mWhile Juancho Hernangmez (Madrid, 1995) waits to find out the team to play for next season, he enjoys being the star of Campus WOB Andaluca, which has once again been resoundingly successful in Malaga. One more year. And surrounded by children who want to be like him, he is already beginning to think in selection mode.
Ask. How do you feel about your participation in the WOB campus?
Answer. In the end, when you go to a site and repeat it is because you liked it. The truth is that I have had exceptional treatment all three years. Delighted to be with the children. Many have repeated and that is a joy for me. Many remembered coming here to Malaga to enjoy this camp. They have the campus very well set up, not only in basketball, but in other activities. I highlight the human side, the camaraderie, it is charming.
Q. Does the coaching side that you may have in the future wake you up?
R. I don’t think he was the coach of a team, it works best individually or with small children, but at home and surely in Las Rozas.
Juancho Hernangmez falls in love at the WOB Andaluca Campus
Q. How is the one you have been organizing with your brother going for the last five summers?
R. Very good, This has been the best edition. It is a campus that is very human. There are very limited places because in the end we are there almost every day. We do it at home for the people of Las Rozas. And people come from all over the world. And well, a pride, a pride to bring that and give the children the opportunity to be together, to have many surprises, to go see them at night, to play with them in the pool, to fight with balloons, to throw some fireworks from time to time. And the truth is that it fills us up and it is one of the things that I feel most proud of in my entire sports career.
Q. Have you been able to enjoy a bit of the city of Malaga?
R.. Yes, a lot. Malaga is a holiday destination, a dream for everyone. People come here to live for life. People come for a season, then stay for a lifetime. We have gone to the beach. The truth is that they have behaved very, very well, that we have gone to a couple of very good restaurants. We had a good time.
My dream has always been to play in the NBA and it’s a goal I’m going to fight for.”
Q. What is Juancho’s short-term future, to continue in the NBA, Europe…?
R. The truth is that right now, to this day, I don’t know what the future holds. Intense weeks are coming and well, in the end what we choose is because we have thought it through very well and be what I want and motivate me to continue.
Q. After what you experienced last year, with the MVP of the final, and given the expectations you had, were you disappointed with the treatment you received in the NBA?
R. Well, in the end they are different worlds. Playing with the national team or in the NBA are different worlds, there are many players, there is a high level and it is adapting. In the end it is a League, with many roles in which you have to be prepared for any moment, for any opportunity. The truth is that it is a little different.
Q. From your career so far in the NBA, what do you take away?
R. Well, a dream come true for which I have never stopped fighting despite any obstacle that has been thrown at me. I have resurfaced, I have fought and I have worked with my team to continue improving day by day, to continue having that motivation that we have had since we were 14 or 15 years old. I get up every day to try to be a better player and a better person. I have worked very hard for it. The day I don’t have that motivation and I get up without wanting to, I’ll retire.
Q. There is a lot of speculation about your return to Europe and especially to Bara, what about that?
R. Well, it is normal to speculate because my brother had the offer from Bara. They are two great teams, both Madrid and Bara in Spain. But hey, speculation is speculation. People have talked a lot, they have taken things for granted that are not true, but they also live from that and you have to understand it, you have to live with it. I don’t care much about what other people outside my circle say about me.
I am proud to defend the colors of the national team with my brother”
Q. To what extent do you link your future with that of your brother Willy, would you like to play together beyond the national team?
R. Yes, the truth is that it is a dream that we have always had, to play together, to compete for titles together. But hey, it’s not the reason that calls me the most now. In the end I need a project, a motivation. I don’t know. My dream has always been to play in the NBA and for that I will continue
Q. Speaking of the national team, how do you see the next World Cup in which Spain defends the title?
R. As always, with great desire to prepare it as best as possible. We know that we are not the most talented, nor the best team, nor the best, but we are going to try to prepare as well as possible and train as hard as we can. And then in the games, to give everything. Then in the end it will go well or go badly, but I hope it’s not due to preparation and work.
Q. What does it mean for you to be with ‘La Familia’ every summer, which is the national team?
R. It is a pride for any child. I am proud to defend the colors of Spain with my brother, to fight for any title. We have been lucky that we have won two very important ones and that will go down in history and each time it is a new challenge. In the end, the past doesn’t matter much because every day you have to live in the present and every day there are new challenges, every day new players, new teams and that makes it much more difficult. It is a challenge for which we really want to fight, to train him and see how it goes.
José María Arrabal. “This experience speaks highly of the possibilities of Andalusia”
Q. Which teams do you think are the most dangerous in the World Cup?
R. Well, there are very, very good teams, there are great players all over the world. The United States arrives with many All Stars, Slovenia, if it goes. Luka is a powerful team that can win the title and just like with Greece, with Giannis or Serbia or some teams that have never had so much, so much prominence and come for everything, like Canada, Germany or France. Every match matters. There you can’t go as a favorite, you can’t relax because for the smallest detail you’re in or you’re out.
Q. There was talk of a generational change in the national team, but among the youngsters, the veterans, and what comes after (Under 19 World Cup), it seems that the future is in very good hands…
R. That says a lot about the great training work being done in Spain. We have plenty of talent. Now we have to see how the opportunities arrive for the Under 19s who have just won the World Cup because they are entering a slightly more difficult stage: professionalism, in the end they don’t have so many opportunities here. It is a privilege for Spain to always be fighting for medals in each tournament and the truth is that as a Spaniard, it is a source of pride for me to see these kids achieve what they have achieved and have a great future.