Beijing 2008: Last hurrah for Pepu Hernandez at Summer Olympian

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Beijing 2008: Last hurrah for Pepu Hernandez

Posted May 8, 2008 at 10:34 AM by Os Davis

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

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With a starting team comprised of wall-to-wall NBAers, Team Spain hardly needed psychological incentive to add to all the talent taking the floor at the Beijing Games; Los Españoles have that as well.

Said motivation takes the form of a recent sad announcement from national head coach Pepu Hernandez, who will be stepping down as Spain’s team leader after the 2008 Olympics and before the Eurobasket at which he’s seen such success.

Back at the beginning of the year with no hint of retirement, Hernandez offered a few modest comments about his roster, including NBA and future NBA players such as Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro, Sergio Rodriguez, Jose Manuel Calderon, and the Gasol brothers: Simply “an extraordinary generation of players” he called them.

Hernandez and FIBA’s official statement ran, in part:

Hernandez, who led Spain to the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and silver at the Eurobasket last year in Madrid, has decided that his ‘cycle will have come to an end’ with the national team.

‘I want to thank the FEB for giving the opportunity to have enjoyed an incredible experience,’ he said. ... ‘Our mind is on the [Olympic] gold medal, that is why I want to ask for the suppport of everyone, players, coaches, FEB and of course, the fans.’

Hernandez has some big decisions to make with respect to his squad.

There’s a huge debate in Spain as to which point guards he should take to Beijing along with Jose Calderon. Sergio Rodriguez has played very little this year with Portland and Carlos Cabezas has endured an injury-plagued campaign with Unicaja Malaga. Teenage sensation Ricky Rubio of DKV Joventut has played so well that many think he will get one of the other two playmaker spots.

Hernandez’ career began at the age of 36 with CB Estudiantes, a top-level Spanish league team. With the team from 1994 to 2005, Hernandez helped Estudiantes to one national title and one second place finish in a now-defunct tournament known as the Korac Cup.

While Korac’s time with Estudiantes could be characterized by his work with those of the Extraordinary Generation – Calderon, Rodriguez, Alfonso Reyes, Carlos Jiménez, Felipe Reyes – Coach Hernandez is destined to be immortalized as the man who molded a dozen superstars into a national team that now stands at no. 3 on FIBA’s rankings and is a feared unit in any international competition. A coach of superstars, a Spanish Phil Jackson.

Between being named to the position of head coach and Team Spain winning the gold at the FIBA Worlds, Hernandez’ father passed away, but he carried on and, at least by one private recollection, united Spain.

“I remember one man,” said Hernandez in February, “coming up to me in Barcelona and saying: ‘I don’t like basketball but, you know what, your team has brought all Spaniards together’. That is incredible, something very powerful in a country like this.”

Hernandez would like to accomplish one more thing, however:

“An Olympic medal would be a reward for all the work we’ve done over the years but we want to put things in perspective and ensure we are a basketball power for some time to come and not just a temporary phenomenon.”

And such a finish would immortalize Hernandez in basketball history, the perfect career capper.