Juan Fernandez (basketball)
Fernández playing with Basket Brescia.
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| No. 4 – Basket Brescia | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Italian League |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
July 22, 1990 Río Tercero, Córdoba, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dr. Alexis Carrel |
| College | Temple (2008–2012) |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| 2012–2013 | Basket Brescia (Italy) |
| 2013 | Dinamo Sassari (Italy) |
| 2014 | Obras Sanitarias |
| 2014– | Basket Brescia (Italy) |
Juan Manuel "Lobito" Fernández (born July 22, 1990) is an Argentine professional basketball player. His father, Gustavo, was a point guard for a number of professional basketball teams in Argentina. Pepe Sánchez convinced Fernández to play basketball at his alma mater, Temple University, and Fernández joined the Temple Owls team in December 2008. As a sophomore, he was named Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Valuable Player. After struggling through a prolonged shooting slump as a junior, he hit an off-balance 18-foot shot with .4 seconds to play to defeat Penn State in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team. In addition to his college exploits, he led Argentina to a gold medal in the 2008 Under-18 World Championship.
Fernández was born on July 22, 1990 in Rio Tercero, Argentina to Gustavo Fernández and Nancy Fiandrino. His father was a point guard for a number of professional basketball teams in Argentina. He earned the nickname "Lobito" (Spanish for "little wolf") after starring on a basketball team with a wolf mascot. Juan Fernández's little brother, also named Gustavo, fell out of a chair when he was a toddler and used a wheelchair for life. He is one of the top wheelchair tennis players in the world under the age of 18. The family operates the Pinot Grigio restaurant in Río Tercero.
At the urging of his father, Juan Fernández began playing basketball when he was six years old. He described himself as a "fat little kid" who was more interested in being a soccer goalie at first. When Fernández showed star potential on junior club teams, he was given the "Lobito" nickname, while his father became known as "Lobo".
As a teenager, Fernández was offered deals to play in the Spanish B and C league when he graduated from Dr. Alexis Carrel High School. At the same time, he was considering playing college basketball in the United States. His mother went to Connecticut for six months to learn English, and she persuaded him that it would be a good place to be a student-athlete.Pepe Sánchez, an Argentine basketball player who played college basketball at Temple University, offered some advice in an e-mail:
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