Following Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 105-82 win over Bnei Herzliya, Rokas Jokubaitis spoke about Omer Mayer’s move to the NCAA to play for Purdue, as well as his thoughts about how European prospects moving to NCAA affects European hoops.

“It’s hard for me to comment because it is the opposite of what I did with my career, I stayed in Europe, and now when they started to pay good money, good life in US, for young players. I mean, if I was in their position now, I think I would go also. It’s difficult for young players like Mayer like Sarr to get a good role in big Euroleague teams, it takes time and sometimes sitting on the bench waiting for your moment, it’s making you not a worse player but your confidence level goes down and then you want to perform, coach gives you a few minutes, you make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes and then you go back to the bench. And then from Euroleague player team you go to Eurocup team and then I don’t know to where. It’s difficult for a young player especially now, and it’s even easier to go to the US to play college basketball. You get good money and you get best practices and facilities, you get studies, and you play with the best players who are students. I think it’s a thing now that I think I would do the same as them. I’m lucky a little bit I would say that I could play in the Euroleague and show myself. I’m one of the few stories of a young player who stays in Europe and he’s like in the Euroleague so I am for sure lucky.”

When asked if he thinks this is an issue that can hurt European basketball: “I mean, I thought about that good players go to the US. It used to be that the young players change the old guys in the teams, and now with time I doubt know. 3-4 years will pass and it will come the time that a veteran player needs to step off the court and I don’t know how it will be regarding who will change these veterans because all the best talents go to the United States like Mayer and many players.
I hope it won’t ruin (European basketball) but we have a problem in the Euroleague with young players, so I think it will be an even bigger problem now. But I hope not. I hope that some of the best Europeans will stay in Euroleague and EuroCup and they will improve here in Europe.”