http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13202451p-14045462c.html
Early on, García feeling frustration with system
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, July 9, 2005
LAS VEGAS - Five days into his NBA career, Kings rookie Francisco García already has learned hundreds of new lessons, all with one consistent theme: He's not in Louisville anymore.
So far, the swingman has shown all the potential that led to his selection as the Kings' first-round pick, from his tight defense to natural passing ability to his never-quit motor on the floor. But summer league is a crash course - at times a humbling one. García has struggled with his shot, all while studying the Kings' intricate system in every free moment. The good news? It's early, and he won't stop until he figures it out.
García: My agent always asks me if it has hit me yet. And I keep telling him it hasn't. I just keep doing the same stuff I used to do when I wasn't an NBA player. My mom told me, "I know you're not going to change. Just keep doing what you're doing." I get up in the morning, get some breakfast, talk to my family, then just relax and talk to my friends. I don't try to do a lot of stuff. I like to relax. I really like to relax.
I got here at 1 a.m. (Wednesday), and I was just wondering how I was going to play because I haven't really practiced with the team, and we had a game the next day. So I was kind of worried about how we were going to play together. We had practice that morning, a shootaround, but we didn't really run the offense.
We run like 10 sets of offense, and I was thinking in my head, Man, that's a lot of sets for me to learn in a couple days. But I went to my room and started thinking about it - how I was going to do, how I was going to run it, what things I was going to do. But then when I got in the game, I realized that's not how you have to do it. You have to go out and play like you always do, play my game.
At the beginning of the game, I was playing kind of passive, just letting things come to me, and that's not how I usually play. I come out there and do my best. If I'm open, shoot it. If I'm not, drive it and create for other people. That's just my game, but I wasn't doing that in the beginning. I was feeling kind of uncomfortable.
The coaches have been telling me, "The offense is going to come to you. Don't worry about it." I'm still a little frustrated that I don't really know a couple sets. I usually know the offense - where to go, where to cut, and now it's a new learning experience for me. It's kind of hard. I just keep thinking about it, keep telling myself what plays I need to run, where I need to go, just keep doing what I'm doing.
The view from summer league coach and Kings assistant Elston Turner: He had a rough day. He didn't shoot it well, looked like he was tired. All the tools we expect of him are there. It just looked like second-day blues, third-day blues. We crammed him with a lot of information on both ends of the floor for one day. That was on the morning of the game that he played in, and it's still a lot. Even after the full year, we had some guys making wrong reads and wrong cuts. So it's going to take a while for it to come to him naturally.
Early on, García feeling frustration with system
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, July 9, 2005
LAS VEGAS - Five days into his NBA career, Kings rookie Francisco García already has learned hundreds of new lessons, all with one consistent theme: He's not in Louisville anymore.
So far, the swingman has shown all the potential that led to his selection as the Kings' first-round pick, from his tight defense to natural passing ability to his never-quit motor on the floor. But summer league is a crash course - at times a humbling one. García has struggled with his shot, all while studying the Kings' intricate system in every free moment. The good news? It's early, and he won't stop until he figures it out.
García: My agent always asks me if it has hit me yet. And I keep telling him it hasn't. I just keep doing the same stuff I used to do when I wasn't an NBA player. My mom told me, "I know you're not going to change. Just keep doing what you're doing." I get up in the morning, get some breakfast, talk to my family, then just relax and talk to my friends. I don't try to do a lot of stuff. I like to relax. I really like to relax.
I got here at 1 a.m. (Wednesday), and I was just wondering how I was going to play because I haven't really practiced with the team, and we had a game the next day. So I was kind of worried about how we were going to play together. We had practice that morning, a shootaround, but we didn't really run the offense.
We run like 10 sets of offense, and I was thinking in my head, Man, that's a lot of sets for me to learn in a couple days. But I went to my room and started thinking about it - how I was going to do, how I was going to run it, what things I was going to do. But then when I got in the game, I realized that's not how you have to do it. You have to go out and play like you always do, play my game.
At the beginning of the game, I was playing kind of passive, just letting things come to me, and that's not how I usually play. I come out there and do my best. If I'm open, shoot it. If I'm not, drive it and create for other people. That's just my game, but I wasn't doing that in the beginning. I was feeling kind of uncomfortable.
The coaches have been telling me, "The offense is going to come to you. Don't worry about it." I'm still a little frustrated that I don't really know a couple sets. I usually know the offense - where to go, where to cut, and now it's a new learning experience for me. It's kind of hard. I just keep thinking about it, keep telling myself what plays I need to run, where I need to go, just keep doing what I'm doing.
The view from summer league coach and Kings assistant Elston Turner: He had a rough day. He didn't shoot it well, looked like he was tired. All the tools we expect of him are there. It just looked like second-day blues, third-day blues. We crammed him with a lot of information on both ends of the floor for one day. That was on the morning of the game that he played in, and it's still a lot. Even after the full year, we had some guys making wrong reads and wrong cuts. So it's going to take a while for it to come to him naturally.
