原文出自nola.com http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1098860128258400.xml Garcia adjusting in bid to make Hornets' roster Play on court easier than language, eating Wednesday, October 27, 2004 By John Reid Staff writer Hornets guard Alex Garcia likes going to restaurants in New Orleans, but he never orders specialties like gumbo, shrimp etouffee or oysters on the half shell. It's not that Garcia dislikes New Orleans cuisine; he just isn't ready to try it yet. Garcia is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, making him one of two foreign-born players on the Hornets' roster (Jamaal Magloire, Canada, is the other). Since training camp opened this month, Garcia mainly has been eating hamburgers and french fries. "I think one of the problems I've had has been the food," Garcia said after Tuesday's practice. "In Brazil, we eat a lot of rice with beans. I never heard of gumbo before I came here." Adjusting to unfamiliar foods has not been the only change Garcia will have to make. New Orleans is the first city he's lived where a majority of the people do not speak Spanish. Garcia speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He understands English but can't speak it fluently. For interviews, the Hornets' media relations department has assistant Kurt Fedders, who is fluent in Spanish, help Garcia. Coach Byron Scott said during team meetings he occasionally goes a little slower to make sure Garcia understands everything. Scott also spends time with Garcia to be certain he understands certain plays. "But other than that, he understands a lot," Scott said. "He's just like most European guys. You'll ask them do they understand, and they say yes, but you know they don't know what you've just said. But he is a great kid." Garcia is the sixth international player the Hornets have had in franchise history. Besides Magloire, the others are Vlade Divac (Serbia), Jason Miskiri (Guyana), Jerome Moiso (France) and George Zidek (Czech Republic). The Hornets signed Garcia last June after the San Antonio Spurs released him. Garcia, a 6-foot-3 point guard, had an injury-filled rookie season for the Spurs last year. It started after he fractured a bone in his left foot during a preseason game against the Hornets, and it forced him to miss the first 33 games. After returning, Garcia injured his right knee and missed the final 47 games. "We were sitting there, and he was really playing good, and before we knew it, he got hurt," said Hornets general manager Allan Bristow, who attended last season's preseason game in San Antonio with Bob Bass, who retired before this season as the team's executive vice president of basketball operations. "We liked his toughness." After seven preseason games this month, Garcia has shown the same toughness. Still, he remains in a close battle with free-agent signee Junior Harrington for the third point-guard spot behind veterans Baron Davis and Darrell Armstrong. Garcia is averaging 5.8 points and 1.8 assists going into Friday's preseason finale at San Antonio. He played 29 minutes in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and scored nine points, with three assists and a steal. Harrington scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and got a steal in 29 minutes. Garcia, 24, got his first start in Saturday's loss to the Sacramento Kings and scored four points in 16 minutes. He did not get an assist. Garcia and Harrington were able to get start this past weekend because Davis missed two games because of a strained left ankle. "Last year I couldn't play basketball because of the injuries, so I'm excited about this season," Garcia said. "My knee and foot are good, and I have practiced hard every day." Soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil, but Garcia said his older brother, Eduardo, taught him how to play basketball. Garcia stayed with it, but didn't draw offers from American universities. Instead, he played on the Brazilian national team. That exposure helped him land a spot in the Brazilian Professional League during the 2002-03 season. He averaged 17.9 points and 4.0 rebounds and was selected the league's top forward. He wasn't drafted by an NBA team, but Garcia was offered a free-agent contract with the Spurs before the 2003-04 season. "We know it's been a learning experience for him, trying to adjust to everything," said Armstrong, who has helped Garcia throughout camp. "He doesn't know the English language like we know it, and he's had to adjust to the play. But hell, half of my teammates don't understand what I'm saying, either, and I speak English. So I've tried to help him." Bristow thinks it's a just a matter of time before Garcia gets more comfortable and shows all of his potential. He still needs to increase his assists average and improve as a shooter. "He's got good potential, all the mechanics of his shot are there," Bristow said. "I think he's done some other things that have impressed the coaches. It's coming down to the wire now, and it's been a heck of a battle between him and Junior." In the meantime, Garcia still isn't ready to take many chances when it comes to food. He is going to stick with what he knows -- hamburgers and french fries -- even on road trips. . . . . . . . John Reid can be reached at [email protected] or at (504) 826-3405. --

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