By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After joining the Houston Rockets, big man Usman Garuba hopes to that his role on the court will be bigger and more significant than the one he had with Real Madrid.
“Having the ball in my hands more time and those kinds of things that I could not do in Madrid, where I have had to adapt to a role due to the type of players there are [on Real Madrid]. In general to be able to do more and more things.” Garuba said in an interview with Marca when asked what will he’ll be looking to improve in his rookie season in the NBA.
Garuba, 21, averaged 16:17 minutes during which he posted 3.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in the 2020-21 EuroLeague. After center Edy Tavares’ injury in Game 1 of the playoffs vs. Anadolu Efes, Garuba saw a great increase on his playing time and producing 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30:11 minutes in the series.
He ended up winning EuroLeague Rising Star, largely due to these performances in the quarterfinals.
“I’m on a team that is undergoing ‘reconstruction,’ with many young players who are going to give a lot of prominence,” Garuba said on the Rockets’ current status when it comes also to how this will affect his own play. “Our key is going to improve day by day and that’s my goal too. To go day by day, working and improving many aspects that I wasn’t able to do these years due to the demands of Real Madrid, which is normal.”