Hapoel Holon face Legia Warsaw in Basketball Champions League group stage round 5 play on Tuesday (21:00) as the purples will look to get back onto the winning track after a continental loss on the road at Galatasaray and a home defeat to Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israeli league play. With a 3-1 record, Guy Goodes’s squad will look to sew up at least a Round of 16 Play In playoff spot with a victory and also keep their hopes alive to finish in first place and receive an automatic bye to the next group stage of the competition.

However, that won’t be an easy task as the Polish squad recorded their first BCL win last round and will look to stay alive as they also battled for one of the Play In positions as well. One of the players who will look to make life difficult for Holon is former Hapoel Jerusalem guard Ray McCallum who has played in a myriad of countries and leagues around the globe.

From the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies to Spain, Turkey, China, Germany and France, the Madison, Wisconsin native has seen it all as he talks to The Sports Rabbi ahead of the clash about Polish hoops, the national team and the goals for the upcoming season.

“Our goal for this season is to build on what the team had done last season in the Polish league where we finished in second place. This year it’s to have a successful season and win a championship. Right now we are focussed on trying to making to the next round of the Champions League and also making the Polish Cup which takes place in February and then just contuse to build on that and work towards our goal of winning a championship.”

The club is featuring in the Champions League and as they have now begun to adjust to the competition, McCallum feels that they have gained confidence to make waves and find a way to take the last two games of the group stage.

“Champions League is definitely a tough competition. These next two games for us are very important. It’s very important to win both games to give us the best chance to move on to the next group stage. In the first phase we were new to the competition and we fell short in the first few games, but we started off the next three games with a win over Oostende which was big for us and gave us a lot of confidence.”

“We have been using the Polish League to get our rhythm to get better for these next two Champions League games. It’s definitely a challenge and we have a number of those ahead, but we are in a good place right now and playing with a lot of confidence and we are looking forward to coming out to compete in these next two Champions League games.”

This summer, Poland advanced deep into the Eurobasket and in fact all the way to the semifinals of the European Championships while knocking off Slovenia and Luka Doncic, but eventually fell to France.

“I think Poland did a great job this summer in the Eurobasket and they surprised a lot of people. That just goes to show you that you have to compete and play hard. The team that plays the hardest sometimes may not be the most talented and didn’t have a lost of NBA players and big names but they played really well together as a team, competed at a high level which I think also helped the Polish league with Poland really doing well this past summer, this is showing that tech level of basketball in Poland is on the rise. Hopefully they can continue to have success with the national team and keep pressing great Polish players as well.”

As for the future of Polish basketball, McCallum feels that it is in a good place and one where it is beginning to grow and flourish, “I see the future of Polish basketball in a good place. With what you seeing now with the national team having success it has really put people on notice. The Polish league is getting better each season and gaining more respect. There are a lot of former guys who have played at high levels including the Euroleague and NBA for a little bit, so the quality and caliber of players in the league is probably this season the best with a team competing in the EuroCup and the Champions League. I think that when the level continues to rise you will get even better players and the Polish players their level is rising as well, so the Polish League is in a good place right now and I only see it getting better from here.”

Of course, McCallum is looking forward to a return to the Holy Land, “I’m looking forward to getting back out to Israel. Definitely one of my favorite countries to play in. Looking forward to play in front of the crowd and great atmosphere again.”