The world of sports, as we all already know, will not stop producing stories. In the last two weeks at the European Basketball Championship 2022, we have already received endless plots, upheavals and scenarios that could only be imagined before. At the center of one of those plots that will be remembered from the huge tournament is Maccabi Tel Aviv’s coordinator, Lorenzo Brown – whose inclusion in the Spanish national team stirred up the entire country, and in a few weeks he became one of La Roja’s biggest stars on the way to an exciting semi-final against Germany.
Foreign star: Where will Brown take the Spanish team?
Brown and Spain against Germany in the semi-finals – tonight (Friday, 21:25), live on 5SPORT
“The attitude towards him changed during the tournament. All that matters at these levels is to win and now Spain is fighting for a medal,” the Spanish basketball coach and journalist told the Sport Channel Petey Hurtado. Indeed, there is a good reason for the change in the atmosphere around the American center – Brown completely took over the center position in Sergio Scariolo’s five, became the main executor in the back line and created a formidable partnership with Willy Hernangomez, one that has made the combination between them almost unstoppable so far in the tournament .
The Spanish national team has always been a fighting group with experience and character that wins games, but it was precisely the one who was initially unwanted even by the legendary Spanish captain Rudy Fernandez, who in particularly difficult moments led to the continuation of the familiar narrative. “The external noise just doesn’t bother me”, Brown was excited after a huge display in the round of 16 with 28 points and 8 assists (12 and 2 in overtime only) against Lithuania, “I only care about what my friends in the locker room feel about me. They love me and I love them, I’m now part of the family. I’m learning a lot every day, it’s just amazing how the team accepted me.”
Now, at least in the sporting sense, Spain as a whole is satisfied with the center who provides a particularly impressive tournament of 14 points and 6.7 assists per game on average. “Brown fit in well with the team,” a DAZN and Basketnews reporter told the sports channel. Miguel Luis Vidal“He proved to be smart from the very first training session, he understood how this team works. He understood that Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Yule and the Hernangomez brothers were far ahead of him in terms of their role in the dressing room. He was able to adapt within a few weeks and allowed Sergio Scariolo to give him the role of A key player. He has already proven himself.”
In any case, despite the calming of the storm regarding the coordinator’s citizenship following the success of La Rocha, there is still quite a bit of criticism surrounding the issue. “There is no doubt that he is a quality player, but he should not be playing in Spain,” argued Luis Vidal, “Lorenzo has never even visited here, giving a player a passport to a country to which he has no connection is legal, but simply unfair.” At the same time, Hurtado said for his part: “The ideal situation is for a player to be in the same country for a few years, that way it works better. Lorenzo’s case is special, so people are also surprised.”
In the end, when the celebration of the European Championship comes to an end, Brown will take the plane from Berlin to Tel Aviv, join the preparations of his new team for 22/23 and hope to continue his great form from the exciting tournament. Brown will have a difficult task, and he will have to be one of the leaders of the Tel Avivians, who will hope to recover on the way to a better season than last year.
“He is one of the six best center backs in the Euroleague,” Hurtado analyzed, “however, he is a player who needs a comfortable atmosphere and Maccabi has a lot of pressure, it is a big club that aims high. Lorenzo needs good treatment from the coach, Scariolo uses him very wisely – he gives him the The central role, Lorenzo needs it. He will be able to play with Wade Baldwin, but the coach will have to find each one his own role, in my eyes he is the perfect center back. Baldwin should play as number 2.”
“Everyone knows what he’s capable of and I’m not surprised by what he shows in the championship,” said Luis Vidal, “I believe that at Maccabi Tel Aviv his role will be relatively similar to the one he had when he played for the Red Star in Belgrade. In Spain, in any case, he became one of the most dominant center backs the team had in recent years. Lorenzo was smart enough to put the team above his own ego, but in any case I believe we could have reached this stage even without him.”
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