Andrés Nocioni
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Small forward/Power forward |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Team | Chicago Bulls |
| Jersey | #5 |
| Born | November 30, 1979 Santa Fe, Argentina |
| Nationality |  Argentina |
| Draft | Not drafted |
| Pro career | 1996–present |
| Former teams | Olimpia Venado Tuerto (1996-97) Independiente General Pico(1997-99) TAU Cerámica (1999-2000) Manresa (2000-01) TAU Cerámica (2001-04) |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Competitor for Argentina |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Men's basketball | |||
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Team | |
| World Championships | |||
| Silver | 2002 USA | Argentina | |
Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979 in Santa Fe) is an Argentine basketball player for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, and for the Argentine national team. Nocioni won a gold medal with the Argentine national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[1] His natural position is small forward, though with the Bulls he has played some minutes at power forward. He shares both Argentine and Italian citizenship.[2] Nocioni is known as Chapu after the Mexican children TV series El Chapulín Colorado.[3] Nocioni has a wife named Paula and a son named Laureano.[4]
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[edit] International career
Nocioni's professional career began in the Argentine basketball league (LNB) in the 1995-96 season, and in 1998-99 he was already named Best Sixth Man. A year later, he was called up to the national team that won the silver medal at the South American basketball championship.[5] In 2001, Nocioni played on the Argentina national team that won the 2001 South American Title.[5] In 2002, Nocioni was part of a team that made basketball history, when Argentina became the first team to beat the United States team at the Basketball World Championship, held that year in Indianapolis, Indiana. His team once again earned the silver medal, losing to Yugoslavia.
In 2001, Nocioni went to Vitoria-Gasteiz, where he spent three seasons as a refuerzo (reinforcement player) with Spain's TAU Cerámica of the ACB Spanish professional league. He was the league's 2004 Most Valuable Player and his stellar play earned him an All-Euroleague Second Team selection in 2003 and 2004. In 2004, Nocioni was a key factor when Argentina became the first South American team, as well as the first Latin American one, in Olympic basketball history (and the fourth team ever, after the United States, Yugoslavia, and the USSR) to win the Olympic gold medal.
The Argentine national team has five NBA players among which is Nocioni, who is currently starting for Argentina, in the FIBA World Championship. In a game against Venezuela, Nocioni landed on an opponent's foot and looked to have injured his ankle, though he was cleared to play in Argentina's next game against Nigeria.[6] In Argentina’s game against Nigeria, Nocioni led the team in scoring with 23 points playing 18 minutes, while not missing a single shot. Nocioni was 9-9 from the field including 5-5 from the 3-point line. "I don't think I've ever played a game where I didn't miss a shot - at least not for the national team."[7] Argentina secured winning group A of the tournament, going a perfect 5-0 in the first round of play.[8]
Argentina lost to Spain's national team in the FIBA 2006 world championships semi-final, with a final score of 75-74. Nocioni had a chance to win the game for Argentina, but his three-pointer at the end of the game missed, giving Spain the win, and the chance to win the championship.[9] Nocioni's Argentine team next played the US team in the bronze medal game, which Argentina lost 96-81. Nocioni scored 18 points in this game, in which he played against NBA teammate Kirk Hinrich.[10]
[edit] NBA career
After winning the gold medal in the Olympics, Nocioni was signed as an undrafted rookie free-agent by the Bulls. He joined Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo and Daniel Santiago, Brazil's Leandro Barbosa and Nenê, Mexico's Eduardo Nájera and his countrymen Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino, as NBA players.
He played in 81 games during his rookie campaign and posted averages of 8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg and 23.4 mpg.[11] Nocioni's physical style of defense created controversy around the league, and he was suspended for one game after a hard foul to Detroit Pistons' Tayshaun Prince.[12] Nocioni had previously committed a hard foul on the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade and then was shoved past photographers and into the first row of spectators by Udonis Haslem. A spectator tossed a drink at Nocioni, which was similar to the incident that triggered Pacers-Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The fan was ejected by security. For the incident Nocioni received a flagrant-one foul (which is a foul involving excessive or unjustified contact) and a technical. Haslem received a technical and an ejection.[13]
While giving a teleconference interview with NBA.com, Nocioni spoke about the hard fouls and his suspension, "First, the one with Wade was completely my fault. It was a bad reaction on my part. If I had received any penalties because of it, it would be a fair sanction, but it was not given. However, the sanction set after the game against the Pistons is totally unfair. I see it as a totally real play taken out of context in the game — absolutely nothing happened. It was an accidental blow. Without purposely trying to, I hit him. I apologized on the court. I also asked Carlos Delfino to give my apologies to him, so I don’t understand why there is a sanction for something totally normal in a game."[14]
In Nocioni's first NBA playoff game, he scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while playing all 48 minutes. Due to his outstanding play, the sold-out United Center crowd in Chicago chanted his name. This game solidified Nocioni's status as a Chicago favorite.[15]
In Nocioni's second season with the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 13.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 1.4 apg, while playing in all 82 games, 43 of them starts. Nocioni was named the Chicago Bulls' Player of the Year for the 2005-06 NBA season.[16] In the playoffs Nocioni averaged 22.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists including two double doubles. In game two against the Miami Heat he scored 30 points shooting 10-12 overall from the field (83.3%), including 3-3 in from the three point line and 1-1 in free throws, with 6 rebounds and one steal in almost 40 minutes played. Nocioni scored 30 points again on November 19, during the 82-72 defeat against L.A. Lakers.[17] He also scored a career high 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the December 1st 111-108 road victory against the Hornets.[18]
Nocioni's missed nearly a quarter of the 2006-2007 season due to plantar fasciitis.
On July 6, 2007, Nocioni agreed a 5-year deal with the Chicago Bulls worth a reported $38 million. He became a restricted free-agent following the 2006-07 season. Teams that were interested in Andres included the Memphis Grizzlies. The deal became official on July 18, 2007.[19]
[edit] Titles
- 1995 South America Youth Championship (Argentina)
- 2001 South America Title (Argentina)
- 2002 Copa del Rey (Tau Cerámica)
- 2004 Olympic gold medal (Argentina)
[edit] References and notes
- ^ Argentina defeats Italy 84-69 to win the men's basketball gold medal URL last accessed September 3, 2006
- ^ Hollinger, John (2007-04-27). The 30 best international players in the NBA. ESPN. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ ESPN 1000-WMVP-AM, explaining Nocioni's nickname of Chapu URL last accessed September 3, 2006
- ^ Nocioni's NBA profile URL last accessed November 27, 2007
- ^ a b Nocioni's profile at the Argentine Basketball Federation. URL last accessed August 16, 2006
- ^ Daily review of Group A, FIBA WC 2006 URL last accessed August 16, 2006
- ^ Game Report, Argentina vs Nigeria 98-64, Group A URL last accessed August 16, 2006
- ^ Game Report, Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro 83-79, Group A URL last accessed August 16, 2006
- ^ Game Report, Spain vs Argentina, 75-74, Semi-Final URL last accessed September 2, 2006
- ^ Game Report, United States vs Argentina, Bronze Medal Game 96-81 URL last accessed September 2, 2006
- ^ Player stats URL last accessed August 15, 2006
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times article on Nocioni being suspended URL last accessed August 15, 2006
- ^ Heat beat Bulls, hard foul by Nocioni URL last accessed August 15, 2006
- ^ Interview with Andres Nocioni URL last accessed August 15, 2006
- ^ Washington Post article on Bulls-Wizards game URL last accessed August 15, 2006
- ^ Nocioni named Bulls POY URL last accessed August 10, 2006
- ^ Bulls-Lakers boxscore URL last accessed November 11, 2006
- ^ NBA game statistics URL last accessed December 4, 2006
- ^ Bulls resign Nocioni to multi-year extension July 18, 2007
[edit] External links
- NBA.com Profile - Andres Nocioni
- Euroleague.net Profile - Andres Nocioni
- Andres Nocioni at ESPN
- Andres Nocioni Tribute Song
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