How does an old promise of Hungarian basketball end up in Girona?
The quick answer is to play basketball. Throughout my career being a professional athlete has taken me to many different places, from small towns in Japan to big cities in the United States like Los Angeles. Now I’m living a new adventure here in Girona, and I’m really looking forward to it.
What was the use of that stay in the United States and the scholarship at the University of California (UCLA)?
There I was able to discover a very different basketball to what I knew in Europe, a much more physical basketball, and this helped me to be more forceful and to adapt to a faster basketball, to run. It was good for me to improve as a pivot, to get tougher.
And on a personal level?
I was very lucky to be able to go there, in the US. I was in high school (high school) in Miami for a year, in great working and city conditions. Then came four years in Los Angeles, in an environment that also helped me to mature.
In 2018, they didn’t pick him in the draft and he ended up going first to Japan and then back to Europe. Was it a bummer not being able to make it to the NBA?
Like all players, it is clear that I had the dream of the NBA, but it is also true that when I saw that I could not, I tried to achieve it as a last chance by playing in the G-League (the American development league, a stepping stone for below the NBA). The decision to return was not difficult. I am European, I have family here, and my culture is here. If I think about it, still, in the NBA? I think I have to go season by season, step by step, and now what I’m focused on is this year in Girona. I don’t think too much about it, it doesn’t worry me. Now what I have to do is improve on a personal level, see what else I can bring to the team, and have a good year.
How are you adapting to Girona after living in Japan, Belgium, Hungary and Lithuania?
Yes, I have been lucky enough to know many different places and cultures, as I said before. Here in Girona I have a great city, with a great climate, very well located, and that’s very good (laughs). Traveling is not new to me, it is another enrichment.
What did you know about the club when they signed him in the summer?
When I signed up I did a little research like you always do when you go somewhere new. I saw that Marc Gasol was the president, that a couple of seasons ago the team was in the LEB Or and that it was promoted, and that here there were players like Quino (Colom) and Ike (Iroegbu) with whom I was there confronted With Quino it was in the Champions League, and with Ike we had also been rivals in college in the United States. I also spoke to the coach.
How are you adjusting to the ACB? Are you satisfied with your performance in these six games?
I am still progressing and in a period of adaptation. I entered the league well, and the game played here I think suits my particularities well.
Which opponent has given him the hardest time so far?
On a collective, team level, the opponent who has given us the most difficulty is Madrid, the European champions and a team. If I have to name a player who has made things difficult for me in these first six games, I will say Artem Pustovyi, from Obradoiro, in last weekend’s game. It was a good challenge.
Why is this Basketball Girona so irregular?
We play basketball that proposes running and playing a lot of possessions, and that also has a point of risk, sometimes. We are still in the process of construction, and maybe that makes us a little irregular. Anyway, in no match have we given up, we always keep insisting.
How do you go from three wins in a row to three losses in a row?
We have experienced players in the squad. We don’t attach much importance to either victories or defeats, we are on the sidelines of this more emotional factor which are the results. This is about improving every day. The season is long and we have to go game by game, to try to progress as much as possible
Is it impressive to arrive in Girona to somehow fill the void left, for the time being, by Marc Gasol, in the interior game?
The team would be different if he was playing with us this season. For me it is an honor to be a bit of his “substitute”, so in quotation marks, although I don’t feel that way either. Marc Gasol has been a great reference for me, since I was in Memphis, I was a big fan of his.
What should Girona Basketball aim for this season? Permanence, play-off…?
The club is very serious, it has a very good organization. You have to go step by step. The ACB is a very tough league, there are great teams. Probably this season we have to improve the results of the pass, when the team was saved in the penultimate day. We have to go step by step, improving in each game. If the improvement is reaching the play-off, or the Cup, it will be seen.
Have you met the city and its surroundings? Have you been told that the Fairs, Girona’s biggest festival, are about to start?
I’m a sociable person, I don’t like to stay locked up at home. I go out for coffee, for a walk, to restaurants… and I’ve also visited places on the coast like Platja d’Aro, or I’ve been to Barcelona. The Fairs? Yes, they explained it to me. My sister is coming to visit me next week and we’re going for a walk, but I’m definitely not going on the roller coaster (laughs).
2023-10-26 04:30:17
#György #Golomán #honor #bit #substitute #quotation #marks #idols #Marc #Gasol
