By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
LILLE, France – Finishing the game with a huge three-pointer and one steal to stop Australia’s comeback, Thomas Walkup’s contribution in Greece’s 77-71 victory in Lille was visible.
The Greek playmaker finished with 18 points and stopped by in the mixed zone after the final buzzer.
“This is Greek basketball. This is who we are. This is how we play. This is the passion, the intensity, the swagger. This is who we are. Today I thought we did a really good job of locking in for larger parts of the game, and the scoreboard reflects up”, he opened.
“Now we wait”, he said about his team’s fate in Lille. “It’ll be very interesting watching the next couple of games to see what happens. With stress, because so much is on the line. That’s the best thing about the Olympics: so much is on the line. Ten million people’s hopes and dreams, along with our own, are on the line“, Thomas Walkup continued.
Greece was forced to win to keep hoping, and it was shown on the court. “It’s the character that, to be a part of the team that has really dropped the first two games in this tournament, and felt like we were down and out to come out today and have a performance like we had, was the character of the high character team”, he continued.
Later on, he focused on his personal performance. “I said this after I played, I had unproductive basketball and shaky basketball. We win as a team. We lose as a team. Today, I made a couple of shots, but next game, it’ll be Pap. Next game, it’ll be Larentzakis. Next game, it’ll be somebody else. So this is how a team works”, he said.
“You step up and your number is called. Today, I happened to get a couple of shots, and I felt good. They went in, coaches and staff have really instilled me with confidence and told me to believe in myself because I deserve things to go right because of the work that I’ve put in, and that support means more than anything to me”, he followed.
Most importantly, his shooting ability helped. “In the last couple of days, I could say that I shot more shots or whatever, but you don’t fix your shot in two days. I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of shots over the years. It’s all mental. That’s why I said I’m not changing my shot, nothing has changed”, he said.
“It’s the mentality of it. It’s the confidence that the coach and other parts of the coaching staff in the front office have all instilled in me and showed their belief in me. To me, I know everybody clicks differently, but to me, that means the world”, Thomas Walkup ended.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA Basketball