Just as the Eurobakset group stage in Prague is about to begin when Israel takes to the court on Friday at 2pm (Local time) to play Finland in their opening European Championship game, Blue & White star and Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija took time to talk about his feelings just ahead of tip off.

“It came so quickly and it feels like it was just yesterday that we were at the Under-20 European Championships in an arena that was as big as this but now we are with the senior team and it’s a big honor and a childhood dream of mine.

One of the challenges that Avdija has faced this summer is finding the best way to integrate into the National Team, “It’s not easy to integrate into a team that has been together for some time and that has played in numerous windows together. I’ll do what the team needs me to do and when I am on the court I will play as hard as I can, but I’m aware that it may not have been so smooth at the beginning of the process. However, I believe that as time has gone on I’ve done a better job in listening to really be a part of the team and work together as best as we can.”

Heading into the Eurobasket, Israel fell to both Finland and Sweden in World Cup qualifying which was a shock to the system Avdija explained, “We needed that to really wake up and see what we needed to work on and what we needed to improve. It’s important that we are focussed towards our goals and that we are ready and if ee are things will be ok.”

Washington Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard and Deni Avdija in Prague minutes ago ahead of Israel in the Eurobsket. Photo @TherealIBBA pic.twitter.com/D1sxyupsQ8

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Washington Wizards GM Tommy Shepard arrived in Prague to watch his third year player in action on Europe’s grand stage, “I don’t take it for granted that he made his way here from the United States while the rest of the team is training. To pick up and come here to see me and talk to me just shows just how much Washington cares about me and how much they believe in me.”

As for the Eurobasket itself, Avdija sees this as an opportunity for himself and the rest of the team to continue to grow, “First of all I want to enjoy the experience and I know what I can do as a player whether we have a good European Championship or not and the same thing for myself as I gain experience and come back here to play in Europe. There’s no better practice than playing five on five in at their level and it will be good for me as I grow as well. I’m used to this type of atmosphere, it’s always fun to play in front of a big crowd and it’s great to be a player.”

While Israel isn’t expected to make it very deep into the tournament with the hope to get into the quarterfinals, Avdija does believe that if the star align correctly then perhaps the team could surprise and do something special.

“I think it’s not that far-fetched, it’s true that there are talented national teams from us and it seems the farthest thing in the world, but sometimes everything can come together and then all of a sudden you can find yourself in the finals. Of course, we have to go one step at a time, but first you move to the next stage, then the quarterfinals, the semi-finals and do whatever we can do. We are going to give our best and hope we will go as far as possible.”