Juan Fernandez

[JGX]

Scores 33 points to lead Temple to an upset win over third-ranked Villanova:

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/79197522.html

"We'll think about Kansas when the day comes," said sophomore guard Juan Fernandez, who inflicted much of the carnage with a career-high 33 points on 11-for-15 shooting, 7-for-9 from the arc. "We've got [unbeaten] Seton Hall next [on the road, on Saturday]. It's one game at a time. We did a pretty good job today. We have to keep that going. It's a long season."

Since he didn't arrive from Argentina until last Christmas, this was a new experience for him.

"It's pretty much what I came here for," he said. "I want to have fun. Luckily, things went well for me. It was amazing. I didn't start well [airball]. I knew this was important. We hadn't beaten Villanova in a long time. We needed to prove where we are right now. Today was my time. I was hot. Maybe [the next time] it'll be Lavoy [Allen] or [Ryan] Brooks, whoever.

"It's the first time I've beaten a ranked team. I hope to do it more often. I tried to keep my nerves and everything aside. When you're feeling good, you can't explain it. You just throw it up thinking it's going in."

[rikhardur]

ARG – Young Argentina guard Fernandez making a name for himself at Temple

PHILADELPHIA (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Argentina are number one in the FIBA World Rankings for Men but if they want to stay there, new talent must emerge.

With number-two ranked Team USA favorites to capture the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the pressure is on the South Americans.

One youngster showing a lot of promise is Juan Manuel Fernandez, a guard that has followed in the footsteps of former Argentina international Pepe Sanchez by playing at Temple University in Philadelphia.

A 1.92m point guard, Fernandez led Temple with 18 points and hit a clutch three-pointer in overtime of the Owls' 68-64 victory over Rhode Island on Sunday.

Temple snapped the Rams' eight-game winning streak.

Fernandez hit the biggest shot of his college career when Temple were clinging to a 62-61 lead with 28 seconds remaining.

Just as Sanchez did before him in Philadelphia, Fernandez kept his cool and buried a three-pointer to put his team in command for good.

"Fernandez's three at the end was extraordinary," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.

Fernandez is the son of legendary Argentina guard Gustavo "Lobito" Fernandez.

The youngster represented his country at the FIBA U19 World Championship in New Zealand last summer and showed his all-round game, averaging 8.4 points, 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in just under 23 minutes per game.

The experience clearly boosted his confidence because in his second season at Temple, Fernandez is thriving.

He was named as the Conference's Player of the Month for December.

"This year, I am playing as a starter and to bring more help to the backcourt," he said.

"That's why I shoot more and score more points. With respect to last year, we have lost our top scorer and the key was how we were going to overcome his absence.

"No one expected that we would be in this position right now, ranked 25th in the country."

The added bonus for Fernandez is that he is not only playing basketball but also getting his college degree.

"In this four years, the idea is not only for me to play but to study," Fernandez said.

"I am going to study journalism starting next semester. To have come here is the best decision I've made."

If Fernandez continues to play well, he could wind up on Argentina's national side at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

At the big event, the South American giants will take on Serbia, Australia, Angola, Germany and Jordan in Preliminary Round Group A.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...8051/arti.html

[stuart]

PHILADELPHIA - Ever since Temple's floppy haired guard Juan Fernandez arrived in the States from Argentina a year and a half ago, he seemed destined to draw comparisons to Pepe Sanchez.

Sanchez was an All-American point guard on John Chaney's last great Owls team, which reached the NCAA regional finals in 1999. He went on to play a major role on the Argentine national team, which won a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and set off a basketball explosion in that soccer-crazed South American country.

Fernandez is intent on following in his footsteps, starting at the point for Argentina's Under-18 team and scoring 18 points when his country defeated the United States in the World Championship qualifying tournament.

"Most young players in my country choose to play professionally in Europe before the U.S.," the 6-4 sophomore guard said. "We don't have the information to know how it's done here. I met Pepe when I was 15 years old and was lucky enough to have him talk to me about college basketball. My mom went to college in Connecticut for six months to learn English and she told me she wanted me to go somewhere where I could play basketball and study, too. I thought about Europe myself, but Pepe sold me on coming here.

"He told me his best years were here at Temple and he didn't even get a dollar to play."

Sanchez called Owls coach Fran Dunphy and personally recommended Fernandez - a good student who spoke English and inherited his exceptional basketball I.Q. from his father Gustavo, a former pro point guard in Argentina - as a potentially good fit.

Fernandez, who needed a semester to adjust from international rules, has been a perfect fit this season for an Atlantic 10 team that is ranked 18th in the nation, has knocked off previously unbeaten Big East clubs Seton Hall and Villanova and will get a chance to test itself against top-ranked Kansas at home Saturday on national TV.

Fernandez, who is averaging 13.3 points, is Temple's most dangerous three-point shooter, most creative passer and has fit right in with Dunphy's strangling man-to-man defensive philosophy. The balanced Owls have made up for the loss of high-scoring guard Dionte Christmas by limiting opposing teams to less than 54 points per game. Fernandez has already had one break-out game, giving the Owls instant credibility nationally when he poured in 33 points and made seven of nine three-pointers in the Owls' victory over Villanova, then ranked third, two weeks ago.

Fernandez wasn't always a basketball phenom. He started playing when he was 6 years old in Rio Tercero, a small town of 50,000 in a central province of the country. "When I was little I wasn't that interested in sports," he said. "I was a fat little kid. I was playing soccer. I was a goalie. But my father urged me to give it a try. And he was my coach in the house."

Dunphy, known as a resourceful recruiter, dispatched his assistant coach Matt Langel to Argentina to watch Fernandez play before the guard made his official visit to campus in September of 2008. Langel thought it would be only a short drive from the airport in Cordova. But right before he took off, Langel heard from his contact that Fernandez had been called up by the national team and was practicing 1,000 miles away. "I speak Spanish and was all set to get a taxi but they told me it would be $1,000," Langel said. "So I rented a car and drove for 91/2 hours. It was a long trip but it was worth it."

Fernandez has been driven to excel because he idolized Sanchez. He is also playing for his younger 16-year-old brother Gusty, who is paralyzed from the waist down, the result of a childhood accident. Gusty Fernandez has never let his handicap affect him. He plays wheelchair tennis, is ranked No. 3 in the world for his under-18 age bracket and is among the top 50 players overall. "He jumped off a chair and injured his spine," Fernandez said. "He's shown you can overcome any obstacle if you put your mind to it."

Meanwhile, Fernandez has been in constant contact with Sanchez. "I hope he comes back to watch me play before I graduate," he said. "I think it would be kinda good for him to know what I'm doing here."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/co...#ixzz0cLjLv0L4

[Phantim3dx]

great that he is there not only for sports but for a degree in journalism.
temple is a pretty good school also.

basketball topic his long range shot is weird, its..almost 2 handed?!

[rikhardur]

TURKEY BOUND – Argentina hopeful Fernandez continues to thrive with Temple

PHILADELPHIA (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Argentina’s promising young guard Juan Manuel Fernandez admits he “dreams of going to Turkey” for the 2010 FIBA World Championship but knows it won’t be easy to make the squad.

Fernandez is having a breakout season as a sophomore with the 17th ranked Temple Owls.

On Wednesday night, he had 15 points, seven assists and two steals in Temple’s 77-72 triumph over Xavier.

"I dream of going to Turkey,” said Fernandez, the son of legendary Argentina guard Gustavo "Lobito" Fernandez.

“I'm not going to deny that, but it depends on coach Sergio Hernandez and what players he wants to include in the team.”

Fernandez, who played for Argentina at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men last summer, says he’s doing his best to at least merit consideration for a spot in the preliminary squad.

“It would be madness for me to go,” the 19-year-old said.

“I couldn't even imagine it.

“It would be more incredible than that of Puerto Rico (FIBA Americas Championship). For the time being, I'm focusing on this season and on working as hard as I can to go to the World Championship.

"Before Hernandez called me up as the number 13 player (for the FIBA Americas Championship), he told me that he was taking me to show me how everything was.

“I don't know if the future he spoke to me about was in reference to Turkey, or to a tournament in two years' time.

“I know we have very good guards and bigger than me, that is why I am calm and I'm only thinking of one thing at a time.”

Fernandez’s fate may be tied to whether all of Argentina’s established stars return to the line-up.

Andres Nocioni, Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino and Fabricio Oberto all did not play last summer in Puerto Rico.

Two lynchpins in the side who did play, however, were power forward Luis Scola and point guard Pablo Prigioni.

"I admire a lot Luis Scola and Prigioni,” Fernandez said. “They were my idols before going to the national team.

"When you have them close by, you realize why they are who they are and why they are different.”

Both Scola and Prigioni were long-time players in Spain with Tau Ceramica. Scola left for the NBA after the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, while Prigioni stayed with Tau (now Caja Laboral) before departing last summer for Real Madrid.

“With Pablo, I learned a lot despite the fact that he arrived late to the camp,” Fernandez said.

“Luis is a natural leader and he was incredible.

“The national team is very lucky to have him.

“The Americas tournament was a unique experience and I hope I can repeat."

Argentina, who hold the top spot in the FIBA World Rankings, will play in Group A of the FIBA World Championship with Serbia, Australia, Jordan, Germany and Angola.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...8179/arti.html

[rikhardur]

ARG/USA – Argentina’s Fernandez voted MVP of Atlantic 10 tourney

ATLANTIC CITY (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Juan Fernandez took another step towards making Argentina's squad for the FIBA World Championship by leading the Temple Owls to the Atlantic 10 Conference title.

The 19-year-old guard had a game-high 18 points on Sunday as the Owls beat the Richmond Spiders, 56-52.

Fernandez was voted tournament MVP.

He and his teammates will now focus on the NCAA Tournament and their first-round meeting with Cornell in the East Region later this week.

"We have sure goals and we achieved one, winning the Atlantic 10," Fernandez said.

"Now we really want to play that first-round game.

"It's been two years in a row Temple can't get past that, so it's our job to put Temple in that second round."

Fernandez represented Argentina last year at the FIBA U19 World Championship in New Zealand and averaged 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game as the South Americans finished fifth.

He is expected to be in Sergio Hernandez's preliminary squad for this year's FIBA World Championship in Turkey, where Argentina will face Serbia, Australia, Germany, Angola and Germany in Preliminary Round Group A.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...8921/arti.html

[rikhardur]

ARG - Fernández has one eye on NBA

MILAN (Lega A) - Juan Fernández desperately wants to play in the NBA but for now, he's following in the footsteps of other great Argentinians and playing in Italy.

The 1.93m guard has joined Olimpia Milano in Lega A but his contract has an exit clause which allows him to move to the NBA if offered the chance.

Fernández just finished his senior season at Temple University and the NBA Draft will be this summer.

"No one can ever take away from me the dream of the NBA," he said before agreeing to join Milano.

Manu Ginobili and Hugo Sconochini both hit the big time in the Italian league before helping Argentina capture silver at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and gold at the Athens Olympics.

Ginobili, the MVP of Argentina's gold-medal winning side in Greece, played at Reggio Calabria and Virtus Bologna.

Unlike Ginobili, who moved to the NBA's San Antonio Spurs after the national team's silver in Indianapolis, Sconochini spent most of his time in Italy playing for Reggio Calabria, Milano, Roma and Virtus Bologna.

He did have spells with Panathinaikos in Greece and Baskonia in Spain.

Fernández is also hoping to receive a chance to try out for Argentina's Olympic team.

He last represented his country at the 2010 South American Championship.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...1225/arti.html