"When the final horn sounded... I broke. I broke down and the pressure came to me." Kyle Joseph Guy, a guy capable of unlocking Baskonia with 13 three-pointers and 58 points in two games, always walks a taciturn rictus. In his half smile, even in the ecstasy of the Olympic after completing the great surprise of Joventut in the quarterfinals, a path is written with as many expectations as sorrows. A sniper born in the place where snipers are born, Indiana, who now threatens Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Endesa League that start on Tuesday (21.00 h., Movistar) and who had to learn to live with the most delicate of travel companions, anxiety.

Guy hit rock bottom not so long ago, when his career was still taking off, after one of the biggest falls in NCAA history. With his leadership and that of the now NBA De'Andre Hunter (Atlanta Hawks), the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia boasted the best record of the 2018 season, but in March Madness they fell to the first against UMBC. Then, the pressure burst out, and the black clouds invaded his existence. Kyle, who left that game in tears, turned off his phone for 48 hours and reappeared weeks later with a creepy letter on Facebook where he spoke of the mental problems that had been created by the stress endured, of the "eyes on you" and even of the threats received in the stands and even in the classrooms. Everything he couldn't bear.

Kyle Guy, against Baskonia in the quarterfinals. Alejandro GarciaEFE

"It's nice to think about how fears or making mistakes can be used to sink you... or to prepare you for the future and make you stronger. It was the perfect example of how, understanding it in the right way, falling can serve to reach the top, "he told a few months ago on the website of the Endesa League. Because Guy, who had to resort to the psychological team of the University, managed to be reborn in a big way the following season, leading the Cavaliers to the first title in their history. He was named MVP of the Final Four: in the semifinals he did not shake his pulse with three free throws to take the game to overtime and in the final he scored 24 points against Texas Tech.

It did not serve, however, to go trumpeted to the NBA. Throughout his career, which had begun after trying American football in which his father was a coach and even in athletics -with less than 14 years he ran the mile in 5:10-, he had had to endure prejudices because of his height (he measures 1.88 meters) and that took its toll: he fell to 55 of the draft by the Knicks, who quickly traded him to the Kings. In Sacramento, 34 games in two seasons. Last year, only 19 in the Heat that now face the Finals.

So Kyle had no choice but to make the leap to Europe (he had offers from Fenerbahce and Gran Canaria, among others), where his start of the course with Joventut resulted from fireworks. "When I signed for Penya I started looking for information about the city and the history of the club, and I was clear that it was the right place," he said upon arrival. In his first four games in ACB he averaged 17.8 points, already deploying his electric shooting ability. Although the rest of the season he did not maintain those levels, partly because of the vigilance of the rest and partly because of his adaptation to continental basketball, the sniper is already on the agenda of the Euroleague greats. Key in the Penya of Carles Durán that reached the cup semifinals in Badalona, those of the Eurocup and now, for the second consecutive year, those of the Endesa League: in the first game of quarters he beat the scoring record (36) of the green-and-black club in playoffs.

Foundation

All the painful experiences Guy went through he has tried to transform into help for others. He does so through his foundation (Kyle Guy Foundation), created four years ago, in which the funds raised can be used for different causes, from the prevention of suicide and mental disorders to helping the integration of immigrants or veterans of war, to the fight against climate change and poverty. It all boils down to their motto: "Be the change you want to see in the world." "Some members of my family committed suicide, it's something we've experienced at home. I try to help," he confesses.

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