By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Joey Dorsey spend almost two months before choosing where he would play this season and it wasn’t an easy decision. Finally he decided to stay a member of Olympiacos and not try his luck in Boston or in New Orleans, even though he will stay one more season far from his beloved mother. He explains what happened during last summer to Eurohoops.net.
-Why it took you so long to answer to Olympiacos offer;
“The main reason, was that I wanted to be close to my family and especially to my mom. Last year it was very stressful being here and my mom not being with me. We are very close. She is always been there since the first day of my journey in basketball. Me and her talked about it every day. I also talked about it with my agent and with other teams pulling for me it was very hard to make a decision”.
-So we should expect that you will honor the full 2 years of your contract;
“I can’t say that yet. We’ll see how good this year will turn, working on my offense so much. If it is really good and coach thinks that I’m ready to leave, then it will be a decision on that”.
-Had you not answered, you think that now you would have had at least an invitation to take part in a training camp with an NBA team;
“It would not be just an invitation, it would be a contract. I had a contract for the Boston Celtics and for the New Orleans Hornets. It was just, I don’t know man, my feeling here it was just crazy last year. I fell in love with the team., I fell in love with the city of Athens and the fans here are so passionate about basketball. I just wanted to work more on my game. I think these were the biggest factors”.
-You think that with your defensive abilities, you would fit well into the defensive style of coach Williams in New Orleans;
“Yes, that was one of the things that we talked about. With Anthony Davis being the No1 pick and bringing him in, I was gonna be that guy. That defender that would protect the paint”.
-What can we expect from Olympiacos;
“We re gonna ba a transition team. Up and down not a halfcourt team. Coach is been stressing us to play real fast. I think that the guys are in shape and are playing really well right now, so it’s going really well. Everybody is jelling right now.
-And what can we expect from you in offense. We know what you can bring in defense and now we saw you shooting from middle range.
“I’ve just been working each day with the coach. I’m trying to improve my free throws, my touch, my finishes around the basket. He is helped me transition to this player that I want to become very well. Improving each day and keep working, it’s very important. It’s all about repetition. Me getting better, I think it’s taking a lot of pressure out of the guards. They can post me and I can score now”.
-You had an offer from Fener and some teams in China were interested in you. Why Olympiacos;
“It was one thing I told to my agent and I told the team once I left Kaja and came over here:I just wanted to play basketball. Once I came here the emotion at the city embrace with me and the fans. It was easy for me to make my decision, either go to the NBA or come back here”.