El Pasoan Daniel Amigo continues chasing his hoop dreams

EL PASO, Texas - Daniel Amigo isn't quite ready to give up on his hoop dreams.

While the journey playing pro basketball has been long and challenging, Amigo is giving it everything he's got.

Amigo has traveled all over the world, playing professionally in Mexico and in Europe, but there's one destination that eludes him, the NBA.

After graduating from Coronado High School in 2014, Amigo played 4 years at the University of Denver.

Amigo was a star player for the Pioneers, and after leaving Denver in 2018, Amigo took off to the Euro Leagues to start his professional career.

"It's just been a grind," Amigo said. "You just got to keep going. Overseas playing in Europe it's really hard, you are away from your family, away from friends for nine months. It's really hard to be out there, but you just got to keep grinding."

Amigo recently had a shot at making the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, while playing basketball for the Mexico national team.

Mexico came close to qualifying for the Summer Games, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals of the qualifying tournament.

"I was thinking about it when I was there. Two wins away, if we would have won I don't know what I would have done," Amigo said. "It's just a crazy thing to think about. To be an Olympian, but we have a possibility to do it, so I can't wait to try again."

In the meantime Amigo knows time is of the essence if he wants to make it to the NBA.

"These upcoming three years are probably really crucial for me in terms of my career," Amigo said. "I got to make huge jumps in the next couple of years, but obviously NBA has been my dream since I was a little kid."

As Amigo continues on his basketball journey, he offered some advice to other young athletes looking to play at the next level.

"Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it," Amigo said. "There are always going to be people hating on your game, but just keep working hard and strive to become the best player you can be."