriors]

He's too slow for the Association, hey?

[LeftyWarrior]

I am very excited about this news. I was very worried about a transfer away from MU. I think he has the tools to play in the NBA but I do not think he is ready right now and hopefully that is what he will hear from the NBA guys. My hope is that he is frankly told what he needs to improve on to be a 1st round draft pick and comes back to MU ready to work on his game and body. He would really be able to help MU as he moves along his journey to the NBA.  It would be good for both at the same time.

[Viper]

What aspects of his game say pro...pay me to play for your team?

[The Sultan]

What aspects of his game say pro...pay me to play for your team?

He's got good size, a nice touch on his shot and isn't a bad rebounder.

I think he has some things to work on, especially strength-wise, to be a consistent contributor in the NBA, but people seem to make the same mistakes every year about this time.

1. Getting an evaluation without hiring an agent isn't that big of a deal
2.  If he decides to enter the draft, it will be because of the feedback he received from experts that know a lot more than we do.
3.  They aren't just looking at his college production.  They are looking at his potential.

[IrwinFletcher]

Yes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Z7U0E91ic&t=22s

Though not many.  He was a master of (smartly) using the backboard most of the year.

According to T-Rank, he was 2-3 on dunks

https://www.barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?year=2021&p=Dawson%20Garcia&t=Marquette

[Scoop Snoop]

I mean...he got blocked the 6 other times he tried to dunk

He got blocked a number of times on other shots with his habit of hesitating a very small fraction of a second before launching, allowing a defender to time a block perfectly.

[JakeBarnes]

Checks out with everything we've been told so far: declare for feedback and unless it's shockingly optimistic, return to MU.  About as encouraging as we could have hoped given he didn't hire any agent, explicitly stated if they tell him to go back he will go back, and that he didn't simultaneously enter the transfer portal ala Mac McClung.

Just glad it's out in the open now as opposed to that strange radio silence while the rest of the team is practicing.

Agreed. Given Covid and such, does anyone know how they are they doing evaluation things this year?

[StillAWarrior]

Well, I certainly would rather have him in the NBA than playing for the Gophers (or any other non-MU teams). Hopefully DG will be playing in Fiserv next year -- either as a pro or with Marquette.

[TallTitan34]

I'm surprised Carton didn't test the waters for feedback as well. 

[JakeBarnes]

He got blocked a number of times on other shots with his habit of hesitating a very small fraction of a second before launching, allowing a defender to time a block perfectly.

I guess that is what I was getting at, albeit less eloquently (thanks alcohol). There was a lot of hesitating around the hoop. The way Shaka talked about Dawson playing freely was spot on. A year of getting stronger and also playing in this new system would benefit him for sure.

Hope he gets great feedback and it helps focus his approach going into next season

[Viper]

He's got good size, a nice touch on his shot and isn't a bad rebounder.

I think he has some things to work on, especially strength-wise, to be a consistent contributor in the NBA, but people seem to make the same mistakes every year about this time.

1. Getting an evaluation without hiring an agent isn't that big of a deal
2.  If he decides to enter the draft, it will be because of the feedback he received from experts that know a lot more than we do.
3.  They aren't just looking at his college production.  They are looking at his potential.

hence he's maybe a late 2nd rd pick, then assigned to the G-league  for additional development?