Hapoel Jerusalem tip-off against Turk Telekom in a massive Basketball Champions League contest at the Jerusalem Arena. The Reds, who will need to finish in one of the top two spots of Group G to continue on in the competition feature a 2-2 record and are in third place while the Ankara based squad are 4-1, good for second place with just two games remaining.

Oded Katash will be behind the Jerusalem bench for the final time before heading off to take over the coaching job at Panathinaikos in Greece will need to find a way to take the victory or else advancing to the next round will become extreme complicated heading into the final game.

For Turk Telekom, a win in Israel will see them punch their ticket to the next round and that is exactly what the teams goal is said one of the club’s stars former NBA forward Sam Dekker who spoke to The Sports Rabbi ahead of the big clash.

“It feels good and we have a good group of guys who have stepped up. There were injuries which have made it a bit hard lately. But we are in a good standing and we have a lot to be happy about. I’m glad I have a large responsibility with the team and I hope we can win some games here and continue to play good basketball.”

With a critical game on tap for both teams after Turk had beaten Jerusalem on Gameday one 98-94 in Turkey, Dekker knows what his team will need to do to make sure his team goes home with the victory.

“I think being focused for 40 minutes, which has been kind of our problem this year. They will be hard to beat at home and we just have to play our game, play aggressive and not get rattled. We have to do the best we can and if we do that, we should get the victory. If not, we will need one more and win we want to win here but it won’t be easy.”

Dekker, who was selected 15th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets featured for the Texas club along with the Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards before taking his talents to Europe for the first time last season when he played for Lokomotiv Kuban.

“Last year was really good for me and it helped me grow up and learn the game. It made me better as a player and a better as a person. It was a new environment and I really enjoyed it. This year with Turk I’m a lot more comfortable.”

The NBA of course was a big learning opportunity for the Sheboygan, Wisconsin native where he had the chance to share the basketball court with one fo the game’s greats in James Harden. Over the course of 200 games, he averaged 5.5 points and 3 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per contest and played in 4 playoff games back in 2017 with the Rockets.

“You can always learn from the great players. One thing I learned is the consistency. It’s very rare that every night you can go out and perform at a high level. The ones who can do that on a nightly basis are the greats and have long careers and gain respect for it. I try to do that and emulate it to my game.”

Facing Jerusalem this time around will see Dekker play against a former NBA teammate in Jamil Wilson the the two plays for the Clippers in 2017-18. “I’m happy for Jamil who played last year with Unics Kazan. He’s a great player and great guy. I’ve known him for a long time from the fact we are both from Wisconsin and when he played for Marquette. It was great to play with him in LA and he did a lot of good things for the Clippers team I was on. The guys on Turk know him well and looking forward to meeting on the hardwood.”

Another player that Dekker is familiar with is Maccabi Tel Aviv center Ante Zizic as the two played with one another on the Cavaliers in 2018-19, “Ante is a great player and a hard worker. He’s a big guy who is very skilled and he had chance with the Cavs when Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson were out, so he played a few games at a high level with a couple double doubles. With his soft touch, size and playmaking ability at the 5 he is a great player. It didn’t work out the way he may have thought in Cleveland and now he’s in a big club in Maccabi and he’s played in Europe. I’m happy he landed with a good team and he will have a long career whether it’s here or in the NBA.”

The Wisconsin product played under Scott Brooks with the Washington Wizards and he offered his initial impressions about Israeli sensation Deni Avdija as he makes his first foray into the NBA, “I’ve been very impressed with Deni’s versatility. He had some good games with the Wizards and they will use him in different ways. He has a player like Bradley Beal on the team who is one of the best I’ve ever played with and now Russell Westbrook along with Troy Brown and Rui Hachimura who are young and have played a lot. Deni will become a great player and Israel should be proud of him.”

Dekker’s wife Olivia Harlan is a sports broadcaster in the United States. If the last name Harlan sounds familiar, then you’ll know that Sam’s father-in-law happens to be one of the great sports voices of all time in Kevin Harlan who has provided fans around the world some of the fantastic all time calls from basketball to football.

“It’s great it’s been great to have one of all time great TV and radio voices in sports a great guy to learn from as part of the family. He’s a tremendous person, a great father and husband and a role model of mine. To have his support and to be with his daughter, I’m a very lucky guy. A lot of great memories are still to be made and it was fun watching him all year during Covid-19 as well.”

Dekker certainly hasn’t closed the door on the NBA and that’s still his #1 goal, “My dream’s the same; I still want to be an NBA player. I truly believe I am. I can be a high level NBA player for a long time. I need to do the things here the best I can, in the games I play now with my team. If I do what I need to the way I should, then good things will happen. Each day I continue to work. Good things will happen. While I’m here in Europe I want to win a European championship I want to feel how it is to be a winner in Europe whether it’s the Champions League or Euroleague. Winning is the best thing in basketball and I want to do that everywhere I go.”