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Kings can count on García for competitive, compassionate lift
Energizing A Court Near You
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Print | E-Mail | Comments (11)
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Even he needs pick-me-ups every once in a while, but they get tricky when the hoops therapist is in need of some therapy.
Francisco García has found a way.
Whenever the Kings swingman is looking for a spirit lifter, he pops in a DVD of himself at his finest. There are Louisville clips of his run-and-gun days, "Cisco" at his best back before his time on the pine became the unwanted routine.
"I watch it every day," García said. "It just depends on how I feel."
Otherwise, the energy is all outbound.
Though the growth of the second-year player has been slowed by a long list of factors -- among them the John Salmons signing, the drafting of Quincy Douby and the ascension of Kevin Martin -- García has become the rare player whose presence and personality cross whatever lines exist in the locker room.
He has become best friends with the very players who soak up his playing time, none more so than Douby. He breaks the generational trend by counseling the older folks, with even a subtle influence over the mercurial Ron Artest.
García had a long-awaited chance to bring his energy to the floor Monday night. He played the entire fourth quarter in the 20-point comeback against New Jersey, defending at a high rate against Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, and he made a three-pointer that cut the lead to eight with 7:39 left before Mike Bibby scored the Kings' last 15 points.
"As far as his growth and his development, I thought the Boston game (Friday) and (Tuesday) night were two huge games for him," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "Based on how (Artest and Martin) have played thus far, that has cut into Francisco's minutes. Then for 15 games or so, we really made a conscious effort to get Quincy involved. And all of that affected Francisco. But with his play of late, he's earned the right now to play more minutes."
But more than that, García has become the poster boy for a new mood movement. With the losses piling up recently and team morale on the decline, Musselman appears to be placing a higher premium on those players with the right mind-set and no shortage of motivation.
It is partly why rookie big man Justin Williams remains. And it is, it seems clear, a disposition García has maintained despite playing nine minutes or less 15 times this season.
"He's got an attitude where he's easily approachable whether he's playing one minute or playing a ton of minutes," Musselman said. "He's not a pouter. ... He's a guy who would rather see us win and him not play than for him to play and us lose."
Douby, who has known García since they were roommates in a summer basketball camp in high school, said no one picks up his teammates more than García.
"I don't remember a day he was down at all," Douby said. "That impresses me because he's a guy who played a lot last year and is not playing too much now. Then he's staying confident and working hard and trying to help me while he's trying to keep himself up. That's a big deal."
The losses have guaranteed that change in the way of promotion or demotion is a day-to-day possibility. Exhibit A is at the power forward spot, where Musselman replaced Kenny Thomas with Shareef Abdur-Rahim on Jan. 6 and reversed the players again Monday in a move he said also will be the case tonight against Milwaukee.
"I'm going to bring the energy no matter what," García said.
"(Musselman) is telling me to keep working, and my chance is going to come. He's seen me working, and he loves my energy, so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. It's hard, of course, but I'm keeping my head."
And everyone else's.
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/112756.html
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Energizing A Court Near You
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Print | E-Mail | Comments (11)
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Even he needs pick-me-ups every once in a while, but they get tricky when the hoops therapist is in need of some therapy.
Francisco García has found a way.
Whenever the Kings swingman is looking for a spirit lifter, he pops in a DVD of himself at his finest. There are Louisville clips of his run-and-gun days, "Cisco" at his best back before his time on the pine became the unwanted routine.
"I watch it every day," García said. "It just depends on how I feel."
Otherwise, the energy is all outbound.
Though the growth of the second-year player has been slowed by a long list of factors -- among them the John Salmons signing, the drafting of Quincy Douby and the ascension of Kevin Martin -- García has become the rare player whose presence and personality cross whatever lines exist in the locker room.
He has become best friends with the very players who soak up his playing time, none more so than Douby. He breaks the generational trend by counseling the older folks, with even a subtle influence over the mercurial Ron Artest.
García had a long-awaited chance to bring his energy to the floor Monday night. He played the entire fourth quarter in the 20-point comeback against New Jersey, defending at a high rate against Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, and he made a three-pointer that cut the lead to eight with 7:39 left before Mike Bibby scored the Kings' last 15 points.
"As far as his growth and his development, I thought the Boston game (Friday) and (Tuesday) night were two huge games for him," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "Based on how (Artest and Martin) have played thus far, that has cut into Francisco's minutes. Then for 15 games or so, we really made a conscious effort to get Quincy involved. And all of that affected Francisco. But with his play of late, he's earned the right now to play more minutes."
But more than that, García has become the poster boy for a new mood movement. With the losses piling up recently and team morale on the decline, Musselman appears to be placing a higher premium on those players with the right mind-set and no shortage of motivation.
It is partly why rookie big man Justin Williams remains. And it is, it seems clear, a disposition García has maintained despite playing nine minutes or less 15 times this season.
"He's got an attitude where he's easily approachable whether he's playing one minute or playing a ton of minutes," Musselman said. "He's not a pouter. ... He's a guy who would rather see us win and him not play than for him to play and us lose."
Douby, who has known García since they were roommates in a summer basketball camp in high school, said no one picks up his teammates more than García.
"I don't remember a day he was down at all," Douby said. "That impresses me because he's a guy who played a lot last year and is not playing too much now. Then he's staying confident and working hard and trying to help me while he's trying to keep himself up. That's a big deal."
The losses have guaranteed that change in the way of promotion or demotion is a day-to-day possibility. Exhibit A is at the power forward spot, where Musselman replaced Kenny Thomas with Shareef Abdur-Rahim on Jan. 6 and reversed the players again Monday in a move he said also will be the case tonight against Milwaukee.
"I'm going to bring the energy no matter what," García said.
"(Musselman) is telling me to keep working, and my chance is going to come. He's seen me working, and he loves my energy, so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. It's hard, of course, but I'm keeping my head."
And everyone else's.
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/112756.html
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