By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The son of American baseball great Barry Larkin spent his childhood learning that sport from all-time greats, but by the age of 15 he had already decided that what he loved most was basketball, as he tells on EuroLeague’s The Crossover Podcast.
“I kind of re-started thinking about really loving this game, basketball and wanting to play it for a long time,” Larkin told Arlauckas. “I thought back to those days, what I witnessed, what I saw from these guys growing up that allowed them to provide for their families for the rest of their lives by playing a game. It focused me in and taught me the sacrifices you have to make.”
This season, Larkin helped propel Efes from a last-place finish a year ago to fourth-place in the EuroLeague regular season. He aided the cause with the single best scoring performance in the EuroLeague since 2013, a 37-point outburst against FC Barcelona Lassa, his team’s playoffs opponent starting Wednesday.
“I was a hyper kid. I liked to move, run around, jump and touch stuff. I just liked to move a lot,” Larkin told Arlauckas. “Basketball is a sport where you are always active. There’s not a moment on the court when you can relax. You always have to be active. You have to be attentive and ready to make the next move.”