ONE System | 12/02/2021 15:00
Anthony Parker and David Blatt (Itzik Blanitzky)
There is no Maccabi Tel Aviv fan who is not moved by the phrase Anthony Parker. The former basketball player who played in the hall for two terms, between 2000 and 2001 and between 2003 and 2006 and together with the Yellows won twice in the Euroleague, picked up championships, trophies and MVP titles, became one of the biggest foreigners who came to the club.
Anthony Parker, 45, who after the period at Maccabi played in Toronto and Cleveland in the NBA, is currently having a special zoom conversation with the coaches’ organization, in which he speaks candidly on a variety of topics and shares with coaches and players, old and young, from his extensive experience as a past player and scout. ) And General Manager (Magic Development Team) at present. The call was broadcast live here on the site.
“I want to thank everyone who came. One of the great things in life is passing on to other people your knowledge. There are young people here who admire athletes, coaches and athletes and my goal is that everyone will take something with them and also that I will learn from you. I see all the young people here who have not yet been born in my last season at Maccabi, and it makes it clear to me how much I have grown up, thank you to everyone who joined, “said the former player at the opening of the meeting before answering questions from the participants.
His favorite coach: “David Blatt. Pini Gershon was a great coach, he manages a great game and one of the important things about him is that he knew how to handle the pressure at Maccabi. There is full pressure to win most of the time, but if you lose it is a big story, especially in the league. Pini was amazing at taking the pressure off of us and running a game. David was a coach who yelled at you in training but in the game but made sure he enjoyed himself. He has developed a special relationship with the players and it is so important to create a relationship with your players. There are a lot of veteran coaches who do not think like that, they come to work. Some coaches will do what they say and some coaches will do everything for you because there is a closer relationship between you. Unrelated laws can cause rebellion. If you do not develop a relationship with the players they will be tempted to break the rules. If I know things about you and know you, you will not want to disappoint me. Every player in the locker room has a master in basketball and what that means is that players understand everything. So you as a coach need to understand that the players know when you are with them and when they are not. It is important to be honest with the players and this again brings me back to the relationship with the players. If they know they are important to you, it will help you as a coach. “
“But the coach who influenced me the most is my dad. He was there for me from day one, he was also an actor at Ohio University and I think I leaned on his shoulders because he showed me a lot of the things he did not know he was my age. The more you play the more you learn. I was a professional for 15 years and I am currently in my ninth year as a scout and I learned a lot about being a basketball player during this period, after retirement, things I did not know. My sister Candice Parker also says that my father influenced her the most and gave us the tools to succeed. It’s not just in basketball, my brother for example is a cardiologist who studied at one of the top schools in the US. My father taught us to succeed and not just in basketball. “
The unforgettable basket of victory against CSKA Moscow: “You were at a few moments in your career that the ball didn’t reach me either. One should be positive, not think about what will happen if you miss or mess up, because then it will happen. You have to say ‘whatever happens will happen, I prepared and earned the right to take the shot’, and then you will live with the shot even if you miss. The courage is also to miss the shots and not everyone is ready for it. That’s what separates big players from the rest. “
As a scout, what is the important thing he is looking for in an actor? “You first need a certain level of talent. The other things I’m looking for are 1 – when a player goes through a difficult moment in a game then see how his teammates react to him, because it teaches me if they like to play with him and if he is a team. 2 – I like competitive players who get back to business after something bad happens, for me players who don’t blame their teammates are the ones who play positively. 3 – Another effect is what happens during breaks. Is the actor involved in what is happening and makes sure they see and feel him and does not run away. It shows how serious he is, these things teach me about the actor in terms of his focus and attitude. I’m looking to understand what the actor is made of, what kind of material he winks at. “
What has his career as a player in general, and at Maccabi Tel Aviv in particular, contributed to him?? “As a young player I was sorry I did not know that what was important was the mental aspect, because it would have made me better, but I am so satisfied with what basketball has given me. Apart from the achievements and the fact that I played for Maccabi and the NBA, the experience he gave me is important. I traveled all over the world, I made contact with people from all over the world. I am in touch with people and players who have played with me at Maccabi to this day. I have a special connection with them. Basketball still provides me with these things even in my current roles. I loved playing basketball and learning about the game and I still learn, but more I loved learning about the people. I could not have predicted that my career would develop as it did. You would not replace the experience at Maccabi with a maximum contract in the NBA either. ”
Did he consider himself a talented player? When I was growing up I was not the most talented actor. I was not like Danny Abdia at his age, when everyone has been looking at him since he was a child. Danny of course works very hard but he was marked from a young age, I had to work hard to become good and be noticed and it helped me mentally and in terms of my attitude. My dad told me ‘if you want to be a professional you will have to sacrifice and work hard’. The hard thing is not winning the Euroleague or getting into the NBA but working your way up. You have to fall in love with hard work to achieve. The goal is to maximize yourself and that’s what I’ve always done. It took me a while to become who I am and that’s what I want to convey because most people are not LeBron James. “LeBron works hard, but not everyone was born with his physical data and talent.”
