Willy Hernangomez had a rough first year with FC Barcelona and a controversial relationship with Roger Grimau. BasketNews delves into the reasons for the player's struggles and how Barca's new coach, Joan Penarroya, might try to get the best out of him.
Last summer, Willy Hernangomez arrived at FC Barcelona as the club's most prominent addition for the 2023-2024 season.
The Catalan powerhouse was confident that the Spanish international, who lacked consistency in the NBA, would live up to the expectations generated by his EuroBasket MVP award a year earlier.
But the truth is that Willy's adjustment to European basketball has been slower than expected.
The Madrid-born center soon developed into a cornerstone on offense, averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the ACB League and 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per EuroLeague outing.
However, his defensive woes led former Barca head coach Roger Grimau to give Jan Vesely more playing time. As it turned out, the Czech big man made the best of the opportunity, securing himself a contract extension until 2026.
Even though Willy accepted the challenge of competing with Vesely for the starting center position, he expressed dissatisfaction with his role.
"In 15 or 20 minutes, it's difficult to do a lot of things and to be able to help the team, I think that's something that will come to me," he explained in an interview with RAC 1.
Willy's average time clocked in at 16 minutes and 14 seconds per game in the EuroLeague and 18 minutes and 38 seconds in the Spanish league, far less than the player would have liked.
After Real Madrid eliminated Barca in the ACB playoff semis and saw their season end without a single title for the first time since 2016-17, Hernangomez was asked whether one of his goals for next season would be to become the team's starting center. But he chose to highlight another priority instead.
"I'm looking to
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