Jean Montero

Jean Montero
No. 3 – MoraBanc Andorra
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (2003-07-03) 3 July 2003 (age 20)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
NationalityDominican
Listed height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Listed weight79.5 kg (175 lb)
Career information
High schoolDME Academy
(Daytona Beach, Florida)
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2022Gran Canaria
2019–2021→Gran Canaria B
2021–2022→Team Overtime
2023Real Betis
2023–presentAndorra
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  Dominican Republic
FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Brazil Team

Jean Claudio Montero Berroa (born 3 July 2003) is a Dominican professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Liga ACB.[1] He has previously played for CB Gran Canaria.

Early life and youth career

Born in Santo Domingo, Montero grew up playing basketball and baseball and was introduced to basketball when he visited a court to entertain himself.[2] He first played basketball with his cousin near his home, using the wheels of an old bicycle to make a rim.[3] He started playing the sport seriously at the age of 10 or 11 through Club DOSA in the Villa Juana sector.[2] Montero subsequently moved to Club Mauricio Báez, also based in Villa Juana.[4] He began idolizing Kobe Bryant after watching the 2010 NBA Finals, where Bryant was named Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).[5] In 2018, Montero began attending DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game. At the time, he also competed for NightRydas Elite at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League under-15 division.[6]

After having success at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in June 2019, Montero received offers from clubs in Spain and high schools in the United States. He continued his career with the Spanish club Gran Canaria.[7] Later that month, Montero was named MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Americas camp in Medellín, despite being a year younger than the other participants.[8] In late December 2019, he averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, four assists, and 1.8 steals for Gran Canaria's under-18 team at the Valencia Tournament, a qualifier for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT). He earned MVP honors of the competition after posting 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in an 88–72 win over Unicaja's under-18 team in the title game.[9]

Professional career

Gran Canaria (2019–2021)

In the 2019–20 season, Montero began playing for Gran Canaria B, the reserve team of Liga ACB club Gran Canaria, in the third-tier LEB Plata. He immediately became a key player for his team.[10] In his debut on 15 December 2019, Montero recorded 12 points, four assists, and six steals in an 84–65 win over Menorca.[11] One week later, he scored a season-high 28 points in a 97–89 victory over Benicarló.[12] On 18 January 2020, Montero collected 27 points with six three-pointers and six rebounds in a 98–82 win over Pardinyes.[10] He finished the season averaging 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and three assists per game, shooting 43.5 percent from three-point range.[13]

On 27 September 2020, Montero made his debut for Gran Canaria's senior team in the ACB, recording five points and three rebounds in 10 minutes in an 88–71 loss to Zaragoza.[14] On 5 December, he scored 33 points, a career-high in the LEB Plata, and six rebounds in a 95–86 loss to Navarra.[15] On 17 March 2021, Montero posted 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists in an 82–54 win against Navarra, and was named MVP of Round 21 in the LEB Plata.[16] In the 2020–21 LEB Plata season, he averaged 18 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.[17]

Overtime Elite (2021–2022)

On 4 June 2021, Montero was loaned to Team Overtime of Overtime Elite (OTE) for the league's inaugural season.[17] In 24 games, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, leading OTE in scoring.[18][19]

Montero went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft. He joined the New York Knicks for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[20]

National team career

Junior national team

Shortly before turning 14 years old, Montero made his national team debut for the Dominican Republic at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Formosa, Argentina. In five games, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, leading his team to fifth place and a spot in the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina.[7][21] At the Under-17 World Cup, Montero was two years younger than most of his opponents but played well against the competition. In seven games, he averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while leading the tournament in steals (4.1 per game).[7] He helped the Dominican Republic to ninth place, one of its best finishes in a global tournament.[22]

In December 2018, at the Centrobasket Under-15 Championship in Hermosillo, Montero was named tournament MVP after averaging 25.8 points, eight rebounds and five assists and winning a gold medal.[23] He helped his team win the bronze medal at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Belém. Montero led the tournament in points (30.3) and steals (3.3) per game while also averaging 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.[2] In the bronze medal game against Argentina, he recorded 49 points, 12 rebounds and six steals.[6] He was named to the all-tournament team.[24] In July 2018, Montero led the Dominican Republic to fourth place at the Centrobasket Under-17 Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the tournament's leading scorer (28.2 points per game) and averaged six rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 4.2 steals.[7]

Senior national team

In August 2019, at age 16, Montero was one of 17 players to join the Dominican Republic senior national team for training camp in preparation for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.[25] He played three exhibition games for the team but did not compete in the World Cup.[7] Montero played for the Dominican Republic during 2022 FIBA AmeriCup qualification.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Jean Montero, jugador de Real Betis | ACB.COM". www.acb.com (in Spanish). 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  2. ^ a b c Sánchez G., Carlos (2 December 2019). "Montero, el joven que con 16 años buscará tres grandes sueños en España". Diario Libre (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ Espino, Juan Reillo (22 March 2020). "Mentalidad de campeón: Jean Montero -Mentality-" (in Spanish). SoloBasket. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ De la Cruz, Justo (3 January 2019). "Jean Montero: 'Trabajo duro para ser estrella de básket'". El Día (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ Boone, Kyle (21 June 2022). "NBA Draft 2022: Jean Montero going from idolizing Kobe Bryant in Dominican to first pick from Overtime Elite". CBS Sports. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b Jordan, Jason (13 July 2019). "Peach Jam: 2022 PG Jean Montero is dominating globally". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e Hein, David (31 December 2019). "U18 Gran Canaria's Montero made a loud European debut". Adidas Next Generation Tournament. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Montero, Browne named MVPs of BWB Americas camp in Colombia". FIBA. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. ^ "MVP Montero heads ANGT Valencia all-tourney team". Adidas Next Generation Tournament. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Tras el ANGT Valencia, más partidazos de Jean Montero con el Gran Canaria" (in Spanish). Gigantes del Basket. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Dec 15, 2019 - CB Gran Canaria Junior Team 84 at Hestia Menorca Basquet 65". RealGM. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Juventud al poder: Jean Montero y Nacho Arroyo lideran a los latinos en las ligas FEB" (in Spanish). Cancha Latina. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  13. ^ Wasserman, Jonathan (June 18, 2020). "Early Scouting Reports for the Most Interesting 2022 NBA Draft Prospects". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  14. ^ "El Casademont Zaragoza logra su primera victoria (88-71)" (in Spanish). Liga ACB. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Montero 33 puntos, +32 de valoración en revés Gran Canaria B". Dominicanos en Basket (in Spanish). 5 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  16. ^ Suárez Armas, Óliver (17 March 2021). "La promesa dominicana Jean Montero logra el MVP tras una actuación brillante con el filial". Canarias7 (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  17. ^ a b Givony, Jonathan. "Jean Montero signing with Overtime Elite, to be league's first international player". ESPN. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Team Overtime Aggregate Stats". Overtime Elite. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  19. ^ Feldman, Joseph (12 May 2022). "Montero and Barlow Invited to NBA Combine". Overtime Elite. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  20. ^ "New York Knicks 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Jean Montero (DOM)'s profile - FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017". FIBA. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  22. ^ Santana, Rafael Félix (8 July 2018). "Selección basket RD U-17 asegura ser TOP-10 del mundo" (in Spanish). Pio Deportes. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Dominican Republic crowned Centrobasket U15 Champion in Hermosillo". FIBA. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  24. ^ "USA claim FIBA U16 Americas 2019 title in Belem". FIBA. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  25. ^ "Qualifiers' squad as the backbone of Dominican Republic's World Cup team". FIBA. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  26. ^ "Víctor Liz, Eloy Vargas y Jean Montero encabezan plantilla dominicana para Clasificatorio FIBA". ESPN (in Spanish). 15 February 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.