By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas’ latest guest is Real Madrid’s Walter Tavares, who shares his fascinating life story.
The remarkable journey of Walter “Edy” Tavares from the beaches of Cape Verde to the heights of world basketball is the riveting subject of the latest edition of The Crossover podcast with Joe Arlauckas.
Just 10 years ago, at age 17, Tavares had never touched a basketball nor seen a game played, even on TV. He was helping at his mother’s small store while his father was away at sea but otherwise hanging out on the beaches of his island, Maio, which did not have a basketball court.
“I was in the store every day and otherwise on the beach because there was nothing else to do,” Tavares says.
A traveler noticed his 2.15-meter stature and brought word back to a basketball coach in Gran Canaria, Spain, with whom he was acquainted. Eventually, coaches from Gran Canaria traveled the 1,600 kilometers to see if Tavares was for real by giving him a tryout. But first they had to fit his size 17 feet into a size 13 shoe lest Tavares have to play in the sandals he had always worn for lack of footwear his size.
Head to euroleague.net for more about Tavares’ journey, while you can stream the podcast below: