| Position | Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 2.06 metres (6 ft 9 in) |
| League | Liga Nacional de Básquet |
| Team | Olimpo (1986) Unión de Santa Fe (1987) Olimpo (1988) Gigantes de Carolina Annabella Pavia (1989-90) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (1990-91) Brescia (1992) GEPU San Luis (1993-94) Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro Rivadavia (1994-95) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (1995-96) Dep. Valle Inferior (1996-97) Guaiqueríes (Venezuela) (1997) Club Sportivo Independiente (1997-98) Estudiantes de Olavarría (1998-99) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (1999-2000) Peñarol (2001) Villa Mitre (2006) Obras Sanitarias (2009) Del Progreso (Viedma, Río Negro) (2010) [1][2] |
| Number | 4, 8, 14, 22 |
| Born | August 10, 1966 Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province |
| Nationality | Argentina |
| Draft | 57th, 1988 Philadelphia Sixers |
Hernán Abel Montenegro (born August 8, 1966), is a former Argentine basketball player. He is considered one of the best Latin America centers ever by journalists and colleagues. Montenegro is also such a charismatic player, nicknamed "El Loco" (The Crazy" in Spanish) due to his eccentric behaviour inside and outside the courts.
Due to his skill to play basketball, Montenegro has been compared with talented players such as Puerto Rican José Piculín Ortiz, Brazilean Oscar Schmidt or Spanish Fernando Martín Espina.
Contents |
Montenegro started to play basketball at 5 years old, taking advantage of his infrequently height at that age. He debuted in the Senior category of Club Leandro N. Alem, playing with teammates 10 years older than him. He later played at Club Villa Mitre. In 1981 Montenegro was called to the youth Argentina national team to play the Panamerican Games hosted in Montevideo.
Two years later Montenegro disputed the Youth World Cup in Spain, where Argentina finished 7th. It was in that tournament when Montenegro was observed by a talent-searcher who interesed in his services, so subsequentely he would be later signed by CAI Zaragoza at the age of 17.
In 1985 Montenegro was called to the Senior Argentina national basketball team for the first time to play the South American championship in Medellín. At the national level, he debuted in the Liga Nacional de Básquet playing for Olimpo de Bahía Blanca with 19 years old. Olimpo reached the finals of the Liga Nacional de Básquet that year although the team was defeated by Ferro Carril Oeste with Miguel Cortijo as its star player.
With the national team, Montenegro took part in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where Argentina finished 12th. In 1987 Montenegro is traded to Unión de Santa Fe where after playing a few games, returned to Olimpo to dispute the play-off matches.
In Puerto Rico Montenegro was recruited by the Gigantes de Carolina, where he only disputed 12 games with a 10,2 rebounds average. He later went to Louisiana State University to play for the LSU Tigers basketball of the NCAA. In the USA, Montenegro took part in the 1988 draft, being chosen in the 57th position by the Philadelphia Sixers. Hernán Montenegro became the first Argentine player (along with the Giant Jorge González, drafted #54) chosen for the NBA although he would not dispute any official game with the franquise.
In 1989 Montenegro arrived to Italy in order to play for Annabella Pavia, a team of the second division. He played 43 matches with an average of 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Although Montenegro did not keep in mind coming back to Argentina, some disciplinary affairs and personal problems with the managers caused a premature return to his native country. The return to the Liga Nacional was in 1990, when Montenegro signed with Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca, his home town club. The matches of the 1990-91 season disputed for Estudiantes are considered the best Montenegro's performances of his career, leading a team where also played other prominent players such as Juan Espil, Javier Maretto and José Luis Gil. Estudiantes made a great campaign, reaching the Liga Nacional finals but the team was finally defeated by GEPU, leadered by Héctor Campana (a team that no longer exists). Montenegro finished the season with 22 points and 8,7 rebounds per game.
One of the most memorable moments was the semi-final disputed against Sport Club Cañada de Gómez that qualified Estudiantes to the final games. Montenegro shooted to the basket, making a 2-point conversion at the same time the buzzer announced the end of the match.[1]
Due to his good performances in the Liga Nacional, Montenegro was called again to the national team that disputed the 1992 Torneo de las Américas in Portland. Montenegro took part of a team that also had Marcelo Milanesio and Héctor Campana as relevant players. Argentina reached the semi-finals being defeated by the USA "Dream Team" (regarded as the best basketball team ever by journalists and experts) with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird as its outstanding players.
Just before that game Montenegro had tattooed the number "22" in his nape (a number which means "the crazy man" in Argentina), causing that the American channel NBC's broadcaster said: "Tonight, Robinson and Ewing gonna dream on the 'crazy twenty-two'". Since then, Montenegro's partners, rivals and even journalists began to nickname him "El Loco" ("The Crazy", in Spanish), due his strange behaviour inside and outside the courts.
in 1992 Montenegro is transferred to Brescia, a team of the Italian Lega 2. Nevertheless he soon returned to Argentina again to play the 1993-94 season for GEPU San Luis, and the next (1994-94) for Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro Rivadavia where he achieved his best record in rebounds (8,8).
In 1995-96 Montenegro returned to Estudiantes and then he signed with Valle Inferior, a team from Viedma, Río Negro, playing only 11 matches and finishing that year in Venezuela Gauiqueries. The 1997-98 season found Montenegro defending the colors of Club Sportivo Independiente, playing along with raising star Andrés Nocioni.
Montenegro has been awarded the following honors during his career:[2]
In Montenegro's own words:
| “ | The talent for playing was something I would have not preferred to born with.[3] | ” |
| “ | I have a very big problem, which usually happens to talented people... I have skills to make something that I could not be fulfilled with. I always had that inner struggle against basketball.[3] |
” |
| “ | In my opinion, Beto Cabrera was better than Ginóbili. Manu is a extraordinary athlete and a very good player who quickly learnt all he needed to learn, but Ginóbili never was as talented as Cabrera, Pichi Campana or I were.[3] |
” |
| “ | Cabrera played today's basketball, but 30 years before.[3] | ” |