PUERTO | Wolfpack’s Gonzalez dreams of wearing Puerto Rico jersey

RALEIGH (2010 FIBA World Championship) - It’s been more than five years since the game was played, but the legend of Puerto Rico’s famous upset of the United States on opening day at the 2004 Olympics lives on.

Just as the American Dream Team in 1992 inspired boys and girls around the world to reach for the stars in basketball, Puerto Rico’s 92-73 victory over Larry Brown’s Team USA has had a lasting impact on the tiny island in the Caribbean. Javier Gonzalez, a junior point guard in the Atlantic Coast Conference at North Carolina State, hails from Puerto Rico and he’ll never forget that Olympic clash. "I remember watching that game, sitting at home,” he said to FIBA.com. “I watched the game the whole time. It was crazy. “Even if I wasn't out there, I felt like part of the team. It was a great thing for Puerto Rico and basketball in Puerto Rico.” Winning that game was almost as sweet as winning a title because both teams are in the FIBA Americas and Puerto Rico had always been lost in the giant shadow of American hoops. “It showed that we have some talent and we go out to play basketball,” Gonzalez said. "It was huge. A lot of people didn't know about Puerto Rico until then.” Gonzalez could, one day, represent his country in international competition.

It will be extremely difficult to break into the current squad, though, because the Puerto Rico backcourt is loaded with players like Carlos Arroyo, JJ Barea and Larry Ayuso. It’s not unusual to see three-guard line-ups on the court for Puerto Rico. Their games are always exciting to watch. "We don't have a lot of tall players in Puerto Rico and that's why we produce a lot of good guards,” Gonzalez said.

"That's why most of the teams in Puerto Rico are guard-oriented. "We have a lot of freedom, they like to play up and down the court.”In crunch time, the Puerto Rican coaches always put the ball in the hands of the playmakers like Arroyo. “Coaches in Puerto Rico put a lot of pressure on guards to make plays for our team,” Gonzalez said, “to score or make plays for teammates.” Born to play hoops There was never much doubt that Gonzalez was going to play basketball.He did experiment with the sweet science as a boy but that was short-lived.

"It wasn't really that serious, but I used to work out with my stepdad,” Gonzalez said. “My stepdad was a boxer when he was younger and I liked the sport. "I started training but my mom found out, so ..." So the boxing stopped. Gonzalez says he also played baseball for a few years but eventually began to focus on basketball. He left the island to play high school ball and competed for a couple of years at St Patrick’s in New Jersey before moving to the warmer climes of Miami and enrolling at Michael M. Krop High School.

In Florida, he excelled and was named as the Miami Herald’s Player of the Year. College basketball in America is huge, but Gonzalez admits he didn’t pay too much attention to it until his last year of high school."I didn't watch college basketball until probably the start of my senior year when I figured I was going to be playing college basketball,” he said. “That's when I started really watching. "Before then, I didn't watch and I didn't know anything about it.”One university that was interested in having Gonzalez was North Carolina State, a team with a rich history in the game. Two teams in the past 30 years stand out for the Wolfpack, one led by David Thompson in 1972-73 that went undefeated but couldn’t play in the NCAA Tournament as is it was probation. The following season, the same star players ended UCLA’s string of seven consecutive NCAA titles by edging the Bruins in double overtime to advance to the Final where they beat Marquette. Nine years later and Jim Valvano’s ‘Cardiac Pack’ went on an incredible run to win the national title, shocking a Houston team that had Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in the title game.The point guard on the ’83 State team, Sidney Lowe, is now the coach of NC State while the point guard on the ’74 team, Monte Towe, is an assistant coach at State.

“I didn't know anything about NC State," Gonzalez admits. "I've heard about them (the players) and met them since coming here. We've got a couple of legends who work here in Coach Lowe and Monte Towe."They both won national championships. Now that I've been here, I pretty much know everything about the history."Towe's team didn't lose a game for two years." Something that convinced Gonzalez that State was the perfect fit for him was the atmosphere at games. "It's great,” he said. “It's what every player dreams about. Ever since I was little, I wanted to play in front of a lot of people and face good competition, so, when I came up here and saw how the fans and the crowd were so into the game, that was one of the major reasons why I decided to come to State and to the ACC."

It’s extremely loud at games. "It helps me raise my level,” Gonzalez said. “I feed off the crowd. Even if it's an away game, it makes me and my teammates feel like it’s us against the world. It means we play harder, smarter and raises the level of play.”

Playing for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico will this summer play Preliminary Round games in Ankara against Turkey, Greece, China, Ivory Coast and Russia. “That's one of my dreams,” Gonzalez said, “to play for the national team, especially when I see Carlos Arroyo. “I have known Carlos since I was about eight. He used to play for my dad's (Eddie Gonzalez) team (Santurce Cangrejeros) in Puerto Rico.”Eddie Gonzalez is the general manager of Santurce. "Carlos was my role model, and I wanted to play like him and be like him since he made it to the NBA and has done so many good things for Puerto Rico. “It would be great to play alongside him in the national team. "I've met Piculín Ortiz, too, and (Larry) Ayuso. He plays there, now. I go down there and shoot with him. I'm pretty close to the national team and follow them." Ortiz, Ayuso and Arroyo were all on the 2004 Olympic team. Gonzalez knows the competition is fierce to make it into the national side."It could happen,” he said. “I don't really know. If it happens, I'd be welcome to go to the practices and work out. You never know what's going to happen.” What he is certain of is that he wants to be involved in the game for a long time. “Hopefully, I will get to play professionally and represent my country,” he said. “If not, I'd look forward to working with kids. “Hopefully, if I do or don't make it in the pros, I eventually want to be a coach.”

Jeff Taylor
FIBA

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