Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown, also known as Pepe Sánchez (born May 8, 1977), is Argentine-Spanish[1] professional basketball player. He is a point guard. He was part of Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal team. Pepe Sánchez (1.93 metres, 6 feet 4 inches tall) was the first Argentine to play in the NBA. He played two seasons in the NBA, playing in a total of 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers (24 games), Atlanta Hawks (5 games), and the Detroit Pistons (9 games), averaging only 5 minutes per game. He also played with the Golden State Warriors, during the NBA preseason.
Professional career
Early years
At age 12, he began playing for the youth team of Club Bahiense del Norte, together with future NBA star Emanuel Ginóbili. At age 17 he moved to Deportivo Roca for the 1994–95 season of the Argentine League, where he played point guard. The following year, he accepted a scholarship offer from Temple University in Philadelphia, but stayed in Argentina during the 1995–96 season, playing for Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca.
After his participation in the 1996 Youth Panamerican Tournament in Puerto Rico, where he represented the junior national team of Argentina, he moved to Philadelphia where he played for the Temple Owls college team for 4 years under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, and finished his career as the #2 player in the NCAA in steals (he is currently in third place in career steals). As a junior, the crafty point guard guided the Owls to an appearance in the Elite Eight, where they fell to Duke. Despite averaging only 5.6 points per game as a senior, he was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. He earned a degree in history at Temple in 2000.
NBA
In 2000, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia 76ers after not being selected in the NBA draft, and along with Rubén Wolkowyski, became the first Argentines to play in the NBA regular season. In 2002 he was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Pistons.
Europe
In Europe, Sánchez won the Euroleague championship in the Euroleague 2001-02 season, while playing with the Greek Basket League club Panathinaikos. He also played in the Spanish League with Etosa Alicante. He transferred to the Spanish League club Unicaja Málaga in 2004, with whom he won the 2005-06 ACB League; Unicaja's first Spanish League title. After three years at Unicaja, he left as a free agent when his contract expired at the end of the 2006-07 season.[2] On August 13, 2007, he signed with FC Barcelona.[3]
In July 2008, he signed with Real Madrid,[4] but he was released in April 2009.[5]
Argentine national team
Sánchez was first called up to the senior men's Argentine national basketball team in 1998. With Argentina, he played at the: FIBA World Cup, at both the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 2002 FIBA World Championship (where he won the silver medal), the 1999 South American Championship (where he won the silver medal), and at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games (where he won the gold medal).
Sánchez's performance at the 2006 FIBA World Championship was quite satisfactory, with the Argentine press choosing him as the most outstanding player of the team.[6]
Career statistics
Domestic leagues
See also
References
External links
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