NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Dawson Garcia's top seven

NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Dawson Garcia’s top seven

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 31: A detail of a basket hoop, net and backboard as the Duke Blue Devils play against the Louisville Cardinals during the Midwest Regional Final round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 31, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Coach Pitino of Minnesota reacts. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota is the local program involved in this recruitment. Considering the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” features several high-profile prospects this year, one has to expect that head coach Richard Pitino will be able to land one of them. Alas, the Golden Gophers are yet to secure a 2020 commitment. If they are able to land Dawson Garcia, though, that would immediately make up for any prior misses as he is a dynamite player with “immediate-impact” written all over him.

Minnesota offered him a scholarship all the way back in April of last year and they have stayed vigilant in their pursuit for the past several months. Garcia definitely seems to like the idea of playing in his home state but it will be difficult for Coach Pitino to beat out the powerhouse programs in this recruitment. Playing up the hometown advantage and the possibility of taking the program to the next level will likely be a feature part of this offer.

The Golden Gophers have reached the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three years. It appears as though the program might be on the verge of a breakthrough and Garcia could be the player that pushes them over the edge. Minnesota has been relatively successful on the recruiting trail over the past couple of years so I would not count them out in this battle.

Garcia is a nationally-targeted prospect but watch out for the home program as a dangerous contender.

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