Hapoel Holon tipoff against San Pablo Burgos in Basketball Champions League quarterfinal action on Thursday night as the Israeli club will look to return from Nizhny Novgorod with a European title in hand. Of course that won’t be an easy task as coach Stefanos Dedas’s squad will be facing the reigning BCL champion and top Spanish league team in Burgos who cruised into the Final 8. However, that won’t stop Holon who have been one of the most dynamic teams in the Israeli League playing a unique style of basketball.

One of Dedas’s most important players is star guard Tyrus McGee who also just happens to be one of the most exciting players the league has seen over the past few seasons. The Oklahoma native is averaging over 18 points a game while pulling down 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists this campaign but over the last half dozen games McGee’s numbers game shot up to close to 25 points, 5.5 boards and 3.7 assists to go with an efficiency rating of almost 28 as he readies for postseason continental action.

McGee is well aware of the challenge ahead of the team, but also knows what they need to do themselves in order to knock off the defending champions, “Burgos is going to be tough and they are a good team. They won the BCL championship last season and I played against them last year as well when I was with Elan Bernais. They have added a new point guard but we are also a good team as we play a five out. We have a good chance, but they are a very strong team. We will listen to coach’s game plan.”

“They have some weapons and we have to stick to the game plan and the defensive plan that coach Dedas and coach Amit Sherf have put together and play our game against them. Play Holon basketball. They are experienced like us but we have to follow our defensive game plan.”

Should Holon get by Burgos on Thursday a semifinal date will await them on Friday night against the winner of the Tenerife and Strasbourg quarterfinal clash, but McGee along with the club have been going game by game and focussing on each contest as test come. “We haven’t looked ahead as we play so many games here in Israel. I take it one game at a time. All of us have been doing that.”

Growing up McGee played both baseball and basketball. “I was a pitcher and shortstop with luck hands and speed,” he said. “I enjoyed watching a number of stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Sammy Sosa and Ichiro Suzuki.”

As for basketball, like many children at the time McGee idolized arguably the greatest to ever play the game, “Michael Jordan was who I looked up to in basketball. I had my eyes glued on Jordan and I had all his highlight films on DVD. That was my main player. Of course later on I also looked up to Kobe, Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Chris Mullin and Dominique Wilkins.”

However, when it came time to having choose a sport to focus on, basketball won out he explained, “Basketball is a game that can change at any moment with runs. It’s a quick thinking game. My brother who I looked up to and who is ten years older than me, was a basketball player and I admired him, so I decided to play basketball. Always listen to the older guys is what he told me. It’s gotten me pretty far.”

Following two years at Cowley College, a community college in Kansas, McGee moved to one of the top colleges in the NCAA, Iowa State where he teamed up with Will Clyburn and Melvin Ejim. Clyburn player for Holon and number of years ago and recently led CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague Final Four while Ejim and McGee shared the court together as professionals for Venezia as they helped the Italian team take the league championship back in 2016/17.

“Will and Mel were both with me Iowa State while Mel was in Venice as well. Clyburn is a great teammate and a funny guy. We talk and we keep in touch. Mel is one of my best friends. We had a great time in Venice and it was fortunate that we had that opportunity. He won the MVP when we won the Italian League. It was a great moment.

“In fact, when we won the championship we had the parade on the water along the Venice canals and it was beautiful. It began in the morning and went until late at night. Italy has fashion and old culture. I’s a place that will always be in my heart.”

McGee finally found his way to the Holy Land after stops in Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy and most recently France. “I have to thank David Pick who is my main agent. He’s a well connected guy and a good guy as well. I played against coach Dedas before when I was in Turkey and we lost by 2-3 points. He saw me play in person and he knew my style of play. That got me here. Plus the beach is close, you have Jerusalem and all the nice things, riding the camels and the like. I played against Holon a few years back and I remember the fans creating a great atmosphere.”

Along with featuring in the Champions League, Holon has been a very tough team in the Israeli league giving domestic champs Maccabi Tel Aviv all that they can handle almost beating them in the Winner Cup final and State Cup semifinals. Can they dethrone the yellow-and-blue who they have already defeated in the regular season? “I can’t predict the future but we have to keep working.”

McGee has accomplished a tremendous amount over his young career as he looks to continue to take it the highest of heights but as he says, it comes down to putting your heart and soul into it, “I want to keep playing basketball and I feel young. Just continue to keep doing what I am doing now while living and learning.”

“If you set your mind to it, you just have to do it. You’re going to have to get better each and every day. I had no idea that these things were going to happen this way. Playing with experienced players can get you really far. Fortunately I have won a few titles. Just keep working.”