Alex Poythress has already seen it all. When you’ve played four years and over 100 games at Kentucky you know what it’s like to play under pressure, being accountable to an unlimited fan base, for a charismatic coach, in the eye of the media storm and next to, in practice against, extreme-level players, like Karl-Anthony Towns, like Devin Booker, like Julius Randle. In addition, he played for Maccabi too, a club that is an empire in Israel and always plays in front of a sold-out arena. That’s why when he talks about playing under pressure, he adds that it’s like second nature to him. That’s what he’s always done. Here he tells us his story around the world.
Alex, was it love at first sight with basketball?
“I started playing basketball when I was very young. Actually, my dad played American football and pushed me towards football, but my twin sister and I only ever played basketball growing up. I think I was four or five years old.”
Coming from Tennessee you were expected to choose a college close to home since you obviously could.
“I was basically recruited by every university in Tennessee. Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis, but when Kentucky came, I immediately felt a special bond. With Kentucky, with Rupp Arena, what they were doing, like, the pros they were producing. I thought that in my journey as a basketball player that would be the right step to take, what I wanted to do, so I lowered my head and try to accomplish my goals”.
You stayed four years in Kentucky, do you have a strong relationship with the legendary John Calipari?
“We are still in close contact today. We talk every now and then, he congratulated me when I won the championship in Israel. I had seen him last December when I had to go to New York for my surgery. He built this kind of Big Blue Family in Kentucky and when you are part of it, you stay there for life. It’s very good”.
Kentucky is a highly competitive situation, every year there are NBA prospects all over the roster.
“Kentucky prepared me perfectly for the NBA and the EuroLeague. Every practice in Kentucky is like a war, the level of talent is so high, and the competitiveness higher than in the game. Multiple All-Stars, NBA players, EuroLeague players have been through Kentucky during my years. Willie Cauley-Stein will be in Varese this year and many others are still playing at a high level.”
You guys have been to the Final Four twice, but the NCAA title never came. Disappointed?
“Of course, I’m still disappointed especially the first year when we lost the final against Shabazz Napier and Connecticut, and I still don’t quite know how. The following year we went back there, even without me, I was injured, and we came close again, but this is life, this is basketball. Sometimes you have goals that you can’t achieve and then what you have to do is come back and try again.”
Did the NBA and its teams underestimate you?
“Yes, I think I was underestimated, I think I’m talented enough to play there, and I think I also showed it every time I got a chance to go on the court. I have always worked hard. But at the same time, I like this role of being the underdog, somebody people sleep on. Generally, I thrive in those situations.”
In the last two years your team came up on top, winning the championship.
“Every time you go on the court to play the goal is to win the championship. It happened to me in the last two years, in Russia and Israel. It’s like cherry on top. You work hard from August all the way through June, non-stop, and then you can go home and take a vacation, but if you do it after winning a title everything is much better. I think so.”
In Tel Aviv you experienced what it means to play in an environment with so much pressure on the players.
“The Maccabi fan base has high expectations, but I had experienced what it’s like to play for that kind of fans in Kentucky. They aren’t that different. So, when I arrived in Tel Aviv, I found a situation I already knew, it wasn’t new. For me it is like second nature. Certain situations can mess you up when you’re trying to accomplish certain goals, but if you stay level-headed, looking straightforward, you can also block out all the outside noise”.
What kind of player are you now?
“I’m a hard worker, I’m a versatile player, I can play as a power forward and as a center, I can guard multiple positions, I can play above the rim. You will see many different things, I’m giving many options to the team, that’s what I’m, I don’t play set positions”.
What can we expect from this season?“In a great club like this, aspirations are very high. Personally, I would like to go back to playing a Final Four, go all the way. Coach Messina has built a team with a lot of depth, many veterans, great guys are coming back. I think it’s a good mixture, good enough to try to get to the Final Four. That’s always my goal, to compete to win at every level. I know very well that it will be hard, that nothing will be easy. In the EuroLeague, I see many great teams this year, especially with many players who have switched teams, but if we stay focused, we can go far because as I said, there is a lot of talent and the right pieces here.”
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