At a height of 2.21 m, Walter Eddie Tavares is one of the tallest chins in the Euroleague. His arrival at Real Madrid is not a trivial matter, since his days at Gran Canaria it was clear that the chin from Cape Verde was destined for greatness. Tavares came to the NBA and like quite a few players who found themselves returning to Europe, here too it was clear that the giant’s return to the old continent would be to one of the elite teams.
His arrival greatly changed the thought of long and tall chins like him, he covers a huge area, interferes with almost every shot and very quickly became one of the Blancos’ main tools. Tonight (Thursday, 21:45) he will host Maccabi Tel Aviv with the Whites in the 13th round of the Euroleague.
The story of Eddie’s arrival at Gran Canaria has been told more than once, as well as the way he applied his length in the Final Four in Belgrade when he was called to the flag to take Pacondo Campazzo off the basket after it sat on the ring as part of Euroleague winning celebrations. Tavares is a man of many inches, but one who actually downplays words. His character is charming and in an exclusive interview with ONE the man who brought the big chins back to the forefront and the height of fashion talks about the experience in the NBA (“I think I did everything I could there”), the Campazzo case (“he was very afraid to move”) and the moment Trey will return Tompkins and Anthony Randolph (“They will help us a lot in the future”).
Tell us about life as one of the top players in the Euroleague.
“My life as a basketball player is good, but when it comes to my normal life it’s a bit difficult because you can not walk around like you’re a normal person who does not know him. Everyone is looking at you or telling you something, but that’s the situation and there is nothing to do. Thanks to that, I can help my family. “
Do you think the Euroleague has changed since you arrived at Real Madrid? Many groups today prefer to have physically high in addition to or instead of smaller chins.
“For me it has always been difficult, because teams have always played pick-and-pop against us in order to score threes in front of me, so it is difficult but that is the situation and there is nothing to do. I fight and do the best I can to help my team. “
How would you describe your time in the NBA, what did you not think worked and do you see yourself going back there or would you rather stay at Real Madrid forever?
“I think I did everything I could there, I sweated blood or I no longer know what, I did everything I could to play for a few minutes. It helped me play well in Madrid and help her. I’m a happy writer in Madrid. ”
Who is your favorite point guard guard? Kampatsu, Sergio Yui or Luka Doncic?
“It’s hard to answer that, because the three of them are different players, and because they are great players they helped me a lot. They helped me grow so it’s hard to choose. For me, the three of them are great players. ”
Tell us how you helped and how you help the club’s young seniors, Tristan Vukcevic, Osman Garova and Eli Nadai?
“I always try to help, to be there, to try to work hard because that’s the only way to succeed, and Madrid succeeds wherever it goes. It’s the same message I try to convey to them, work hard and be focused on what they want to do in their future. ”
Back to the Final Four in Belgrade, your height was used not only to protect the ring but also to help Kampatsu get off the ring after he got stuck on it. Did you ever think it was something you would have to do and how did Santi Justa and Dino Radončić who helped him climb it get out of it unscathed?
Campazzo is always trying to do crazy things. I think he wanted to take down the net or he wanted to go and sit on the ring for a few minutes. “When he wanted to get off the ring he could not so he called me from the other side of the field to come and help him get off, it’s a wonderful memory for us, he was really very scared to move.”
When you see Luca Doncic’s friendships with Boban Marianowicz in Dallas, does that make you miss him and “Paco” (Kampatsu) even more?
“I always miss them because they are funny guys. We all in the group loved them, and they always gave me wonderful memories when they were with us. ”
How strong can this version of Real Madrid be if you consider that so far Trey Tompkins and Anthony Randolph have not yet played this season, with in the background the possibility that Jesse Carroll will return to the team as well still hovering?
“The most important thing is to stay healthy because I think Tompkins and Anthony are going to help us a lot in the future. But the most important thing is to stay healthy and try to play as we have played so far. ”
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