Javohn Garcia’s road to McNeese State was littered with speed bumps and potholes.

It all started in Ohio when he was a high schooler. Then he moved to the East Coast and later to the West. Like his days before college, there were more than a few challenges.

When things went wrong at UMass, he moved to Northern California to find his game at a small junior college off the beaten path. After a season at the College of the Sequoias, Will Wade found him and brought him to the bayou.

It’s here, on America’s third coast, where Garcia has blossomed as a player and person— changing his and his family’s future forever.

“I love it here,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t sure where I was going at times.”

Since arriving at McNeese, Garcia has become a fixture on an upstart program in the South.

And after a solid first season at McNeese, during which he was often overlooked, he has taken an even more significant step forward in this, his senior season.

Some 25 miles north of the Gulf, Garcia continues to make ripples of waves that grow the longer you watch them.

Garcia’s rise as a leader is more important than his growth as a player. He has become the go-through (if not the go-to) guy in key moments of games. Sometimes it will be as the big guard or small forward, and increasingly more and more at the point position, but in important minutes, it’s Garcia who Wade trusts the most.

“He can do a lot of things for us, but he can make the right play,” Wade said. “He can finish himself or set others up. He has a very high basketball IQ.”

While his numbers may not be overly impressive, Garcia’s play has been. It’s why, with six games remaining in the regular season, he should be the heavy favorite for the Southland Conference Player of the Year.

He clearly has his teammates’ backing.

“I think he should be that easy,” said guard Sincere Parker. “JG is a great guy to be on the court with. He never gets too high or too low, he just keeps us level and puts us in great positions to work.”

Last weekend Garcia scored his 1,000th career point in a win over Northwestern State, as he finished with 22. It was his fifth game this season scoring 20 or more points, four of them in the 14 league contests.

“I never thought I would ever score 1,000 points,” Garcia said. “There were so many times along the way I wanted to quit, but I just loved playing basketball. I don’t think about the rest.”

While his 13.5 points-a-game average ranks him 11th among Southland players overall, he is sixth in league games, raising his total to 15.7.

Those numbers don’t tell the entire story. Garcia, who elected to play this season with a mask to protect a broken nose instead of getting surgery and possibly missing four months, is the fuel behind the McNeese fire.

He likely leads the league in floor burns, takes hard fouls while going to the basket despite his skinny 6-foot-3 frame, and is always looking to make the right play.

“Javohn Garcia is the guy,” said D.J. Richards. “JG is very steady. He isn’t going to do anything crazy. He’s just a great player.

“Shout out to Javohn Marcalles Garcia. He is that guy.”

Garcia learned last year when he watched Shahada Wells become the player of the year by making his plays down the stretch and setting up others.

“I just try to make the right play,” Garcia said. “I just want to win, we all do. It doesn’t matter who scores.”

Garcia began to show more of his game last season when he was named to the SLC all-Tournament team. He also received attention before when he was named to the league’s preseason second team.

Now he is clearly in the running for the league’s most significant award.

Quietly, Garcia says it would be nice, but he’s not worried about any of that. Another title and trip back to the NCAA Tournament is what he wants.

Others know his worth.

On paper, he might not look the part, but if you watch him play, you understand how important Garcia is to McNeese and how important McNeese is to him.

Even his mask can’t no longer hide that fact.

Now it’s just up to the rest of the Southland to notice as well.

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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com