Rafael Villar, Izan Almansa, Lucas Langarita, Baba Miller, Sergio de Larrea and Jordi Rodriguez are some of the pearls of Spanish basketball and together they led a Spanish under-19 team that became world champion in 2023 by beating the almighty France by 73-69. A year later, they have entered directly into the Hall of Fame Spanish. Daniel Miret, the great ‘culprit’ of their collective and individual successes, was in charge of collecting the award at a ceremony presented by Francisco José Delgado, director of Play Basket.
The coach of the Spanish youth teams, and also coach of Joventut de Badalona, assessed in the podcast of the SER Chain the award that this new generation receives for national basketball. “What makes us most happy is the pride that these kids are good people and have an education that can be an example,” he detailed in one of his first responses in the interview. And it is that The Family It is not just those 12 chosen ones (Gasol, Rudy, Calderón Garbajosa and company) who touched the sky. It is a premise that has been taken care of since the origins of the selection.
That is why Miret pointed out the important role that the youth teams play in the training of this type of players who sometimes see how in professional teams they do not find that space they need. “We are the envy of many teams. We take great care of this Family factor. Taking care of each other, having empathy… makes everything much easier,” he continued. For this reason, Dani Miret confirmed the commitment that these young athletes, many of them training thousands of kilometers from Spain, have with the national team of our country.
The sacrifice of Izan Almansa and Baba Miller
The fan may get the impression that they are more excited to go to the United States, train there and end up in the NBA, but that La Familia gene continues in this new generation. “These kids, who have a context where many of them are away from their families throughout the year, are many more kilometers away when they receive the call in the summer, but they all have a very high predisposition to be able to be there. It is a sacrifice to be there. “35-40 days preparing for one of these tournaments, because you are really in mind and body giving everything. They are ages that really with their actions, their way of working and respecting and the enthusiasm you see for representing Spain is very great,” he assured. Miret.
Without going any further, Baba Miller plays for the Florida Atlantic Owls of US university basketball and Izan Almansa plays for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian NBL after his time in the league’s Overtime Elite gen Z North American. Aday Mara Gómez, who belongs to the UCLA Bruins of the NCAA, although he was not among the team’s team, is another of the names that undertook the American adventure. All of them are great promises of our basketball. “To argue a little more, 20-25 years ago, players at this age did not earn the money that they can earn today. They come, they take risks of possible injuries, of being able to lose possible contracts of a lot of money, and there they are, representing to Spain and they do it without holding anything back. I think they deserve all the credit,” Dani Miret stressed again.
The Spanish coach knows them very well, to the point that he assured that when Spain needs them they will always be there, even if it is with a less leading role or they have to play only three minutes. And all this comes from the education they have been receiving since they were very young in the basketball categories of our country, which instilled in them that predisposition and enthusiasm always come first.
The different paths of our pearls
Despite this, it is obvious that there is a lack of national players who stand out in ACB teams, an aspect that worries more than one. An issue that confronts the achievements that are achieved with the lower teams and that forces us to ask ourselves a question. What is missing from Spanish basketball to give ball to the kids who come from behind?
“Coaches in professional clubs, with the objectives and culture of competing to win, is a bit harmful for certain profiles of training players. Some are already ready to perform and others, due to their characteristics, are not. It’s not that they are worse, it’s that in their process it can be more difficult for them to play defensively or they need more time to shoot or block hard, which are things that you need patience and years to develop,” explained Miret, training and club coach (Joventut ) who trusts a lot in the quarry,
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Spain has a high level in its competitions and that can “destroy” the evolution of many players, which is why some choose other paths to grow. For example, Rafa Villar is playing in Spain, for Força Lleida (on loan from Barça). “He is a player with a competitive level currently and has found a perfect place with a coach who trusts him. Due to defensive level, physicality or mentality, he gives a very high performance to his team,” he acknowledged. Opposite is the context of Baba Miller, in the Florida Atlantic Owls, who jumped across the pond to continue improving his potential and basketball details that better suit him.
“Is there one who gets it right more than the other? We will know over time. I think we have to respect that. We don’t have to worry because in the end the races get longer. These guys, many of them are going to start giving solid performance from 24-25 years old. The Spanish fan does not see them so close. It seems that they are not there. But we have to be understanding because over time we will be able to see many closer and enjoy them,” Miret concluded.
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