After 71 days on the sidelines, Sir’Jabari Rice is on the verge of returning to action with Reyer Venezia. The American guard is set to make his Serie A debut against Maxima Roma, following the fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot suffered during a preseason friendly in Jesolo against Tezenis Verona. The first three games against Roma, Frankfurt and Varese will help him regain his match fitness before the league break, which will give him further time to complete his physical recovery.
Rice spoke to local newspapers in Venice about his return: “I’m excited to be back with the team and ready to play my role and help the team win as many games as possible. We’re well prepared for the game against Maxima Roma and want to get back to winning ways in the league after the loss in the cup. We’ll have to make some adjustments, but we’ve had good practices”.
The American then looked back on the months spent away from the court, highlighting the support he received and the work he put in to be ready for his return: “I’ve spent these months working hard. I have to thank everyone who has been by my side during this time, from the ownership and the president to the staff and my teammates. They’ve all been very supportive. When I couldn’t get on the court, I spent hours in the weight room, and I believe I’ve also improved physically and become stronger. Obviously, it hasn’t been a positive period, but I knew I would come back and that my absence would only last a few weeks. Now the exciting part begins. The moment I came to Reyer for has finally arrived, and I’m really excited to finally play my part”.
Having watched the league from the sidelines, Rice also shared his impressions of Serie A: “The level of Serie A is really high. I haven’t been able to watch all the teams so far, and I haven’t played in the games, so I can’t speak as someone who has experienced it on the court. But from the outside, I’ve seen a very fast, entertaining and physical brand of basketball. I’m excited to play basketball and I don’t think too much about individual things, but I’ve realized that teams are very different from one another and it’s important to make the necessary adjustments from game to game”.
Finally, the guard reiterated both his personal ambitions and those of Reyer, identifying consistency as the key to achieving the team’s goals this season: “This is a team whose goal is to win, and I share that mindset. I’d like to finish the season the way I did last year, if not even better, but to achieve that goal it’s essential to take things one game at a time. We want to finish strong before the break, then keep working and get going again”.
Rice also spoke about his approach to basketball and the contribution he hopes to make to the team: “As a person, I believe I’m a good person and a good teammate. I’m very unselfish and very practical when it comes to basketball. As a player, I love practicing and playing. I have many tools at my disposal, but I always enjoy improving”.
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