Juan Núñez (18, Madrid), one of Spanish basketball’s greatest gems in recent years, is moving to Germany after failing to sign a contract extension with Real Madrid. The 18-year-old point guard, who has been with the Whites since 2015 and whose contract ended this summer, has signed for the German side for three seasons. The two clubs this Monday made official the transfer of the MVP of the last U-20 Eurobasket, which will play in the Bundesliga and Eurocup from next season. In his statement, Ulm highlighted the special nature of the signing of Real Madrid’s youth squad, who is considered one of the best players of his generation and has been inundated with offers this summer. “On the one hand, we were not able to offer him a contract of the size that Real Madrid could give him, and on the other hand, the idea of first playing Juan for a superior Spanish side and then loaning him to Ulm on a fee was appreciated. season,” explains the German club, who finally managed to tie one of the players with the greatest projection in Europe.
Núñez leaves Real Madrid despite having the confidence of first Pablo Laso and then Chus Mateo. The current first-team coach, who was training due to Laso’s absence during the final games of last season, gave the youth team a few minutes in the closing stages of the ACB and the player responded at a good level, not shrinking from the challenge. This opportunity came to him partly because of the problems Real Madrid were having at point guard with Williams-Goss and Alocén’s injuries. But with the recovery of those two and the signing of Sergio Rodríguez, their chances of minutes have been greatly complicated. Last year, his ACB records were 1.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in an average of 6:26 minutes per game.
Hence, the Madrid youngster leaves in search of minutes and a more important role in the team. Something offered by the German side who have been coached by former player Anton Gavel who played a key role in signing the player. “I would like to thank coach Anton Gavel for his trust that I can help this team to become more competitive,” Ulmer Nunez said in a statement. “We are a young team with a lot of ambition and energy that will be competitive from the start,” he emphasizes. For his part, Gavel is delighted with his new addition, whom he describes as having more experience than is normal for someone his age. “In Juan we are hiring someone who has achieved a lot from a young age and has led many teams to success. He was able to learn from the best players in Europe. Now he should take the next steps with us and take on more responsibility,” says the coach.
Núñez’s departure is a blow to national basketball, which is unable to keep one of its most promising youngsters. With the lower tiers of the national team, Núñez won the 2019 U-16 Eurobasket and was voted into the tournament’s ideal quintet. That summer, he was named European Under-20 champion and was the tournament’s MVP, where he averaged 11.6 points, 4.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.9 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. That progression has taken him straight to the senior team with Scariolo’s Eurobasket call-up. Núñez is still included in the roster for the tournament, which originally featured 22 players, of which 16 remain, and which will eventually be reduced to 12. Last week he made his debut with the elders in the second friendly against Greece the Wizink, his last game on Goya’s pitch as a Real Madrid player.
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