Hapoel Jerusalem begins their European basketball campaign next week in what will be the Reds return to the EuroCup for the first time since the 2017-18 season when they last played in the continent’s second best competition after having featured in the Basketball Champions League for the past six seasons. On tap for their opener will be a date with Valencia who dropped down from the Euroleague to the EuroCup in a game that will be played at Hapoel’s temporary home in Samokov, Bulgaria due to the war on Wednesday night September 25th.

This will also be the earliest date that the capital city squad will get onto the court for competitive play as the European seasons used to start in October but with an expanded playoff format as well as European Championship qualifiers the EuroCup moved opening day to the last week of September.

With the move to the EuroCup, head coach Yonatan Alon along with the team’s front office needed to retool its roster in order to build some qualify depth in order to compete in both domestic and continental play. 

One of Jerusalem’s new recruits is point guard Jared Harper who has spent time in the NBA, G-League as well as in the Euroleague over the past two years with Valencia. Just as the new season is about to dawn upon us, Harper spoke to The Sports Rabbi about a myriad of topics from his youth all the way to the challenge that is upon him now in Israel’s capital. 

“I’m extremely excited to get going,” Harper began. “Just to be able to be in a new situation which is also a good situation for me, I’ve been working pretty hard over the last month or so, so I’m just excited for the season to get started and actually ready to compete against other players and play some games. Between the scrimmage that we had and the games that we’ve already had, it’s been good, I see the fan support is a lot here, it definitely means a lot for the team and also for the organization, so it’s great playing in front of the fans.”

Jerusalem is known to be a very family oriented team which tries to make all of its foreign players feel like they are at home and that has been the case for Harper both off and on the court, “I feel great. I feel like we have a good mix of people that have been here for a couple years, we also have a mix of new players coming in. The chemistry has been great, I feel like we’re all able to play off one another and I feel like we have a good mix of everything to be able to compete against any team.”

Interestingly enough, Harper’s brother Jalen is practicing with the club after having finished his college time at Auburn as he looks for a team to catch in with, “It’s been great to have Jalen here. This is his first experience as a pro coming here, the team and coach along with the organization gave him the opportunity to be able to come in and practice with us to be able to learn, that’s something I’m very grateful for, they didn’t have to do that, but they’re helping him, giving him an opportunity to be a pro and to learn and I think he’s learning a lot. 

“I’m very appreciative of it and I know he’s very appreciative of it too. I don’t know if he’ll be here for the full season, but for now he’s here. They treat him like he’s any other person on the team so I think he’s definitely learned a lot on the basketball side which is good for him to continue to develop as he becomes a pro.” 

The 27-year old floor general will face a very familiar team in Jerusalem’s opening EuroCup game when they tip-off against Valencia where he plied his trade over the past couple of seasons, “It’s definitely going to be exciting to be able to play against former teammates and friends. It’s the first European game of the season so that always brings excitement, being able to start a new season. I’m looking forward to it, I can’t wait and ready to play.”

Harper grew up with a basketball in his hands and dribbled it for hours upon ended when he was a child. As far as he can remember becoming a basketball player has always been a dream of his and his father helped put him in that position while also emulating one of the game’s greatest players, “I’ve always had a love for the game, watched basketball and knew that I want to be a basketball player, so as long as I can remember it’s been a part of me. My dad played basketball and I guess he’s the one who kind of put the basketball in my hand, he’s taught me a lot with basketball, almost everything I know is a credit to him, the work and everything that he’s put into me to be in this position to play basketball. Kobe Bryant was also one of my biggest inspirations for playing basketball with his work ethic and that’s what I try to instil into myself and continue to work hard.” 

As Harper grew up, his father Patrick also coached the young guard, “There were definitely some hard days but there were definitely some great days. Like I said, he taught me a lot of basketball, he pretty much coached me all the way from 4-5 years old to when I left high school, so he definitely taught me a lot of basketball and I’m very appreciative of the position he helped put me in.”

As Harper evolved on the court, he crossed paths with a number of current Boston Celtics greats who just won the NBA championship in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, “I played with Jaylen Brown on the same AAU travel team, so we had a prior relationship and being able to play against him while in High School even though we lost was a great experience. Now I get to see him today being a finals MVP and being able to win his first championship which I’m proud of him for him being able to do that. Playing against Jayson Tatum when I played for the Georgia Stars was a lot of fun as there were other NBA players that played in that tournament as well. Being able to play against a huge list of other NBA stars has been good, I definitely cherished some of those memories of being able to do that and also knowing that I was able to at in a very high level against those players too.”

After high school, Harper headed to Auburn where he honed his trade under Brice Pearl who is not only Jewish, but one of Israel’s most ardent supporters after having brought the university to the Holy Land just a few years ago, “I definitely had conversations about it with him before. I love Bruce Pearl, he believed in me from day one, when he first saw me he gave me an opportunity to play at a high level in Division 1 basketball. He put me in a situation to help me be successful andI’m very appreciative of everything that he did.”

In 2019, Auburn advanced to the NCAA Final Four which was without a doubt one of Harper’s highlights, “It was a great experience. Part of that is just the reason of going to Auburn, I wanted to be in a situation that I could make history, leave a foot print on a college and be able to turn a corner. I feel like in all of my three years there, we got better and better and better and you can actually see the position Auburn is in now which is even better than when I left, so I think that was definitely part of the reason that I wanted to go to that situation, being able to play, make history and do something good.”

The Atlanta, Georgia native went undrafted in 2019 NBA Draft but hooked up with the Phoenix Suns where is played in both the greatest league in the world and the G-League before heading to the New York Knicks which was followed by a stop with the New Orleans Pelicans. However, over the seasons, Harper only saw action in 16 total games. 

“I don’t feel like I got a real chance in the league, but I’m still appreciative of being able to have three years there. I was able to see different teams, to see Phoenix kind of build towards where it is now, I was able to be a part of the Knicks in their first time in the playoffs for I don’t know how many years, seeing them build to where they are now and also I was able to be with the New Orleans Pelicans to see where they built to now. I’ve been able to see a lot of things and definitely learn a lot, which is the biggest thing to take.”

Following those three seasons an opportunity to move across the Atlantic Ocean came about with Valencia and a chance to be able to not only play on a regular basis but also be one of the main cogs in the Spanish club.

“At that point, I was kind of looking to see what was going to be next. I wanted to be in a position where I was actually playing more. An opportunity presented itself for me to go to Valencia which was a great situation playing in the Euroleague for two years and getting my first European experience there. I definitely learned a lot and kind of took that forward into this year from having a lot of experience at different levels, whether it’s D1, NBA or now of course in Europe, so just kind of keep building on and on.”

In the Euroleague, Harper was able to show what he could do on the court against a plethora of opponents including a team that he will be seeing plenty of in Maccabi Tel Aviv as well as the likes of Real Madrid in a game that he nailed a game tying bucket to send the game into overtime. 

“I think that I was tied for first or second for the most points in a Euroleague game and I definitely had a good game against Maccabi, but I think it was a just a build on of getting more and more comfortable playing out in Europe and I got to give credit to my coaches and my teammates for help having me in that situation. That Real game I wasn’t really shooting the ball well up to that point, but one of my teammates was saying, ‘You’re going to hit a big three for us this game’ and it ended up being that one, of course causing the game to go into overtime. Being in those situations – I believe in myself through the work I put in. It ended up being a tough shot to make and I ended up making it.”

Harper made what was a surprise move to some inking a deal with Hapoel Jerusalem in the EuroCup and not stay in the Euroleague, but he felt that this was a great opportunity for himself and despite the ongoing war, a place where he could feel safe and taken care of. 

“I guess you can say I had other options, but the biggest thing for me this year was just going to be my role and being able to play my game more. I feel like this was the perfect situation for me to come and do that and I would put Jerusalem’s situation up with any situation in the Euroleague. We’re playing in the EuroCup of course, but everything has been good so far. The organization has been good, the fans have been good, the team has been good, so it’s definitely a situation that I feel like I’m enjoying a lot. 

“Of course it was a lot of questioning when Jerusalem was interested. I saw that Austin Wiley had signed with Jerusalem, I talked to my agent a little bit and to Austin, like I said I talked to Bruce Pearl and of course I was in conversations with everybody in the organization. I think it was just a perfect situation for me because I feel like they understood what I bring to the game of basketball and what they wanted me to bring that to the team, so that was the biggest thing going into the decision to come here, because I felt the team wanted me to be here. I think it was definitely a unique situation, I know that contrary to what we see in the US news on the situation of how it is in Israel – Yes, there’s definitely a lot of tough stuff going on out here, but I feel like it’s been great for me so far. I felt safe, like I said I love the situation here in Jerusalem, they helped me feel safe, so it’s been good overall.”

Yonatan Alon was handed the keys to the car as he will begin the season on the sidelines and not in the from office which he had done twice before heading down to the bench. Alon has many years of experience and he will be a real asset to the club Harper explained, “He’s great. He believes in his players and he wants to do everything to help the players. He’s an open coach I want to say as well because some coaches are, ‘It has to be this way’, he’s open to conversation and to doing whatever it is to help the team be successful and I feel that everybody within the team and the organization is trying to help one another be successful.”

Austin Wiley and Harper spent plenty of time playing together at Auburn and is happy to once again be able to share the court with the big man who has been improving year to year, “I think he’s training upwards, he had a really good season last year and I think he’s going to have an even better year this coming one. We were able to build chemistry over the course of college and since we had that opportunity we’re able to do a couple of things that might come later for some other duos. Being able to build on that and have an understanding for one another is definitely going to help for the betterment of the team.”

Harper and Speedy Smith are both top flight point guards which in some cases could cause some in court issues but the former doesn’t see any problems ahead as both will be very critical for the teams success, “I definitely see myself as a point guard. He’s a point guard too but you can have multiple point guards on the same team. I think there would be different lineups where I can play point guard or he can play shooting guard, he can play point guard and I can play shooting guard. I think we’re good enough basketball players as a whole to be able to adjust, have an understanding and do whatever is needed to help the team win.” 

Obviously, moving from the BCL to the EuroCup will give Hapoel Jerusalem a chance of playing in the Euroleague should they win the competition. But is this a realistic goal? Acrodijg to Harper, 100%. 

“Yeah, I think it can be realistic. I feel like we have a really good team, is it going to be easy? No, but I feel like we have a really good team and that we’re going to be able to win a lot of games. We play the right way, hard and together, so with all of those things I think we’ll be in a position to win any game. With that being said I think a goal of being able to win the EuroCup isn’t far fetched, it’s just as possible for any other team.”

This season will see a number of teams vying for the top spot whether its Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv or Hapoel Jerusalem as each team has restocked and loaded up with numerous star players with Patrick Beverley being the biggest one of them all. 

“I don’t know if there’s anything specific to Patrick Beverley, but I understand that they have a strong team, Maccabi has a strong team and there are some other good teams, so I feel like overall for the entire country of Israel and all of the teams, it’s going to be a good year for Israeli Basketball. I’m definitely looking forward to that, to compete and to be able to win championships.”

One of the club’s most vocal and identifiable fans, Hersh Goldberg-Polin was recently murdered by Hamas terrorists after having been taken hostage on October 7th, Harper said that the club has spoken to everyone about the awful situation and explain to them the effects of such a loss.

“That’s definitely a tough situation for any innocent person to lose their life, it’s sad, and I understand the team is definitely behind the situation and very supportive. We’re going to use that as a reason this year to have a good year.”

As for his biggest dream, Harper looks back to his brother and wants him to succeed as a basketball player first and foremost before any of his own desires, “I want to see my younger brother be successful with whatever he’s doing, I think that would be my biggest dream, for him to be able to accomplish all of the goals that he wants to accomplish.”

Just like most Americans who come to play in the Israel, Harper has enjoyed the weather and the food as he hopes to make an impact both a personal and at a team level, “The goals this season are to continue to improve as a team and as a player, do everything I can to help my team be successful and allow whatever happens to happen as long as we go about things the right way. I’m definitely looking forward to the year and I have a good feeling for the team. I know we’re going to be very successful, like I said we work hard and play together and that’s going to carry us far.”