{"id":9961,"date":"2018-03-07T22:15:36","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T22:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportsrabbi.agpwebdesign.com\/?p=9961"},"modified":"2018-03-07T22:15:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T22:15:36","slug":"exclusive-interview-preview-toney-douglas-im-looking-forward-to-seeing-norris-cole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/exclusive-interview-preview-toney-douglas-im-looking-forward-to-seeing-norris-cole\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive Interview Preview: Toney Douglas – “I’m looking forward to seeing Norris Cole”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Anadolu EFES Istanbul in Turkey on Gameday 25 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. The Yellow & Blue currently sits in 8th place with an even .500 at 12-12 while the host\u2019s are in last place sporting a 6-12 record. The last time the two met in Tel Aviv, EFES came away with a big 92-72 win thanks to a 31 point performance by Errick McCollum s the guard went 8\/11 from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Since their last game, EFES has undergone quite a transformation with a new coach in veteran Ergin Ataman, Derrick Brown, ex-Maccabi forward Sonny Weems and former NBA veteran Toney Douglas<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Douglas was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft with the 29th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers, but was shipped off to the New York Knicks that same evening. His best season was his second with the Knicks when he played in 81 games and averaged 10.6 points while dishing out 3 assists per contest. <\/p>\n

After 3 seasons in the Big Apple, the Florida State product went on to play for Houston, Sacramento, Golden State, Miami, New Orleans and Memphis with a trip overseas to the Jiangsu Dragons in between. Douglas joined EFES in December 2017 and has averaged 9 points since his Euroleague arrival. Let\u2019s get to know Douglas a but better and see how he\u2019s been adjusting to life away from the United States.
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Euroleague.net<\/p><\/div>
\nDouglas began by talking about how his first European experience has been so far, \u201cI\u2019m enjoying it. Very different from the NBA just being overseas. Having a great time and my teammates are helping me adjust. Everybody has been helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are plenty of differences between playing in Europe and the NBA as Douglas has found out, \u201cThe literal rules are different. No defensive 3 seconds over here. Just like how refs in NBA don\u2019t call travels, referees here don’t call moving screens like NBA refs. Physicality is similar. Also, in the NBA coaches love to go with smaller lineups (small-ball) down the stretch whereas in Europe they don\u2019t really do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like most players, the Tampa Florida native had a number of role models, \u201cGrowing up idolized MJ (Michael Jordan), but in high school and college I modeled my game after Joe Dumars – I loved his versatility and how he played at both ends of the court, something that I take pride in doing.\u201d
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Euroleague.net<\/p><\/div>
\nIn college the guard made an impact in more ways than one by staying all four years at Florida State, \u201cAmazing. There were lots of younger guys on the team, mostly freshmen and sophomores, and it was great to lead them. I\u2019m very happy that I decided to stay all four years after contemplating leaving after my sophomore or junior year. Having that extra time to develop helped me in the NBA and having stayed for my senior year allowed me to become more ready for the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every basketball player dreams of having his name called on draft night and Douglas has the opportunity to hear his via former NBA Commissioner David Stern, \u201cIt was a dream come true. It\u2019s something you dream about as a little kid. It was surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting drafted is one thing but adjusting to the NBA is another story as the 31-year old found out, \u201cI had to find my niche. Not everyone is \u201cthe man\u201d like in high school and college so you have to find and understand your role on the team. My niche was doing it at both ends of the floor and bringing intensity and physicality to the game.\u201d
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Euroleague.net<\/p><\/div>
\nOf course the 6\u20192 Douglas had a number of exciting moments, one of which was playing in the 20145 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat, \u201cI was able to play with Hall of Famers and future HOFers like Ray Allen, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade. I also played with Norris Cole of Maccabi Tel Aviv and I\u2019m looking forward to facing and seeing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is a return to the NBA in the future in the cards? \u201cI\u2019ll take it year by year which is what I’ve been doing my whole career. I\u2019ve travelled around a lot in the NBA so after every season I evaluates my plans and that will remain my approach for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did the Maccabi Tel Aviv coach and players have to say about the mental state of the team?<\/strong>
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