Juan Ignacio Sánchez

Infobox Euroleague Player

---

caption = Pepe Sánchez warming up with AXA FC Barcelona.
nickname = Pepe
position = Point guard
height_ft = 6
height_in = 4
weight_lb = 195
league = Spanish League
team = Real Madrid
nationality = Argentine
league = ACB
birth_date = birth date and age|1977|5|8
birth_place = Bahía Blanca, Argentina
college = Temple
draft = Not drafted
draft_year =
draft_team =
career_start = 2000
former_teams = Philadelphia 76ers (2000–2001)
Atlanta Hawks (2001)
Panathinaikos (2001–2002)
Detroit Pistons (2002–2003)
Etosa Alicante (2003–2004)
Unicaja Málaga (2004–2007)
AXA FC Barcelona (2007–2008)
awards =

Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown, also known as Pepe Sánchez (born May 8 1977 in Bahía Blanca) is an Argentine professional basketball player, and point guard for Spanish league club power Real Madrid and Argentina's 2004 Olympic basketball Tournament champion Argentine basketball team. Pepe Sánchez (1.93 metres, 6 feet 4 inches tall) was the first Argentine to play in the NBA, though he only played three unsuccessful seasons, with the Atlanta Hawks (5 games) Philadelphia 76ers (24 games), Detroit Pistons (9 games) and the Golden State Warriors, averaging only 5 minutes per game.

Player 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 Argentina's national basketball team, 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. 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.

Argentine national team

Sánchez was first called up to the Argentine senior national team in 1998. With Argentina, he played at the World Championships at both the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 2002 FIBA World Championship (where he won the silver medal), the South American Championship 1999 (where he won the silver medal), and at the 2004 Olympic Basketball Tournament (where he won the gold medal).

Sánchez's performance at the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship was quite satisfactory, with the Argentine press choosing him as the most outstanding player in the team [ [http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/25/conexiones/t-01259041.htm Voto de confianza ] ] .

Europe

In Europe, Sánchez won the Euroleague championship in the Euroleague 2001-02 season while playing with the Greek League club Panathinaikos, and he became the second best point guard in the Spanish League with Etosa AlicanteFact|date=February 2007. He transferred to Spanish 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. [cite web|url=http://www.unicajabaloncesto.com/leer_noticia.php?id_not=4309 |title=Despedida de Pepe Sánchez |publisher=Baloncesto Málaga |language=Spanish |date=2007-06-22 |accessdate=2007-06-29] On August 13 2007, he signed with FC Barcelona. [cite web|url=http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/14895/180/item |title=AXA F.C. Barcelona lands passing wizard Sanchez |publisher="Euroleague.net" |date=2007-08-13 |accessdate=2007-09-21]

In July 2008, he signed with Real Madrid. [cite web|url=http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/es/1202738863099/noticia/ComunicadoOficial/COMUNICADO_OFICIAL_2008-07-03.htm |title=COMUNICADO OFICIAL - Pepe Sánchez, nuevo jugador del Real Madrid de baloncesto |publisher=Realmadrid.com |date=2008-07-03 |accessdate=2008-07-03]

Since he also possesses Spanish citizenship, his inclusion on the roster of any Spanish team does not count towards the foreign player intake limit allowed to teams in that country, or to teams anywhere in the European Union (see Bosman ruling for the reason).

Teams

*1994/1995 Deportivo Roca (Argentina)
*1995/1996 Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (Argentina)
*1996/2000 Temple Owls (United States)
*2000/2001 Philadelphia 76ers (United States)
*2001/2001 Atlanta Hawks (United States)
*2001/2002 Panathinaikos (Greece)
*2002/2003 Detroit Pistons (United States)
*2003/2004 Golden State Warriors, pre-season (United States)
*2003/2004 Etosa Alicante (Spain)
*2004-2007 Unicaja Málaga (Spain)
*2007-2008 AXA FC Barcelona (Spain)
*2008- Real Madrid (Spain)

Notes and References

External links

* [http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?gamecode=216&pcode=AZU Euroleague.net Profile]
* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/pepe_sanchez/?nav=page NBA.com player file]
* [http://www.pepe-sanchez.com/ Official site] es
* [http://www.nba.com/espanol/bio_pepe_sanchez.html Short Biography and Statistics] es
* [http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=B1E File, at the Spanish ACB league] es