When you talk about baloncestowe tend to think of big people. Giants, even. And this one was, of course. Today we review the history of overcoming Gheorghe Muresan (Tritenii de Jos, Romania, 1971), a player who did not let himself be carried away by the stereotypes that were imposed against taller people.
His physique was his great weapon and great threat throughout his professional career. But he also saved her life. After visiting several doctors, he was diagnosed with a disease called acromegaly -which Spanish also suffers from Roberto Duenas– and that it was caused by a disorder in the pituitary gland. He changed the future of the likeable Gheorghe Muresan.
Con 14 years and without barely touching a ball, Muresan would never have imagined that he would end up playing in the NBA. His journey towards basketball began in a small town in the Transylvanian region, Tritenii de Jos, through a consultation with his dentist, who was also a referee. The enormous size of that young man caught the attention of the dentist, who did not hesitate to call several teams in the region.
Leo Messi, with Muresan before a Wizards game
Other sources
Not being a popular sport at that time in Romania, Muresan would start playing the 15 years to basketball. In fact, the Romanian stated on several occasions that he had not seen a game before. However, with signs of logical incoordination due to his size, he decided to train like a man possessed. He had enormous potential and his technicians were amazed by the great speed with which he assimilated basic concepts.
The fruits of hard work
The young man would pack his bags and grow in the Cluj University team. His debut in the Romanian First Division was something, shall we say, out of the ordinary. Gheorghe Muresan would score 30 points. Almost nothing.
His performances would lead him to the national team call-ups and even to play European rounds with his team. In a tie against Pau-Orthez, from France, would be defeated. The French club, however, would save Muresan’s name for the following season and sign him. And of course, it was no wonder. The young center gave them 39 points.
More famous for his size than his game, Muresan would enjoy more and more resources in attack during his first year at the highest level. But first, he had to learn to run. He was slow and still somewhat uncoordinated. “Before playing basketball, the first thing we did with him was to learn to walk. He walked like an old man, all bent over. We had to teach him to do it upright, so that he would be proud of his height,” commented his new coach. Michel Gomez in his first professional experience in the French team.
The Romanian center’s life was beginning to smile. In 1993, Gheorghe Muresan would sign a two-year agreement with Barçaincluding a clause in which he could break the contract if he went out NBA. And so it was, despite the fact that the Barça club’s doctors advised against signing him after medical tests.
Gheorghe Muresan, defender of Michael Jordan.
Third parties
His agent put his name in the draft and he was chosen in the position number 30 by the Washington Bullets – the current Wizards – who saw in him a potential, still unpolished, of a player who would leave a indelible mark in the league.
At that time, Muresan was detected a tumor in the pituitary gland and it was in Washington where he had the opportunity to receive a treatment to remove it. If he had not undergone the operation, he would have possibly had a life expectancy of 45 years.
The center became one of the essential players in basketball in the 1990s. At 2.31 tall he was the tallest player to play in the NBAmeasuring a few millimeters more than Manute Bol. Likewise, he was also the first player from Romania to set foot on an American League field. Almost nothing for a kid who, at 15 years old, went to the dentist without ever having seen a basketball game.
On the court, after losing weight and getting in shape, the Romanian dominated the paint and was gradually becoming one of the best interiors in the NBA. standing out for its characteristic hook and reversalseither. At the same time, Muresan enjoyed a commendable vision of the game and a great ability to assist, which made him a very complete piece for any coach.
Conquer the court and the heart
Everyone liked Gheorghe. The guy, kind and affectionate with his fans, he wore the dorsal 77 in his short stay in the NBA. The Romanian colossus took over this number by the measurement equivalent to its 231 centimeters in the American system: 7 feet 7 inches.
Muresan had endeared himself to the Bullets fans in the four years he was with the team. He was one of the most beloved players, not only of the franchise, but also of the NBA, reaching his career peaks in points (14.3), rebounds (9.6) and blocks (2.3). That season (1995-96) he won the prestigious Most Improved Player (MIP) award in the competition and was only behind players like Shaquille O’Neal, Pat Ewing o Alonzo Mourning in the All Star voting. “I had three guys that I just couldn’t stop. One was Gheorghe Muresan. He always used to murder me in Washington,” Shaquille O’Neal commented with a laugh.
After that magnificent campaign, the trajectory of the Romanian giant would begin to plummet. The next seasons would be marked by their constant physical ailments. He missed the entire 1997-98 campaign due to a tendon problem in his right foot and later signed for the New Jersey Nets (1998), where he would play only 31 games in two seasons.
Back problems began to take their toll on him and that is why – after not receiving American offers – he decided to end his career with a brief return to his beginnings. He would sign again for Pau-Orthez, where I would win the French league playing only 15 games. Finally, the Romanian roof would end up retreating to the 29 years and would end a career in an unexpected world that could have saved his life.
After that, Muresan decided to take up residence in New Jersey and began working as ambassador to the Washington Wizards. In recent years, he moved his family to Washington, while working as vice president of the Romanian Federation of basketball.
Both due to his physical conditions and his character, he was one of the most charismatic players of the 90s in the world of basketball. The much-loved Gheorghe Muresan left a magnificent story full of threads of improvement after sport saved his life thanks to a treatment he was able to receive in Washington.
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2024-03-05 13:36:18
#unknown #giant #NBA #legend
