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Juan Nunez, Ulm: 'We are a dangerous team'

Juan Nunez, Ulm: 'We are a dangerous team'

Interviews

21 March 20237 Mins read

Juan Nunez, Ulm: 'We are a dangerous team'

The year 2022 was an interesting one for Juan Nunez; he was in uniform for Real Madrid in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game and won the Spanish League with Los Blancos, was chosen as the youngest MVP ever at the U20 European Championship after leading Spain to a gold medal, and left the Spanish capital, his hometown, to join ratiopharm Ulm. It is 2023 and Nunez continues to create highlights with Ulm, one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe. Nunez stuffed the stat sheet in Round 16 with 6 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in Ulm's 97-85 home win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. The 18-year-old has averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists for a PIR of 8.9 this season and is one of the front runners to be chosen as the 2022-23 EuroCup Rising Star. Looking ahead, Nunez is excited about the EuroCup playoffs. "It is a format that I've never played and I think we are a very dangerous team in a one-and-done situation," Nunez told EuroCupBasketball.com. "We are really looking forward to it, to be honest. We've been practicing really well and are in very good form."

Hello, Juan. Congratulations on beating Cedevita. You still have a good chance to get the home-court advantage in the eighthfinals. Was that 30-point loss in Ljubljana in Round 7 in the back of your minds?

"Yes, of course. To tell you the truth, that was a hard loss for us, losing by 30. We knew that we needed to start the game in a very different way. I believe this is what we did and we were serious throughout the game."

This is your first EuroCup season. How has the experience been so far and what do you like most about the competition?

"It's really good and I am very happy. It is a very competitive league. There are some very good teams and I am very happy to be a part of it. Moreover, we are playing well and winning games. As you said, we hope we can get the home-court advantage [in the eighthfinals]. Prometey, the Ukrainian team, is a very physical team, and I know Joventut already, they really know how to play good basketball. In general, the teams' average level is quite high."

"This is a life experience... I am in a different country with a different language and a different culture, living on my own. I've had to wise up!"

You had a lot of offers in Europe and even from U.S. colleges. What led you to choose Ulm over other options?

"The project they offered me was really good and it is just as they told me. They offered me to play a lot of minutes at a high level, and I am very thankful to Thomas [Stoll, owner and general manager], Thorsten [Leibenath, sports director] and of course, Anton [Gavel], our head coach, who puts me on the court. This is why."

After a whole life living in Madrid, you left your comfort zone to go to Ulm as a professional basketball player. How do you think the experience will help you as a player and as a person?

"I've said it before: this is a basketball experience, but even more so, a life experience, because I have been living at home until now, with my family, and everything was easy. Now, I am in a different country with a different language and a different culture, living on my own. I've had to wise up! I am very happy. I've met a lot of people here and they have been great to me. It is all positive, to be honest."

How about everyday duties? Not being home, I guess you have more chores. For instance, are you learning to cook?

"About cooking, I am lucky that there is a restaurant in the club in which I have lunch and dinner. If not, I would have more problems, but I am doing alright, I get by. I am not great at cooking or the most organized person in the world, but I get by."

Bruno Caboclo has been unstoppable since he arrived. How important has he been to balance the team and what's the best about him as a player?

"We came off a situation in which our two centers were injured. We were playing with our second-team centers, who were doing well but we needed a reference at the '5' position, a big player like Bruno. He adjusted really quickly to the team and it looks like he has been with us for a long time. He is helping us a lot. He changes a lot of shots and has very long arms."

You have a young team with a young coach like Anton Gavel. How is your relationship with him? How important is the fact that he was a top-tier playmaker in the past who knows what might go through your mind?

"It is going really well, honestly. I talk to him every day, plus he speaks Spanish, so communicating with him is very easy. He gives me a lot of freedom and lets me play. Also, he is carrying us very well, and being such a young team, it is not an easy thing to do. He knows what all of us need in every moment. I only have good things to say about him."

Everyone highlights your passing skills and the remarkable assists that you conjure up. Is it a natural talent or something you work on every day?

"I don't know! It is my playing style. I believe it's something I've had since I was a little kid and played handball and basketball. I always had good court vision, so I don't know. You can work on it, that's for sure. When you reach this level, everything is more complicated but you spend many hours watching film and seeing where you can find advantages. It is something that you can polish a lot and I am improving my decision-making here, too."

"The goal has to be to go as far as we can. We have seen that we can compete against anybody."

The EuroCup playoffs start in two weeks. You know, it's win-or-go-home until one team is standing. How much are you looking forward to competing in the elimination rounds?

"I am really looking forward to it. It is a format that I've never played and I think we are a very dangerous team in a one-and-done situation. We are really looking forward to it, to be honest. We've been practicing really well and are in very good form. We had a slower start, but are doing quite well in the German League and the EuroCup. So it is going to arrive in a very good moment for us. As I said, if it comes down to one game, we are a dangerous team, so I am really looking forward to it."

Last season, you were close to winning the EuroLeague with Real Madrid. What would it mean for you to take ratiopharm Ulm deep in the EuroCup?

"That's the goal. I don't know how far we will go, but the goal has to be to go as far as we can. We have seen that we can compete against anybody, so we don't have to set any limits. There are indeed very tough teams in both groups and it is a matter of going game by game: play the eighthfinals game as if it were our last, try to win it and do the same in the next round. I believe this is the way, let's see what happens."