By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
Nemanja Nedovic had a somewhat slower start to the season, struggling to find his rhythm, but that wasn’t the case in Round 5 of EuroLeague as he banked 28 points on 7-12 from deep and earned the MVP award along the way.
“Maybe at the official start of the season, it could have been better… I put pressure on myself with good performances in the preseason. But I think I got rid of it. I don’t have to prove myself to anybody. I worked on myself all summer. Everything is going in the right direction,” he told Mozzart Sport.
This is Nedovic’s first stint in Greece and playing for a club such as Panathinaikos gives him and his teammates extra motivation: “The number of stars above the crest that signify European titles speak enough about the greatness of the club and, of course, obliges you, but also gives you a motive. Some may argue whether we are more talented than some other teams, but we have shown that we are a compact bunch, capable of dealing with everyone.”
He has also been very happy with the coach Georgios Vovoras who took over the role after four years as an assistant, including under coach Rick Pitino.
“I don’t speak only from my own angle, because he gave me a lot of freedom, but I look at it from a team perspective. A great coach. This can be noticed, for example, after time-outs and other interruptions, when we have an extremely high percentage of successful offensive plays. He learned a lot from Pitino. We really enjoy playing.”
One of the things that bother Nedovic, as well as other teams across the world, is the lack of fans in the stands.
“Unfortunately, that’s how it is. I feel sorry. Sometimes the feeling of big games is lost in all that silence. Aside from us, the most affected are Zvezda, Fenerbahce, Maccabi… who have significant help from the stands. The situation is getting worse all over the world. I hope, primarily for the health of the people, that the pandemic will stop, so that the spectators will slowly return to the stands and to enjoy together,” he said.