By George Adamopoulos / info@eurohoops.net
Voice steady, as the release on his shot. Calm words yet oozing with confidence. Alec Peters knows who he is. However, he also knows who he is not!
The American forward of Olympiacos, one of the top players in the preseason and the first official games, turns his head at the address “Alekos”(!), but he won’t answer if someone calls him “anti-Vezenkov”. Not even if he hears the description “Alec Peters 2.0”.
The former player of the Suns, CSKA, Efes, and Baskonia says he is ready to take the place of last year’s Euroleague MVP in the starting lineup, but points out that “obviously there is no replacement for Sasha and Sloukas“. Making it clear that his team will fill their gaps with the Reds’ well-known teamwork. Peters doesn’t feel like a “new player”, because of the increased responsibilities he prepares for.
Instead, he talks to Eurohoops about the importance of Milutinov and Fall’s coexistence in the low post, and recalls Olympiacos‘ toughness and the “confidence in the coach Bartzokas’ system”. Expecting the birth of his daughter in a few weeks, Alec Peters makes no secret of the fact that he feels Greece as home and would not mind if he had in the future a “Greek name”, like Thomas Walkup, nicknamed “Walkupopoulos” after getting a Greek passport.
“My role is totally embraced by myself”
– Last summer you faced as a team various ins and outs of the roster, but Olympiacos played in the Final Four for consecutive years. This summer there are also a few newcomers. Is chemistry a priority that requires time for the upcoming season?
“Chemistry is a huge part of any successful team. You‘ve seen in years past, that the teams that have been the most successful have kept a group of players, most of their players intact and they just built from there. This year is no different for us, returning a lot of the same guys and some have been here for two seasons, adding great pieces, and great players on top of that. So, those guys fit in very well, immediately. We can see it right now, especially in practice and preseason games, that the chemistry is there”.
– Adjustments are a great deal in sports. Last season you played behind the Euroleague MVP. How do you handle a situation like that?
“You got to enjoy every day of your job, playing basketball. You have to take every day and say ‘This is the best thing for me and in my life, which to play basketball for a living, either is playing every minute or a few minutes’. This is a huge blessing for me and I was very fortunate to be able to play with and in the same kind of position with Sasha Vezenkov, the MVP of Euroleague. It was great to practice against him, to play with him and all of us were extremely fortunate to be a part of that, in the special season he had”.
– In a situation like that, how does a player prepare himself to be ready when his number is called?
“You have to practice harder than everybody else. That’s the key. Got to try to stay in shape as much as you can, because you never know. It could be 20 minutes, it could be five minutes. You are kind of an unpredictable spot and you are relying on your experience. That’s the key for me, knowing how to play that role and do what is needed for the team at a time and it is totally embraced by myself and by the coach and the team”.
“I can be more aggressive, I might have more opportunities”
– Is the tournament in Cyprus a first taste of “Alec Peters 2.0” in Olympiacos? Do you feel that way or you are the same guy?
“It’s preseason, man. Preseason is always fun because you have the overreaction, but then you also have some guys that you can tell are ready and in shape. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape coming into the season. I worked hard this summer, and hopefully, I will have more opportunities. It’s showing early on, but to overreact to the preseason and say I am ‘Alec Peters 2.0’ it’s not something I worry about. I don’t have these expectations. I just know, day to day, I try to be the player I know I can be, and having great teammates helps”.
– Has coach Bartzokas talked to you about a potential upgrade role?
“Coming into the season, with Sasha going to the NBA, playing behind him most of the year last season, personally I just felt that I need to step up this year, be the returning guy in that position. It’s better when you have the teammates I have, as they know that this year I can be more aggressive, I might have more opportunities and there is a position there for me to be one of those players. I am grateful that the coach and my teammates trust me and they believe in me, so far in the preseason I believe I am ready to have that kind of role”.
– I guess losing Vezenkov and Sloukas is a significant factor. Is there a direct replacement for them or, as the coach says, it’ ‘s not a matter of faces and you will try to fill their spots with a more of a teamwork mentality?
“There is no replacement, obviously. We lost two great players and you can sit and say ‘Oh, we lost them. What are we gonna do’, but you just adjust. We have adjusted great. No one on this team was expecting to go out there and have a year like Sasha. No one on this team was expecting to go out there and fill in Kostas Sloukas’ position and do the things that he did. We are just adjusting to the fact that we have new players, like Luke Sikma, Nigel Williams-Goss, and Nicola Milutinov. Those guys have experience in this league, they know the adjustments that need to be made and the coach is very serious about how we need to be playing this year. We are all trusting the system”.
Toughness and the “huge” Milutinov and Fall co-existence
– What is the main element of this season’s Olympiacos?
“Our toughness has to be there from start to finish, it’s gonna show from week one until when we end up playing, whether it’s the Final Four or the championship game. It doesn’t matter, the toughness has to be there. We have experienced players that understand the position we are in. Toughness doesn’t show up in games, it has to show up in practice and we have to compete”.
– Is there something that would be missed from last season and something that will be fresh in Olympiacos?
“It’s going to be different having someone like Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov both in the five position and play with two great big men. There is no better to describe it. They are both just huge! To be able to put one in and take one out seems like a new transition to play much differently and you can feel that from practice, have them rebounding, have the in the low post. They both can pass really well and this is our depth on display”.
Always a giver, now… “Alekos”
– You are a giver, even if this means helping in a tornado, as you did back in 2013 in Illinois or waiting for your turn in the lineup. Where does this approach come from?
“I come from a small town back in the States, in Illinois, where everybody knows everybody. You go to the store or a restaurant and you are familiar with everybody. I love that! I love growing up there and I love that atmosphere. I treat that like every team I play for and all my teammates. I want them to feel that kind of love, that kind of trust from me, every day. I hope, at the end of the day, what a basketball career means to me goes to my teammates who know I care for each one of them. It starts from growing up in the place I grew up, having a great family around me, and using that as my first priority whenever I play”.
– After a pro career with one-year stints in the Suns, CSKA, and Efes, you played two seasons in Baskonia and this is the second season in red. Last November you said that it would be great to play here for the rest of your career. Does Greece feel like a home for you?
“That’s true to this day. I like to leave that stuff to management, coaches, and agents. They can figure that out, but I really enjoy here my time. My family is happy, my first child is going to be born here in Athens. My baby girl is going to be born in December. My wife and I feel like here is something that we can do and really enjoy. If it happens, it happens. If not, basketball players have to adjust and everything is kind of unpredictable but being here sounds true to me, if I have the chance for the rest of my career”.
– Thomas Walkup has a Greek name now. Perhaps we can call you in the future Alekos or something?
“Alekos is already the name! Everybody is using it, whenever I am downtown or somewhere to eat, everybody is asking for a picture with Alekos. I have embraced it. I love it, I love it!”.
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