Do you guys remember former Brazilian Spur, Alex Garcia?

[GrandeDavid]

He was blowing up in the preseason a few years ago then broke his foot after landing funny after a made three pointer, and through a communication mishap or whatever, the Spurs ended up losing him on waivers to New Orleans. I'm friends with Alex and a friendly acquaintance of Danny Ferry's, so after the injury, I spent a couple days at the Spurs practice facility translating as Will Sevening and Danny explained about the upcoming surgical procedure. Danny told me after New Orleans snagged him that the Spurs were caught off guard and were disappointed to lose him.

In New Orleans, Alex got hurt again...and this time returned to Brazil to recover his physique and game. He just recently led his team, Brasilia Universo, to a victory over my city's team in Brazil, Uberlandia Unitri, in overtime. His team is undefeated at 21-0 as the playoffs approach. He was bags of money in the clutch. Dude has nearly Leandro's footspeed but is much stronger. He's a stud. He's a lefty, but he even threw down a fast break James White type cradle dunk with his right hand. He's just tenacious on both ends of the floor and played the ENTIRE game. He never rests in ANY game.

After the game, which was Friday night, I met up with him and a couple of his teammates and one of their assistant coaches and we pounded way too many beers to count.

It was cool because Alex said four or so NBA teams are talking with his agent, and he'll be going back to the NBA next season. He wasn't sure if the Spurs have joined the mix, but he said he hoped so. Here's what Alex said about his few months with San Antonio before his unfortunate injury:

First of all, he was overwhelmed by the class and sincere care they showed for him after the injury. He said that every player was so down to earth and cool. I know he's still friends with Manu. He said that the Spurs just simply great guys, a fabulous organization. He said he was timid coming to the U.S. at first because he was only 21 and didn't speak English. But he said the Spurs literally treated him like a son and EVERYONE took him under their wing. He even played video games at Tim Duncan's house.

Anyway, it was cool hooking up with Alex that night and I was lucky I didn't get in trouble with my lady. The dude is the ultimate chick magnet, to use an 80s term. Anyway, here are some game pics of Alex for last Friday:

http://www.cbb.com.br/basquete_virtual/images/CNBM%202006_2007/b/172b.jpg

http://www.cbb.com.br/basquete_virtual/images/CNBM%202006_2007/b/171b.jpg

[ChumpDumper]

Is he playing the point?

[Spurs Brazil]

Espero que ele tenha uma nova chance na NBA

[rayray2k8]

I remember Pop wasnt to happy to see him get hurt or see him let go.

[GrandeDavid]

ChumpDumper, IN BRAZIL he plays the two and some three, but really he's so skilled at this level of competition in Brazil that he can play the point as well. But that's because of his team's needs. He would prolly play point because of his size and quickness in the NBA. I think that's where Pop and R.C. had him.

SpursBrazil, eu tambem! Ele e meu cara, gente fino demais. Porra como ele consegue beber e continuar ficando normal! rs rs

[Sonia_TX]

My mom and I loved Alex and would cheer for him when he played. I hope he does come back (even if not to the Spurs). That would be great.

[samikeyp]

Well....their will probably be a guard spot available this summer. :)


Didn't he throw down a nasty dunk in his limited action?

[E20]

If what you say is true about him going off during games and slamming it ala James White style and he plays point then BRING HIM ON DOWN. I never saw him play while he was with the Spurs so I can't give any assessment, are there any stats for his club team or something?

[Spurs Brazil]

SpursBrazil, eu tambem! Ele e meu cara, gente fino demais. Porra como ele consegue beber e continuar ficando normal! rs rs

Rs rs

[Das Texan]

well alex is better than beno, so thats a start!

[GrandeDavid]

My mom and I loved Alex and would cheer for him when he played. I hope he does come back (even if not to the Spurs). That would be great.

Sonia, you're cheering for a good guy! He's really cool and treats fans well. After the game, for example, he called me onto the court after he did some interviews, gave me a hug and I told him I had a buddy I wanted him to meet, a fan of his. Actually, this was just a really poor kid I had bought some popcorn and soda for during the game. I called the kid on the floor and Alex treated him like a brother. It was great. Manu is like that, too. Manu is also a super, down to earth guy.

[saporvida]

wish i could had seen what you had... ive never heard of the guy before this thread.

[zekes]

very cool insight. thanks! you might get a laugh at the television commentator today for abc mentioning that barbosa is "from the small town of São Paulo".... :lol

[ChumpDumper]

Get that guy on our Vegas team.

[GrandeDavid]

:lol

Yeah, Sao Paulo is pretty small being the world's second largest city.

[judaspriestess]

Glad to hear he is still doing good. Best wishes to him.

[Fernando TD21]

GrandeDavid, I didn't know you watched basketball games here in Brazil. Honestly I don't care about brazilian basketball, maybe because my city doesn't have a good team. I prefer to watch the NBA games, even if I can only watch the box scores and play-by-play in the internet. Anyway, I know that Alex can dunk well but do you think he can adjust to the NBA and be almost as good as Leandrinho?

[LilMissSPURfect]

Best Wishes for you ALEX!

[easjer]

It would be sweet to get him back, as you describe it.

[LuvBones]

I saw him once at HEB when he played with the Spurs. Man is he hot!! http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/drool.gif

[Purple & Gold]

Let's hope the Lakers sign him if he's any good as a PG.

[Lonestar]

I remember he was really good that season. I was bummed when he got hurt and more bummed when he went to another team. I would really like to see the Spurs bring him to camp. Maybe you should institute an e-mail campaign. We can't seem to go wrong with these South American players.

[Mr. Body]

Send Beno down there. Bring him up.

[GrandeDavid]

Send Beno down there. Bring him up.

Maybe next season! I hope he gets another look by the Spurs. He really has regained his explosiveness back. Like I said, he's strong, aggressive and plays both ends of the floor.

[Mr. Body]

First choice would be a true point behind Parker, but the team runs fine behind shooting points, which Parker himself obviously is. A strong, aggressive back-up would be a fine addition, but how is his defense?

[gus]

The problem with Alex ( Yes in Brazil players are named with the nickname)
Eg. Nene, Leandrihno (No Barboza ) Anderson ( No Varejao ) is that he isnt
a point guard but a small guard. He is very quick and athletic but not tall enough to play sg in the NBA. He would be a good player for an European League IMO.

[BigBeezie]

The woman that cut my hair was the same person that cut Alex's hair. She had said that he was a really nice guy.

[Sonia_TX]

Sonia, you're cheering for a good guy! He's really cool and treats fans well. After the game, for example, he called me onto the court after he did some interviews, gave me a hug and I told him I had a buddy I wanted him to meet, a fan of his. Actually, this was just a really poor kid I had bought some popcorn and soda for during the game. I called the kid on the floor and Alex treated him like a brother. It was great. Manu is like that, too. Manu is also a super, down to earth guy.

If I remember correctly we made a "Happy Birthday Alex" sign and yelled for his attention. After a few minutes he finally heard us (we were in section 219 row 1), looked up and waved. This was before the game so it wasn't that noisy in the arena. He seemed like a nice guy from the articles/stories we had read about him. Glad to know that he really is.

[Spurs Brazil]

http://e.i.uol.com.br/basquete/2004/alexg.jpg

http://www.nba.com/media/spurs/Garcia-(254)-031022.jpg http://www.nba.com/media/espanol/garcia_250_400.jpg

[Mr. Body]

Claxton's number?

[ChumpDumper]

Were we supposed to retire it?

[Mr. Body]

No, but as every Spurs fan knows, that number will forever be animated with the spirit and boldness of '03 Speedy Claxton or something.

I'm also impressed I remembered a Spur number beyond the big 3.

[samikeyp]

Isn't Alex Garcia spanish for "I'm not Beno"? :lol

[Phenomanul]

Isn't Alex Garcia spanish for "I'm not Beno"? :lol


Closer to "I don't wear purses"