“When the final horn blew…. I broke myself. I broke down and the pressure got to me.”. Kyle Joseph Guy, a guy capable of unleashing Baskonia with 13 three-pointers and 58 points in two games, always wears a taciturn rictus. In his half smile, even in the ecstasy of the Olímpic after completing the great surprise of Joventut in the quarterfinals, a path with as many expectations as disappointments is written. A sniper born in the place where snipers are born, Indiana, who now threatens Real Madrid in the Endesa League semifinals that start on Tuesday (9:00 p.m., Movistar) and who had to learn to live with the most delicate of travel companions, anxiety.
Guy hit rock bottom not so long ago, when his career was still taking off, after one of the biggest slumps in NCAA history.. With his leadership and that of the now NBA De'Andre Hunter (Atlanta Hawks), the University of Virginia Cavaliers boasted the best record of the 2018 season, but in March Madness they fell to the first against UMBC. Then the pressure burst and black clouds invaded his existence.. Kyle, who left that game in tears, turned off his phone for 48 hours and reappeared weeks later with a creepy letter on Facebook talking about the mental problems that the stress had endured, the “looks on you” and even of the threats received in the stands and even in the classrooms. All that he could not bear.
Kyle Guy, against Baskonia in the quarterfinals. EFE
“It's nice to think how fears or making mistakes can be used to sink you…. or to prepare for the future and make you stronger. It was the perfect example of how, understanding it correctly, falling can serve to reach the top, “he said a few months ago on the Endesa League website.. Because Guy, who had to resort to the psychological team of the University, managed to be reborn in a big way the following season, leading the Cavaliers to the first title in their history.. He was named MVP of the Final Four: in the semifinals his pulse did not shake with three free throws to take the game to extra time and in the final he scored 24 points against Texas Tech.
It did not help him, however, to go trumpeted to the NBA. Throughout his career, which had begun after trying out in American football where his father was a coach and even in athletics -under 14 he ran the mile in 5:10-, he had had to endure prejudice for his height (he is 1.88 meters tall) and that took its toll on him: he fell to 55th in the draft by the Knicks, who quickly transferred him to the Kings. In Sacramento, 34 games in two seasons. Last year, just 19 in the Heat that now face the Finals.
So Kyle had no choice but to make the leap to Europe (he had offers from Fenerbahce and Gran Canaria, among others), where his start to the course with Joventut resulted in fireworks. “When I signed for Penya I started looking for information about the city and the history of the club, and it was clear to me that it was the right place,” he said upon arrival.. In his first four games in ACB he averaged 17.8 points, already displaying his electric shooting ability. Although the rest of the season did not maintain those levels, partly due to the vigilance of the rest and partly due to its adaptation to continental basketball, the sniper is already on the agenda of the greats of the Euroleague. Key in Carles Durán's Penya who reached the cup semifinals in Badalona, those of the Eurocup and now, for the second consecutive year, those of the Endesa League: in the first quarterfinal match he broke the scoring record (36) of the green and black club in playoffs.
Foundation
All the painful experiences that Guy went through he has tried to transform into help for others. It does so through its foundation (Kyle Guy Foundation), created four years ago, in which the funds raised can be used for different causes, from preventing suicide and mental disorders to helping immigrants integrate or war veterans, to the fight against climate change and poverty. Everything is summed up in his motto: “Be the change you want to see in the world”. “Some members of my family committed suicide, it is something that we have experienced at home. I try to help,” he confesses.