Having already warmed up his legs in training, T. Wallace talked to “Žalgiris TV” about his first impressions in Kaunas and the choice of career direction.
“First of all, Kaunas is a beautiful city. My family and I tried to look around it a bit. We were on the main street where all the restaurants are. It’s good to go out to eat in town, the kids could play outside. It was fun. When it comes to basketball, everything is fine too. We have been working on our game in training for the last few days. There was even more competition in training. I think we have a very good team. Very physically strong, especially in the field of wing forwards. I think we will be good,” said T. Wallace after a week of training with “Žalgiris”.
Professional career in 2016-2017. The basketball player who started in the “G League” later played in NBA clubs, and made his debut in Europe in 2022-2023. in the season when he joined the Paris club that was playing in the European Cup at the time. Last season, the basketball player represented Ankara’s Turk Telekom team, which also played in the European Cup. Now T. Wallace is determined to show his talents in the Euroleague as well.
“This will be my first season in the Euroleague. And at this level, I think there is even more talent. We have a lot of players who can hit in this lineup. This is the difference from the previous teams I played in before, – explained the American. – I have not played in the Euroleague myself, but I have played against Euroleague teams. Basketball itself is a bit more physical in Europe than in the US. I think I have adapted to the kind of basketball that is played in Europe. There will be more physicality in the Euroleague, but we will see. I think I’m a strong enough defender, so I’ll be able to withstand the physicality.”
The player averaged 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 17.5 assists in the European Cup last season. The basketball player was one of the best players of the tournament, and when it comes to his playing style, he distinguished versatility.
“As a defender, I have a big build, I can break closer to the basket. I like to attack the basket, I can create opportunities for other players. I am also an improved thrower, if they try to take a risk against me by flying in the barriers from below, I can punish them. I’m versatile enough, obviously there are aspects of the game where I can be even better. There is always room for improvement. I also like to work in defense. I have a good sense of the opponent’s actions, I am a great defender. I can cover part of the shots closer to the basket, and work defensively against multi-position players after turnovers. So it has an impact. Anyway, in defense, everything depends on how hard you want to work and put in the effort,” T. Wallace assured.
At the end of the interview, when asked about expectations with the team, T. Wallace spoke briefly and clearly.
“The expectation is to win as many matches as possible and get to the playoffs of the Euroleague,” asserted the Žalgiris player.
2024-09-02 13:39:17