Deep down, he will always be Super Mario. A unique player, a 2.03 meter forward with a combination of technical and physical resources available to very few in Europe. And with a mentality that makes him a challenge for his coaches. Mario Hezonja is a dazzling star that Sergio Scariolo, his coach at Real Madrid, is trying to take to the next level, going from being just Super Mario to a “total player” who deciphers what the team needs from him. (eight triples), 11 rebounds, six assists and a PIR of 53 in the white victory against UCAM Murcia by 131-123 (joint highest score, 254, in the history of the ACB), records that link him to myths such as Sabonis, Petrovic and Fernando Martín. The victory secured first place in the league for a team that this Tuesday (6:00 p.m., Movistar) visits Hapoel Tel Aviv in Botevgrad (Bulgaria) in the third quarterfinal match of the Euroleague with a 2-0 lead. Without the injured Tavares, but with a Hezonja in divine condition.
Scariolo put it in context “If you want to be the best, you have to act like the best in all areas of the game. If you are tremendously inspired, the team will follow you. And if you are having a bad day, you have to have the humility to help, make an effort, rebound, pass, defend, because this is also greatness. Little by little you understand it. It comes from a way of thinking that requires work to enter into a different logic. Leadership is not just scoring 40 points, it is growing as you are growing, and I value that more, especially in the mental aspect of understanding that leading is serving with the talent you have, not just scoring.”
The Italian coach has alternated praise and warnings towards a different player for his wide range of technical resources, his versatility and his strength. “Mario is a player with great potential and with certain irregularity in performance,” he told him last November; “The goal is to regularize that performance and even the bad days are a step in that direction because they make you reflect, keep your feet on the ground, be self-critical without criminalizing yourself and understand that you can help the team from a more relaxed position. Believing that if you don’t have an individual benefit of size
Like a teacher with a student in whom he sees a brilliance to be exploited, Scariolo has sent Henzoja to the bench at times as part of a process of reflection on his way of playing. The divan has served the eaves to reset and cool the volcano that boils inside. And to understand what the coach really wanted from him and that it didn’t involve playing every shot. “I see in him a total player, capable of helping in many facets and not just as a scorer,” the coach reflected in January, while he was polishing the diamond; “It hasn’t been easy, certain habits had to be changed. I have been very hard on him at many times. He is the player, by far, with whom I have been hardest, but because I think his ceiling has not yet been reached. Now his teammates are happier, they give him defensive help and he himself feels like an all-round player, not just a specialist.”
The Copa del Rey in February left another of its flashes. In the semifinals against Valencia, to come back against the local team. And he pointed out to Scariolo: “I told him on the first day. Many people talk shit and tell lies about me. You have the green light to train me, improve me and take a step forward in my career.” He recently added: “They say we argue every day, but I hope I stay with him for a long time.”
Renewed until 2029, Hezonja’s future at 31 years old reaches a crossroads this summer, when a clause in his contract allows him to return to the NBA (between 2015 and 2020 he played in Orlando, Knicks and Portland). It will be another moment of uncertainty like in 2024, when he finally renewed for five seasons with the whites. Hezonja continued under the orders of Chus Mateo, another coach who dedicated “special affection” to him. The costumes also support him. “We want him to be calm. If he is focused, Mario is unstoppable,” says Tavares.
Meditation, learned in the NBA, helps Hezonja focus. “I meditated so as not to go crazy,” he remembers. Today he smiles and assures that he has understood his mission. “I no longer have to score the last basket to be happy,” says that “total, 360-degree player” that Scariolo talks about. Although, deep down, he will always be Super Mario.
The bet won on Dazn
After scoring a long three-pointer against Murcia, Hezonja made the money gesture with his hands. He was referring to a bet he had won. The Croatian, very active on social networks, had bet with the Dazn platform that if he scored from eight meters, as in a previous match against Valencia, the television operator would lower the price of its Basketball Plan package from 6.99 to 2.99 euros. The Croatian delivered on the track, and Dazn has lowered the price.
