Jaime Fernandez

The last player to roll in our second unit is a big man who belongs to ACB club Tecnyconta Zaragoza, one of the European top teams working with youth and development at the moment, and with an impressive pool of prospects to choose from. The likes of Carlos Alocen or Vit Krejci surely sound familiar as they been in the college hoops’ radar recently, and probably also the younger center Jaime Pradilla. All of them have been sharing roster with our man Jaime Fernandez in the last Spanish U18 Nationals, where they reached the semifinals, but also during the season in the EBA league, where the Zaragoza farm team learns its trade. And it’s been there all over the year that Fernandez has gone some way forward, showing good signs of progress during the U18 tournament.

We are talking about a 6’9 guy who clearly isn’t just a low post man, with an interesting combination of size plus body control, and who can do a whole lot of stuff on the court. Let’s call it versatility:

– Average size to play in the paint but great length; long arms that help him to defend in space, change shoots and get a fair amount of blocks (some rim protector potential)

– Excellent rebounder, adding natural positioning instincts to his length: active on both ends, with good timing and vertical jump for tips, buckets or just keeping alive the offensive play

– Modern face-up forward ability: dynamic with the ball on the deck and good feet. Not really quick or athletic, but can finish above his match up for length and bounce/skill

– Good shooter with range who likes to start the 1on1 play on the 3pt-line, or to stay open for catch & shoot three. Nice release but needs consistency (good FT shooter)

– Some ability to play above the rim (catching lobs and finishing with dunks) plus reliable in transition, filling lines and making other big men suffer on the break

Listed above are the reasons for Fernandez debut in ACB as a 17yo. That mix of qualities makes him a special prospect to look at in the future, but there is still way to go to settle at the next level. The obvious task should be working on his body and muscle development, filling up his frame and gaining the strength needed to hold on bodies, battle in the post and set effective screens. At the moment, Jaime is more of a pop guy, so it’d be interesting to see him work not just on the roll, but on his overall post up game, using both hands, fakes and sealing moves, and putting to good use his soft touch near the rim. Moreover, D in space, switches, and recovering from closeouts are also important. The progress made recently make us confident there’s an exciting player here, and that we’ll see him in the future balling at high level.

The next stop for Jaime Fernandez will be joining Spain for the U18 European Championship in late July in Latvia, which qualifies for the 2019 FIBAU19 World Championship. In a loaded frontcourt with some ANGT ‘veterans’ such as Usman Garuba, Golden Dike or Arnau Parrado, and his Zaragoza teammate Pradilla, we expect him to make his mark thanks to that blend of distinctive tools, skill and versatility.