Andrew Happy He is packing his bags with his family to board a plane to Spain and undertake the biggest club challenge of a career that, at 27 years of age, already has him in the discussion for the best Dominican point guard in history.
From next month it will be the first quisqueyan in wearing the flannel of Real Madridthe most successful club in Europe, where it is the biggest domestic winner (36 leagues and 29 cups) and the Euroleague (11).
“If I told you that I dreamed of playing at a level like the one I’m playing today, I would say no, but every day that I am presented with the opportunity chance I think it is something to be appreciated and valued and that is why I try to get the most out of it. performance to the chance that is offered to me every day,” he explains Happy.
To the WiZink Center of Madrid“Andresito” arrives as a replacement for the Spaniard Sergio Rodríguez, a legend who retired in May, to compete for minutes with the Argentine Facundo Campazzo.
“It’s just that it’s a chance…for me in my career nothing has been given to me. I am a fighter, I was given the opportunity chanceI’m going to work, to do my best performance, my best work to help the equipment to improve, that’s what I was hired for,” he says Happy to Free Newspaper.
A chance which will allow him to join James Feldeine as the only Dominicans who have disputed the Euroleaguethe most important club tournament outside the NBA.
“Right now that doesn’t obstruct my mind, that he is the substitute, that he is the holderWhat I want to be is to help the equipment to win and be a better player every day,” explains the man who last May became the first player from Duarte to be chosen for the Best Quintet of the Endesa League (ACB) after a season in which he averaged 15 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a PIR of 16.9, the seventh best in the championship.
Connection with Guachupita
Happy is considered to be a ambassador of Guachupita and there he is treated as such; neighborhood where he was born, grew up, learned to play and from which he does not waste the chance to visit, defend and appeal to the names of outstanding people in the sector to mitigate the image of a danger zone and marginality that has accompanied this town.
Shoot with names like Teresa Durán (who was his trainer), Joan Guzmán, Matilde Guerrero and Deivi Jones, the latter with a mixed agreement with the Philadelphia Sixers.
In the refurbished basketball court Rafael Leónidas Solano Club (roofed and equipped with parquet flooring since October 2022 with a Government investment of 54 million pesos) Happy attends to Free Newspaper after playing some light games with a group of friends.
“This is where I lost my fear, where I learned to play with heart, with blood,” says the hero of triumph against Italy in the last World Cup (24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists). “This is my basketball courtthis is where I came from, where I am from, where all my people are from, all my family and where I grew up. It is part of me, wherever I go, at whatever level I climb, my neighborhood, Guachupitahas always been a part of me,” he says Happy.
Hence, he supports the proposal of the leader Manolo Chevalier, who is looking for a franchise for the club in the top basketball division of the National District.
Ascent
Arrival at the Real Madrid is to touch the sky. Pointed out by the technical staff as a potential NBA Since he debuted with the selection U-17 team that won the 2013 Centrobasket and then led in points at the 2015 U-19 World Cup, Happy He received a scholarship in 2014 to complete the last two years of high school in Florida, attended a Junior College (technical school) and spent two years at the University of Illinois until 2020.
At the beginning of 2021 he reached the second division of Spain and in the summer of that year he jumped to the ACB with Joventut de Badalona, where he played the last three seasons.
A ascent which has been well capitalized and translated into selected nationally, where he has played a key role in qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.
He dream NBA?
“No, no, I don’t close doors, I’m a fighter. Obviously, I live day by day, I remain focused on my firm step and God knows what my path is, I’m always focused on that, if God gives me the chance to reach the NBA I will achieve it,” he says.
