Juan Fernández

Juan Manuel "Lobito" Fernández (born July 22, 1990) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player for Reyer Venezia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). His father, Gustavo, was a point guard for a number of professional basketball teams in Argentina. Pepe Sánchez convinced Fernández to play basketball at his alma mater, Temple University, and Fernández joined the Temple Owls team in December 2008. As a sophomore, he was named Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Valuable Player. After struggling through a prolonged shooting slump as a junior, he hit an off-balance 18-foot shot with .4 seconds remaining to defeat Penn State in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team. In addition to his college exploits, he defended Argentina bringing home a gold medal at the 2008 Under-18 World Championship.

Early life Fernández was born on July 22, 1990, in Rio Tercero, Argentina to Gustavo Fernández and Nancy Fiandrino. His father was a point guard for a number of professional basketball teams in Argentina. Juan Fernández's little brother, also named Gustavo, fell out of a chair when he was a toddler and used a wheelchair for life. He is one of the top wheelchair tennis players in the world under the age of 18. The family operates the Pinot Grigio restaurant in Río Tercero. When Fernández showed star potential on junior club teams, he was given the "Lobito" nickname, while his father became known as "Lobo". At the same time, he was considering playing college basketball in the United States. His mother went to Connecticut for six months to learn English, and she persuaded him that it would be a good place to be a student-athlete. The Owls reached the 2009 NCAA tournament after winning the Atlantic 10 tournament title. In 23 games, he averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 assists per game on the basketball court, and earned a 3.0 grade point average in the classroom. This earned him Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week honors for the week of December 7–14. In the Fordham game on January 23, 2010, he took a blow to the head and was forced to leave in the second half. He missed the February 2 game against Richmond with post-concussive symptoms.

Fernández became a fan favorite at Temple. Every time he made a three-pointer against Bowling Green, the Temple student section chanted "Ole, ole, ole!" Seton Hall fans were not so kind, mocking him with "Messi, Messi." Little did they realize that Lionel Messi was one of his favorite soccer players, and their comments only served as inspiration. On his return flights to Argentina, strangers frequently went up to Fernández to congratulate him on his recent performances. In the NCAA Tournament, Temple was seeded fifth and matched up with 12 seed Cornell in the first round. Fernández had 14 points, but his Owls were upset by the Big Red 78–65. Following the season, Fernandez was an All-Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention selection.

Junior With the graduation of Luis Guzmán, Fernández switched back to his natural position at point guard in his junior campaign. He was on the watchlist for the Bob Cousy Award honoring the top point guard in college basketball. A shooting slump that lasted the majority of the season saw his field goal percentage drop to 35.5%, his three-point percentage drop to 33.3%, and his scoring average drop to 11.2 points per game. He still led the team in assists, with 3.9 per game.

Fernández led Temple to a 26–8 record and a seven seed in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In the Round of 64, he hit an off-balance 18-foot shot with .4 seconds to play to defeat Penn State, 66–64, and finished with a season-high 23 points. In the timeout that preceded the shot, teammate Khalif Wyatt convinced coach Dunphy to draw up a play for Fernández, despite his struggles during the season. Fernández finished with 14 points against San Diego State, but the Owls fell in double overtime. He was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team and Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular season and was a Philadelphia Big Five Second Team honoree.

Senior Fernández was a preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection as a senior. He was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team and Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular season.

Professional career Fernández began his professional career in 2012, after signing with the Italian League club Olimpia Milano. At the beginning of the 2012–13 season he was loaned to Centrale del Latte Brescia of the Italian Second Division. In 40 games played in the Italian 2nd Division, he averaged 28.2 minutes, 8.8 points and 4.8 assists per game.

He was then released by Olimpia Milano, and signed with the first division Italian League club Dinamo Sassari.

For the next season he returned to Centrale del Latte Brescia of the Italian Second Division. Posting 12.7 PPG and 5 APG in 23 games of the 2014–15 regular season.

In the 2015–16 season "Lobito" played in 28 games of the regular season, he averaged 23 minutes, 10.6 points and 4.3 assists per game. In the Second Division playoffs he started 16 games, averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 assist per game helping Basket Brescia Leonessa win the finals against Fortitudo Bologna in 5 games and returning to Italian League after 28 years.

In June 2017, Fernandez signed with Pallacanestro Trieste. Fernandez averaged 8.8 points and 3.6 assists per game in 2019–20. On June 17, 2020, he signed a two-year extension.

On July 10, 2024, he signed with Reyer Venezia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).

His agent is Igor Crespo of Xpheres Basketball Management.

In August 2025, Juan signed a new agreement with Luiss Roma Basketball, continuing both his playing career and his work as a Mental Coach within the club's Luiss Sport Lab project. The contract formalizes his dual role, balancing on-court contributions as a member of the Serie B team with his off-court responsibilities in athlete mental performance and well-being. Through this role, Juan supports players across the Luiss Sport Association, drawing from his professional experience and mentorship to help athletes strengthen resilience, clarity, and balance alongside their athletic development. https://sport.luiss.it/basket-serie-a2/

National junior/senior team careers Fernández defended Argentina at the 2008 Under-18 World Championship. In six U18 matches, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 17 minutes per game. In a victory over the United States squad in the World Championship game, he scored 16 points.

Statistics

NCAA College statistics 2008–09 Temple Owls 23 0 19.6 .364 .353 .682 1.9 2.7 0.4 0.0 5.5 2009–10 Temple Owls 34 30 31.6 .427 .453 .847 2.4 3.6 0.9 0.1 12.6 2010–11 Temple Owls 30 29 31.8 .355 .333 .806 2.9 3.9 0.8 0.1 11.2 2011–12 Temple Owls 32 32 32.3 .403 .431 .804 2.8 3.8 1.0 0.2 11.1

Awards and accomplishments

College 2009–10 All-Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention 2010 Atlantic 10 tournament MVP 2010–11 All-Atlantic 10 Third Team 2010–11 All-Atlantic 10 Academic Team