Manuel Narvaez (born December 25, 1981) is a Puerto Rican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He has played in the NBDL,

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

( NAIA) and the

National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Nacio ...

(BSN) with Santurce Crabbers,

Coamo Marathon Runners Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coam ...

, Ponce Lions, Bayamón Cowboys,

Morovis Titans The Titanes de Morovis (Morovis Titans) were a professional basketball team from Morovis, Puerto Rico, which played in the country's top pro basketball league, the BSN. They won their only national championship in 1987, defeating the 1986 champi ...

, and the Isabela Gallitos. Narvaez was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds with the 1st pick of the fourth round of the 2006 NBDL draft. He was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Puerto Rican National Team.

Biography

Narvaez played his college career with

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as ...

from 2000 to 2004. During his junior year (2002–03)he averaged 15.8 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. During his senior year (2003–2004) he averaged 18.6 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game, and was named NAIA Third Team All-American. Narvaez played professionally in the

National Superior Basketball The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

League starting in 2000. In 2006 Narvaez was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds with the 1st pick of the fourth round of the 2006

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

draft. On January 2, 2007, Narvaez was waived by the Thunderbirds. On February 14, 2007, Narvaez was acquired by the

Colorado 14ers Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of th ...

to replace Eric Osmundson due to injury. Narvaez was waived by the 14ers in February 2007. With the Coamo Marathon Runners in 2007, Narvaez averaged 14 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. He led his team in five categories: defensive rebound, offensive rebounds, All-start team, sportsmanship player and defensive team. Narvaez was a member of the

Puerto Rican National Basketball Team The Puerto Rico national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación de ...

in 2006, participating in the Central American and Caribbean Games earning the Gold Medal and the

Basketball World Championship 2006 The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. During summer of 2007, Narvaez represented Puerto Rico as a member of the

, which won a silver medal during the 2007

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. Narvaez participated in the 2010 National Superior Basketball season, playing with Ponce Lions with an average of 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. In the 2011 season with Coamo, Narvaez averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds. Narvaez is also an author of a motivational book called "El Sentido del Baloncesto en la Vida". In this book, Narvaez described leadership tools basketball offers to the future generations.

Career stats

Narvaez's

stats in 16 games were 7 games started, 61 points with 3.9 points per game, 8 assists for 0.4 assists per game average, 72 rebounds for a 4.9 rebounds per game average, 4 steals with a 0.3 steals per game average, 1 block for a 0.1 blocks per game average, a .500 field goal percentage and a .765 free-throw percentage.

References

NBA.com Manuel Narvaez Player Profile

Basketball-Reference.com NBDL Stats – Manuel Narvaez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Manuel 1981 births Living people Albuquerque Thunderbirds players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Colorado 14ers players Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Leones de Ponce basketball players Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Sportspeople from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican men's basketball players Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm men's basketball players 2006 FIBA World Championship players Centers (basketball) Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in basketball Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games