http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/134631.html
Ailene Voisin: All grown up? Kings' García is on his way
By Ailene Voisin -
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, March 8, 2007
The scowl was hilarious, intimidating neither his teammates nor his opponents. But that frown? The way his eyebrows angled upward, his dark eyes narrowing into slits whenever his teammates ignored his instructions, or worse, ignored him?
The frown was the best. The drama King dissed by his own people.
"Last year, I didn't know what to expect," said Francisco García, a bit sheepishly. "I wasn't ready. I didn't take advantage of my opportunity. But I'm ready now."
In a move that is long overdue, Cisco is back on center stage. Back where he belongs. With small forward Ron Artest excused indefinitely for allegedly assaulting his wife, Eric Musselman's rotation tightens. The versatile García no longer is the forgotten man, the second-year player whose limited minutes have puzzled team officials and disappointed fans.
The chant at Arco Arena this season has been universal: We want more. More Cisco. More of his playmaking. More of his playfulness. More of his chippiness. More of his energy. Clone García, and Starbucks immediately goes out of business.
Yet what began late last season under Rick Adelman -- García benched for rushing three-pointers, and in essence, committing rookie mistakes in his haste to quicken the tempo -- continued midway into the 2006-07 season. After an impressive early stretch, García assumed the role of the interested observer, his teammates plodding and stagnating and struggling without him.
But this is where Cisco has changed, grew up while hardly anyone was watching. Though still the first King with a quip or to pull a prank, he has become a serious, diligent student of the game. He has scrapped the tendency to launch a three the first time he touches the ball. He has tempered his demeanor, resisting the temptation to grab the pointer and, like an overbearing schoolteacher, acting as if he has all of the answers.
That look of disgust when someone fails to spot him in the corner? The one that exposes his inner thoughts to virtually everyone inside Arco? Gone. The histrionics that so annoyed his teammates? Gone, too. As for that silly game he used to play with the refs?
A season ago, the officials repeatedly directed García (per league rules) to tuck his jersey into his shorts. And, so, he would tuck his jersey into his shorts. And when they looked away, he would yank the jersey back out again. Tuck it in, pull it out. An irritated Geoff Petrie finally summoned the rookie into his office, told him to expend more energy reaching for loose balls and long rebounds, and then proceeded to lobby Adelman and later Musselman for more playing time.
"Cisco adds a crazy spirit to the team," a bemused Brad Miller suggested. "That's how he plays, and that's what really helps us. He's so damn wild that when we put him up front (of the defense), he's been effective."
Musselman, who until recently favored a slower, more methodical offense, finally executed the switchback. Suddenly, faster is better. Suddenly, ball movement and unselfishness have trumped those deadly isolation plays. Suddenly, García, Ronnie Price and Kevin Martin are pressing full court, stealing passes and sprinting for dunks and layups and alley-oops.
Even the occasional wild García pass -- and there still are a few of those -- seems tolerable. Against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, García, 25, surprisingly remained on the floor for the deciding minutes. Utilizing his spindly 6-foot-7 frame and huge hands for a series of blocks and deflections, he made himself too invaluable to ignore.
"It's a great lesson for young basketball players on how you can have a huge impact on a game and don't necessarily have to score the ball," Musselman said.
So all that time on the bench? Last season, Cisco would find a spot near the corner and brood. (Yes, we saw that, too.) This season, he sat there watching, waiting, cheering, maturing.
"Now I think about defense first," said García, who received his green card Tuesday at the Capitol. "We have shooters, so I try to do other things, like help with spacing. With Brad (Miller) out there, it's a little bit different. Everybody passes the ball. With Brad (laugh), I can play a little bit, you know, show a little more of my stuff. You'll see."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
Ailene Voisin: All grown up? Kings' García is on his way
By Ailene Voisin -
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, March 8, 2007
The scowl was hilarious, intimidating neither his teammates nor his opponents. But that frown? The way his eyebrows angled upward, his dark eyes narrowing into slits whenever his teammates ignored his instructions, or worse, ignored him?
The frown was the best. The drama King dissed by his own people.
"Last year, I didn't know what to expect," said Francisco García, a bit sheepishly. "I wasn't ready. I didn't take advantage of my opportunity. But I'm ready now."
In a move that is long overdue, Cisco is back on center stage. Back where he belongs. With small forward Ron Artest excused indefinitely for allegedly assaulting his wife, Eric Musselman's rotation tightens. The versatile García no longer is the forgotten man, the second-year player whose limited minutes have puzzled team officials and disappointed fans.
The chant at Arco Arena this season has been universal: We want more. More Cisco. More of his playmaking. More of his playfulness. More of his chippiness. More of his energy. Clone García, and Starbucks immediately goes out of business.
Yet what began late last season under Rick Adelman -- García benched for rushing three-pointers, and in essence, committing rookie mistakes in his haste to quicken the tempo -- continued midway into the 2006-07 season. After an impressive early stretch, García assumed the role of the interested observer, his teammates plodding and stagnating and struggling without him.
But this is where Cisco has changed, grew up while hardly anyone was watching. Though still the first King with a quip or to pull a prank, he has become a serious, diligent student of the game. He has scrapped the tendency to launch a three the first time he touches the ball. He has tempered his demeanor, resisting the temptation to grab the pointer and, like an overbearing schoolteacher, acting as if he has all of the answers.
That look of disgust when someone fails to spot him in the corner? The one that exposes his inner thoughts to virtually everyone inside Arco? Gone. The histrionics that so annoyed his teammates? Gone, too. As for that silly game he used to play with the refs?
A season ago, the officials repeatedly directed García (per league rules) to tuck his jersey into his shorts. And, so, he would tuck his jersey into his shorts. And when they looked away, he would yank the jersey back out again. Tuck it in, pull it out. An irritated Geoff Petrie finally summoned the rookie into his office, told him to expend more energy reaching for loose balls and long rebounds, and then proceeded to lobby Adelman and later Musselman for more playing time.
"Cisco adds a crazy spirit to the team," a bemused Brad Miller suggested. "That's how he plays, and that's what really helps us. He's so damn wild that when we put him up front (of the defense), he's been effective."
Musselman, who until recently favored a slower, more methodical offense, finally executed the switchback. Suddenly, faster is better. Suddenly, ball movement and unselfishness have trumped those deadly isolation plays. Suddenly, García, Ronnie Price and Kevin Martin are pressing full court, stealing passes and sprinting for dunks and layups and alley-oops.
Even the occasional wild García pass -- and there still are a few of those -- seems tolerable. Against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, García, 25, surprisingly remained on the floor for the deciding minutes. Utilizing his spindly 6-foot-7 frame and huge hands for a series of blocks and deflections, he made himself too invaluable to ignore.
"It's a great lesson for young basketball players on how you can have a huge impact on a game and don't necessarily have to score the ball," Musselman said.
So all that time on the bench? Last season, Cisco would find a spot near the corner and brood. (Yes, we saw that, too.) This season, he sat there watching, waiting, cheering, maturing.
"Now I think about defense first," said García, who received his green card Tuesday at the Capitol. "We have shooters, so I try to do other things, like help with spacing. With Brad (Miller) out there, it's a little bit different. Everybody passes the ball. With Brad (laugh), I can play a little bit, you know, show a little more of my stuff. You'll see."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
