Crvena zvezda osvaja evropu / Red star conquer Europe
NA TERENU I VAN NJEGA Sve bolje govori srpski jezik, a Beograd obožava. – Volim da prošetam gradom i ima mnogo stvari kako da se provede vreme. Često odem do reke, kao i do Ade Ciganlije kada je lepo vreme, ali najviše volim da prošetam samim centrom. Imam fantastičan odnos sa saigračima, pravi prijateljski, družimo se i van tere- na, pričamo o mnogim stvarima, porodici ili nečemu što smo videli na TV-u ili internetu, ne samo o košar- ci. Baš dosta razumem, ali ne mogu tako dobro da go- vorim srpski. Malo sam učio iz knjiga ili sa audio-sni- maka, ali najbolje naučim kada slušam. Kada sam se vratio, kondicioni trener Dragan Gačević mi je rekao da sa mnom više neće da priča na engleskom. Onda sam ga pitao za skoro svaku reč i on mi je objašnjavao značenje i tako sam učio. Iz rodnog Bruklina nedostaje mu samo porodica. – Uvek sam s njima kada sam kod kuće. Dolaze i oni koliko mogu u Beograd. Mnogo im se sviđa, mama uži- va na utakmicama, a sestra voli da obilazi grad. Imaju i prijatelje ovde, osećaju se i oni odlično. Ako pitate Dženkinsa, reći će vam da je recept za uspeh vrlo jasan. – Nema posebne tajne za čuda ove sezone. Samo igramo zajedno i jako, najbolje što znamo. Imamo 13 momaka koji su hteli da dokažu da mogu da igraju na nivou Evrolige protiv najboljih. Sami sebi namećemo pritisak jer želimo da se takmičimo. Ključno je da ne za- visimo od jednog igrača, imamo identitet i znamo šta svako treba da radi da bismo pobedili. Radonjić i njegovi puleni očarali su ceo košar- kaški svet. Više puta su pokazali da mogu da se nose sa velikanima i daleko skupljim ekipama i da košar- ku ne igra samo novac već tim, srce, fanatična bor- benost i želja.
ON AND OFF THE COURT
His Serbian is constantly improving and he adores Bel- grade... - I like to walk around the city and there are many ways of spending time here. I often go to the river, and to Ada Cigan- lija when the weather is nice, but what I like the most is walk- ing around the city centre itself. I have a fantastic relationship with my teammates, real friendship ties, and we also social- ise off the court. We talk about many things, family or some- thing we’ve seen on TV or the internet, and not just about bas- ketball. I understand a lot of Serbian but I don’t speak it well. I learned a little from books or audio recordings, but I learn best when I listen. When I returned, conditioning coach Dra- gan Gačević told me that he will no longer speak English to me. Then I asked him for nearly every word, he explained the meaning and that’s how I learned. The only thing he misses from his native Brooklyn is his family. - I’m always with them when I’m at home. They also come to Belgrade as much as they can. They like it a lot. Mom en- joys the games, while my sister likes touring the city. They al- so have friends here and they feel great here too. And if you ask Jenkins, he will tell you that the recipe for success is very clear. - There is no special secret for this season’s miracles. We just play together and we play hard, the best we can, and we have 13 guys who want to prove that they can play against the best at the level of the Euroleague. We put pressure on our- selves because we want to compete. The key is we don’t de- pend on one player; we have an identity and we know what each of us needs to do in order for us to win. Radonjić and his charges have wowed the entire basket- ball world. They have shown repeatedly that they can handle the greats and far more expensive teams, and that basketball isn’t only played with money, but rather also with teamwork, heart, fanatical grit and desire.
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