Maccabi Tel Aviv wrapped up their 47th Israel State Cup Title with a dominating 109-90 win over Bnei Herzliya at Yad Eliayhu. While Roman Sorkin was named MVP and many others contributed on the floor, there were also a number of people off of the court who were a part of this achievement. This includes Head Coach Oded Katash along with the coaching staff and other personnel that have been a critical part of the players’ success.

One of the key individuals is without a doubt Cory Carr.

Carr, who began his professional playing career in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 1999 after having been selected in the second round of the draft by the Atlanta Hawks, played in Israel for close to two decades and was a member of the 2013 Maccabi Haifa squad that won the league championship.

Since retiring close to ten years ago, Carr who also holds Israeli citizenship, has been plying his trade as a coach both with a number of clubs in the Holy Land but also working with players on an individual basis. That experience led him to Maccabi Tel Aviv this season as he was recruited to join the staff as the Player Development Head Coach.

It has been very easy to see how much influence Carr has been able to have with the club just by arriving early at the arena and seeing him work with a number of players, many of which are playing this first season overseas and in some cases also in Israel.

The now 50-year old star guard out of Texas Tech, has been a very crucial reason why the team has been able to pick up their play over the past few months and are not only in first place in the Israeli League and now State Cup Champions, but also are deep into the hunt for a postseason place in the Euroleague.

As the players and staff celebrated with the thousands of fans at Yad Eliyahu, The Sports Rabbi had a chance to catch up with Carr about the importance of his role, the impact he has made with the yellow-and-blue as well as having the opportunity to celebrate a title once again.

“It’s been a great experience so far, obviously, being here [in Israel] many, many years and playing against them [Maccabi] as a player and having the privilege to work for the organization and be inside. It’s a well-oiled machine and every part of Maccabi, from coaches to trainers, to fans, all have to do a job and that’s why we’re here. We’re happy to be a part of that, I’m happy to be here and I’m happy to be a part of this first championship for the team this season.”

Maccabi has both successes and challenges along the way but Carr sees how the team is growing together as a family and a unit, “We didn’t start the season that well but that’s also because we have a large number of new players to the roster and a lot of guys have never even been to Israel before. Coming back from war, also had a lot to do with our process, but we stay patient. We got some new faces inside the organization, like myself, a few others, to help kind of change the dynamics of the team and yeah, I’m very, very happy to see where we are. We’re getting better and better. We still got some guys out and we’ve still been succeeding, so it’s great to see how guys have stepped up and become closer together.”

Carr, who has been part of the fabric of the country for so many years sees his role as being extremely important for the new players as he has a tremendous impact on helping them get used to not just playing in Israel but living in the country as well.

“I think it’s very important for somebody like them, to have a person who’s been here and who’s lived here many years, understands the culture, understands the people, understands the teams, the league and just kind of help them in any difficulties that they have on and off the court. Obviously on the court has been a real success in impacting each and every one of them in some way, it’s my job. But also off of the court when they’re struggling and trying to find themselves, to be there for them in that way as well, so it’s been a good thing and a good transition for the guys.”

Oded Katash also spoke about how Carr has effected the culture of the team by being there for the players this season, a role that didn’t exist until now, “Cory is amazing with his energy. He’s truly a special person and his work with the players, I’d even say mainly with the younger players, he has the right language and the right mentality. He joined the staff later than the others and over the past months we’ve learned how to use him more precisely and we’ll need to refine that even further, but he’s a big addition for us.”

Carr in turn discussed what it’s like to work with Katash, his first season being together with the bench boss, “It’s great working with Oded, I’ve known him for many, many years, didn’t get a pleasure to play against him because he was finishing his career when I was starting, but just a wonder to be around a guy who works hard all the time. He wants professionalism in the team, we’ve developed a great relationship between him and my player development department and my job and we’re going in the same direction and it’s getting better and better.”

One of the players that’s really developed this season is Roman Sorkin as he has become one of the top big men in the Euroleague, “He’s a tremendous player, tremendous talent,” Carr enthusiastically began. “He can do a lot of things on the floor, inside, outside, very versatile and agile for a player that’s almost seven foot tall and his confidence is growing, his physical confidence is growing. He’s able to hold himself against bigger, stronger guys and also smaller, faster ones, so he’s one of the best players in Europe, definitely one of the best players in our league and probably will be for years to come with his growth and his continued working hard and success.”

Carr continued discussing some of the various players who have been part of the club this season and are looking to reach their potential as well as the club as a whole.

“We’ve got to get our guys back and become a full strength team again, with Lonnie Walker being out as well as Iffe Lundberg, those are two experienced, very, very strong parts of our team. We’ve managed to win games without them because we had some guys to step up like Jimmy Clark, Jeff Dowtin, Jaylen Hoard and others, so we’ve had different guys to fill that role, and we’ve done it nicely. But with those guys coming back inside of our team in the right time, it’ll give us extra force and if we can do the right things, maybe we have a chance to meet our goals and when we meet our playoff goals, anything can happen there.”

Dowtin, who is in his first season with Maccabi, is a player who has had plenty of ups and downs and after not having played significant minutes, when all of a sudden he was thrust into the starting lineup in the State Cup semifinals and final due to a number of injuries. The guard ended up being a huge part in defeating Hapoel Jerusalem and then Herzilya spoke about what Carr has brought to the table for the players.

“Cory’s been tremendous. Tremendous skills development coach, being able to get extra work in, especially for me when I was injured and then coming back. We got a lot of one-on-one working, drill and he’s been great. He’s always coming to talk to me about things that he sees on the court. We might stay before practice or after practice to get some work in. He’s been amazing. He’s been tremendous. He’s a big part of our success, especially for this championship. Hopefully, throughout the rest of the year, we continue to build that relationship and continue to work.”

A player that Carr has been able to admire is Deni Avdija who began his professional career with Maccabi and is not only carving out a great career in the NBA but is now coming off his first All-Star Game appearance.

“Well, he’s a tremendous talent and he’s right in his prime at the right time. The thing I respect about Deni is that he did it the right way. He grew up as a baby in Washington, gained his experience, got stronger and better every year and he’s entering his prime and he deserves everything that he’s gotten and he deserves more. My thing with him is, just to go to the next level, being that everyday guy, being that finisher that Portland needs and he’s on his way to that role as well. But the things that he’s done in the last two years is probably a faster growth than any player in the NBA and we’re very proud of him and obviously the Israeli nation, basketball nation as a whole is behind him 100%.”

As the season continues on, Carr without a question will continue to grow in his role and be an integral part of Maccabi’s success as he has been already. Working with the players hours on end and helping them is just part of the job, it’s also making them feel comfortable in their surroundings which will be part and parcel of how they will hit their goals.

“There are things behind the scenes that can make a team really thrive and really go to another level. I think the player development part is a very, very important part, aspect of any team and you have to be willing to have patience and commit, each player individually and try to get the best out of them that way, so that’s a real pleasure for me, a good challenge and something that I’m looking forward to in the future as well.”