The Israel Basketball League is slowly but surely coming back to life after the summer break as players are returning to their clubs around the country as training camp begins in earnest ahead of the new campaign. Both Sabras and foreigners are arriving back in the Holy Land and are starting to get into the swing of things across the board as an exciting season awaits both the players and fans.

One of last year’s surprise packages was Maccabi Ramat Gan who finished the regular season in 3rd place with a 18-11 record. However, in the quarterfinals Shmulik Brenner’s team were swept 3-0 by an upstart Kiryat Ata team that left a bitter taste in the newly promoted club’s collective mouths.

But now, Ramat Gan is back and better than ever with a number of critical additions to the squad, along with a number of players who will begin their second season with the club, Brenner’s crew is raring to go to prove that last year was no fluke and that they can make a deeper run in the postseason.

One of the key players who will be entering his second campaign with Ramat Gan is center Benaya Srur. The 24-year old Israeli big man has seen marked improvement in his play over the past few years but took a huge leap in his debut season with Ramat Gan as he averaged 5.4 points and 5 rebounds in close to a career high 17 minutes per game in his 5th year in the top league.

Ramat Gan began practice this week for a season that will see the club not only play in the domestic Israeli league but also in a European competition, the Basketball Champions League as Srur will have a chance to also get his feet went in continental play and take the next steps in his young career.

Just as training camp opened up, Srur spoke to The Sports Rabbi about a myriad of topics as he readies for year two at a place that he can call home.

“I’m very excited,” Srur began. “As someone who knows this place, Ramat Gan, it’s like a family and a warm home. Starting my second season in a row is going to be amazing fun.”

Srur who is from Afula and played with nearby Hapoel Gilboa Galil, it is a difference to now play and live right next to Tel Aviv, “It’s true that this is a new place for me as I come from the north after all, from Afula so there’s a different atmosphere, but Ramat Gan has welcomed me with open arms. It really feels like home and I’m happy to be here.”

As for the Champions League, Srur just can’t wait to get a chance to match up against other big men from the continent, “The truth is, it’s really my dream to play in Europe and I can’t wait to begin.”

Israeli centers are hard to come by and that has always been an issue with the national team as well. But with that being said, Srur is slowly but surely making his mark and developing into potentially the next big man who can wear the blue-and-white, but he also knows that he still has a way to go.

“It’s hard for me to talk about myself but I’m glad you are telling me that. I of course think I still have a way to go and goals to achieve, but I’m trying as much as possible to progress and strive forward. Unequivocally, my dream is to play for the Israel National Team and with God’s help I hope to achieve just that.”

One of the areas that Srur has to work on is his free throw shooting which has always been his Achilles heel without a doubt with last year’s parentage sitting at just 13% having gone 5/38 overall with a career average of well under 30%. Foul shooting historically has been an issue for centers with one of the most famous culprits being Shaquille O’Neal when team’s instituted a “Hack A Shaq” mentality to get him to the charity stripe and not taking advantage of the donations.

“At the end of the day, people will always have something to say, good or bad. I don’t think about it and I only deal with my basketball game as a whole,” Srur said when asked about his free throw shooting.

Ramat Gan brought in some solid reinforcements including center/forward Amin Stevens who played for Kiryat Ata for a number of years and was named to the league’s Starting 5 Players of the Season which Srur believes will be a big boost for the club.

“I believe that he will be a great fit for the team because there are guys here who are already playing together for the second year in a row while some will be playing in the top league for a second season as well which makes the team more cohesive.”

When basketball aficionados talk about the so called big teams in Israel the names, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon are always the clubs on the tips of their tongues, but Ramat Gan is not mentioned. Srur believes that they have earned respect with their results last season and should be in the mix.

“I think those who look back at last season and see how we did considering what the expectations were can without a doubt say that we should be in that discussion.”

With Ramat Gan having had such a good season last year and then coming up short in the playoffs, Srur and the club are super motivated this coming campaign, “It’s true that the end of the season didn’t go as we had expected and hoped because we really had a good season. There were injuries and a variety of other reasons, but we came into win every game, no matter if it was the quarterfinals or a so-called unimportant game.”

Back in 2019/20, Srur who believes the best center he played against has been former Maccabi Tel Aviv big man Ante Zizizc, he had the opportunity to also matchup against a pair of yellow-and-blue elite big men in Amar’e Stoudemire and Othello Hunter in the Final Four semifinals which was a highlight for the young center at the time.

“I always look back at that as one of the important games that I played. I came into that season out of nowhere and nobody knew me or knew who I was. I was a player who came out of nowhere and started in the semifinals. It was crazy experience.”

As for dreams and goals, Srur is straight and to the point, “To once again make the playoffs and do as well as we can in the BCL while my biggest dream is to play for the national team and represent the country.”