While Hapoel Jerusalem’s 103-85 workmanlike win over Hapoel Eilat moved the Reds record to 14-9, good for 4th place, perhaps the most important item that came out of the game itself was the return of Noam Dovrat to active duty following close to a year and a half on the shelf due to a knee injury.

In a season that has so many ups and downs, especially for a team like Jerusalem, this past week as definitely been a positive one for the Reds. Not only has Dovrat returned, but the club seems to have connected well with Yonatan Alon, the sports director who is now manning the sidelines as well as Yovel Zoosman who has started playing like the player that Jerusalem had signed over the summer. In addition, Jerusalem also celebrated the 20th anniversary of their ULEB Cup championship as they welcomed back some of that team’s heroes to the delight of the fans.

As for Dovrat, he certainly had his fair shares of ups and downs since his knee injury roughly 18 months ago. While the guard certainly looked out of place at times and a couple of steps slow, it was nonetheless a wonderful sight to all in attendance as Dovrat once again graced the floor of a basketball court in a professional game.

“I’m very happy to see Dovrat return,” Zoosman told The Sports Rabbi. “I think he will really be able to help us out later on in the season. As someone who has experienced injuries, an injury is something very, very difficult and holds you back. He stayed strong during the rehab process and worked hard as we saw him every training and running on the sidelines, doing sprints and the like is something that people don’t notice. Although this was his comeback game and there are a lot of emotions involved, I believe that he will recover very quickly, give us an amazing push and help us a lot.”

Levi Randolph also spoke about Dovrat’s comeback over the Passover holiday, “It felt great and we have been seeing the work he has been putting in. It was unfortunate last year he had that injury but he’s a hard worker and has a high ceiling. He comes everyday to work and he has been grinding to get back so it was good to see him back on the court. The more he continues to work and gain that confidence, he will be ready soon.”

How much will Dovrat really be able to contribute is still an open question as his rehabilitation took quote some time, more than the average injury of this type takes, but if he can comeback and play at the level that he did prior to getting hurt then Hapoel Jerusalem and Israeli basketball as a whole will really benefit.

But right now for the Reds, everyone has to step up and take their game to the next level no matter who starts and who comes off of the bench explained Randolph, “We have a lot of great players and the type of team where everyone is ready when it’s their time. It’s next man up. We trust everybody and it’s not a matter of who starts or who doesn’t start it’s being ready when your number is called.”

Zoosman has been one of those players who had a rough go for the first half of the campaign but has all of a sudden seen his game start to click on both ends of the court as his 3-pointers are falling nicely and his defensive prowess has picked up a notch.

“I feel good on the court,” the swingman said. “I know what is expected of me and what to do. I think you can see that the ball is moving a little more now and we are having more fun and while of defense may not be as good in the first half of the recent games lately, I believe it will get better. When you succeed, then everyone enjoys it and I think that this it’s quite noticeable now.”

One of the reasons that the game has been a bit more fun lately is due to Yonatan Alon stepping down from the front office and has moved back onto the sidelines where he has been able to make a positive impact with a squad that has quite the rollercoaster of a season. In a campaign that began with Aleksandar Dzikic on the sidelines followed by Illias Kantzouris before the sports director moved onto they hot seat there is no question that some fun has to be brought back into the team’s gameplay.

Randolph agreed that Alon has been a breath of fresh air, “It’s been good, we know him really well and he’s been here for a while. He pushed us and he’s tough coach who wants to see us get better and wants to win. We embrace his identity with that fire and fierceness. It feels good to play for him and we know he is a really good coach, we enjoy playing with him.”

As for the ups and downs, the captain opened up about how the team has been able to make it through a trying season, “That’s life, once you understand that life is a rollercoaster it’s not about where you start and not really about where you finish, but you learn the most about the journey and everything in the middle. It’s not a sprint but a marathon, the ups and downs are going to come with anything.”

“I think that sports teach a lot about life and if you can withstand those ups and downs and translate that to your regular life then you can go far. It’s something you have to keep your faith. I think if you can lean on your faith when times get rough, continue to trust. when it gets low there is nowhere else to go but up, just got to continue to work everyday and something good is going to come from it.”

With a number of the team’s past stars in the building celebrating the 2004 ULEB Cup title, Zoosman looked at some of those heroes and hopes that one day he will be considered one of them as well, “I very much hope so. I know Ido Kozikaro on a relatively personal level and I think Doron Sheffer is a very, very interesting person, so I am happy to meet him, talk to him a little bit and hear about his experiences and his worldview. I think think he has a lot of wisdom and I would love to hear some of it.”