Working Out, Reaching Out

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There isn't even a hint of animosity or envy between the two.

Kevin Martin and Francisco Garc?a again will compete for the same minutes at some of the same positions, in search of the same goals and glory.

The Kings' first-round draft picks in 2004 and 2005, respectively, Martin and Garc?a bound into training camp next month no longer the fresh-faced kids on the proverbial block. They're veterans now, in the forefront of expectations -- theirs and club management's.

And they even look alike, in that long and angular 6-foot-7, 210-pound mode, always eager, never tired, never satisfied. They even wear baseball hats that bear similar looks -- brim perfectly stiff and straight, slightly ajar -- but each man will insist you're talking to the more handsome of the two.

Martin and Garc?a spent their summers mostly in Sacramento, conducting camps and clinics through a local group called 3rd-Degree. When they weren't attending Monarchs home games, they wore each other ragged at the Kings' practice facility in an effort to hone all aspects of their game. They're a version of the spirited Mike Bibby-Bobby Jackson practice battles from yesteryear, when those guards dueled daily to push each other and remained close friends off the floor.

"That's a credit to them," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said of Martin and Garc?a. "They see an opportunity in front of them, and they're both putting in a ton of time here. You don't get better by thinking about it."

"We play one-on-one, challenge each other's shots, work out, a lot of stuff," Garc?a said. "We talk a lot about it. Before, we were young guys. Now we've got to take it to the next level, to take on that next challenge.

"We don't look at it as who's going to start, who's going to have more minutes. It's how you play and what you do, and we're trying to get better. Me and Kevin, we're on the same page."

A page that includes a whole lot of versatility. Both are exceptional athletes who can run the floor, hawk foes with their long reaches and score in numerous ways. Martin is the better slasher and finisher; Garc?a is the better defender and shooter, certainly the more fearless bomber of the two.

Regardless, new coach Eric Musselman has two dynamic talents to unleash. Last season Martin started 41 games at shooting guard and averaged 10.8 points as one of the league's most improved performers. He seeks to secure that job for good after Bonzi Wells was not re-signed. Garc?a can play point guard and shooting guard. He started 11 games in his rookie campaign, which was slowed late by injury, and scored 5.6 a game. Garc?a said he's healthy now with a foot that dogged him in summer league fully healed.

Musselman has met with both players extensively. He coached them in summer league in Las Vegas, and he mails motivational material to their homes. And the coach let both know that he's counting on them to up their game, up their defense -- and to get the Kings back up the Western Conference standings.

Martin captured the prevailing theme of both when he said, "Last year was a breakthrough season. Now it's time for a breakout season."

Martin and Garc?a dabbled in basketball camps for the first time this summer. They proved to be naturals, acting well below their age by getting onto the floor for drills, offering insight and counsel and genuine grins. And there's more to come. Garc?a is hosting a free one-day clinic for Spanish-speaking children Sept. 23 at the Salvation Army from 6-8 p.m. </div>

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