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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Where is all the Mexican basketball talent?

By Jeremy Schwartz | Thursday, June 26, 2008, 11:02 AM

With tonight’s NBA draft, some here in Mexico are lamenting the lack of names from south of the border. While the NBA has gone international in a huge way, with stars from Croatia to China, Mexico has been pretty much been left to watch from the sidelines.

Basketball is maybe the fourth sport in Mexico (if that), behind king soccer, baseball and American football. While Mexican networks show NFL and Major League Baseball games, the NBA can’t crack the schedule. This year’s ultra-hyped Finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers was shown on an obscure cable channel.

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The lack of interest in the NBA is mirrored by a lack of big-time talent. The only Mexican-born player in the NBA is Eduardo Najera, a role player for the Denver Nuggets. To be fair, Najera has had a solid NBA career, after four great years at the University of Oklahoma, and is a bona fide superstar in his native Mexico. He is perhaps singlehandedly responsible for driving what little interest there is here.

So are there any Mexican superstars waiting in the wings? Judging by some of the names associated with the Mexican National Team, maybe not. The biggest name may be former UCLA center Lorenzo Mata, a Mexican-American who averaged 3.1 points last year in a supporting role. Another talent is the Chihuahua-born Hector Hernandez, who averaged nearly 10 points and 7 rebounds a game for Fresno State last year. The national team also has some intriguing American talent: Seattle Supersonics guard Earl Watson, whose grandparents were born in Mexico, recently joined the team and former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson (and El Paso native) briefly coached the team before giving way to an Argentinian coach.

Mexico does have a professional basketball league with more than 20 teams, a league with little exposure or coverage and dominated by CBA-type American players and the occasional aging NBA player. Last year a Mexico league alum, Jamario Moon, made a big splash with the Toronto Raptors, winning rookie of the month honors for February.

If you know of any up-and-coming Mexican bball stars, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

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