Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
The Emergence Of Andersson Garcia
March 09, 2022 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE – Andersson Garcia ranked 12th on Mississippi State's team averaging only 3.2 minutes in 11 games as a freshman last year.
Garcia's role has certainly expanded as a sophomore and has been one of the top options off the bench for Ben Howland's Bulldogs.
"He's so much better and has improved so much from the time that he first arrived to where he is now," Howland said. "That's a credit to him and how tough he is, how hard he works, how motivated he is and what a great family he comes from. He's definitely improved in every way as a player and I couldn't be happier for the young man. He's really impacted our team this year and helped us win some important games."
For the year, the 6-foot-7 wing is scoring 4.3 points and grabbing four rebounds in 14 minutes per game. However, it appears that Garcia saved his his best basketball for down the stretch with seven of his top eight point performances occurring during Southeastern Conference play.
In fact, Garcia has hit career-highs in each of his past two outings. He pulled down a personal-best 13 rebounds against Auburn last week followed by a 14-point performance at Texas A&M.
"It's been a special year," Garcia said. "I had those moments where I struggled and didn't have the results that I wanted. Now I have the opportunity to help the team."
During the last six games of the regular season, the native of the Dominican Republic scored 48 points to go along with 45 boards, 13 assists and 12 steals while averaging 21.3 minutes. Several of his steals of late have led to breakaway dunks in transition.
"I've been playing good defense but my last few games have been even better defensively," Garcia said.
The native of the Dominican Republic has embraced his role of being the energy guy off the bench for the Bulldogs. The emotion that he plays the game with is infectious among his teammates as well as the home crowd.
"It's just something that comes out naturally," Garcia said. "First of all, I need to have fun. I play really, really hard and that's how I have more fun. I play harder than my opponent and that's something that I enjoy the most."
Garcia refers to the energy he brings to the game as "juice" and has been providing it long before he made much of an impact on the court.
"Last year, he hardly got to play at all," Howland said. "He kept a positive attitude and was great on the bench. A year ago, he was rooting on his teammates and you can go back and watch that. He has a phenomenal attitude and totally gets it."
The desire and hustle in which Garcia plays with has even inspired a veteran coach like Howland.
"He has an incredibly bright future in the game," Howland said. "He is so tough, plays so hard and plays with such heart and poise. A lot of kids when the ball goes up, they don't want to get their nose in there. He's getting his whole head in there. He's not afraid of anything. He's fearless and that serves him well."
With MSU beginning postseason play against South Carolina at the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Florida on Thursday, Garcia is determined to provide the Bulldogs with the spark they need to extend their season a little longer.
"My mentality now is to bring even more (energy) than I was already giving," Garcia said. "I'm going to force myself to so that we can have a better result."
Garcia's role has certainly expanded as a sophomore and has been one of the top options off the bench for Ben Howland's Bulldogs.
"He's so much better and has improved so much from the time that he first arrived to where he is now," Howland said. "That's a credit to him and how tough he is, how hard he works, how motivated he is and what a great family he comes from. He's definitely improved in every way as a player and I couldn't be happier for the young man. He's really impacted our team this year and helped us win some important games."
For the year, the 6-foot-7 wing is scoring 4.3 points and grabbing four rebounds in 14 minutes per game. However, it appears that Garcia saved his his best basketball for down the stretch with seven of his top eight point performances occurring during Southeastern Conference play.
In fact, Garcia has hit career-highs in each of his past two outings. He pulled down a personal-best 13 rebounds against Auburn last week followed by a 14-point performance at Texas A&M.
"It's been a special year," Garcia said. "I had those moments where I struggled and didn't have the results that I wanted. Now I have the opportunity to help the team."
During the last six games of the regular season, the native of the Dominican Republic scored 48 points to go along with 45 boards, 13 assists and 12 steals while averaging 21.3 minutes. Several of his steals of late have led to breakaway dunks in transition.
"I've been playing good defense but my last few games have been even better defensively," Garcia said.
The native of the Dominican Republic has embraced his role of being the energy guy off the bench for the Bulldogs. The emotion that he plays the game with is infectious among his teammates as well as the home crowd.
"It's just something that comes out naturally," Garcia said. "First of all, I need to have fun. I play really, really hard and that's how I have more fun. I play harder than my opponent and that's something that I enjoy the most."
Garcia refers to the energy he brings to the game as "juice" and has been providing it long before he made much of an impact on the court.
"Last year, he hardly got to play at all," Howland said. "He kept a positive attitude and was great on the bench. A year ago, he was rooting on his teammates and you can go back and watch that. He has a phenomenal attitude and totally gets it."
The desire and hustle in which Garcia plays with has even inspired a veteran coach like Howland.
"He has an incredibly bright future in the game," Howland said. "He is so tough, plays so hard and plays with such heart and poise. A lot of kids when the ball goes up, they don't want to get their nose in there. He's getting his whole head in there. He's not afraid of anything. He's fearless and that serves him well."
With MSU beginning postseason play against South Carolina at the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Florida on Thursday, Garcia is determined to provide the Bulldogs with the spark they need to extend their season a little longer.
"My mentality now is to bring even more (energy) than I was already giving," Garcia said. "I'm going to force myself to so that we can have a better result."
Players Mentioned
G/F
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