Hapoel Jerusalem will tip-off once again against Maccabi Tel Aviv at Yad Eliyahu on Sunday night (21:00) after having captured the Israel State Cup this past Thursday. This time around the Reds will shuffle their roster for this matchup and will have a new face on the court in one Trevor Lacey.

The shooting guard joined the capital city crew earlier this month from Vanoli Cremona in Italy to bolster the club’s backcourt as they head into the postseason with the goal of talking home the league championship to go along with the State Cup and Winner Cup for a domestic treble.
Lacey scored 10.3 points and 2.6 assists per game thus far this season to go along with 32.3% from beyond the arc.

For the majority of his career, the 32-year old has played in Italy with the likes of Pesaro, Udine and Sassari but also featured for Kuban as well as the G-League after having attended both Alabama and NC State for college.

Just ahead of his Israeli league debut, The Sports Rabbi spoke with Lacey as to what he has to his goals, his arrival in the Holy Land and how his Jerusalem experience has been so far.

“It was amazing to be here for a week, see two games and win the cup. As the new one here, you never want to be the reason something doesn’t go right. So the fact that we won the cup now is great and It makes me feel better that everyone played well.”

As for melding into the group, the process has been seamless Lacey said, “It has been amazing, they have been very welcoming and the coaches have been amazing it feels like I have been with these guys my whole career. The coaches have been amazing in helping me understand the plays and being ready for whenever they will need me.”

Lacey has been looking forward to getting onto the court for some playing time which he will finally get on Sunday, but he understood that the main goal the past week was to make sure that they took home the State Cup, “We were focused on getting the job done in the finals. Now that the job is done we can see what’s next.”

As for what he brings to the table, Lacey just wants to make sure he fits in and helps the team continue on their upward arch, “I have been playing for a long time I know some of the guys I played with them before. I bring some veteran leadership a guy that makes plays and doesn’t score too much but help the offense flow. I just want to continue what they are all doing help winning and help make winning plays.”

Lacey no doubt was excited when he got the call with the chance to make the move to Israel where he would have a chance to play for a team that is looking to take home the league title.

“I loved the opportunity and will do everything it takes to win. I did some research and talked to some guys and had some questions, but other than that, this is a club that any guy with this opportunity would want to take. It’s a great organization and they are going to compete for championships. Any guy wants to be on a team that competes for championships.”