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Willy Hernangómez is much closer to the player he could become after the Eurobasket. The MVP of the tournament has learned to assume responsibilities, to become the internal reference of the team and to be focused on both sides of the court almost every time he was on court. Willy has assumed the role that Scariolo demanded of him, especially in attack, with a naturalness that makes him one of the pieces around which the present and immediate future of the national team revolves.
A simple look at his tournament numbers reveals Willy’s importance to Spain. He has been their top scorer (17.6), their best rebounder (6.8) and their level of concentration has been much higher than in previous stages. “Willy has an excellent quality that is the positivity, enthusiasm and energy that he puts out on a daily basis. His passion for the game is contagious. He has also worked to improve his shooting percentages, which were very low at the beginning. He is on the right track, ”says Scariolo. The improvement has also been defensive, but the most valued by the coaching staff has been how he was able to respond at critical moments when his presence on the pitch was intermittent. For many minutes of the last quarters, Willy has witnessed the comebacks from the bench. Garuba’s defensive importance in those moments left him waiting for his moment and when he appeared he was able to produce immediately.
His connection with Brown was from the first day the great offensive weapon of the team. In the most complicated moments, the two against two with the nationalized American point guard were always there. The connection between the two has gone beyond the track and has been one of the main reasons why Lorenzo felt like one of the others from the beginning.
Willy has delightedly picked up the baton from the Gasol brothers. He knew that he had to take several steps forward and he has done so by becoming the best center in the championship. Now it’s time for him to establish himself definitively as an important player in the NBA. He has spent seven seasons in the United States – New York Knicks, Charlotte Bobcats and New Orleans Pelicans – and after more than 300 games he is still a rotation player. With two seasons of contract ahead of him with the Pelicans and about five million dollars in salary, Willy is waiting to make the leap in the USA and find the big contract that includes him in the elite of the American League.
