I had a chance to talk to Tai Wesley (200-F-86, college: Utah St.) of EiffelTowers Den Bosch. We talked about his stay in Holland. In four years on the Utah State basketball team, graduate Tai Wesley finished his Aggies career as the best player in the WAC conference. After graduating, Wesley showed an ability to finish around the basket in his first season of professional basketball for EiffelTowers Den Bosch in the Dutch Basketball League. Wesley has had several big performances and considered as one of the best players in the league. One thing is looking certain, that at 25 years of age, Tai Wesley has a nice future ahead of him in International level of basketball for many years to come. Playing 28.3 minutes per game in 21 DBL contests, the 6-foot-7 forward was averaging 15.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. He shot 62.6 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent on three-pointers and 55.7 percent from the foul line.
After 4 years of NCAA basketball with the Aggies you turned pro last summer. Was that something you always planned to do? And how did you end up in Holland? Yes it was always my dream to become a professional basketball player, and it's a great to be able to actually achieve it. I ended up in holland after my agent came to me with an offer and a phone call from coach korner. Everything sounded like a good fit so I signed the deal and was holland-bound.
You had great success at Utah State for four years. What are your favorite memories from Utah State? My favorite memories at Utah state were the times I was able to win the WAC tournament with my teammates and advance to the big dance. Also I'll never forget the home court advantage I enjoyed there.
It isnt easy to adapt to a new country, a new city or a new home. How did you adjust? Well it actually hasn't been too hard, because holland is an easy place to live, the food is good and everyone speaks English.
Do you enjoy living in Den Bosch? I do like Den Bosch, it's a nice place to live and it has a rich basketball tradition.
What is different about playing basketball in Europe compared to playing basketball in the States? The biggest difference for me would have to be how fast the game is played. Here in Europe the game is played so much faster.
How would you rank the quality of the Dutch league? The Dutch league has really surprised me in the strength of it's teams.
Tai, tell me about one or two of the challenges that came along, things you felt you really had to work on. The biggest challenge that I've faced is the rule difference in traveling. Here you can't do the open step which is hard to adjust to.
Is there a skill or a special aspect to your game that you think people haven't seen yet, or aren't aware of? You rebound, defend, do lots of things, but is there an underrated aspect to your game? I think that I haven't really been able to show my shooting ability that much, especially from the 3 point line.
What is your role as a starting center of the EiffelTowers? I feel like my role is to be a consistent scorer and rebounder as well as play solid defense.
What did you learn from a veteran as Dutch center Peter van Paassen? I've learned a lot from Peter, he has so much knowledge of the game so I've tried to imitate what he does. The biggest thing I've learned from him is to be patient in the post.
With a convincing win over Lasaulec Aris last saturday, do you feel the team is now back where they should be? I think that we're are taking the right steps to getting back to our winning ways.
What's been the best moment of the EiffelTowers' season so far? Well I think the best is yet to come, but I did enjoy the winning streak we had.
How do you see EiffelTowers Den Bosch season playing out? I know how I'd like the season to play out....I'd like it to end with a championship trophy back in Den Bosch.
Tai, Thanks for your time doing this interview and wish you and your team a lot of success at the Playoffs.
Leiden - Leeuwarden 74-64 (3-0)
Leiden steps closer to the title after a 74:64 win in Game 3. 24 personal fouls committed by Leeuwarden helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was international guard Arvin Slagter (191-85, agency: Court Side) who scored 14 points and 5 assists. International Worthy de Jong (194-88, agency: R.H.Consultancy) chipped in 18 points and 4 steals [read more]
Leiden steps closer to the title after a 74:64 win in Game 3. 24 personal fouls committed by Leeuwarden helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was international guard Arvin Slagter (191-85, agency: Court Side) who scored 14 points and 5 assists. International Worthy de Jong (194-88, agency: R.H.Consultancy) chipped in 18 points and 4 steals. At the other side the best for losing team was American forward Samme Givens (195, college: Drexel) who recorded a double-double by scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds and the other American import guard Robert Holcomb Faye (185-84, college: Radford) added 8 points and 7 assists respectively. Leeuwarden's coach Erik Braal rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Top scorers: Leiden: W.de Jong 18+3reb+1ast, M.Schachtner 16+5reb, A.Slagter 14+3reb+5ast, S.Cunningham 7+4reb+1ast, A.Young 6+5reb+2ast, R.Bekkering 6+7reb+2ast Leeuwarden: S.Givens 14+11reb+1ast, D.Hope 10+2reb, T.de Paula 10, S.Poels 9+5reb+1ast, R.Holcomb Faye 8+3reb+7ast, J.Williams 7+6reb+2ast
David Hahn198-C-96Amsterdam
Brian van de WeijenbergBlack Eagles
Fener LangensBlack Eagles
Axel KootstraWeert
Steve Bleeker192-SF-96Den Helder K.
Frerik AdriaansDen Bosch
Joey Liem175-SG-96Den Bosch
Tom AartsDen Bosch
Tom de Haas183-PG-96Den Bosch
Tyson KanseyoDen Bosch
Eric Peutz190-G-95Groningen
Juffer LauritsGroningen
Niek NieboerGroningen
Shaquille Frijde AustinHarlemlakers
Lennar [read more]
Leiden takes 2-0 lead in Eredivisie Finals - May 18, 2013
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
Leeuwarden - Leiden 63-68 (0-2)
Leiden takes 2-0 lead in Eredivisie Finals. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Leeuwarden won third quarter 13-11. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Leeuwarden 42-30 including 35 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was Canadian forward Ross Bekkering (203-87) who had a double-double by scoring 12 points and 15 rebounds [read more]
Leiden takes 2-0 lead in Eredivisie Finals. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Leeuwarden won third quarter 13-11. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Leeuwarden 42-30 including 35 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was Canadian forward Ross Bekkering (203-87) who had a double-double by scoring 12 points and 15 rebounds. International guard Arvin Slagter (191-85, agency: Court Side) chipped in 12 points and 4 assists. Four Leiden players scored in double figures. American forward Samme Givens (195, college: Drexel) produced 16 points and 7 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Robert Holcomb Faye (185-84, college: Radford) added 20 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Top scorers: Leeuwarden: R.Holcomb Faye 20+5reb+1ast, S.Givens 16+7reb+3ast, S.Poels 8+5reb, D.Michaels 5+3reb+2ast, J.Williams 5+5reb, T.de Paula 4+2reb+1ast Leiden: A.Slagter 12+4reb+4ast, R.Bekkering 12+15reb+2ast, S.Cunningham 11+7reb, M.Schachtner 10+2reb, P.Hilliman 8+2reb, W.de Jong 7+5reb+4ast
Copyright (c) 1998-2013 Eurobasket Inc. Disclaimer
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site !
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the site, nor will you attempt to do so.
