Yovel Zoosman ready to lead on and off the court in season marked by resilience - interview

The Israel National Team will play a pair of 2025 EuroBasket qualifiers this coming weekend against Ukraine in Riga. They look to improve on their 1-1 record.

After beating Portugal and falling to Slovenia in road games, Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi will play a home and road game in Latvia due to the security situation in both Israel and Ukraine.

The final international window will take place in February, with games against Portugal and Slovenia again. Hopefully, these will be played on Israeli soil to close out the qualification stage of the European Championship.

Just before the team’s departure to Riga, The Jerusalem Post spoke with Yovel Zoosman, one of Israel’s most talented players currently plying his trade with Hapoel Jerusalem. The 26-year-old has played with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Alba Berlin before returning home to sign with the Reds and continue his career in the capital city.

“I am very happy to be part of the national team and very proud,” Zoosman began. “I think it’s something that is very, very important, especially during these tough moments and one that is mandatory regardless of how tired one may be or how one has played so far this season. The second that the national team calls you up, you have to show up –  even more so in the current situation that our country is going through.”

The two games will be played in Riga due to the ongoing wars in both Israel and Ukraine, which is tough for both the players and fans alike.

“It’s not easy. In Jerusalem, the situation is the same as the EuroCup games, and it’s something that I have become a little more accustomed to recently, but it is not easy because these games are meant for the entire family to enjoy. We know the fans would love to come and see us play in person and enjoy some basketball. I hope that we can win these games and give the supporters some joy watching us on TV. It will make it all worth it.”

Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi has been working with the Israel Basketball Association for many years and coached plenty of the current senior national team players when they were on some of the youth teams, including Zoosman.

“I’m very happy because we know each other very well; we have a long history together. I know his playing style, and he knows what I can do. I think the first Under-20 Championship that we won in Germany back in 2018 – one that people don’t talk about too much – was the first championship that made quite a lot of headlines and surprised a lot of people.

I think that thanks to the basketball and teamwork at that championship, which was just a lot of fun, we saw a team of youngsters aged 20 and under who had some kind of vision that was put forth for the national team. It was something very special.”

One of the players that Zoosman will team up with for the first time is the up-and-coming sensation, Ben Saraf. The 18-year-old is currently playing in Germany with Ulm and has made a tremendous impression on the basketball world. He is projected to be selected as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

“The truth is that I haven’t played with him yet, and while I played against him last year against Kiryat Ata, it will be very, very interesting to see the leap forward he’s made this season. I do follow his progress from time to time, looking at his statistics, because I myself played in the German league for two years, so I am familiar with the style of play.

From what I see, he’s putting up extraordinary numbers relative to his minutes, while his contribution is truly amazing both in the EuroCup and in the German league, and that’s fantastic. It’s amazing to see someone who’s so young take the reins and doesn’t think twice about it. I think the sky’s the limit for him, and I would really love to have the opportunity to play with him. I think it will be fun to finally see his qualities when he’s with me on the team and not playing against me, because this may be one of the last windows before he goes to the NBA.”

Best season to date

Zoosman is having perhaps his best season to date, as he is averaging 10 points per game across all competitions while shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc.

“It’s hard for me to say this one or that one was my best season. I think we’ve just started the campaign, and I hope that the upcoming season will have many more happy and exciting moments, whether it’s with the national team or my club team. After a month and a half, it’s hard to say that this is my best season. I feel very, very good right now to be part of Hapoel Jerusalem.

I feel much more mature and ready to lead the team and be the captain of a team for the first time, which is something I hadn’t done in the past. It’s a great honor to be captain of Hapoel Jerusalem, and hopefully, in mid to late June, we’ll do another interview, and I’ll be asked if this is my biggest year. Perhaps I’ll have a better answer then.”

While both Tel Aviv teams have made plenty of noise this season, Hapoel Jerusalem has been quietly putting together a very fine campaign to date, perhaps one that will surprise many with a championship at the end of the year. However, Zoosman wants to keep his head down, work hard, and follow the path the Reds have laid out and see where that will lead them.

“I think I heard Khadeen Carrington say the following in the locker room: ‘We’re not interested in dealing with these things.’ I think we work very, very hard in practice and during the games themselves, and I do believe that we have surprised a lot of people, but it’s no surprise to us at all.

We know our qualities as a team – one with solid Israelis and very, very high-level foreigners who think about the good of the team before the good of the individual. We don’t have flashy names, but we are working quietly and very hard each and every day. As long as we’re busy with things like that and not with who’s the best or who’s better, I think we’ll be in a good place, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters most – who will be the best at the end of the year. So I don’t give it too much attention. We have to work quietly and consistently, and in the end, it will be worth it.”

One of Zoosman’s best games this season came against Lietkabelis, which marked Jerusalem’s first win in EuroCup action after losing to Valencia in the opening game of the continental season.

In fact, while Zoosman and his teammates were playing in Lithuania, Iran launched an attack on Israel, creating a difficult situation for the players and their loved ones, who were back home taking shelter.

“It was very strange. I think they were up by 4-5 points, something like that if I’m not mistaken, and suddenly one of the foreigners looked at his phone and saw that his girlfriend was sending him messages about the Iranian attack and what had happened.

This was not an easy moment. My girlfriend was with the partners of the foreign players in the same apartment as they were watching the game together in Israel. She tried to calm them down as much as possible, and they were in the ‘Safe Room’ to protect themselves. It was not easy.

Before the half started, I gathered everyone and told them, ‘Guys, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s something that’s out of our control right now. The only thing we can control in some way is to at least try to win the game. Maybe someone at home will see it, and it will do them good and put them at ease.’ I’m glad we won because I think there’s a good chance we made someone smile, given the situation. Of course, we would have wanted the situation to be different, but it wasn’t in our control.”

Supporting hostage families

Hapoel Jerusalem has been very active in helping the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin while he was being held hostage, as well as after he was murdered and buried.

“This was something very, very special,” Zoosman said. “The team tried to support the family and is still doing so. The fans sing ‘Bring Everyone Home’ throughout every game. Of course, we expected and had hoped that Hersh would return home safe and sound. It wasn’t easy to hear the news that day.

We went to the funeral and the cemetery, and it wasn’t easy to hear the eulogies from the family and friends. I can say that I was also there to comfort the mourners, to feel a little bit of the parents’ pain. It was very moving.

When they sat Shiva, people came from all over the country to comfort them. They had the strength and energy for everyone who came to visit them as they had lost the one they loved the most. It was something incredible to see, the good and beautiful Israel that I know and believe in.”

Phenomenal season

One of the reasons Hapoel Jerusalem is having such a phenomenal season is the addition of guard Jared Harper, who has been no less than spectacular, game in and game out, for the Reds.

“First of all, I think Jared is a player that we have not seen in Israel for many, many years. He’s a small guard, so to speak, by size, but he does things that cannot be taught and things that, in my opinion, are just pure talent. The speed, the change of pace, and the change of speed – he is a crazy killer.

He knows how to finish off games, takes this on himself, and doesn’t lower his head for a moment. He knows exactly what he is doing, and he was on the verge of going to the NBA but preferred to begin a European career. He played two years in Valencia together with Chris Jones, who I played with at Maccabi in the past, so Harper was someone that I followed every now and then.”

Zoosman credits his maturity on the court to his girlfriend, with whom he is celebrating their one-year anniversary. He explains she has been a positive influence and has helped the swingman in his career.

“Many people are slowly becoming aware that I have a partner that I really, really love, who is really fun and someone who has truly touched my heart. I believe that this is also one of the reasons that has really helped me improve my game for the better.

I think I’m very calm on the court, and while I was calm before that, I think she does so much good for my heart and calms me down, which is an incredible bonus. We just celebrated a year together, and it was really special. I hope to be with her for many more years to come – she’s truly a special woman.”

Zoosman understands that he is a role model for youngsters and says he appreciates the positive remarks he hears from fans and admirers alike, which also helps shape who he is.

“I think that the fact that I hear people asking me for a picture, and when I do so it’s so good to see how great it makes them feel. When someone gives me a compliment on the street, it just shows me that I’m doing things right as a person, because before I am a player, I am a person.

I think that’s something that has always guided me throughout my career – that I do things right in my own way, without getting angry and without making enemies. I believe it’s very important that people respect and appreciate you based on the fact that you’re a person first and foremost.”

Personal goals

“When it comes to basketball, it’s about winning regular team titles, whether it’s a cup or the league. I think winning the EuroCup this year would be really, really special, and hopefully we can qualify for EuroBasket or the upcoming World Championship – that’s something I would really love to be a part of again.

On a personal level, one of my biggest dreams is to start a family. I think that’s one of the most important things in this world. Hopefully, it will happen soon.”