By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
After three seasons in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with AX Armani Exchange Milano and Olympiacos Piraeus, Jamel McLean moved to Russia for Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, the favorite to win the 7DAYS EuroCup.
Last season, however, after a perfect 20-0 start, Lokomotiv entered the 7DAYS EuroCup Finals and didn’t win again as Darussafaka Istanbul made off with the title in a 2-0 sweep of their series.
There’s a lesson to be learned there, and after a 1-1 start in this season’s Top 16, Jamel McLean is happy for that knowledge, as he told Eurohoops:
“Everyone says we’re the favorite, but as you can see after what happened last year, being the favorite doesn’t matter. We’re taking it one game at a time to ensure we reach our goal of winning the EuroCup.”
This is not just idle talk from McLean, who is the fifth-best player in the competition according to his average performance index rating (18.7), and last week pushed Lokomotiv to the 69-92 road win over Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt with 19 points, a career-best 4 steals, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 drawn fouls in just 22 minutes.
McLean is having a great season and Lokomotiv has so far a 10-2 overall record. Despite a coaching change that saw Sasa Obradovic replaced by Vlada Jovanovic, the main goal remains the same.
“Nothing changed,” McLean says. “The goals didn’t change, nor did the demand change for what we have to accomplish this year. Same principles, just a different approach”.
After all, with three season in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague under his belt, McLean feels more than confident in the EuroCup and wants to return to the big dance.
“There’s nothing like the energy of EuroLeague competition,” McLean says. “EuroCup is good, I like it so far. But the Εuroleague is just a different animal. Playing the best of the best every night is just a different feeling, and we’re working to get this club back to that level”.
There’s a nagging feeling in Krasnodar that Lokomotiv should have won the EuroCup last year and completed its fairytale-like run. But you can’t change the past. What’s done is done. And this season, Loko the chance to make things right by winning the trophy.
That’s up to McLean and his teammates. Considering their results so far, they are on the right path. After their defeat to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in the first round of Top 16, if you don’t consider Lokomotiv to be the title favorite anymore, well – McLean would happily agree.