By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
“You should look where you want to go, because otherwise you ‘ll go where you look at”. And Paul Davis always looks high, he is an optimist and has big goals in his career. Khimki’s center impresses in Euroleague’s Top 16 and as he says in his interview on Eurohoops.net, he wants to go even further this season (to the final four) and in his career (to return in the NBA).
Davis had until Thursday afternoon three wins in row over Barcelona (two with Cajasol last season and one with Khimki). He was near to the fourth one, but his team didn’t make it. How hard is to play in Palau Blaugrana? “We knew that it’s difficult against Barcelona. It was a tight two point game. We could win but they made some big shots, we missed some and that hurt us. But I’m satisfied because we played really good during fourth quarter and that gives us confidence for the next games. We were concentrated and played very well defense”.
His team began the season as an underdog, now it has a lot chances to qualify to the playoffs and Davis taked it from here. “I believe that we are among the best five teams in Europe. We are strong at home, we have beaten a lot of great teams and I believe that we can win everyone. I trust my teammates and coach. We have the confidence and the rhythm to qualify to the playoffs. And moreover I think that we have our chances to play in the final four”.
And will that remind him his participation in the final four in your college years with Michigan Spartans? “Absolutely! I want it too much and I think we can make it. We have the skills and the mentality to do it”.
Apart from the Euroleague, Khimki has two more goals, the VTb league and the Russian championship. “Our goal is to win all the trophies. Our biggest rival is CSKA but I believe in our team”. Khimki participates in three different leagues with many games, something unfamiliar to the European players, but Davis feels excited about it: “It’s like the NBA. We have 2-3 games per week; we travel a lot and play a lot of games. I don’t mind. I like it and I think we can go all the way and be successful”.
Everybody admits that Khimki has a full roster with great balance. And one of the secrets is that Rimas Kurtinaitis renewed his contract on late April and started immediately to recruit the new edition of Khimki. “He is a great coach” says the American center for the Lithuanian coach continuing “he understands the players, knows excellent the game and takes care about every detail. He knows when we ‘ll have to do more practice or less”.
Paul Davis signed on late May for two years and as he says Khimki was so fast that he didn’t have enough time even to think about it: “When they offered me a contract I said “yes” immediately. Khimki doesn’t have great tradition but I’m excited that the club is healthy, is ambitious and we live now the best moment of the club”.
His numbers during Top 16 are great. After nine games he’s 2nd in ranking (20,8 pg), 3rd in rebounds (6,3 pg), 4th in scoring (15,8 pg) and 4th in blocks (1,4 pg) in the Top 16. And all this numbers are at least 50% up in comparison with the regular season. He is getting better and better and his secret is that “I adapted better to the needs of my team. I got familiar of what they want and they got familiar of what I can give. The whole team works perfect. I had some injury problems during the first months of the season, but now I’m ok and I feel great. My years in Spain (Cajasol and Blusens) helped me a lot to adapt to European style of basketball. I feel that it was a good lesson for me”.
He’s smart and he can make a great career in Europe because it’s rare for players in his size (211 cms) to have this kind of mentality and knowledge of the game. “I know that there a lot of talented big guys in Europe. I only try to do my best for my team and my teammates”. His skills can offer him big contracts in European powerhouses for long time, but what about the NBA? His contract expires the summer of 2014 and he is focused only on Kimki: “I want to make the next step, but my target now is to be successful in Khimki. My desire is to play again in the NBA, but who knows what will happen on the summer?”
His NBA career includes 82 games during four seasons with LA Clippers and Washington Wizards. As he explains “I was unlucky because I had many injuries and the surgeries kept me back. I feel good now in Europe but I want to have one more chance to play there”.
Although a lot of people in USA and Europe know him very well after his participation to the show “Millionaire Matchmaker” and not only due to his NBA or Khimki’s years. When we reminded that he was a TV-star him four years ago (he appeared on the show on 2nd of April 2009) he laughed saying: “Oh, my God! Everybody in Spain was talking about that. They recognized me outside the court because of the show. It was fun. I enjoyed it”. So, after this popularity, would he think again to take part in TV show? “No, not at all! Once is enough!”