<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When you have what Louisville has in Garcia: Seemingly, a genuinely nice person. A player who has given three all-out years to your basketball program. And a devoted son whose family faces genuine need and hardship. Then absolutely, positively the right thing to do is exactly what U of L did for Garcia both before and after a 94-82 whipping of No. 19 Charlotte. Say thanks. "It was great," Garcia said after he exited Freedom Hall to a thunderous ovation, his thumbs pushing the "Louisville" part of his uniform jersey out for effect. "I want to thank the fans." Now, those who genuinely care about Garcia -- as opposed to those who only care about what his return as a senior could mean to U of L's 2006 won/lost ledger -- have a bigger worry. Not seeing Garcia back in Freedom Hall next year for a Groundhog Day version of Senior Day. Try as I might, when I've watched the spindly 6-foot-7 forward play this winter, I have not seen a player with first-round NBA draft pick skills. Last night, I didn't either. What we did see was Louisville's native son Larry O'Bannon write what Rick Pitino called the "Hollywood" Senior Night ending; napalming the nets by hitting nine of his first 10 shots -- including five three-pointers -- en route to 33 points. However, against the long, athletic 49ers, Garcia struggled to get shots. His final line was 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, three turnovers. He was 2-for-8 shooting, 1-for-5 from three-point range. It continued a distressing trend. In the five previous "marquee games" U of L had played before last night -- Kentucky and both Cincinnati and Memphis twice -- Garcia shot a combined 14-for-57 from the field. That includes 4-for-24 from three-point range and 19 assists balanced against 17 turnovers. Even in the one strong game Garcia played against a top-level opponent -- at Florida -- his numbers were 6-for-14 from the floor with six turnovers. If you can't score on UC and the Men of Calipari, how are you going to get off against Tayshaun Prince and Ron Artest? "Having been in the NBA eight years," Pitino said last night, "I know Francisco is ready for the NBA." In a biographical sense, that is definitely true.</div> Source
