By Achilleas Mavrodontis/ info@eurohoops.net
Heading to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, Olympiacos guard Thomas Walkup discussed the projected assignment on Mike James during a fan event in Piraeus, Greece.
“Yes. Absolutely,” he replied to a Eurohoops inquiry on being ready to guard the 2019 Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy recipient, “Of course, he is a great player. It will be a tough task but I am up for it. We will get in the study room, watch some film, and make sure we are ready for him.”
James, 31, has put up 16.2 points, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game so far this season, including a 25-point showing in the win versus Olympiacos in March. The regular-season series was split as the Reds had held him to seven points to capture the win in the reverse fixture.
Covering the second seed on the Playoffs bracket by finishing the Regular Season as the runner-up behind FC Barcelona secured the home-court advantage in the Quarterfinals best-of-five series against La Roca Team. The Greek giant is scheduled to be the host of Game 1 and Game 2 at Peace And Friendship Stadium, Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
“The chance is to play in the Final Four. This does not happen often in your career,” pointed out the former Stephen F. Austin standout looking to reach the season-ending stage for the first time after a couple of unsuccessful attempts with Zalgiris Kaunas from 2018 to 2021, “When an opportunity like this arises, you have to take advantage of it. And that’s what we are going to do.”
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net