By Toprak Kagnici / info@eurohoops.net
Despite a surreal atmosphere in PAOK, Tofas Bursa managed to advance in the Basketball Champions League Play-Ins, with a huge help from Cassius Winston, who has been averaging 14.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game since joining the team in the summer.
Talking to Eurohoops, he mentioned the away environment against the black-and-white team as one of the toughest he has faced in his whole career.
“We just played in PAOK and it was crazy in their gym. It’s crazy environments all over the world like Partizan Belgrade; everybody’s going super hard for their teams and showing up. It’s been a lot of fun playing in those arenas”, he said.
Deciding to move to Europe without forcing any rush decision, chasing a second chance in the NBA by going through the G-League because he “just wanted to play, get out there with high-major competition to play some competitive games and just get better“.
Cassius Winston went through a first rookie season in Europe with Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague, averaging 11.0 points and 3.4 assists per game.
Using his own words, “It was just a year full of ups and downs”. As he explained: “I think I played great sometimes and then I struggled other times. It was a good year for me just to get adjusted and see what European life is like in basketball. This year has been a lot smoother for me than last year, a lot more consistent”.
Talking about Andrea Trinchieri, the 25-year-old point guard praised the Italian coach who was his first coach in Europe.
“He’s a really smart basketball mind. He knows the game. He knows how to come up with a really good game plan and put guys in position. He knows how to push guys. He helped me speed up that process of getting adjusted to Europe”.
Deciding to sign with Tofas alongside his former G-League teammate Caleb Homesley was an easy choice.
As Winston said: “I’m still young over here so it’s still gonna take me a little time to get to the level that I truly wanna be. This was just a great opportunity to do that. We are still playing high competitions so it was a good opportunity for me to keep growing and developing. I talked to him [Caleb Homesley] before I decided and considered it; I say it’s worked out pretty well so far”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League