Mexico - Hernandez takes his game to new level
Fresno State senior Hector Hernandez returned to campus Tuesday, about 15 pounds lighter than his playing weight last season but with nearly a college basketball season of international experience. Hernandez, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, played for his home country this summer in several ...
From www.fresnobee.com
Download source here
Fresno State senior Hector Hernandez returned to campus Tuesday, about 15 pounds lighter than his playing weight last season but with nearly a college basketball season of international experience.
Hernandez, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, played for his home country this summer in several exhibitions and, later, the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas, competing against some of North America's best.
"Everybody doesn't get to do that," Hernandez said. "I was real happy and proud to represent and play for my country."
Under coach Nolan Richardson, who won the 1994 NCAA championship at Arkansas, Hernandez and his Team Mexico teammates placed seventh in the 10-team pool, the highlight coming Aug. 22 with a 100-89 upset of Puerto Rico.
Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland, from Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center, watched Hernandez log 13 minutes in the game.
"There was such national pride," Cleveland said. "They seemed to rally around Coach Richardson."
Hernandez's experience included playing against Team USA and its NBA superstars.
Final score: USA 127, Mexico 100.
"Team USA was really, really good," Hernandez said. "We tried to score, we ran with them, we shot with them. I think we did pretty good."
Hernandez played in all eight games of the tournament, averaging 4.6 points and nearly four rebounds.
The top two tournament teams (USA won the gold medal, Argentina the silver) earned berths to next summer's Olympics.
Hernandez hopes his shooting woes that started this summer will end there. Hernandez shot just 21% on 3-pointers (3 for 14).
Last season, Hernandez converted 40% on 3-pointers and averaged 11.2 points. He is the team's top returning scorer.
Hernandez plans to get back in the gym as soon as possible. He will rejoin the Bulldogs next week in skill-development practices. He also plans to eat a lot in the coming weeks. The Richardson Theory of basketball, complete with a full-court defense and running offense, took about 15 pounds off Hernandez's frame. He played last season at 230 pounds then gained five pounds with offseason weight-lifting sessions. He lost it all this summer, plus a few more pounds. He thinks his weight is down to 220 pounds.
If time allows, Hernandez said he would prefer to play his senior season at 240 pounds.
Either way, Cleveland hopes the experience taught Hernandez to play with a higher aggression level.
Hernandez will compete for a starting position at power forward or center with fellow seniors Alex Blair, Shawn Taylor and Rekalin Sims, a transfer from Kentucky. Also competing in the post is James Tchana, who is waiting to learn if the NCAA granted him a medical redshirt for the 2006-07 season, and true freshman Brandon Webster.