How your love for basketball can decide your path

BUENOS AIRES (Martín Seldes’ Brave New World) – If you already know Walter Herrmann’s story, jump to the fourth paragraph. If you feel you can be impressed by tough stories, read on until the fourth paragraph, when we will talk about basketball and about Herrmann’s present.

When he was 24 years old and already a great basketball player, Herrmann suffered a terrible loss as his mother, one of his two sisters and his girlfriend died in a car accident. The car in which they were travelling crashed head-on with another one because of the mist and the three women passed away instantly. That was on the 19 July 2003.

On 18 July 2004, almost a year after that terrible tragedy, Herrmann won the South American Championship with the national team after scoring 37 points in the final game against hosts Brazil. But hours later, he found out his father had died of a heart attack that same day.

Like many players, Herrmann started playing basketball when he was very young and realised he was taller than most of his friends. Originally from Santa Fe, he moved out to Córdoba, where he became one of the top players of the Argentine National League while playing for Atenas.

He then moved to Spain the following season and went from unknown player to Most Valuable Player in just months with Fuenlabrada. By the time the 2003/2004 season came around, he was already playing for Unicaja Málaga.

That summer, he became an Olympic champion in Athens. His performance was as irregular as important, especially in the last three games against Greece, the USA and Italy, when he became the X-factor for Argentina.
 
But while he was winning everything and about to become a NBA player, his heart wasn’t with him. It was broken.

"Now, I just play basketball as a job," Herrmann said after announcing he would no longer play for the national team following the 2006 World Championship in Japan.

He continued being a great player, but couldn’t enjoy it.

Herrmann played in the NBA three years (2006-2009) and then went back to be an ACB champion with Caja Laboral.

In 2010, he caught some people’s attention when he announced he wouldn’t play basketball as a professional. Actually, many weren’t really all that surprised after knowing his story and hearing basketball was just a job for him.

However, after being away from the courts for 16 months, he started playing with his friends in his childhood club.

"I just play to have fun with my friends," he said, which was slightly better than "basketball is just a job".

The end of the story wasn’t really happy. But…

A couple of weeks ago, Herrmann accepted an invitation to represent Argentina in a series of friendly games with a team made up of some youngsters and some experienced guys in Angola.

After sharing time and courts with his friends, the blonde forward felt something special again. And he said it.

"When I play for Argentina (it) is just about loving basketball and my country," he told a sports newspaper.

“My love for basketball was always there, but there were other factors that were affecting me”.

Herrmann not only played with the national team again, but he also met the Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was in Angola to meet her counterpart, José Eduardo Dos Santos.

The 2.06m forward said he would decide after this week if he will fight for a place in the national team to play in the South American Championship – London 2012 would be too much - and if he will become professional again next season.

In the meantime, we can be happy that his love for basketball made him come back. More than ever before: I love this game.

Martín Seldes

FIBA

FIBA’s columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.