Nigel Williams-Goss was making his way toward the team bus after Žalgiris’ win over Crvena Zvezda at Belgrade Arena.
Serbian reporters stopped him for a few questions, a small crowd quickly gathered – and then Sterling Brown appeared.
Both Williams-Goss and Brown know what it is like to be on the other side in Belgrade, having previously worn the Partizan jersey.
In the end, it was Brown who stayed behind to talk to the media.
Jonas Valančiūnas, meanwhile, wisely used Brown’s media duties as an opportunity to slip through to the bus unnoticed.
As it turned out, though, Valančiūnas would still become one of the main topics of our conversation with Brown.
Structure, discipline, poise
What is it like to win in this arena?
Yeah, it’s always a good feeling to win here. They play hard. You know it’s always going to be a good game and you expect a fight every time. So coming out with the win today was big for us.
How would you say you’ve adapted to the team so far, and what do you think you’ll look like two months from now?
I think we’re going to look really good down the line. Right now, we’re still getting used to each other. We’re still learning the system, trying to know it second nature without thinking about it. That’s going to take some time.
There are some different schemes and different concepts, but it’s nothing we won’t be able to handle or pick up, especially the new guys. After we play together for a little while, I think we’ll be fine.
What are the most important traits of this system? Žalgiris is known for organized basketball.
For sure. Just structure, being disciplined, being poised, especially at the end. And just being aggressive as well on defense, crashing the offensive boards. They’ve got a lot of key principles, but they’re good principles, and they helped us get the win tonight.
Valančiūnas is great, on and off the court
What is it like playing with Jonas Valančiūnas?
It’s great. He’s a great guy in the locker room and on the court. You all know what he does. He draws attention. He can go get a bucket whenever he wants to. He’s a big body down there.
And then he finds guys when he’s doubled or when the defense is really focusing on him. So it’s great, man. I love it.
Do you see him in the MVP conversation by the end of the season?
I think so. I think he’ll be there. Like I said, he draws a lot of attention. He’s a big body down there. He’s going to put the ball in the basket, rebound the ball. He’s going to be a force.
Teams are definitely going to have to figure out how to stop him. And if he just continues to buy into the system and play his game as well, he’s definitely going to be a force, like I said.