Get to Know Nene Hilario

Nene was the 7th overall pick of the NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and acquired in a draft day deal along with Mark Jackson, Marcus Camby and a 2003 2nd Round pick. Nene’s 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game along with a blistering .708 field goal percentage helped lead the Nuggets to a perfect 6-0 record in the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Nuggets.com’s Jonathan Goldstein sat down with Nene and his translator Joe Santos with the hopes of helping you get to know one of the newest Nuggets.

JG: “Where did you pick up the nickname Nene [real name is Maybyner Rodney Hilario]?”
NENE: “There are two reasons. With the group of kids I hung out with I was always the tallest, but also the youngest. ‘Nene’ means ‘baby’ in Portuguese. I am also the youngest in my family as well.”

JG:“So will you be like Ronaldo or Pele and just be known by one name?”
NENE: “Everyone knows me by just Nene.”

JG: “Is this your first time in the United States?”
NENE: “No. I played a tournament in Dallas before. It was an under-18 tournament.”

JG:“What is the biggest adjustment coming from Brazil to the United States?”
NENE:“It seems like here people live to work. In Brazil they work to live.”

JG:“What is your favorite thing that you’ve discovered here in Denver. It can be a food, a place whatever?”
NENE:“There isn’t anything specific, more just the general ambience of Denver - being calm and very tranquil - because it reminds me of my hometown [Sao Carlos, Brazil]. It is on the interior of Brazil much like this is the interior of the U.S. And that motivates me. I enjoy this type of atmosphere.”

JG: “On the flipside, is there anything you miss about Brazil or anything that you can’t find in Denver?”
NENE:“There is a lot that Brazil has that you can get here. There’s a fairly big Brazilian community. Naturally I do miss my friends and my family.

JG: “Where were you when Brazil captured their 5th World Cup?”
NENE: “The semifinals [1-0 win over Turkey], we watched the day of the NBA Draft. We won that morning. The finals [2-0 win over Germany], we were here and went to a Brazilian grill and met a whole bunch of Brazilians there.”

JG: “Did you play soccer growing up?”
NENE:“Yes, when I was a kid.”

JG:“How did you get started in basketball?”
NENE: “My Phys. Ed. coach said to me about a little less than ten years ago ‘You have really big hands and long arms and you are going to grow a lot more. You should play basketball.’ So I started taking it up.”

JG:“Is basketball popular in Brazil?”
NENE: “It’s beginning to be popular. There’s a lot of room to grow. After soccer, really, all other sports are fighting for that No. 2 spot.”

JG:“What about the NBA, does it have much of a following in Brazil?”
NENE:“Yes. Everyone watches the games, the limited games, shown there. Now everyone gets to watch it. Before, and not so long ago, it was more just the affluent families that would get to watch it.”

JG: “Who were your favorite players in the NBA growing up?”
NENE:“Like all the kids in Brazil, I grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Now a lot of the kids like Shaquille O’Neal. Now I tend to favor the players that I’ve played against and enjoyed playing against like Baron Davis, Jermaine O’Neal, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion.”
[Nene played against Davis, O’Neal and Marion in the 2001 Goodwill Games in Australia. He collected eight points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots before fouling out in only 18 minutes as Brazil lost in overtime, 106-98 to the gold medal winning USA team comprised of young NBA players. Brazil did capture the bronze medal. He has played against the Canadian Nash in several international competitions.]

JG: “Will there be any jitters when you step out on the court with Michael Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal?”
NENE: “I was always nervous before games in Brazil. So just imagine what I will feel like here. As far as playing against them, when I’m on the court everyone is really at the same level. Off the court, Michael Jordan, you know, I am in awe of him. But when he is on the court, he is just the two-man or the three-man.”

JG:“You watched the NBA growing up and have now played in the Rocky Mountain Revue. So how does the basketball in the NBA compare to that of Brazil?”
NENE: “There is no comparison. This is the top level. They are very offensive minded in Brazil and they don’t see the full game. Here everything revolves around defense if you are going to win. So there’s a lot of emphasis, a lot of fans really push their teams on the defensive end.

JG:“At the NBA Draft, did you think you think you were going to the New York Knicks when they selected you or were you already aware of the trade to Denver?”
NENE:“I knew there was a rumor of it, but it wasn’t for sure. When I actually got chosen I thought I was going to New York. I didn’t know at the time that I was being traded. And I was happy as well. I went 7th in the NBA Draft and I went to the New York Knicks, a team that has a lot of tradition and is very famous. But when I came to Denver before for the workout I really enjoyed the city so [the trade] wasn’t a disappointment by any stretch of the word. I enjoy the people here. The fans are patient and there won’t be as much pressure as there would be for me in New York. It is the ideal situation for me to grow.”

JG: “So what was your reaction when you were informed of your trade to Denver?”
NENE:“At that moment I could have gone anywhere really. It was just a matter of being in the NBA and going that high. But I knew Denver would be a better spot for me as a player to grow. And I knew that the fans that are here are fanatics. The city is nice and calm and I enjoyed it when I was here. If there’s any negative it was that it is at altitude. But again, you take the positive out of that. Because you are training at altitude you’re going to be playing better, hopefully, at sea level.

JG: “What about the fact that the Nuggets have not won much recently. Is it better to come to a team where you can build that winning tradition?
NENE:“I understand the idea of what [General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe] is trying to do here. This is a rejuvenating process now. And it is probably good that we are starting off with no expectations. But each of us is going to expect a lot from each other so hopefully, with the young core of talent that exists, we will build a strong team in the near future.”

JG:“What are the biggest adjustments that you will have to make to play in the NBA?”
NENE:“I will just have to adapt to the speed of the game and the strength of the game. That is something I will just have to get used to. These are the consequences of me playing. Without fail, you could be having the worst game of your life, but you have to find it somewhere to always end strong. Always try and turn it around as fast as possible. There are so many games in the season that you can’t ever be thinking about the game before.”

JG:“Does the fact that you are coming in with other international players in Nikoloz Tskitishvili [Republic of Georgia] and Predrag Savovic [Yugoslavia] make the transition to the NBA any easier?”
NENE:“There’s a lot that the international will bring. Not only the youth of the players, but just the technical part of the game. It is a different flavor. We pick-and-roll for example. In the European game and Brazilian game, the international game, there’s more shooting on the pick-and-roll, rolling off and taking that jump shot. So hopefully you mix the different styles and then you can take from each one.

JG:“What about the language barrier? Is it hard for Nene to go through you [Joe Santos] to talk to the coaches and for them to go through you to talk to him?”
TRANSLATOR [Joe Santos]: “There is little to be left in the translation part. There is good harmony amongst myself and the coaching staff. I understand the plays and I can associate the names so there isn’t much difficulty there. Basketball is a language in itself so you can speak that fluently.

JG:“What about the communication gap with teammates though?”
TRANSLATOR [Joe Santos]: “They joke around with him, but on the court that’s a difficult thing. At the Rocky Mountain Revue the players would look at me and I would be yelling at him. So it actually wasn’t that bad, I thought it would be worse. I was right underneath the basket so I would be yelling at him to do a play and he would do that play. Kenny [Satterfield] would have me tell him to move here and he would move there.”

JG: “Finally Nene, is there anything that you would like to say to fans of Denver?”
NENE: “I would like to start by thanking the fans already. When I arrived here, I received a lot of mail and a lot of support from everyone here. I’m very excited about that. I’m going to bring my 110% effort just like I’ve done in the past. Hopefully the consequences of me giving my all are some wins.”