will mcdonald exclusive interview euroleague final four 2008

8/14/2019 will mcdonald exclusive interview euroleague final four 2008

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/will-mcdonald-exclusive-interview-euroleague-final-four-2008 1/226 may 08

sport

At the beginning o the

month, European bas-

ketball will crown a new 

champion, and, this ear

Madrid hosts the Final Four- the

semi nals and nal o the Eu-

roleague. Te Spanish ACB regular

season nishes mid-month, beore

the real excitement o the domestic

season begins in the Plaos.Basketball is massive in Spain and,

while it can’t compete with the im-

mense popularit o ootball, it has

been established as the countr’s

second sport or a long time.

Tis ear, one Spanish club has

made it to the Final Four, au

Cerámica rom the capital o the

Basque Countr, Vitoria. Te will

battle it out or European glor with

Russia’s CSKA Moscow, Israel’s

Maccabi Elite and Ital’s Montepaschi

Siena. Plaing or au, Will

McDonald, a 2.07m (6t9in) tall

American, has been been throughthe experience o adapting to lie in

Madrid. Te pro rom New Orleans

plaed or C.B. Estudiantes in the

Spanish capital or two ears, until

moving to the north o Spain to pla 

or Vitoria-based club, au Cerámi-

ca (ofcial name Saski Baskonia).

Will was kind enough to take time

out to talk to European Vibe

Magazine:

Wha do yo hin o yor chances

o winning he Final For and a-

ing he rophy bac o Vioria?

Well, we got this ar, why not go onand win? We’ve got the same chance

as the other teams.

Who do yo see as he bigges

hrea in he Final For?

 The team we play

rst, the Russians

(CSKA Moscow).

 They’ve got the big-

gest budget o any

team in Europe. They

beat us over there, and

here, too.

Do yo hin Real

Madrid will be ogho bea in he ACB

Playos?

Well, we’ve beaten them every time

we’ve played them this season, so

they’ll be more worried about playing

us than we are about playing them.

In yor opinion, is here a clear-

ly dieren syle o play in Erope

compared wih he NBA (aser,

slower, more or less echnical, ec.)?

European basketball is totally,to-tally 

dierent rom American basketball...

 To me, over here the basketball is more

undamental. You have to be smart. Youcan’t just be a super athlete. You have to

be smart, you have to know the game.

 There’s a lot o guys rom here that go

and play in the NBA, but it’s difcult or

players romthe NBA to come and play

here. Players come here rom the NBA

and they get cut rom their team, like,

low teams within a month or two. You

know, they go back home, because it’s

not the same. It”s a dierent style o play.

You have to know the game in Europe-

an basketball.

Did yo nd i difcl?

Not so much, because I came here

straight rom college. I started o myrst year playing in France, in a low

league. I played well and was in a team

with a bunch o older players. I played

with three American players and two

or them with French

passports- so they’d

been there or a long

time. So they explained

the game to me the

whole year long.

Yor rs season in

Spain was playing

or Gran Canaria.Aer ha, yo

played or Esdianes or wo

years in Madrid. Wha did yo

hin o he ciy when yo lived

here?

My rst city in Spain was Las Palmas,

but I went to Madrid and it was great.

Great city and great people. The only

reason I let was or a bigger team

with a bigger budget and European

games, you know. I I could have my

cake and eat it, too, I’d be on this team

but in Madrid!

(laghs) I sppose lie in Vioria

is prey dieren o Madrid? Imean, I now he ciy and i’s a lo

qieer...

It’s very dierent, yeah. They’re more...

they’re more serious here. Everything

runs smoothly, everything is run more

smoothly here. They’re kinda like...

More organised han in Madrid?

Yeah, almost like the military. (laughs)

(laghs) How do yo nd he

Basqe Conry dieren rom

oher pars o Spain?

 They real proud. They’re like,

everything they do is Basque, Basque,

Basque... and I like that. I actually like

that and think that’s what makesthem a people, and dierent. Without

being racist, being proud o your

culture, you know. I really like that

about them. And I love the ood...

WORDS by LuC CIOtkOWSkI

>>

the will to win

30th Apr  FOOTBALLChampions LeagueChelsea v Liverpool, Man Utd v Barcelona

1st May  FOOTBALL Uefa CupSemi-nals, 2nd leg

1-4th May GOLF Seville: Spanish Open

2-5th May CRICKETEssex v New Zealand

2nd May  BASKETBALL EuroleagueM. Siena v Maccabi Elite, Tau Ceramica v CSKA

3rd May  FOOTBALL Premier LeagueArsenal v Everton, Liverpool v Man City,Man Utd v West Ham, Newcastle v Chelsea

4th May  BASKETBALL Euroleague3rd Place play-of & Final

  FOOTBALL La LigaAtletico v Recreativo, Barcelona v Valencia,Osasuna v Real MadridMOTOR CYCLING China: MotoGP

5th May  ATHLETICS Belast: Belast Marathon

5-11th May  TENNIS  Rome: BNL d’Italia Campionati5-11th May  TENNIS  Berlin: German Open5-11th May  TENNIS  Prague Open7th May  FOOTBALL La Liga

Espanyol v Atletico, Real Madrid v Barcelona8-11th May CRICKET 

Rose Bowl: England Lions v New Zealand8-11th May GOLF 

Sawgrass: Players Championship8-11th May GOLF 

Milan: Italian Open8-11th May GOLF 

Belek: Turkish Women’s Open10th May  SPEEDWAY 

Leszno: Polish Grand Prix10-11th May ATHLETICS 

Cheboksary: IAAF World Race Walking Cup10-11th May ATHLETICS 

Desenzano: Combined Events11th May  FOOTBALL Premier League

Chelsea v Bolton, Sunderland v Arsenal,Tottenham v Liverpool, Wigan v Man Utd

  FOOTBALL La LigaMurcia v Barcelona, Real Madrid v Levante,Valencia v Atletico

11th May  MOTOR RACING Turkish Grand Prix

11th May  MOTOR CYCLING Italy: World Superbikes

12-18th May TENNIS  Hamburg: Masters Series12-18th May TENNIS  Rome: Italian Open14th May  FOOTBALL Uefa Cup

Final (Manchester, England)15-19th May GOLF 

Limerick: Irish Open15-19th May CRICKET 

Lord’s: First Test, England v NZ17th May  FOOTBALL FA Cup Final

Portsmouth v Cardif 18th May  MOTOR RACING 

Spain: World Touring Car Championship18th May  MOTOR CYCLING 

France: MotoGP21st May  FOOTBALLChampions League

Final (Moscow, Russia)23-27th May CRICKET 

Lord’s: Second Test, England v NZ24th May  RUGBY Heineken Cup Final  FOOTBALL International Match

Rep o Ireland v Serbia24th May  RUGBY International Match

Ireland v Barbarians25th May  MOTOR RACING Monaco Grand Prix

26th May- TENNIS8th June Paris: French Open28th May  FOOTBALL International Match

England v USA, Iceland v Wales29th May  FOOTBALL International Match

Rep o Ireland v Colombia30th May  FOOTBALL International Match

Czech Republic v Scotland

SPORS DIARy

continued on page 28

Not onl is the ootball season reaching its exciting climax – all theees o European basketball ans are on Madrid or the EuroleagueFinal Four, and the ACB Plaos are still to look orward to at theend o the month. In an exclusive interview, au Cerámica plaerand New Orleans native Will McDonald talks to Luc Ciotkowski

about basketball in Europe, living in Madrid and the BasqueCountr, dierences in mentalit and small Spanish beds.

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sportYeah, I’s anasic! And do hey

mae yo eel welcome p here, as

an American? 

Yeah, I never had any problems. And this

is basketball, I mean the ans pretty much

always make you eel welcome.

Have yo enconered mch racism

in Spain?

Um... Sometimes. There’s racism

everywhere. I’m rom America, and to

be honest with you, I think there’s more

racism in America, much more racism

than in Spain. And I think, I

don’t encounter much racism

because o my prole. I think,

my opinion is, i I was just a

normal black guy walkiing

down the street, then, yes,

I’d encounter more. But

maybe because the people know I’m a

basketball player, they treat me dierentrom a normal black person.

Away rom he baseball cor,

wha did yo lie o do here (in

Madrid)?

In Madrid, I did everything I can think o!

It was almost like being at home, I was

around a whole bunch o people- rom

all types o dierent cultures... And I did

everything rom going to every restau-

rant you can go to, to going to the zoo,

and the amusement park! And i I got a

night o rom practice, I’d go to the disco.

Not just one type o disco but all kinds.

I didn’t just want to go to certain discos

because they had certain people there.

Wha was yor avorie par o 

Madrid?

What’s that place... Cuatro Caminos.I was letting my hair grow, it was long

and I would go to a Dominican shop to

get it braided. I’d been going there and

the people opened their arms to me, you

know. Not rom the basketball but just as

a normal person. And then I was going

to the dinner with

the amily, and just

relaxing; I started

hanging a lot in that

neighbourhood.

I elt kinda comort-

able with the

Dominican people.

Wha are he hings yo lie mosabo Spain?

 The only thing that’s really dierent is

the people. My avourite part is just get-

ting into dierent things. Every time I go

out, go places I see something dierent.

I learned something new nearly every

time I went out in Madrid, every time. In

Spain and Europe, it’s just got dierent

aspects, the way I wanna live when I go

back to America. I think that things are

a little dierent here. When I go home, I

don’t see the need or people to spend

all their money on rings, jewellery; peo-

ple don’t do that here. You could be

standing next to someone in the street

that has the smallest car you saw, and

they could have the most money in

Spain and you would never know.

Is here anyhing yo sill miss romhome?

O course my riends, that’s the hardest

part o this. My riends and amily, I

mean, that’s my culture: I have been

there all my lie. I understand that

culture better than I understand the

Spanish culture o course,

that’s why, during season

I do my best to bring my

amily here. I have people

stay with me and keep me

company.

Do yo hin yo will wan o say

in Spain once yor playing careeris over?

Yeah, next year I’m buying a home.

Once I’m nished playing, I’ll probably

do six months over here, or ve months

over here...

Mos o yo baseball pros are

prey big gys. Wha wih here

being a wider selecion in larger

sizes, do yo ge eam maes asing

yo o bring hem clohes on visis

bac o he Saes?

All the time! My Spanish riends oten

want me bring them... T-shirts and stu 

in the larger sizes. You get, like, ‘orders’

or these types o shoes... and hats and

clothes in the bigger sizes, yeah.

I nd Spanish beds are sally ind

o shor, lengh-wise, and I’m only1.78 meres (Will is 2.07 meres all).

Have yo been able o nd a bed in

Spain where yo can srech o?

No, I gotta have a special bed! We have

it in the contract that they put a special

bed in the apartment.

thans, Will, and he bes o lc in he

Eroleage and he ACB Playos! 

Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid

SEMIFINALS, May 2

M. Siena vs. Maccabi Elite Tau Ceramica vs. CSKA

18:00 21:00

3RD PLACE,May 4 18:00

FINAL,May 4 21:00