Zenit captain Trent Frazier spoke about his new role in the team after their home win over Avtodor (105:79).
— Trent, we can call you captain now. How do you feel about your new role on the team?
— It feels great. Obviously it’s an honor to be here for three or four years. I think this is a huge challenge that requires me to be more vocal and support the team. Like I said, every time I play I give it my all and try my best to show myself as a Zenit player. Also, my teammates support me. Obviously veteran Sergey Karasev will continue to help me and I’m learning every day as I take on this role. So it’s an honor and very special.
— Is this your first time as a captain while playing basketball?
— I’m not sure. Career-wise, yes. I feel this is a big responsibility. Obviously, in order for the team to follow me, I need to make sure I’m doing the right things on and off the court and showing what leadership is. Like I said, with Karasev on the team, he can help me in the learning process, and we’ll take it step by step.
— Who will be your vice-captain?
— Old guy, grandpa, Andrey Vorontsevich.
— You have been playing in St. Petersburg for three years and I think you have become more mature. What did you learn while wearing the Zenit jersey?
— Just understanding what it means to put on this jersey every night and what the history of Zenit means. Like I said, every player who has ever struggled in the dressing room and on the pitch, they gave it their all, fought every minute, and you have won a lot of trophies. That’s what I want to do, obviously. My next goal is to bring the championship trophy back to St. Petersburg.
— You hit a wonderful three-pointer at the end of the first half. How would you describe your celebration with Zhora?
— I think it happened completely randomly, at that moment. Zhora found me with two seconds left, and it was really cool to be able to enjoy that moment with Zhora when the whistle blew.
— One of the main topics of discussion in the media this week was how much the team atmosphere has changed since the coaching change.
— I don’t like to talk about such things. I think every coach that has coached this team while I was here did their best and they did their best to get us on the right track. I think for us, obviously the new coaching staff is the next challenge and we need to keep moving forward, keep growing and keep the team together. I feel like we just have to stay united and be closer and support each other more and do whatever it takes to win, and that’s what we’re going to do next.
— We are currently between fourth and fifth in the table, what do we need to do to improve the situation?
— Like I said, we have some challenges. I think our next step is to fight. We know it will be difficult, like I said, with coaching changes, injuries, and player status ups and downs, so all we can do now is to unite, fight every tough battle, face every challenge, and go all out.
Thanks Zenit fans. Your cheers were loud tonight and we are so grateful, thank you for the tremendous support tonight. We know we’ve been through a lot of challenges, but we see it when you guys come out and support us every night, whether it’s home or away. So let’s keep moving forward together and take important steps towards trophies over the next few months. For St. Petersburg!
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