VALENCIA. Valencia Basket’s young point guard Sergio De Larrea admitted that the NBA could be a stage in his future but said that it is not something he sees as close as possible because he is happy at the club and has opportunities.
“I still see it as a bit far away. I am comfortable here, Valencia is the place where I was trained along with my other club and I am happy here and I have opportunities and that is the important thing. It could be, but for now I am here and working hard,” explained the Spanish international in an interview with EFE.
‘Larry’ will make his debut this season as a first team player and was very grateful for the treatment he received from coach Pedro Martínez in the preseason.
“I was told about him and I did have expectations. When he arrived, the first thing he did was talk to me and that surprised me because it was the first time you don’t expect it and when he came to talk to me I thought what he told me was great. A ten. He came to me, gave me confidence and so far,” he commented.
The Valladolid player explained that the coach had told him to “try to help the team in any way he could” and to be himself “and to work as hard as possible from day one.”
“I am as excited as I was on the first day and always eager to help. I can bring rhythm, I am a young player and Pedro wants a high pace and I can adapt well in this aspect, encourage and be there when I am needed,” he said.
“In the end, since I came here I have always played at that pace, with that style and I feel quite comfortable. It is something I have been doing for three or four years and I think I can do it,” he added.
The injury of point guard Chris Jones could give De Larrea a more prominent role at the start of the season. “In the end, these are circumstances that occur and, as Pedro told me, I must try to help the team in any way possible. In this case, there is a fortuitous injury, so I will try to help,” he insisted.
The outsider said he hopes they do “a good job” in the ACB and the Euro Cup “but, above all, to have good feelings at the end of the season, that the team has been formed and the locker room is spectacular because in the end everything goes hand in hand, success is related to the locker room.”
The player from Valladolid was aware that he could benefit in part from not playing in the Euroleague this season. “Being young, I need to train a lot, to get on the same page as everyone else, and with lots of training, that can be achieved. By having double games and not triple games like last year, I think we can achieve that,” he said.
De Larrea admitted that he is excited to be the protagonist of Valencia’s farewell at the Fonteta. “When the last match is played it will be sad but exciting to live that experience with all the great players who have played on that court,” he said.
Larry faces this first campaign in the first team after having made his debut this summer with the senior team, with which he completed the preparation until the Pre-Olympic Games in Valencia.
“It is always special to make my debut with the national team and play with the players you have been watching on TV since you were a child. I think it has helped me to get into the rhythm, to be at the level that is required of me in the preseason. I am very grateful for the opportunity and I hope there will be more,” he said.
The point guard analysed the situation that is occurring lately with youngsters who emigrate to the United States or Australia to complete their training. “I think there are players who need to go to develop their character and physique and there they can have opportunities although it is not easy in the first year being European. I see both experiences and both are positive but in the end you have to work,” he stressed.
