By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
When it signed Naz Mitrou-Long over the summer, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan got not only a dangerous scoring guard but one with a unique multi-cultural background that has nourished him every step of the way to his debut in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season.
“I couldn’t imagine myself without having the core values that I believe in, the leaderships that I had in my life growing up, and the environments that I grew up in,” the 29-year-old says in an interview with Euroleague.
Mitrou-Long was raised in the city of Mississauga, just outside Toronto. His Trinidadian father and Greek mother had both emigrated to Canada as young children. As such, Naz was raised cherishing all Canadian, Trinidadian and Greek traditions. One manifestation of his upbringing is he became a fan of many different cuisines.
“The women in the family take pride in cooking, and I am a big foodie,” he says. “It is embedded into our roots and it’s been passed on for generations, and it is something that will always continue.”
With many relatives from his fathers’ side, he enjoyed traditional Trinidadian dishes full of spices and seasonings. His mom would do chicken souvlaki and makes a delicious shepherd’s pie with a Greek touch.
“Mom would always talk about baklava, but she would not make it because she said the only time I had to have it is when I go to Greece. And I had it for the first time on our team’s trip to Greece [in September]. It was amazing, everything she said.”
All that diversity has shaped who he is. And it helped him learn a long time ago that, far beyond all the food and traditions that he enjoyed so much, family is where his true strength comes from.
“You need people in your corner who are going to be there for you through the worst of times, the best of times, and that could show you unconditional love,” Mitrou-Long explains. “Your core value is the people you call family, and it does not necessarily need to be blood.”
Without his parents, Naz doubts he would have been strong enough to move to the United States alone as a teenager to pursue his dream of playing basketball. His father, Jersey Long, was a former professional kickboxer, and Naz was a talented boxer as a pre-adolescent. When the time came to choose between boxing and basketball, however, his father showed crucial support.
“It was him who sat me down,” Mitrou-Long remembers. “He said if you want to take it as serious as you say you want to take it, you’ve got to put your 110% into these situations.
“I had a genuine love for basketball, I was looking around and I just didn’t love anything like I loved basketball. And he was behind me to push me.”
His mom, Georgia Mitrou, played a much different role.
“She is my rock, my angel, my everything,” Mitrou-Long says. “I can talk about her for hours. The most selfless person in my life. In my eyes, she is a perfect human being.”
Far away from home at age 16, Mitrou-Long did not have its easy. His mother was the one that helped him through it through long phone conversations.
“I had been around my family all the time, my friends all the time. My community was my friend. But when I was gone, I had to buckle down,” he says. “She was on the phone with me every single night. We would literally fall asleep on the phone.”
A few years later, during his senior year at university, Naz was moved to honor her by adding her last name to his jersey.
“My name is Nazareth Jersey Mitrou-Long, that’s 26 letters. So it was easy to keep it short, as Naz Long,” he explains. “But once I was in a position where my name was pretty well recognized in the college world, I needed to pay homage and respect to that side of my family, and in particular my mother. Like, that is my name.”
As one of the best players at Iowa State University, one of the top college teams at the time, his decision carried even more weight, made national news, and helped bring important discussions to the forefront.
“It is special to honor the women in your life,” he says. “I genuinely believe that you can become such a better person when you have strong women in your life.”
His decision not only moved his mom to tears, but also helped him connect with more people from her side of the family.
“It was very important, it was very special,” Mitrou-Long says. “And I think it even looks cooler on a jersey.”