Interview with James Gist - Jan 10, 2010 (by Stanislav Tyutyunnik) James Gist (203-F-86) - new power forward of Lokomotiv Kuban - was interviewed by Eurobasket.com. He told about his current shape, strengths and weaknesses and shared his thoughts about Russian team.
James, how was your summer and autumn where did you practice and train? My summer was good. My daughter Maliyah was born on July 20 the happiest day of my life. I worked out and trained with the San Antonio Spurs the entire summer and fall.
You were selected at NBA 2008 Draft right after Sasha Kaun CSKA player. So I suppose he is the one you are familiar with, right? Did you know someone else from Russian Superleague before arriving to our country? Yes, I know Sasha Kaun. But I don't know anyone who plays in the Russian Superleague.
Some guys from 2008 draft preferred to stay in USA and play in D-League (Ajinca, Dorsey for example) while you moved to Italy and now Russia. Why? It just gives me an opportunity to develop and at the same time experience new cultures. Plus, the competition of the Italian league and now the Russian Superleague is the best.
Did you get offers from other teams or Lokomotiv was the only interested in you? I had several offers. It was clear that Lokomotiv had the best situation for me.
How long did it take to adapt from college basketball and rules to European ones? Maybe 3 months.
What are your biggest strengths as a power forward? My speed, my athleticism and my ability to shoot the ball from the 3pt. line.
What is easier for you play inside the paint or outside? I would say the mid post and 15ft is my comfort zone.
What are your weaknesses as a player? How do you working on them? My ball handling is not my strongest part of my game, however, I am effective when putting the ball on the floor. That's just something I would always like to improve.
Your first impressions of the team Lokomotiv and your new teammates? An opportunity to win the Russian League. And I have great teammates, so many different personalities
Why did your team fail to win any game in December your opinion? I feel that maybe we, as a team, didn't have a sense of urgency. But, it's not who plays the best in the beginnings of the season. It's who gets better as the year goes on and is the best in February-April.
Last season you've played 27 minutes per game at Biella. Your current physical shape allows you to be so much time on the floor? Yes. Because I am a high energy player, my conditioning is a major part of my game.
Your thoughts about Spurs and their perspectives to make NBA Finals this season? Do you watch NBA games on regular basis? I watch the league games whenever I have a chance to. The main goal of San Antonio Spurs, unlike many teams in the NBA, is a Championship every season. They don't play just to make the playoffs. They play to win Championships: with that attitude the Spurs have a great chance to win this year.
You had a blog at http://jamesgist.yardbarker.com/ Why did you stop posting there? Where we can find you online? I felt at the time that starting a blog for myself wasn't the best thing for me. I wanted to focus just on playing basketball.
Tell about your most remembered moments from this year negative and positive? Most positive was my daughter being born. Most negative was having to leave her to come play basketball overseas.
What will you wish to yourself and our readers in 2010? That we have great second half of the season and bring home a Russian Superleague Championship.
Russia outlast Greece in Ankara - Sep 2, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
Russia - Greece 73:69
Russia posted the fourth win at the World Championship as they knocked down Greece in Ankara today. The victory allowed David Blatt's team to clinch the second place in Group C. Greece slipped at 3-2 record and finished in the third position. Timofey Mozgov (216-C-86, agency: RIZO) top-scored with 18 points for Russia.
It was Russia who took the lead and they did not surrender it in the first term [read more]
Russia - Greece 73:69
Russia posted the fourth win at the World Championship as they knocked down Greece in Ankara today. The victory allowed David Blatt's team to clinch the second place in Group C. Greece slipped at 3-2 record and finished in the third position. Timofey Mozgov (216-C-86, agency: RIZO) top-scored with 18 points for Russia. It was Russia who took the lead and they did not surrender it in the first term. Andrey Vorontsevich (204-C-87) hit a three-pointer to make it 12:2 midway through the opening frame. Greece never picked up the slack as they trailed by 10 at the first break 10:20. Kaimakoglou drained a triple to pull the Hellenes within 5 in the middle of the second frame. Calathes and Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) made it a 2-point game. Greece managed to erase the deficit and knotted things up at 30:30 at halftime. Bourousis put Greece in front 37:36 midway through the third quarter. But Russia quickly responded with 13 points in a row to surge in front. They posted a comfortable 59:43 lead at the final intermission. Ponkrashov and Monya tipped off the fourth term with four points in a row as Russia seemed to cruise to the victory. But Greece were not ready to give just yet. Sofoklis Schortsanitis organized an 11:0 run that cut the deficit 8-point mark. Fridzon kept Russia in charge with five points but Diamantidis and Spanoulis knocked down back-to-back three-pointers as Greece cut the deficit to only 4 points with seven seconds to go. Ponkrashov just throw the ball out of bounds giving the Hellenes a chance to save the game. However Spanoulis got blocked and Russia came away with a tough win at the end. Andrey Vorontsevich nailed 10 points for Russia. Eugeny Voronov (192-G-86) added 9 points in the win. Sofoklis Schortsanitis replied with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Greece. Nikolaos Zisis (195-G-83) had 11 points in the loss.
Dynamo Moscow played two friendlies versus Slovenian teams. At first the Russian team lost to Zlatogor 67:69. Dynamo opened the game with 18-14, but then the hosts grabbed 20-14 to take 2-point advantage at the halftime. Zlatogor added 18-16 in the third period, while Dynamo won the last period 19-17. Nikita Shabalkin (204-F-86) top-scored for the winners with 19 points and Victor Keyru (200-G-84) nailed 17. Zavoruev Vasili posted 13, while Balashov added 8 [read more]
Dynamo Moscow played two friendlies versus Slovenian teams. At first the Russian team lost to Zlatogor 67:69. Dynamo opened the game with 18-14, but then the hosts grabbed 20-14 to take 2-point advantage at the halftime. Zlatogor added 18-16 in the third period, while Dynamo won the last period 19-17. Nikita Shabalkin (204-F-86) top-scored for the winners with 19 points and Victor Keyru (200-G-84) nailed 17. Zavoruev Vasili posted 13, while Balashov added 8. In the second game Dynamo rolled over Polzela 74:68. The Russian team played better and managed to reach the victory. Nikita Shabalkin stepped up with 24 points for the winners and Victor Keyru followed them with 15. Balashov ended up with 9 points for the winners. Enisey rolled over BC Donetsk 81:76. The teams were tied at 21:21 after the opening quarter, while the Russian team took the lead after 20-13 in the second period. Moreover Enisey added 23-22 in the third quarter and had 8-point advantage after thirty minutes. Donetsk won the last frame 20-17 o reduce the gap to 5 points. Labovic top-scored for the winners with 22 points, while Komarovskiy and Savkov posted 10 each. Williams ended up with 9 points and 8 assists. Lugano Tigers meanwhile beat Spartak 74:71. The Swiss side opened the game with 23-19 and added 16-10 in the second period. Spartak responded with 24-15 in the third quarter to reduce the gap to 1 point. Lugano however produced 20-18 in the last quarter to seal the victory. Dijon Thompson (201-G/F-83, college: UCLA) stepped up with 28 points, while Bashminov scored 13. Kotishevskiy posted 11, while Petar Popovic (211-C-79) had 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Russia calmly execute against China - Sep 1, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
Russia - China 89:80
Russia posted their third win at the World Championship. They held off China for 3-1 record in Group C. The Asian team in the meantime suffered the third loss and slipped at 1-3 record. Sergey Sergey Monya (204-F-83) led well-balanced offence with 17 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
China managed to pull ahead 10:6 midway through the opening frame. Russia used a 6:0 run to pull in front late in the quarter [read more]
Russia - China 89:80
Russia posted their third win at the World Championship. They held off China for 3-1 record in Group C. The Asian team in the meantime suffered the third loss and slipped at 1-3 record. Sergey Sergey Monya (204-F-83) led well-balanced offence with 17 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds. China managed to pull ahead 10:6 midway through the opening frame. Russia used a 6:0 run to pull in front late in the quarter. China answered with 7 points to earn a 21:15 lead at the break. Jianlian Yi (212-C/F-87) stretched the margin to 8 points at the start of the second term. But Anton Anton Ponkrashov (200-G-86) and Sergey Sergey Monya hit back-to-back three-pointers as Russia started to trim the deficit. Russia went on a 13:2 rally to take a 36:29 advantage midway through the period. China went back in charge as the seesaw action continued. Wang Zhizhi capped the half with a jumper as China led by three 43:40. China earned a 5-point lead early in the third term but Russia were ready to answer. They unloaded a 9:2 rally to ensure a 51:49 lead. The lead changed hands for several times as Russia entered the fourth term ahead by one 63:62. David Blatt's team tipped off the final stanza with five points in a row to boost the lead. Wang ShiPeng (197-F/G-83) and Jianlian Yi dragged China back within one and soon Yue Sun (206-G/F-85) drained a treble to level things up at 73. Wang ShiPeng knocked down two free throws to put China in front 75:73. Russia immediately responded with 12 points in a row and never looked back en route to the victory. Sasha Kaun (211-C-85) finished with 16 points and 14 boards for Russia. Anton Ponkrashov provided 15 points in the win. Yue Sun accounted for 19 points for China. Wang ShiPeng netted 16 points in the loss.
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