Kyle Hines: “The great thing about the EuroLeague is that every game is different”

Before practicing on the court that will host the semi-final against Barcelona tomorrow, Kyle Hines met with the media. Here is the summary of what he said.

On his leadership on the team: "When I played my first Final Four in 2011, I didn’t know what to expect. I was 24-25 years old and only with time, coming back here a few other times, I understood what it takes to win. Now we have young players who have the same experience at the time, but we are here to help them, me and the other veterans. That’s why we have a team. It’s important that they understand that you don’t need superheroes, you just have to do what you have always done throughout the year."

Reaching the Final Four with Milan: "I chose Milan in the summer hoping to be here right now, for this moment. Due to the pandemic we have been away from basketball for a long time and now we are all happy to be here. I am probably at one of the last points of my career and I want to cherish every single moment of this experience even more, especially playing with this group of guys."

The meaning of the two losses with Barcelona: "The great thing about the EuroLeague is that every game is different from the other, and this will be a Final Four game which is even more different, what happened before does not count, what we have to do is be ready for anything, be focused on trying to win. "

The Final Four: "The best thing is that it is a single-game competition, it’s not a series, everything is different, everything is possible. In the EuroLeague every game counts, from the first to the last, indeed every possession counts in order to get here, in the center of European basketball. We know how difficult it is to get to this point, and when you are there you have to appreciate it."

Malcolm Delaney also met the media: "Right now I don’t want to think about Barcelona, but focus on our team, be extremely prepared to play one of the best games of the year and try to go to the final. It’s more about our team, than my personal so-called vendetta with Barca".

On the regular season and the meaning of the defeats against Barcelona: "The regular season at this point does not count, it’s over, here we have to play a different game. What happened can help us to correct mistakes."

The Final Four during the series with Venice: "This is a slightly different moment of the season, I understand, but playing two competitions at the same time is what we have done and we are used to doing. We are professionals, we know what to do. We did better with Venice than in the quarter-finals with Trento, and the last game also gave us a lot of  confidence to come here and give our best."