Biography
By Jim Hague
Christian Garcia had a brilliant high school basketball career at Freehold Borough High School, scoring almost 1,300 points, leading his team to a Shore Conference divisional championship and earning Monmouth County Player of the Year honors as a senior, a year where he averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game.
But for some reason, Garcia had very few scholarship offers to consider.
“I had one offer from West Point (the U.S. Military Academy) and I was thinking about going there, but the coaching staff was replaced and the offer was taken away,” Garcia said. “No one else offered me.”
The only aspect that Garcia seemed to lack was height.
“He was a little undersized (Garcia stands 6-foot-2), but at the end of the day, he was a scholarship player,” Rutgers-Newark head men’s basketball coach Joe Loughran said.
Garcia said that he had about 25 NCAA Division III schools recruiting him and narrowed down his choice to three Division III schools, DeSales of Pennsylvania, The College of New Jersey and Rutgers-Newark.
“I wanted a school that was strong academically and had a good basketball program,” Garcia said.
The coaching staff at R-N was diligent and determined in their pursuit of Garcia.
“(Assistant coach) Pat Noone did a great job in recruiting Christian,” Loughran said. “Pat is a Jersey Shore guy and Pat and Christian developed a good relationship. We had Christian up for a visit and we were able to sell him on coming here.”
It was actually Loughran’s promise – or actually a non-promise –that eventually sold Garcia.
“He didn’t promise me anything,” Garcia said. “He never told me anything about playing time. He told me that I had to come in and earn it. I liked that. I also liked the urban setting and environment. It was a good fit.”
“Sometimes, there are a couple of good kids that fall through the cracks,” Loughran said. “We were definitely surprised to get him, but we were also very happy. It’s the gamble you have to take at this level.”
Garcia seemed to find an immediate home with the Scarlet Raiders and was making perhaps the biggest impact any freshman had made with the R-N men’s basketball program in several years.
“He had a role coming off the bench and was rolling along nicely,” Loughran said.
“I was off to a really good start and enjoying my college experience,” Garcia said.
In the first four weeks of the season, Garcia was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week three times. He led all NJAC freshmen in scoring (12.4 points per game) and rebounding (6.9 rpg) and helped the Scarlet Raiders win all nine of their games to start the season.
Then, disaster struck. In a game against York, Garcia broke a bone in his foot.
“I was first told that I would miss about three weeks, but it turned out to be more serious than I thought,” Garcia said.
The result was season-ending surgery.
“I’m a guy who tries to turn everything into a positive,” Garcia said. “I was a little bummed, but as things worked out, it might have been a blessing.”
Garcia was awarded a medical redshirt, which means he still has four years to play for the Scarlet Raiders.
“It gave me a whole another year to get bigger and stronger,” Garcia said. “I have four more years to do what I was doing. I knew I was going to work even harder.”
Garcia spent his time away working hard at rehabilitating – some of it unconventional.
“I did do a lot of weight lifting and running, but I also spent the summer getting in shape off the back of a garbage truck,” Garcia said.
Say what?
“I spent the summer collecting garbage (in Freehold),” Garcia said. “It got me in great shape. The guys I worked with told me to stay in school, that I didn’t want to do this all the time.”
As the 2011-12 season gets ready to tip off soon, Garcia appears primed to have a successful comeback.
“Now, we have a freshman who has some experience,” Loughran said. “He can play either the three (small forward) or the four (power forward). We can have him and Jeremiah (Rivers) out there together and that gives us a tough lineup to guard.”
Loughran is interested to see how well Garcia does.
“I hope he can get off to a great start like he did last year,” Loughran said. “People now know about him. But he has to find his niche with this team, find his role. It will take some time. Once he becomes as familiar with this team, he’ll be fine. He has such a great ability to play around the rim and get the ball. He can also guard the two (shooting guard) and even guard bigger men. If he can do the things he did during that short span last year, we’re going to be pretty good.”
Loughran also likes the fact that Garcia is a high energy guy.
“We try to get that out of him every day,” Loughran said. “We want everyone to play with that energy. He’s still learning to practice hard every day, but he can bring that energy to practice. I think he’ll take a little while to get his timing down, because he hasn’t really played in a year, but he’s too good of a player not to make an impact.”
Garcia, who is leaning toward majoring in criminal justice, with a possible career in law enforcement down the road, is eager to be back.
“Honestly, it’s so much easier this year,” Garcia said. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect. It was all part of the unknown. But this year, I know what I can do. I’m coming in hungry. I know how well I can do. My confidence level is through the roof.”
Or in this case, through the Golden Dome. Garcia is ready to restart his promising career and hopes to pick up where he left off before he got hurt.
