By Aris Barkas
Hungary is not considered a basketball country, but that does not means that it don’t have basketball talents. Enter Adam Hanga, the 6 ft 7 guard of Assignia Manresa who is already a NBA draftee by San Antonio Spurs and, being just 23 years old, believes that the sky is his limit. Eurohoops.net had the chance to chat with him about his present and upcoming basketball plans.
– You come from a country where basketball is not a dominant sport. What made you choose it? Did you dream about becoming a professional player from a young age?
“Football comes on the first place in Hungary as everywhere all over Europe. Therefore I started to play football. At some point I changed and tried basketball thanks to my teacher at the elementary school. And, yes I did dream about it, as soon as i started”!
– You are having a great season in Liga Endesa. What are your personal goals and your team goals?
“I still have a long way to go. I want to improve and be a better player week by week. It’s my first year in Liga Endesa and my goal was to show everyone that I am capable of playing on that level. I am happy that I have had some good games so far but which is much more important we had great victories during the season. If we look at the records we still have a tiny chance to reach to playoff. So this is our target, now”.
– In what aspects you believe that playing in Manresa has improved you?
“The coaching staff is great, here, they help me a lot. Thanks to my coaches we do a lot of extra work. We focus a lot on my defense and I think I am much better now. Not to mention the fact that my weight is 4-5 kg more and I’ve become a more aggressive defensive player since I have been to Spain. Back home there was no need to play defense hard. On the other hand my shooting percentage isn’t so great, so i work a lot on it”.
– Do you feel ready for an other big step in your career, like playing in Euroleague?
“Euroleague is the highest competition in Europe. Everyone wants to be part of that. I still have a lot of things to do but I hope I am getting closer to this stage”.
– You are already drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. When can we expect to see you in the NBA? Does San Antonio follow you?
“I only focus on my next step. Which is now the last 5 games of the season and playoff if we reach it. I know that they do follow me, they have already come this year a few times to watch me playing live, which is a great feeling. But I think it’s not the right time to talk about NBA. For now, I have things to do here in Spain. My philosophy is to go step by step. Hopefully, Ι can meet with the Spurs this summer. So I am doing everything to make it happen”!
– There were other players from Hungary, like Robert Gulias and Kornel David that made their mark in the basketball world. Where do you put yourself in comparison with them? Do you want more?
“They are fantastic players with great international carrier behind their back. It’s honor to be mentioned on the same page with them. As I said it’s only my first year abroad. I want to keep it up and be better. And yes of course I want more”!
– You were the first Hungarian to ever get drafted. Do you feel that you can be the reason for a basketball explosion in Hungary?
“Last summer was crazy in Hungary after the Draft and due to the fact that I was the first one, I had a lot of media appearances, seems like a big number of people support me from Hungary and I strongly appreciate it. It makes me feel great, it’s a huge honor and I would love to be one of the reasons for such explosion! But don’t forget Szolnok is doing great in Eurochallenge this year. They reached the final four and also and they will also be the host of the Final Four event. My country has a very shiny basketball past but in the past years we hadn’t had much success in Europe. With my teammates at the national team we want to change this”.