at the age of 18 Noam Yaakov He has long been considered after the hottest names in Israeli basketball, and last Thursday the career of the young center reached a peak moment with a victory in the state cup. Yaakov, who came to Hapoel Jerusalem from Villerban and is aiming as high as possible, gave a special interview to ONE just after the victory over Hapoel Holon and just before he joins the Israeli national team training for the MondoBasket qualifying window.
How does someone who was born in Denmark, where basketball is the sport there…
“Eighth, something like that.”
After a discount you say, so how do you get to basketball?
“My father was a coach, always loved the game and from a very young age I was always on the courts. When he was a coach I would come and watch and that’s how I started playing basketball. In fact, since I started walking, I was already on the pitches.”
You have two tattoos.
“The first is the focus of where I was born and grew up in Denmark and the second is the kibbutz in Israel – where I have family.”
So the question is, will there be a third tattoo, and if so, what will it be?
“To be sure, both of my parents have tattoos. My dad has a photo of me and my brothers on foot. So there will be more in the future.”
Your jersey is number 31, why?
“This is already my ninth year with 31 and it actually started because I used to play ‘2K’ when I was little and by then I was playing with 23 like any other kid, and someone caught on. Always Michael Jordan’s 23 is the number for every little kid who plays basketball, it’s the dream. So I didn’t know how to change the number and I got stuck with 31 and I’ve been going with it ever since.”
Tell us a little about the move to Hapoel Jerusalem.
“My agent and my father had a joint conversation with me and talked to me about this idea and what advantages it has, and I was very happy that I had the opportunity to play in Jerusalem for Aleksandar Džikić. These are really amazing guys, so it’s a crazy opportunity for me and I’m very happy that I made this transition.”
How was the first meeting with Džikić?
“The first meeting was before I arrived in Jerusalem, at Zoom. The conversation was a little different than what I’m used to, of course, because he is a very special person. There were less questions, but more expectations and things like that, also a lot of jokes. It was a very interesting and fun conversation.”
Were there any gaps in relation to what you had heard about him before?
“I think they might give him a ‘bad guy’ name or something, but it’s really not like that. He will enter you, but it is out of love and a desire for you to succeed.”
How did your time in Willerbaan benefit you?
“I think that first of all moving to play basketball in France really helped me deal with a different physicality than I was used to. Of course, the training with the senior team in the Bioleague helped me a lot to improve and progress. I’m very happy that it happened because it helped me a lot and in crazy levels. Also in terms of life, not only in terms of basketball.”
What is it like to train with Nando de Colo?
“Nando is the most professional I have ever seen. He arrives an hour and a half before each training session, does everything before each training session and is an inspiration. It was amazing to see it, I tried to be like a ‘sponge’ and just soak up as much of it as possible. He is one of the most successful players in Europe. He doesn’t talk too much, he is a very quiet and introverted person but when he talks you have to listen. He gives tips here and there and most of the time he just wants the team to win and will do everything to make it happen.”
There were those who claimed that Nando de Colo and Or Cornelius were separated at birth.
“Yes, they look similar, but the playing style is a little different.”
Send Nando that you found his double?
“I don’t know if I’m in such a relationship with him, but if I’m with him next year again in the team, maybe I’ll tell him. we will see what will be”.
So you don’t talk about it much.
“No, at first I told him ‘Or, you look like Nando’ and he replied that he had already heard it 200 times.”
If they told you that at the age of 18 you would be one of the main reasons why Hapoel Jerusalem even reached the final of the State Cup, what would you say?
“I would say it is believable, because I think I really like and look forward to such games. Every game that is for a title, I feel I come to it the most focused, concentrated and good. I forget about everything and am just focused on the game.”
Where do you feel most at home?
“At grandma and grandpa’s in the kibbutz”.
And what was it like to be a Danish Israeli living in France at all?
“The truth is that there are many Israelis and Jews in Lyon. I had a host family that I was with every Friday, so it really wasn’t too difficult. Of course, being without your parents and younger siblings is always difficult, but I also grew up with the move I made to Israel at the age of 13, so even now – it’s not too difficult for me.”
Where do you stand religiously?
“I believe in human beings, I was not born a Jew or a Christian. I celebrate both – Christmas, Hanukkah and Passover. We celebrate at home what makes us happy.”
Called up to the Israeli national team which in the future will be based on you, Yam Medar, Tamir Blatt, Yuval Sussman, Danny Avdia and Roman Sorkin. Where can this thing go?
“I am very excited to have received this summons and am looking forward to getting started. Like all the players you mentioned, this could be a very high level team. I’m waiting for us all to play together, there’s no doubt it will be special.”
Do you have a role model?
“In terms of basketball and ‘mindset’ of course Kobe (Bryant). This is a simple answer, but from a very young age I was fascinated by his behavior and conduct. In life I think that my father He is my best friend and the amount of hours I spent with him not only on the courts, but in general, he is simply the perfect role model for me.”
The NBA is a dream for you, or maybe even a goal.
“I don’t define it as a dream, I define it as a goal because it’s something I want and really work towards and want to achieve. So it’s more of a goal than a dream.”
When you see Danny Avdia doing beautiful things in the NBA and in the national team, what does it do to you?
“Of course I know Danny through our agent, so I’m very happy for him. This season he makes another leap and continues to improve, so it’s great fun to watch and Danny is an inspiration to many, many children in Israel. I hope I can do the same.”
You talked about your agent, Matan, and he has a relationship with you similar to the one with Danny, what is special about him?
“Matan is really like a brother, it felt that way from the first moment I was with him. I am really very happy that he is by my side, he is part of the family now. He is going to eat with my parents without me.”
Would you like to play a few years in the Euroleague before the NBA?
“I don’t care so much how to get there, the main thing is to get there. I will do whatever it takes to do it. Whether it’s to play in the Euroleague or here – the future will tell.”
Tell us something that no one knows about Noam Yaakov.
“My full name is Noam Neil Petersen Jacob. I have a Danish name and an Israeli name.”
If you play in France and you get an offer from another Euroleague team, is that something you would want?
“If I was still in France, I would already be part of a system in a Euroleague team. So I would probably play there and stay there because you have already built good connections there with the coach and the whole system and environment.”
Where do you see your future in the next two years?
“My contract with Villerban has an exit option for both sides this summer, so we’ll see what happens. I cannot say now what is going to happen in the future.”
How far do you think you will go this season and what are your personal goals?
“I think as a team we want to achieve as much as possible, which is also a championship. To get every title we can – that’s our goal as a team. Personally, I want to contribute as much as possible to victories and be a significant part of this team.”
Put together your dream five in Euroleague and NBA.
“What a question, I should come prepared for that. I’ll forget someone for sure, but I’ll try. Let’s do now and not all time. In the EuroLeague, I’ll put Nando at 1, Howard of Baskonia at 2, Clyburn at 3, Mirotic at 4 and Tavares at 5. We will stay with the Euroleague five, in the next interview I will come with NBA”.
Who is the player you would most like to play alongside?
“Playing next to a player like Giannis (Antetokompo) is a pleasure because he attracts so much attention from the defense. And it just makes the game much easier for everyone who plays around him.”
You mentioned your father. He is not at all afraid to express himself on social media.
“My father is my father and he speaks and says from the heart what he feels.”
How do you feel that parents use social networks like this?
“The truth is that my parents are young, 44 and 43 years old. They are active on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and I think there is no problem with that. it’s fun”.