Mario Hezonja and the mystery of the Real Madrid incunabula – José Manuel Puertas

As the good listeners of ‘taking fallar‘ You know, a little over a year ago I had the opportunity, in one of the capitals of European basketball, Belgrade, to carry out a radio serial with various interviews with big names in basketball in the former Yugoslavia. Taking advantage of the visit to the white city, I was able to attend, in the famous Sala Pionir —every self-respecting fan should see a game there in his lifetime—), a Euroleague match between Red Star and Unics Kazan. At that time, the Russians, because Putin had not yet crossed the wire, were the revelation team on the continent. And I remember being very interested in seeing Lorenzo Brown live —the turns that life takes, eh—, John Brown or, above all, Mario Hezonjathat great talent forged at Barça and soon emigrated to the NBA before whom one had the eternal sensation of being before a potential dominator of FIBA ​​basketball that did not finish hatching into such.

I can assure you, dear reader, that I still haven’t forgotten what I experienced that afternoon in that temple of Serbian basketball. For the environment, of course. Due to the very high level of play of Unics, too, what a pity that we were left without knowing where that team could go due to the despotism of a politician. But also because of what I saw of Hezonja, whom I had observed live displaying talent with Barça, but whose evolved physique and character impressed me.

It is impossible that this very special player, born 27 years ago —almost 28 already— in Dubrovnik, the beautiful fortress on the shores of the Adriatic where history and basketball become one on its wall, does not immediately attract attention due to his anthropometry. Hezonja is huge, but even more so in width than in height. It houses a herculean back, truly impressive at first glance. But it is that the content of that privileged mold is not far behind: the Croatian is a paragon of technical virtues capable of doing almost anything on a pitch. In attack, his shooting range is very wide, more in line with the usual on the other side of the pond. He also impresses his ability to penetrate, through sheer power, and finish in ways that are sometimes unimaginable. He has plenty of legs to jump, rebound or defend —because he is capable of doing it really well, as in the last Euroleague classic against Nikola Mirotic in the final minutes—, and resources from short, medium and long distance to drive the most painted defender crazy.

I was recently reflecting on Hezonja and my conclusion was the following: if I were a coach, what physique would I look for for my team’s forward? I concluded that I would want the Croatian. What technical compendium would you crave for that position? It would be very close to Hezonja’s, really. And the shooting range? There I sign with blood that I can think of few more potentially lethal than the ‘3’ of Real Madrid. Is there an offensive situation where I can’t shoot? It doesn’t occur to me, frankly. Really, your famous nickname of ‘Super Mario’ Such a marvel fits like a glove —another issue is the eternal debate on harmful expectations in adolescents and their subsequent repercussions. But then why aren’t we talking about a European megastar? Why did you leave Barça with the feeling of being able to give more and did not have continuity in the NBA? Why did Barça not want him -as is- on his return to Europe and had to go through a Panathinaikos that had come down and Unics before falling into another big one like Real Madrid, already approaching thirty? Mario Hezonja is, for many reasons, a mystery.

with the Croatian It is almost impossible not to fall into a certain contradiction. Even emotional, even. What fan would not like to enjoy it at its highest level for years. With such a capacity, his ceiling is much higher than that of many others who are surely considered better players today. In fact, I jump into the pool and open my umbrella: I think I am not exaggerating if I say that the best version of the Croatian would have been an All-Star several times in the NBA. How it sounds. He does not lack anything a priori to be one: neither the physique, usually less in Europe, nor of course the technical capacity. Is his character the problem, as is usually deduced when he is put under the magnifying glass? If so, I affirm that it is not from wrinkling. I can assure you that, going back to that game in Belgrade, never in my life have I seen such a hostile environment towards a player. The blood injected into the eyes of the Serbian fans after each basket by the Croatian was burned into my mind. And with each political proclamation, each outburst and each insult —on several occasions, the Pionir thundered calling him, verbatim, ‘Ustacha faggot’, in the middle of the Russian escapade—, Hezonja seemed to grow more in that party. You have to be very strong mentally to withstand such an escrache and that it does not affect your performance. Having ruled out diffidence, is Hezonja’s a role-playing problem? It could be. The truth is that sometimes it seems that the unicorn is still in the bullpen, who knows why, hoping to show that this huge cocktail that is obvious can become geared into an almost perfect machine for playing basketball. The day it hatches it will be a player like no other in Europe. The question is if we will see it explode to the point of being ‘Super Mario’ one day and another too.

This scenario, known in Croatian, is being repeated in a way at Real Madrid. That Hezonja is an outstanding player they know perfectly well in the white house. He has already had several high-level performances, such as the recent one in Monaco in the Euroleague, dominating the game as almost nobody can do on this side of the pond. And Chus Mateo knows it, obviously. It is the job of the Madrid coach to ensure that this dictatorial conjunction is repeated: if not in each game, a very complex fact in contemporary FIBA ​​basketball, then with greater consistency than it has been known to date. “He is a special, extraordinary player, with tremendous potential that I hope he reaches soon. He is looking for him and he has already given us very good performance many days. He is someone very emotional, always with a smile and who is very easy to deal with because he is very good boy. I love how he plays and I’m sure we’ll end up finding the best Mario throughout the year. Little by little he’s understanding how we want to play, he’s getting better and better and he’s going to be a player who’s going to bring us very important things “The white coach answered me when I asked him a few days ago, after beating Covirán in Granada in an Endesa League match, because of his management of his forward. To the Croatian, who plays with the soul, You can tell when he doesn’t do well on the court: gets angry, frowns, clenches his fist. roars. Sign of the fire that it keeps inside, perhaps aware of not having yet developed such a unique potential. You want to be more and you have reason to want it. But the philosopher’s stone for him and his coaches is achieve the right balance so that ambition does not turn against you. To achieve that with Hezonja would be little more than squaring the circle. One of the most complex equations in modern basketball.

Much remains to be seen about how the white season will be classified. At the moment, Mateo’s men won the Super Cup and lead both the Endesa League and the Euroleague, so at the level of results, hardly anyone will be able to fault them. All in all, the future is unpredictable and it is early to write down notes, because when the level of demand is so high, sometimes the fine line between success and failure can be marked by just a few centimeters, or perhaps a few tenths of a second. . But what this editor has for himself is that the best version of the white team in this year will, almost inexorably, scrutinize the potential of Mario Hezonja to the maximum, one of the most impressive players of those who roam the fields of the Old Continent. . Chus Mateo knows it and that is why he strives to find the way to his particular Dorado. The definitive hatching of his incunabula. If he succeeds, Real Madrid, then yes, it will be absolutely fearsome.

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