Will Clyburn: I am not here to be a superstar like Michael Jordan but to help the team grow

The official presentation of Will Clyburn, new acquisition of Virtus Segafredo Bologna, was held this morning at CRIF headquarters. These are his first statements as a virtussino player:

“I am excited to be here, from the first moment I got the call. I want to take Virtus to another level. My family loves the city, it is smaller than others we were used to. Ante, Toko, Dany (Hackett, nda) and Achille I already know them, when Shengelia called me it took little to convince me, it was a quick decision.”

COEXISTENCE WITH BELINELLI

“Last year Coach Banchi did a great job in assembling the group. Hackett and I won a Euroleague together, I spent several years with Toko and we also hang out with families off the court, Belinelli we all know what he can give. If I can be an experienced athlete and be able to help some of my teammates who have never seen the Euroleague, I will be overjoyed to be able to do that.”

BUILDING A HIGH-LEVEL EUROLEAGUE

“During training camp it is crucial to try to become a family as soon as possible, get to know each other and work together to figure out what we can bring as individuals to a common goal. The Euroleague level goes up every year, when I think that with Efes we didn’t qualify with Micic and Larkin after winning two in a row…”

HOW TO APPROACH THE ROOKIE SEASON IN THE EUROLEAGUE

“There will be ups and downs during the year, especially in the first years in the Euroleague. You have to get used to traveling a lot, playing a lot, adapting your physicality to the game. The important thing is to listen to the advice of the staff and the veterans, keep your head up whatever the outcome on the parquet. I was lucky to have David Blatt in my year at Darussafaka, it is crucial to have support like that to learn from the mistakes you make.”

COACH BANCHI AND THE GROUP

“The first call I had with Coach Banchi was great, I wanted to get known as soon as possible and he already had a very clear idea of how to use me. When you have so many new faces at the beginning of the season you have to be able to adapt to so many situations, and the staff is prepared to give everyone the best environment to work in. I remember when I played as an opponent in Bologna the fans were fantastic, at the level of responsibility it will be an additional stimulus: I am not here to be a superstar like Michael Jordan but to help the team grow.”