For those looking for a connection as to why former Stony Brook standout Andrew Garcia would elect to come to Georgia as a graduate transfer, look no further than Bulldog assistant coach John Linehan.
In a telephone interview with UGASports, Garcia explained that Linehan was an assistant coach at Hartford at the same time his sister Elizabeth was starting her career as a member of the Lady Hawks basketball team.
So, not two hours after Garcia placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal, Linehan was on the phone.
“They knew each other, so there was already a good vibe,” said Garcia, who Wednesday announced that he would be joining Tom Crean’s program in Athens.
“It was my decision. I wanted a new beginning, I wanted a new challenge; I wanted to take a risk,” he said. “We played a lot of high-level teams in our conference while I was at Stony Brook, so I knew I could play at this level.”
The 6-foot-5, 227-pound transfer will certainly bring a high level of athleticism to the Bulldogs.
After averaging just 2.9 points as a freshman, he increased to 9.4 points per game as a sophomore, earning the America East 6th Man of the Year before averaging 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds last year as a junior en route to earning All-Conference honors.
Crean obviously liked what he saw.
“I just felt like he understood me as a player,” Garcia said. “He saw a lot of things I can work on and by simple tweaks and adjustments in my footwork. He saw me as a versatile player who can guard multiple positions as well as score. He talked about the pace of the game that they want to play at and how open the court was to create, drive, kick and drive. I just loved it.
“I was just impressed with how Coach Crean was invested in me by watching my film for hours throughout the day. I just felt that was the place for me.”
He joins former George Mason standout Justin Kier, who announced his decision to become a Bulldog back in late April.
The duo gives Crean seven newcomers for the upcoming season, a group that includes K.D. Johnson, Jonathan Ned, Mikal Starks, Josh Taylor, and juco commit Ty McMillan, out of Kilgore Community College in Texas.
Assuming McMillan signs, and barring any more attrition, Garcia, a second-team All-American East selection last season, will be the final addition to next year’s roster for the Bulldogs.
Garcia is ready to get started, and hopes to get on campus as soon as he can.
On Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow certain sports, including men’s basketball, to return to campus for voluntary on-campus activities to resume. Garcia said he’ll be in Athens just as soon as he’s allowed.
“Coach Crean wants it to go, he wants it to push, and he wants us to utilize our speed and quickness,” Garcia said. “He wants a lot of back doors, constant movement, constantly wear down those guards to win. I love that.”
He’s not bad on defense, either.
Garcia’s 220 defensive rebounds would have topped UGA's team-leading 171 pulled down by Rayshaun Hammonds. Garcia’s 53 steals were also 10 more than the 43 posted by Anthony Edwards to lead the team in that department.
“I take pride in that (defense). Each year I’ve tried to make that focal point, mainly because you can’t win if you can’t defend. It doesn’t matter how much you score, but if you can’t defend, what’s the point?” Garcia said. “You might score 30, but you're giving up 30. I kind of predicate myself on defense, being able to prove that I can guard the point and two, even though I was always guarding the three and four.”
