Juan Ignacio Sánchez

Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown, commonly known as Pepe Sánchez (born May 8, 1977), is a former Argentine American[1] professional basketball player. He played at the point guard position. He was a 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. In 2010 he won the Konex Award as one of the five best Basketball Players from the last decade in Argentina.

"Pepe Sánchez" redirects here. For other uses, see Pepe Sánchez (disambiguation).
Juan Ignacio Sánchez
Sánchez during a Real Madrid game.
Personal information
Born (1977-05-08) May 8, 1977
Bahía Blanca, Argentina
NationalityAmerican / Argentine
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
CollegeTemple (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000 / Undrafted
Playing career1994–2013
PositionPoint guard
Career history
1994–1995Deportivo Roca
1995–1996Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca
2000–2001Philadelphia 76ers
2001Atlanta Hawks
2001Philadelphia 76ers
2001–2002Panathinaikos
2002–2003Detroit Pistons
2003–2004Etosa Alicante
2004–2007Unicaja Málaga
2007–2008AXA FC Barcelona
2008–2009Real Madrid
2010Obras Sanitarias
2010–2013Weber Bahía Estudiantes
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Argentina
Summer Olympic Games
2004 Athens
FIBA World Cup
2002 USA
FIBA AmeriCup
2001 Neuquen
2003 San Juan
2011 Mar del Plata
FIBA South American Championship
1999 Bahia Blanca
FIBA Diamond Ball
2004 Belgrade


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 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]

National team career

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
Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001–02PanathinaikosGBL2020.9.420.188.6902.34.01.7.04.0
2003–04Etosa AlicanteACB2127.5.463.224.7063.76.31.8.17.5
2004–05Unicaja3720.2.381.318.6572.73.21.2.15.0
2005–064422.5.569.372.8464.23.81.3.06.6
2006–074421.1.378.311.7692.84.61.2.04.4
2007–08FC Barcelona4120.6.433.301.8373.35.01.2.14.8
2008–09Real Madrid1514.5.167.0671.0001.02.9.8.0.7
2009–10Obras SanitariasLNB723.3.467.357.7272.66.31.6.05.3
2010–11Weber Bahía Estudiantes4330.4.462.330.7335.26.93.3.110.0
2011–124526.1.485.370.7635.55.51.5.110.7
2012–132619.1.329.333.8102.92.8.8.07.4

See also

References
  1. "ACB.com Pepe Sánchez nacionalidad|licencia: ESP". Archived from the original on 2006-01-13. Retrieved 2005-12-05.
  2. "Despedida de Pepe Sánchez" (in Spanish). Baloncesto Málaga. 2007-06-22. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  3. "AXA F.C. Barcelona lands passing wizard Sanchez". Euroleague.net. 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  4. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL – Pepe Sánchez, nuevo jugador del Real Madrid de baloncesto". Realmadrid.com. 2008-07-03. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  5. "El Real Madrid corta a Pepe Sanchez". altaspulsaciones.com. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  6. Voto de confianza
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