Maccabi Tel Aviv opened up training camp on Thursday at the Hadar Yosef Sports Center as many of the players, both the holdovers as well as the new arrivals and some youth players got together for the first time to begin the preseason preparation period on the right foot.

Head Coach Oded Katash shared his first thoughts about getting back onto the court with the team as he looked ahead to the season while also peering back at the summer that was.

“It was fun,” Katash began as he spoke about the time off. “To be honest, when the season ended, I needed about two weeks to really recover physically. Toward the end of the summer, I managed to enjoy myself more and get more rest. Once the roster-building process was more or less completed, that was it. We’re very excited. We’re still missing about seven very significant players from the roster, but we’re trying to get the most out of this upcoming period.”

Bonzie Colson returned to Maccabi after a couple of seasons in Turkey with Fenerbahce where he didn’t have a starring role, one that he had in Israel prior to his move which is what Katash hopes will replicate itself when the campaign gets underway.

“We love Bonzie. We’re very proud that we managed to complete this move and bring him back to us. It’s important to us and to the fans and I have no doubt that professionally he will contribute a lot. That’s it, Bonzie is Bonzie. He’s special and it’s fun. We want to get back to playing in Israel in front of our fans, but just imagining Bonzie in front of the crowd already makes it more special.”

Katash dove into how the staff helped put together the roster, “As in many cases, obviously, the first thing is character. The character of the players. I think what has been special this year is that we managed to retain a lot of players and create continuity. That’s always important and of course, we wanted to add even more talent to this roster. As always, we look at ourselves. I think the challenge is a big one. We believe that through continuity and the new players who have joined us, we can become better. On the other hand, when you look at the rosters that EuroLeague teams are building and the teams they are putting together, you understand just how big the challenge is.”

There are a number of Israel National Team youth players with the Maccabi squad including up and coming star Rom Stoller, However, it’s still not clear what type of role if any explained Katash.

“It’s difficult to know, but of course I watched the championships. I love watching basketball, so it’s always fun to see young blood, especially players who grew up in the club. It’s also an opportunity to start something that can lead to great success.”

Katash also discussed the addition of Yam Madar and the decision not to have Tamir Blatt continue with the club, “I think Yam’s talent and abilities are quite clear. I think he finished the season very well. Like with many players, it’s important that he stays healthy, and he can add a lot to us.”

“As for Tamir, this isn’t the time to get into it. I’ll speak about the subject; I haven’t been interviewed about this matter. There were rumors and because of all that, we supposedly decided to part ways. But that’s not true. We really wanted Tamir and wanted him to continue with us. Things happened and things simply didn’t work out. This isn’t the time to get into it, but it’s definitely not accurate to say that such a decision was made. I’ll explain later.”