Victor Garcia was one of the most prolific scorers to ever play basketball at Knox College. A three-time All-Midwest Conference selection, Victor’s name is associated with several all-time top five shooting and scoring categories in the history of the men’s basketball program.
A four-year letter winner coached by Tim Heimann ’70, Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2004, Victor led Knox in scoring all four years he played and he was also a three-time Academic All-Midwest Conference award recipient. He was named the “Offensive Most Valuable Player” after averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game during the 1999-2000 season, his first year on the court.
“Victor has quickly adapted to basketball at the college level and made it a point not to be intimidated by the opponent, coach Heimann said in a February 2000 media release from the Knox Sports Information Department. “Being only a freshman, the only place he can go is up, and I can’t wait to see what he can do as time goes on,” added coach Heimann.
Victor continued to score in bunches over the next three seasons and finished with 1,687 career points, which ranks second all-time at Knox and #21 in Midwest Conference history.
Victor, as a sophomore, was no longer a surprise for conference opponents after Knox was predicted to finish last in the league in 1999-2000, and instead won 15 games and qualified for the conference tournament. Despite the extra attention he garnered, Victor still averaged 19.5 points per game – which tied for the highest scoring average in the Midwest Conference – during the 2000-2001 season. Victor had one of the all-time greatest offensive games that season, sinking 8-of-13 shots from 3-point range and scoring 38 points against NAIA power Doane College (NE) in a 94-89 overtime loss. The eight 3-pointers were the most in school history and still rank in a tie for #2 all-time, and his 38 point effort was the fourth-highest scoring output in a game by a Knox men’s player at the time. Victor was named honorable mention All-Midwest Conference and was the co-recipient of the Arvid P. Zetterberg Award for men in 2000.
Victor was even more imposing during the 2001-2002 season, when he averaged 22.7 points per game – the second-highest scoring average in a season at Knox and the second-highest average in the conference – and his 522 points scored also rank #2 all-time. He scored 44 points in a game, #3 all-time, set a record that still stands with 22 made free throws in a game, and hit 13 consecutive free throws in a game, currently #4 all-time. Victor was named second team All-Midwest Conference.
Victor finished his senior year in 2002-2003 with an average of 19.5 points per game, which ranked #3 in the conference, and he was again selected to the All-Midwest Conference second team. Victor shot 90.5 percent from the foul line, #2 all-time in a season at Knox, and finished his career as an 80.5 percent free throw shooter – the fifth-highest percentage all time.
