Airport fun with returning hoops stars

By JOSHUA HALICKMAN

Published: AUGUST 21, 2023 22:50

HAPOEL JERUSALEM’S Maurice Ndour lands in Israel to the sound of the shofar. (photo credit: JOSHUA HALICKMAN) — HAPOEL JERUSALEM’S Maurice Ndour lands in Israel to the sound of the shofar.

(photo credit: JOSHUA HALICKMAN)

Fans will be fans, and the players are also excited as off-season winds down and tipoff nears

One of the best things about Israeli basketball is when the foreign players begin to make their arrivals to the country.

For some, they are returning to a familiar place and a familiar team. For others it may be moving to a new club in the Holy Land or perhaps they had once visited Israel with another European team and will now make it their new home for the upcoming season.

While for others it may be the first time that they have ever stepped foot in the Promised Land.This past week marked the beginning of a long list of player arrivals from Hapoel Jerusalem – who welcomed the first few players including Zach Hankins and Chris Johnson – to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon, who will see their new and old faces land at Ben Gurion Airport.

Fans gather at Ben Gurion Airport

At the Israel Arrivals Hall, almost every day coming up will find fans of all stripes, wearing their team’s colors, banging on drums and just having a great time, while the media whip out microphones to get the first words for the new season.

There may be dogs with the players, significant others, and children – along with lost luggage and missed flights – but when they arrive they will put on their team’s polo shirt and wrap a scarf around their neck to show their loyalty. There will be singing and dancing as the new campaign is upon us all.

Smiles, handshakes and hugs between players and fans, staff and players as well as flags being waved in the arrivals hall for all to see.

You may even be welcomed by a shofar blower as the High Holidays approach just as Senegalese forward Maurice Ndour was!

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Some players will need to get into shape or take off some extra weight, others will jump right into the preseason and some will even be rehabbing.

There will be veterans and rookies, some tall and others short, with each having a unique role in the puzzle that their team has put together.

It doesn’t matter if you are on a flight from Athens, Madrid, Basel, Belgrade, Los Angeles or New York, the average person who is coming for a visit or returning home will get a real eye-opener at any hour of the day as airport officials try and keep everyone at arm’s length.

There’s nothing better than getting the adrenaline pumping, whether you are fan or journalist as everyone knows that the summer is heading towards its end and the fun is about to begin.

“We had a really nice summer,” Zach Hankins, last season’s Israeli League MVP with Hapoel Jerusalem and fittingly the first player to arrive. “We saw a lot of family, but were excited to get back to the routine, back to the team and back to some winning.”

“The only reason I got the MVP is because I have people passing to me down low in the post. So a lot of that individual award is because of the team, the coaching and the strategy. Bringing back the same guys and some more talent is only going to help us each individually to be better as a group. Yes, there’s pressure, but I’m just here to win and I’m glad we got some guys to do it.”

Chris Johnson, who will begin his fifth season in Israel and is returning to Hapoel Jerusalem after three seasons with Hapoel Holon, arrived just a mere couple of hours after Hankins and is looking forward to his new/old team.“Honestly I didn’t know I’d be playing in Israel. I thought that my time in Israel was over. I had other offers and it came as a surprise but it’s a country that I’m familiar with and I’m happy to be back.”

“I like the way last year they had a good culture, how they approached games, the coaching staff, coaching philosophy. Just speaking to a few guys, Zach Hankins and coach, it just made sense. His energy, I could tell he had the guys on the same page all year. For me it’s also the defensive mentality and we are just looking forward to getting to work together.

Hankins looked ahead to the team’s goals as the Reds look to add some more hardware to their trophy case after winning the State Cup last season, falling in the Basketball Champions League final and ending their domestic campaign in the semifinals.

“The goals are higher. First, meeting the same level we were at as we had a lot of great pieces so the goal is just to keep building up with what we have. Championships, trophies, all of it.”

With a number of new players coming in, from Yovel Zoosman, Gaby Chachashvili, Maurice Ndour, Bryton Lemar and of course Johnson, Hankins sees a lot of potential but the team will need to keep to its principles.

“I’m excited about all of them and I’ve been following really closely when the guys signed. I talked with Chris a little bit and I’m excited to play with him, he’s a hard worker, played against Lemar and I’m excited to see how the pieces fit together.”

Johnson, who is known to be one of the best defensive players in the league, will most certainly enjoy his new coach, Aleksandar Dzikic.

“I heard that he cares about his players and that he’s really intense with a Serbian mindset. He’s been all over – the Euroleague, he’s coached in the NBA and I get his philosophy. I like the approach and the way the team is going.”Hankins, who is taking part in his third year in Israel, is happy to be back in order to get some real authentic local cuisine.

“I missed some really good hummus. The food here is really good and my wife and I ended up liking it a lot more than we were expecting to. Back home you get pizza and that stuff so we are really excited to get this type of food.”