By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia forward Jalen Jones has been in Europe for less than a week and has already noticed a couple of major differences in comparison with his stint in the NBA.
Especially when it comes the “intensity” that takes place in both practices and during games.
When asked about Baskonia head coach Velimir Perasovic during his official presentation by the club, Jones describes the training sessions as the hardest he had since his college days.
“The coach? He just asks me to play my game. He’s intense in everything he does. He wants everyone to play hard. Compete. As long as you play hard and compete, leaving it all on the court, he’s going to to be happy at the end of the day. He’s big on everybody being locked in. Especially in practice. Practices are very intense. I haven’t practiced this hard since college. These are very intense practices we’re having. An hour and 45 minutes. In my experience in the NBA, I never had practices like that. And winning games,” Jones said.
In his second game with Baskonia, Jones helped his team beat Obradoiro in ACB by scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds. He also realized that he needs a bit of time to adjust to European basketball rules.
“I found out that in the last game. I didn’t know what you can do when you guard the post. I picked up two quick fouls. I asked the guys and the coach and they told me: You can’t use your hands in the post. Adjusting to the rules in EuroLeague. Also the intensity. I think I haven’t played in such intense games since college. So there’ve been a couple of years where guys are playing super hard in each possession.”