Hapoel Tel Aviv will look to continue their fine play of late in Euroleague action as they head to Spain where they will tip-off against Valencia who are 3-0 thus far this campaign. Dimitrios Itoudis has a very talented and deep squad that will no doubt threaten Xavier Albert’s perfect record at the Roig Arena, however, with a team that features the likes of TJ Shorts, Armoni Brooks, Kam Taylor and Nikola Mirotic that will definitely be a challenge.

The Reds brought on a number of new players this season including naturalized Israeli Khadeen Carrington who featured for Hapoel Jerusalem over the past few years. It was no secret that Itoudis had his eyes on Carrington the minute he landed in Tel Aviv due to the fact that the guard can do a variety of things on the floor from being a scorer to a top level defender as well. Add on top of that that “Dino” isn’t an import player and it was a no brainer that Hapoel Tel Aviv wanted to add him to their cadre of players.

This past Saturday night The Sports Rabbi had a chance to catch up with Carrington in the Hapoel Tel Aviv locker-room after the Reds had defeated Nes Ziona to punch their ticket to the Winner Cup Final against Maccabi Tel Aviv that will take place on November 9th at the Holon Arena.

“I’m still finding my niche, still figuring it out,” an honest Carrington began. “I mean, every day is a valuable day for me to kind of figure it out within the two leagues, the Euroleague and the Israeli League. So far I like where it’s going.”

Carrington has played in the Basketball Champions League and the EuroCup with Jerusalem, but now with a move to the Euroleague, the guard is understanding that the premier continental competition is at a whole different level.

“Oh, it’s really tough, it’s really tough. Obviously, we have some quality players, so wherever I can fit in, wherever the coaching staff kind of sees me, that’s what I’ll do.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv had a rough start in the Euroleague, but after a double week sweep just this past week, the Reds are back on track Carrington explained, “We’re progressing. Obviously, since that Maccabi Super Cup game (a loss), that was a tough game for us and then losing the first one against, Bayern, I feel like we kind flipped the switch a little bit, kind of woke up a little bit. So, we just got to keep building on defense, keep building on offense.”

Coach Itoudis also spoke about the addition of Carrington and how he views his integration into the squad, “He came from a different role and a different environment with a very, very important team, a very successful team as well in Jerusalem, well organized and a great franchise. But he was in a different role. He comes over here to integrate and as I told him, do more with less.
“That’s a little bit absurd, but when he gets in and makes several stops in three minutes, let’s say, he’s a very important player in a EuroLeague. In a game like the Winner Cup in the Israeli league he can play 27 minutes and now he’s got to be a scorer, a defender and also a facilitator. It’s not easy.”