Hapoel Tel Aviv has been waiting for Yam Madar to make his season debut ever since this summer’s Eurobasket when he came back banged up after having been out as well in the spring time. But there he was as #11 checked in for the first time this campaign in the middle of the first quarter and while he may have looked rusty, he still was able to lead the reds with 14 points and earn the MVP honors as well in a 76-68 win over Hapoel HaEmek.

There’s no question that Madar looked a bit tentative and that is to be expected after having been on the shelf for a few months, but all in all, his head coach Dimitrios Itoudis was content with what he saw and where he can see the guard’s future.

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect that he was going to play that much, but he looked good. Overall, he looked good. Almost 22 minutes on the board,” the Greek tactician began. “Defensively and offensively, he was there. He was not shooting the ball well from the perimeter and he could shoot much better. But overall, I think that he was good.

“We were very patient in order to give him the appropriate time after what happened and we were waiting for him to feel completely healthy and to follow all this process in order to come back and feel his body healthy so he’s good to go. That’s the most important thing. It’s also important because there are many other clubs that they might push players. I’m not in this logic. Health comes first.”

Colin Malcolm was also thrilled to have Madar back on the floor, “He brings just such a good energy to the locker room. When he was away, he would just show up at the lockerroom and everybody brightened up. He comes in singing or whatever else he does, so everybody was really excited to see him today and obviously he’s a great player. I got a little taste of it preseason before he had a surgery.

“He just brought that that extra energy and the fans were a little bit more in it because of him coming back and he’s an important player for us today and going forward and we’re excited to have him.”

As for Malcolm, it’s clear that he is the glue guy for Itoudis’s squad and one that will be a critical piece of the puzzle both in Europe and in Israel. He plays tough as nails defense as has the know how to make the right plays on offense. Plus, he’s an all around good and positive guy who is excited to be in Israel and settling in at his new home after having begun the season based out of Bulgaria.

“I already got my apartment and I’m living next to the beach so I’m excited for that,” Malcolm said with a big smile.” I’ve never lived somewhere where it’s warm all year round or that close to a beach so I’m super excited for that and very excited to have the fans. I think that’s super important. With the games being here and I remember watching games when they were played in Israel when I was watching EuroLeague and it was always crazy. So like I’m super excited to be a part of something like that.”

Itoudis spoke about what the likeable Malcolm brings to the table, “He is the glue guy, as you said. You mentioned what was the effort we show in order to integrate Madar back to the game, but Malcolm looks like he’s been around me and the team for a long time. You don’t need the time to integrate him. From the first practice I remember in Sofia, I was surprised positively. He brought the team on the huddle and he said a few words. He felt that that’s his house now, that’s his team.”

“You heard him, how excited he is that he’s back over here with a new apartment and everything. He can play multiple positions, a very good defensive player, has a good feeling, and one-on-one game as well. He gains minutes through his passion, his aggressivity and not because he’s super talented and you know that every night he’s going to give you 30. He’s a glue guy because such players are very important for each team and all the coaches would love to have them. So we’re super happy with him.”

One player that was not back in the country with the club was Elijah Bryant. During the course of the game, rumors swirled that he and his family had concerns about returning to live and play in Israel. When Itoudis was asked about the matter he said that Bryant was ill, “I contacted Elijah. The day the team traveled back and we had also some procedure to get the second visas, he was sick, he went to the hospital, he got his medicine and that’s the reason. So hopefully, in the following days, he’s going to be better. The doctors are talking with him, the management is talking, so hopefully he’s going to be back Sunday, Monday.”

As for the security concerns, the bench boss said, “That’s the question to the management, but so far, what I know is that he’s under contract, he’s a very important player for us. He doesn’t seem like the guy that he’s going to left the team in the middle of the season or something. He’s very professional, he’s very dedicated to what he’s doing. My message was to become healthier as soon as possible and to help the team.”

Another item to watch out for is the status of Iftach Ziv. He played a minute in this game and has not been on the floor much this season as a whole. Will this be his final destination for the campaign?

“Oz Blayzer also didn’t play,” Itoudis stated. “He deserves minutes for sure as he’s practicing, he’s very, very professional and he brings always positive energy. I like him, his family and everything, so everybody could have played minutes, more minutes, but I have 40 minutes to share now. In the game against Maccabi, he played more. The other game against Netanya he played even more. So we’ll see how the game brings and I wish that he will stay healthy and practice professionally as he has and only this way he can accomplish things. That’s my way, at least.”