{"id":54814,"date":"2022-04-01T09:56:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T09:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=54814"},"modified":"2022-04-01T09:56:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T09:56:40","slug":"scottie-wilbekin-is-one-of-us-maccabi-tel-aviv-star-is-part-of-the-israeli-fabric-as-yellow-blue-are-playoff-bound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/scottie-wilbekin-is-one-of-us-maccabi-tel-aviv-star-is-part-of-the-israeli-fabric-as-yellow-blue-are-playoff-bound\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottie Wilbekin is one of us &#8211; Maccabi Tel Aviv star is part of the Israeli fabric as Yellow &#038; Blue are playoff bound"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Scottie Wilbekin is one of us.<\/p>\n<p>There is no other way to say it, but simply, the Maccabi Tel Aviv star is part of the Israeli fabric, perhaps sometimes even more Israeli than an Israeli.<\/p>\n<p>Wilbekin is a Sabra at heart. <\/p>\n<p>The fans sing his name at the top of their lungs, \u201cSCOTTIE, SCOTTIE WILBEKIN, OH LE OH LE OH LE. SCOTTIE, SCOTTIE WILBEKIN OH LE OH LE OH LE!\u201d and he loves every second of the passion and affection that the fans show him.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WATCH: Scottie Wilbekin celebrating with the Israel \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1 flag after the game tonight. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/scottiew_5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@scottiew_5<\/a> Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaccabitlvBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MaccabitlvBC<\/a> Instagram Page <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x5z1tzxH7w\">pic.twitter.com\/x5z1tzxH7w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thesportsrabbi\/status\/1509648562572955652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nThe way he wrapped himself in the flag, the Israeli flag, with the Blue &#038; White shimmering in the spotlights of Yad Eliyahu, showed to the world where his heart and where his soul is as he has become one of us right after nothing a playoff spot with a 94-73 win over Villeurbanne.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of times people ask me if I want the flag and I feel kind of weird because I am not Israeli,\u201d Wilbekin explained. \u201cBut with the stuff going on right now I felt that it was ok to show support and everybody loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Showing support in the country\u2019s time of need is what both Scottie and his wife Maria Wilbekin have done time and time again. Whether it is right now with the spate of terrorist attacks throughout Israel or last year during the indiscriminate rocket attacks emanating from Hamas controlled Gaza into Israel, the couple have been a beacon of light. They could have left Israel to safer havens abroad and no one would have raised an eyebrow or criticized them. <\/p>\n<p>But no. They stay stayed like all of us. They went on television to talk about why they remained and supported Israel in what was an incredibly special and moving moment. It was not their conflict to be a part of just like now where the Wilbekins don\u2019t have to insert themselves into our national trials and tribulations, but they have. They have gone above and beyond what anyone or anybody could have, should have or would have expected.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_54839\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54839\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a9de2b70-c3bc-4cbb-b61a-61cbdd598255.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"831\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a9de2b70-c3bc-4cbb-b61a-61cbdd598255.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a9de2b70-c3bc-4cbb-b61a-61cbdd598255-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a9de2b70-c3bc-4cbb-b61a-61cbdd598255-768x623.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a9de2b70-c3bc-4cbb-b61a-61cbdd598255-610x495.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54839\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scottie Wilbekin &#8211; Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nThe guard time and time again tells it like it is. He never minces words. He\u2019s as honest as they come by. He says the truth each and every time he speaks to the media no matter what the situation is. From the good to the bad, Wilbekin is straight, honest and to the point. <\/p>\n<p>There are occasions where some don\u2019t want to hear the truth and just want to sugarcoat a difficult situation. That has never been Wilbekin and he has proved that time and time again over the past year and over the past month couple of rocky road months which saw his world along with Maccabi Tel Aviv\u2019s turned upside down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t really want to talk about that and I think you know how I feel about coach Ioannis (Sfairopoulos),\u201d Wilbekin said when asked about what Avi Even as interim coach has brought to the team. \u201cHe\u2019s doing a good job. But it\u2019s us players who have made the change with ourselves.\u201d<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_54706\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54706\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/646B403D-1680-4CAA-850A-32D9301DF7F9.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"995\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/646B403D-1680-4CAA-850A-32D9301DF7F9.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/646B403D-1680-4CAA-850A-32D9301DF7F9-300x292.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/646B403D-1680-4CAA-850A-32D9301DF7F9-768x746.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/646B403D-1680-4CAA-850A-32D9301DF7F9-610x593.jpeg 610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54706\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scottie Wilbekin gathers the troops &#8211; Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nThe results have been positive and that is always the best case scenario, but Scottie being Scottie also knows that there had been some very low points that hit him hard, hit him in the gut and broke his heart. Everyone knows how close he is with Sfairopoulos, a coach that looked at him us the unquestioned leader of the team who has tried to take Maccabi to the promised land from the day he landed with the club.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is plenty to battle for after clinching a playoff spot since 2020 in a season that the postseason was cancelled due to the pandemic. Wilbekin is well aware that the journey in front of the Yellow &#038; Blue will still be a long and arduous one, but one that may be very fulfilling at the end of the day with a chance to do something very, very special. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were playing like this in the beginning of the season and then started struggling,\u201d the guard noted. \u201cBut over the past few weeks we have found our way and hopefully we can play like this the rest of the way. Every game we go into we think that we can win. Now that we qualified we will play against a good team and we think that we can win as we have a chance.\u201d<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_54773\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54773\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/D32A75CE-5245-4E1D-8444-785CBBAEF179.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/D32A75CE-5245-4E1D-8444-785CBBAEF179.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/D32A75CE-5245-4E1D-8444-785CBBAEF179-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/D32A75CE-5245-4E1D-8444-785CBBAEF179-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/D32A75CE-5245-4E1D-8444-785CBBAEF179-610x407.jpeg 610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54773\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keenan Evans &#8211; Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nKeenan Evans, who has been a terrific compliment for Wilbekin in the backcourt and in fact a much better fit than Chris Jones who played on the opposite side of the court has oozed confidence for a while as Maccabi has played with an edge over the last month and change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely we are playing with an edge,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI said that before the there Russian teams got kicked out of the Euroleague that I thought that we were a playoff team and we are building now toward that. I think we are the most dangerous team in the Euroleague and right now we are on a streak and we want to continue on this streak as we head into the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Maccabi playing its best ball of the season right now under interim head coach Avi Even, the Yellow &#038; Blue have the opportunity to dream and be a team that no one will want to face in the quarterfinal round. Whether its Milano, Olympiacos, Real Madrid of Barcelona, Maccabi will take on all comers and try to reach European glory for the first time since 2014 when the Euroleague championship came back to Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<p>But Wilbekin knows that it won\u2019t be easy to go deep into the postseason, \u201cIt\u2019s always a tough thing to get to the playoffs and I was there early on in my career. It\u2019s tough to get there and we are all happy and humble to play in the top eight.\u201d<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_54777\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54777\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872.jpeg 1600w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-610x406.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FB264DA1-61B0-441A-91FF-DCEECDA12872-1080x720.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54777\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scottie Wilbekin &#8211; Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nMaccabi\u2019s positive and motivated basketball has helped them punch their ticket to the playoffs with two games to spare and there isn\u2019t anyone at Yad Eliyahu who can\u2019t see that one of the reasons the Yellow &#038; Blue have been at the top of their game is because of the fun that they are having with one another on the court.<\/p>\n<p>With a broad smile, Evans spoke about that fun and how much it means to him, \u201cI just want to have fun and I want all the guys have fun and we just want to play hard.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>One of those fun moments was when Wilbekin went up for an alleyoop off of one of Evans\u2019 four assists that left everyone on the court and off of it with huge grins on their faces.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Scottie Wilbekin (14 points) Highlights vs ASVEL | \u05d4\u05de\u05d4\u05dc\u05db\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05e1\u05e7\u05d5\u05d8\u05d9 \u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05dc\u05d1\u05e7\u05d9\u05df \u05e0\u05d2\u05d3 \u05d5\u05d9\u05dc\u05e8\u05d1\u05d0\u05df\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zBrFl-MEnSQ?start=134&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n\u201cThe whole season he\u2019s talking about me dunking,\u201d Evans said with a glimmer in his eye. \u201cAfter one of the plays I told Scottie that I got you next time. I saw him at half court and he wanted to jump. When I see other guys wanting to have fun I have fun too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wilbekin who had a tremendous back pass a few minutes earlier for a massive Ante Zizic dunk wanted to be a bit modest about his own jam, \u201cIf it\u2019s a pass like that, I\u2019ll take it every time. I don\u2019t dunk that often so the fans liked that but I\u2019ll always take the pass.\u201d<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ante Zizic (24 points) Highlights vs ASVEL | \u05d4\u05de\u05d4\u05dc\u05db\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05d0\u05e0\u05d8\u05d4 \u05d6&#039;\u05d9\u05d6&#039;\u05d9\u05e5&#039; \u05e0\u05d2\u05d3 \u05d5\u05d9\u05dc\u05e8\u05d1\u05d0\u05df\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mQXm7B0VFno?start=106&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\nCoach Even though one who badly Wilbekin wanted to put the ball down just as he did a couple of weeks earlier in the All-Star game. \u201cScottie is so happy about the dunk,\u201d Even laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s fun and that says it all. But Scottie said himself that he likes to pass the ball better even more. It\u2019s about his desire to do something for the club and that says it all about the team right now, playing together as a team. We believe in what we are and their desire to be at the top.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Yes, Even put it poignantly that the team is playing together and having fun. This breeds winning, confidence and the desire to succeed at the highest of levels. <\/p>\n<p>But do you want to know the real secret of Maccabi\u2019s success? <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the white jerseys in which they are 6-0 while wearing them! It looks like those whites will be worn for quite some time going forward and in fact, Wilbekin wanted to start wearing them much earlier.<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_54781\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54781\" src=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A.jpeg 1600w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-610x407.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6B974A1F-6053-4EC1-800A-935C6528D10A-1080x720.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scottie Wilbekin &#8211; Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n\u201cI wanted the white jerseys form the beginning of the year and we are playing well with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Playing well is perhaps the understatement of the season right now as Maccabi is the hottest team it seems in the continent and as Even says riding that wave to playoffs is really credited to everyone surrounding Maccabi Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were in the playoffs three years ago, twice in three years and that makes me very happy. It\u2019s something very important to the players, the club and the fans. It\u2019s a wonderful feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scottie Wilbekin is one of us. There is no other way to say it, but simply, the Maccabi Tel Aviv star is part of the Israeli fabric, perhaps sometimes even more Israeli than an Israeli. Wilbekin is a Sabra at heart. The fans sing his name at the top of their lungs, \u201cSCOTTIE, SCOTTIE WILBEKIN, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":54835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29,153,4,17],"class_list":["post-54814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-israel","tag-keenan-evans","tag-maccabi-tel-aviv","tag-scottie-wilbekin","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Scottie Wilbekin is one of us - Maccabi Tel Aviv star is part of the Israeli fabric as Yellow &amp; Blue are playoff bound - Sports Rabbi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/scottie-wilbekin-is-one-of-us-maccabi-tel-aviv-star-is-part-of-the-israeli-fabric-as-yellow-blue-are-playoff-bound\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scottie Wilbekin is one of us - Maccabi Tel Aviv star is part of the Israeli fabric as Yellow &amp; Blue are playoff bound - Sports Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scottie Wilbekin is one of us. 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