Corrales: the point guard who challenged 90s basketball

He was not the typical point guard of the 90s, when controlled basketball and long possessions were on the rise. Iván Corrales was an atypical player who had to fight hard to stay true to his style. Born in Plasencia (Cáceres) on July 12, 1974, he soon emigrated to Catalonia with his family. After his time at the two clubs of his life, Sant Adrià and Joventut, he began to carve out a place among the great national point guards of the era, eventually becoming an international player with the Spanish national team in the late nineties.

First Steps at Sant Adrià

Corrales started playing basketball when he was only 4 or 5 years old at the Escola Betsaida. There, thanks to Joan Plaza's family, a club was organized where the young Extremaduran learned to express himself freely on the court. That was the first push to develop his unique style: behind-the-back passes, under-the-leg moves, fast play, and celebrations that would later define him. Joan Plaza was key in that initial freedom, allowing the children to create different things while demanding effectiveness.

At 15 or 16, he signed with Penya, where he met fundamental coaches such as Jordi Cairó and individual training technicians like Miquel Nolis and Randy Knowles. These professionals understood his strong personality and rebellious character rather than stifling it. Miquel Nolis later acknowledged that Corrales changed his way of seeing players with that profile. The Joventut youth academy, considered the best in Spain, polished his technical skills while preserving his essence.

Professional Debut and Zeljko Obradovic

In the 92/93 season, Corrales made his debut with the Joventut first team under Lolo Sainz. His first match was against Cibona in the European League on November 25, 1993, a date that exactly coincided five years later with his debut in the Spanish national team. On that same day, in the ACB, he scored his first basket against Estudiantes by stealing a ball in the midfield.

The arrival of Zeljko Obradovic in 93/94 marked a significant change. The Serbian coach, who had been one of the best point guards in Yugoslavia, brought a different philosophy: maximum demand, hard training, and a more tactical and defensive style of basketball. For a team used to playing at 90 points without forcing, switching to games with 60 points was challenging. However, Obradovic knew how to prepare for important games. In Tel Aviv, during the Final Four of the European League, the team was more relaxed than in Istanbul two years before. Corrales remembers that they would play tag in practice and visited a zoo on the morning of the final. This allowed the group to feel less tense.

The coach was also demanding to the point of toughness. Once, he kicked Corrales out of practice for an alleged conversation with César Sanmartín during an exercise. On another occasion, when the young point guard protested a foul, Obradovic grabbed him by the side of his abs and sentenced him to 50 laps around the court. Despite everything, Corrales was on the first team, it was his dream come true, and he would have done anything asked of him.

European Champion and Fighting for His Style

Joventut won the European League in 1995, the first Catalan team to achieve it. Corrales was part of that historic team, although he did not play in the final. He vividly remembers how he carried the trophy at Tel Aviv airport while Greek fans from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos wanted to take pictures with it. He also shares the anecdote of how they almost forgot the trophy on the plane when they arrived in Barcelona.

After winning the European League, Corrales spent two seasons in Fuenlabrada (1994-1996), his first journey away from home. It was tough at first, but he learned a lot. He returned to Joventut under Alfred Julbe in the 1996/97 season, a crucial figure in his career. With Julbe, he regained that freedom of expression he had in his youth. Julbe described him as “a game-breaker who learned to do more and more things,” someone with imaginative, dynamic, and fast play that needed to be complemented with defensive solidity and physical work.

Training with Andre Turner, one of the best foreign point guards in the league, was decisive. Corrales only saw Turner's jersey from behind, but that daily demand forced him to elevate his game. With Julbe and Turner, Corrales transformed from an electric point guard to someone who could lead a team, control game timing, and make sound decisions.

Spanish National Team and Later Career

Thanks to those seasons at Joventut, Corrales was called up for the European Championship in 1999 in France, where he shared a position with Nacho Rodilla and Nacho Rodríguez. Lolo Sainz, who had already coached him at Joventut, was looking for a different point guard for the national team, and Corrales fit that profile perfectly. Spain won the silver medal, a commendable achievement after years of competitive drought.

He signed with Caja San Fernando in 1999/2000 after his contract with Penya ended. Raúl López, a “locomotive” of talent, arrived to take the point guard position. Although it hurt to leave, Corrales acknowledges that the decision was correct. In Seville, he learned a more defensive and tactical style of basketball with Imbroda, complementing his electric play with control and direction.

His career continued with Cantabria Lobos (where he was relegated), Italy with Avellino, TAU in Vitoria (under Dusko Ivanovic, with demands similar to Zeljko's), Tenerife, and Valladolid. In Valladolid, he earned the title of top assistant in the ACB, a recognition he valued especially because it reflected his philosophy: a point guard who lives to make his teammates happy with good assists. He ended his career in Burgos in LEB Oro and Alcázar de San Juan.

Today, Corrales remains connected to basketball. He is the president of Unió Bàsquet Sant Adrià, which manages 22 training teams, and collaborates in the broadcasts of Joventut on Ràdio Ciutat de Badalona. His relationship with basketball is profound: he was a point guard who had to fight to maintain his style in an era that did not understand it but ultimately left his mark on the history of Spanish basketball.

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