By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zenit St. Petersburg swingman Sergey Karasev discussed his NBA experience and life in the USA, mentioning that someone needs luck, among other things, to succeed in the league.
When asked how difficult it was for him back in 2013 when he moved to another country from Russia, he simply answered: “highly difficult,” talking to Zenit Radio. “In my first year I wasn’t quite ready for the league. I was a young boy that lacked physicality and many qualities in my game. In my first year . When I moved to Brooklyn, I got the chance I wanted. But in the NBA you need luck. If you’re in the right team playing for the right coach, it makes no difference who you are. White or black, strong or weak. If he sees you in the team’s system, then you will play.”
Regarding his day-to-day life, Karasev said that it was very different comparing to the one he had in Russia. Especially in his first year, when he went to Cleveland to join the Cavaliers. “There was no family, no relatives, no friends initially. And during the first three months my schedule was this: wake up, go to practice, get back home. That’s how I lived before my girlfriend arrived. I watched TV shows, played games. But these were the most difficult three months of my life. There was absolutely nothing to do in Cleveland. Things changed when my girlfriend came and the move to New York. It became easier there, Andrei Kirilenko was there too. I got friends and acquaintances. Therefore the last year and a half was much different.”