– February 21, 2000 in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

) was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 pro basketball coach. He studied in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 and graduated from the University of Bilbao

University of the Basque Country

The University of the Basque Country is the only public university in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain...

.

He was coach of the Spain national basketball team

Spain national basketball team

The Spanish national basketball team is the basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation...

 for as long as 27 years (1965-1992). In more than 300 games, Díaz-Miguel guided the Spanish National Team to six Olympic games, including a silver medal in the 1984 Olympic Games

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, the top classification for the Spanish National Team until 2008, when they finished second again. Díaz-Miguel's Spanish National teams participated in 14 European Championships

Eurobasket

The EuroBasket, also referred to as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935 and...

 and four World Championships, and his teams best finishes were two silver medals (1973, 1983) and one bronze medal (1991) in the European Championships.

He was named "Best Spanish Coach of the year" in 1981 and 1982. Díaz-Miguel coached six times European All-Star teams, created only for very occasional events in Europe. A pioneer in the worldwide promotion of basketball, he won numerous coaching awards and was a frequent basketball lecturer around the world. He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame

Basketball Hall of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...

 as a coach on September 29, 1997. He is the only Spaniard in the Hall. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame

FIBA Hall of Fame

FIBA Hall of Fame honors basketball players, coaches and administrators who have contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. It includes the "Samaranch Library", the biggest basketball library in the world that, as of 2007, has over 10,000 basketball...

.

Although initially a soccer player in his youth, his physical characteristics, including a 6 in 1 in (1.85 m) height, and also determination contributed to his start in basketball at the Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu Secondary School of Madrid, where the Estudiantes

CB Estudiantes

Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known as Asefa Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Community of Madrid. It is member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto . Founded in 1948, it is one of the most recognized basketball teams in Spain...

 ("students") Club was founded in 1950 with pupils and teachers of the School. He was a player of Estudiantes Club of Madrid in 1950-52 and 1953-1958, and played later also for Real Madrid

Real Madrid Baloncesto

Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....

 (1958-1961) and Águilas of Bilbao (1961-1963). He was 27 times player of the Spanish National Team. He won the Spanish Clubs League Championship

Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto

The Liga ACB, known as the Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Spain. It was founded in 1956 with the name of Liga Nacional. The league changed its name to the current one in 1983. The league is rated as one of the three "A" level European...

twice, in 1959 and 1960 with Real Madrid. Immediately after retirement, he started coaching Águilas, becoming afterwards provisionally and nearly by chance coach of the Spanish National Team, where he managed to develop a longstanding sensation for the team and basketball in Spain.