Banchero, first choice safety: “I want to be rookie of the year”

Paolo Banchero has a new look, with braids, but the usual attitude: positive, self-confident. At Orlando Magic’s Media Day most of the attention is for him: everyone wants “a piece”, or at least a sentence, of the Seattle long with an Italian as well as an American passport. The personal goal of the season is clear in his mind: “I want to be the freshman of the year”. He is the words of choice number 1 of the 2022 Draft, of those who are not afraid of competition.

THE WORDS

–

“In a year everything has changed, my life has changed so crazy. These days 12 months ago I was doing my first training in college, at Duke University. And now …”. And now he is the face of an NBA franchise. ” I was well received, this is a united group, who embraced me, welcomed me. I can be the alpha player (intended as a franchise man of reference ed) even as a freshman, but still respectful of teammates “In short, with personality, but without being bulky. Well, it is not easy to find that happy medium, especially for a boy of less than 20 years …

THE REFERENCE

–

The last sentence worthy of note is a reflection: “Markelle Fultz, the first overall choice of the 2017 Draft, my teammate, was very helpful to me. He saw the beauty and the ugliness of the pressures of waiting, he recommended me to ignore the background noises and worry about the fundamental things ”. Here, the hope of him and of those who support him is that his career will diverge from that among the professionals of the guard from Washington University, which has disappointed, thanks to injuries and immaturity. He’s out of action now too, with a broken big toe in his left foot, he’ll miss training camp. The other illustrious injured player is long-term winger Jonathan Isaac. He will only partially participate in team training, not being able to force game times and rhythms yet. But he assures: “I’ll be back, it’s just a question of when, in season, not if”. They are waiting for him.

FONTECCHIO

–

Let’s change scenery. Let’s go to Salt Lake City, Utah, to another Italian in the NBA, Simone Fontecchio, the next rookie for Jazz. In the meantime, he proves confident with English, hoping to be able to prove that he is also on the court: “It was an important summer for me, signing a two-year contract with Jazz is a dream that has come true. I have a lot to learn, but I I feel prepared. The European Championship with Italy? Great experience, especially the elimination round in Milan was super. Then we stopped against France “.

THE SELF PORTRAIT

–

The American media have no idea who the majority is, let’s face it. So they choose the shortcut: they ask him directly to describe himself, as a player. The blue doesn’t hold back: “I’m a good shooter, athletic, I know how to play in defense, I bring intensity, I have to improve above all in terms of ball handling. Rules and spacing will be the main adjustments to be made to play in the Nba, compared to European basketball. This is only my third time in America: I was in Boston and then here in Salt Lake City in July… “. They also ask him for some more personal information, he does not hide: “I have grown a lot in the last 2/3 years, on and off the pitch. It was a burden to become a father, I have a daughter of almost three years, Bianca. I left Italy and went to play in Germany and Spain. And the experience at the Olympics last summer helped me. I hope to be able to play here in America for a long time, to prove to be a player of this level. ” .

THE BOY COACH

–

Coach Hardy is just 34 years old, compared to 26 in Fontecchio. But he is not intimidated by the new role, even as a rookie: “We will be tough, we will play with passion. We will be a team”. Curiosity: Hardy, Popovich’s assistant first at the Spurs and then at the Olympics for Team USA, was impressed by Fontecchio, who was then observed as an opponent. Now, thanks to the reconstruction of the Jazz house, after the sales of Mitchell and Gobert, he finds him on his side. Who better than him, to enhance it …