Basketball players are continuing to arrive in Israel as Hapoel Holon welcomed back Michale Kyser to the country as the big man will begin his second stint with the purples. The 31-year old power forward featured for Holon back in 2021-22 with head coach Guy Goodes as he helped the club capture the Israel League championship and will now look to repeat the feat yet again.

Last season, Kyser had signed to play with Hapoel Eilat but after the outbreak of the war with Hamas, the big man headed to Poland for a year with Wilki Morskie Szczecin. However, now he’s back and better than ever as he once agin will try and recapture the magical run that Holon had gone on just a few years ago.

“Unfortunately I left [the country] last year, but I’m glad to be back where I was able to make history here with the purple family. I love Holon and of course I love israel, glad to be back and be able to play for Coach Guy again and the guys that we have and I’m really excited for this season.”

Kyser will have some new teammates at Holon but he’s familiar with a number of them, “I love the squad, there’s a lot of reasons why I decided to come, one of my best friends is on the team [Dakarai Tucker] and then coach Guy, the Israeli players we have, Jalen Adams coming in and the big man Marcus Bingham who’s a great asset to the team. I watched them all last season, Zalmanson, Artzi, I know everyone on the team. I’m really excited about it and I’m ready to get to work.”

Of course, Kyser ia a part of Holon’s rich history, but he doesn’t want to look back but ahead, “The past is the past. I’m focused on now and I know I’m going to help the team try and make history, winning championships. I think with the team that we have, we will be able to go out and compete.”

The ongoing war still hanging over the country and the fact that Kyser did leave the country last year when the conflict broke out isn’t going to be an issue this coming season he explained, “Nah, [I’m not scared] because I had family that was inside the marines in the army and everything they told me are that things are going to be fine. My main thing was just trying to make sure I had some stability with the management and coach Guy and with everyone that’s coming in. I was excited to come back and play for the team that gave me the opportunity to win the championship.”

As for goals this coming year, Kyser was straight and to the point, “The goal is to be one of the best teams in the BCL as well as win the championship in both leagues. If you’re not trying to compete to win the championship – what are you doing?

“It’s going to be a real exciting year. From top to bottom, the new editions and the new players coming into the league is going to be very exciting. I’m not taking anything away from my team I think we got an electric team so I’m really excited to get to work and get on the court with the guys.”