Hapoel Jerusalem will open up their continental campaign when they face Valencia on Wednesday (8pm Israel time) in what will be a “home” game in Samokov, Bulgaria due to the security situation in Israel.

The Reds will make their return to the EuroCup for the first time since 2017-18 season which ironically ended in the semifinals against the same Spanish squad. But after 6 seasons in the Basketball Champions League it was time for the club to return to the competition that they had won back in 2004 when it was called the ULEB Cup.

Valencia is also returning to the competition after a pair of seasons in the Euroleague while coach Pedro Martinez comes back to the club he led between 2015-2017.

While there may have been some player changes in the roster, Nate Reuvers remains with the club and will begin his second season in Valencia. The 25-year old, 6”11 235lb big man will look to improve on his first year with the club where he averaged 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes of action in the Euroleague and take the next step up in his young career.

Just ahead of the contest, The Sports Rabbi spoke to Reuvers about his time in Europe thus far, his highlight with the Wisconsin Badgers, goals and where he sees this version of Valencia while looking to be a bigger piece of the puzzle for Martinez’s squad.

“We have had a good preseason,” Reuvers began. “We are learning some things as we build chemistry as a team. We have been practicing really hard and that will pay off once we begin playing games.”

As for the team’s goals this year, Reuvers said that it was quite simple, “To compete ACB and EuroCup and go as far as we can in both competitions as we all want to win everything. You always want to win but at the end of the day the club wants us to compete.”

There was a coaching change heading into the 2024-25 season as Alex Mumbru became the German National Team head coach and veteran tactician Pedro Martinez returned to the club for his second stint in charge.

“The biggest difference between the two is that coach Mumbru was more defensive minded and coach Martinez plays an up tempo style, playing fast and creating advantages. I see him making the mark on the team with the rhythm and as to how hard we work at practice to prepare for the games which makes them feel easier.”

Last season was Reuvers first in the Euroleague after having played for Cibona and Reggio Emilia and needed to take advantage of the limited time he was going to get in continental play, “When you are new to a big team you aren’t getting as many minutes as in past games for other teams that weren’t at the same level. You have to be great in the limited minutes that you do have and if you get 2-3-4 shots you have to make as many as you can.”

Reuvers will no doubt take the experience he gained last year into this year’s campaign as he will be relied upon by the bench boss, “I see myself playing more the 5, the center position with coach Martinez and play at a high tempo running the floor. You’ll see us rotating the bigs and we will be substituted after a few minutes to keep the position fresh.”

Valencia is a special basketball city and has plenty to offer for an American player plying his trade abroad, “You have everything here and you have an owner that wants to invest in the team with a new arena and we have a lot of fans at every game. You have the sea and Valencia is one of the best places to live in all of Europe.”

Going back to his youth, Reuvers was always playing the game of basketball, “I always played as far as I can remember. I grew up in Minnesota where it’s cold in the winter and I even went outside when it was below 0 to shoot and had to shovel snow to clear off the concrete slab that we had a hoop on. Sometimes it was so cold I was shooting with my winter gloves on!”

Reuvers attended the University of Wisconsin where he spent four years with a the final two being feeling the effects of the pandemic that scathed the entire world, “My college career was up and down as many college careers are. My best year was when we won 8 games in a row for a share of first place in the Conference and had a #1 seed going into the conference tournament but then COVID hit and that was it. I had a rough senior year, probably due to COVID and then I had to build myself back up as I went to play overseas.”

The highlight of Reuvers time in college was the shortened 2019-20 campaign where Wisconsin earned a share of the conference title with Michigan State, “The share of the Big 10 title in my Junior year and that was a cool moment. We had a crazy game in Indianapolis which was one of the best places to play against 20K fans in attendance.

This season sees Reuvers reunited with Ethan Happ who he had played with at Wisconsin, “It’s nice to have another American on your team overseas and makes every day easier when you have a prior connection.”

One of Reuvers teammates is Chris Jones who played for Maccabi a few years ago and this will mark the second season they will be playing with one another, however, he will need to wait until the point guard comes back from an injury, “It will be a big addition when he comes back from a fractured finger on his right hand. He’s a good guy and favorite teammate. He always helped with little things and learnt a lot due to his experience.”

Another teammate with Israeli league connections is Nate Sestina who also played with Holon right after finishing Kentucky and has since built up a nice European resume. Reuvers is looking forward to playing with the former Fenerbahce big man as well, “He plays with a lot of energy and he’s a really good shooter. If I am playing with him he’s at the 4 and I’m at the five which is great for me if I am rolling and sometimes it’s easier for guys like me when he is able to spread the floor and be an outside threat opening up the inside.”

Jared Harper played with Reuvers last year at Valencia as the point guard is now taking to the floor for Hapoel Jerusalem and will play a central role for the reds, “He is a great guy, quick and is super fast. Due to his speed he is always drawing fouls, he’s a hard player to guard and is a very good scorer.”

As for goals, Reuvers will look to improve on his previous season as he aims to have a long term impactful career, “My goals for season is to improve my numbers from last year. My 3-point percentage was a lot lower than it has been and that will be a focus for me. One of the main goals is to win games and that will make things better for everybody. Bigger role, bigger teams and bigger contracts all go hand in hand.”