will mcdonald exclusive interview euroleague final four 2008
Transcript of will mcdonald exclusive interview euroleague final four 2008
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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