By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
After reaching the EuroLeague Final Four in back-to-back fashion with Olympiacos since 2021 and extending his contract with the Greek powerhouse until 2027, Thomas Walkup is now ready to rock the jersey of Greece at the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Talking on the Hellenic Federation’s YouTube channel, he expressed his joy. “I’m very excited. It was a big decision that the federation took to have me and accept me here, so it’s something that from me comes with a tremendous amount of pride. “I met with Coach Itoudis the other day and talked with him. Having guys like Pap and Lountzis here, guys I’m so familiar with, I’m already feeling at home”, he said.
“I can’t say that my Greek friends gave me a lot of advice. But what I do know is that the most important thing is to wear this shirt with pride. That’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to play as hard as I can to represent the country properly. Not just me, but all the guys on this team. That’s all I can expect from myself and this team. I’m excited and can’t wait to see where we go in September”, Thomas Walkup continued about his attitude towards the Greek goal.
After not being able to advance to the semifinals at EuroBasket 2022 by losing against the host Germany, the Greek national team will face the United States, New Zealand, and Jordan, which will also probably have Rondae Hollis-Jefferson on his roster.
Olympiacos‘ guard commented about it in the interview. “The challenges ahead of us are great. But it is still too early to talk about the 2024 Olympic Games and the qualification for them. At the moment we are only focused on the next World Cup or – even better – the next training session and the upcoming first friendly against Slovenia. The point is to take steps in the right direction every day, to get better, and that’s the only way we’ll be where we want to be in September”, the American native added.
Finally, he took some time to talk about the upcoming friendly games against Slovenia, Serbia, and Italy. “I know that the Greeks are very proud of the National team and I expect that OAKA will be full in our friendlies. We will give strong matches that are necessary to prepare properly. It doesn’t matter so much whether you win or lose in friendlies, as much as you prepare and improve. The preparation period is short, the friendlies come quickly and we are ready for them”, the former Zalgiris Kaunas defensive specialist said as well.
Thomas Walkup is part of the extended list declamated by the head coach Dimitris Itoudis, which also includes Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Ioannis Papapetrou, Dimitris Agravanis, George Papagiannis, Michalis Lountzis, Dinos Mitoglou, Lefteris Bochorides, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Nikos Rogkavopoulos, Dimitris Moraitis, Nikos Chougkaz, George Tsalmpoyris, Vassilis Toliopoulos, Dimitris Flionis, Manos Chatzidakis, Lefteris Mantzoukas, and Vangelis Zougris.
PHOTO CREDIT: Hellenic BC