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Alpha Kaba, Buducnost: 'We can do amazing things this season'

Alpha Kaba, Buducnost: 'We can do amazing things this season'

Interviews

6 December 20228 Mins read

Alpha Kaba, Buducnost: 'We can do amazing things this season'

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica is this season's 7DAYS EuroCup road warrior. It is one of four teams, along with Paris Basketball, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and Turk Telekom Ankara, to start the season with a 3-0 road record. Its frontcourt pillar has been center Alpha Kaba, who has recorded a double-double in each of the team's last four games. He leads the EuroCup in rebounding (11.3 ppg.), and also averages 14.5 points on 66.1% shooting, 1.2 blocks and a PIR of 21.8, which is third in the competition. He has corralled 68 rebounds and is on track to set a competition record for most boards in a EuroCup season, which Vladimir Golubovic holds at 202 in the 2013-14 season with Aykon TED Ankara Kolejliler. Kaba said he believes that the EuroCup's competitiveness is what sets the competition apart from others, as he said in this EuroCupBasketball.com interview. "What I like about the EuroCup is that it doesn't matter which team you play for, there's always great, great intensity. Every game is like do-or-die," Kaba said. "Everybody wants to go get the trophy."

Alpha, congratulations on the team's last win in Tel Aviv and your great start to the season. Did you expect Buducnost to do so well right away, especially on the road?

"Honestly, I was expecting even more because we should have won more games and because I think we were missing the chemistry in our team earlier. And that's why maybe we lost those games. But for me, yes, I was expecting even more, but I'm still happy that now we finally found our chemistry and things are going pretty well. So yes, I think we can do amazing things this season."

Right now, Buducnost has the best defensive numbers in the competition. Has defense been your focus since the start?

"We wanted to be a strong defensive team and we are still trying to improve because we're still missing some stuff sometimes. I will just say that we are not at the level we can be defensively yet, but we are still doing pretty well. So yeah, our coach has really insisted on defense since the preseason. So that's how we want to win games and not just to wait on the offensive side."

I need to be the best rebounder. For me, that's the mindset I have every single season."

Alpha KabaBuducnost

Your rebounds average this season is one of the EuroCup's highest all-time. What's the secret to being such a great rebounder?

"Rebounding has always been a part of me. I'm just trying, anytime I can, to go to get the rebound, offensively and defensively. That's one of my best qualities since I started playing basketball. And so I know that every single season, I just need to keep this quality in me and don't let it just go. So every season, for me, I need to be the best rebounder. For me, that's the mindset I have every single season. It's just about that, just being willing to go for the rebound every single time. That's the mindset I'm trying to have. Every time there was a shot, I'm just trying to go get the rebound, you know? And of course, I have some athletic quality, but I'm not just taking rebounds because of that. If you want to have the rebound, you just need to think of it and go get the ball."

Against Hapoel, you had your fourth consecutive double-double. In recent years, your numbers are better and better on offense, too. Is that experience or an evolution in your game?

"I think it's coming with experience and also with confidence. You know, lately, I've been doing well. I'm just coming off a [Turkish League] MVP season last year, so this also helps a lot, having this confidence, even though I can say I always had confidence in myself. So yes, it's just coming from experience, too. Every time I'm trying to improve, improve and every single game, I'm just telling myself, 'You need to do better.'"

This is your fourth EuroCup season after playing with ASVEL and Nanterre. What do you like the most about this competition?

"What I like about the EuroCup is that it doesn't matter which team you play for, there's always great, great intensity. Every game is like do-or-die. Every game is intense, you feel it in the game, and that's what I really like about this competition. Everybody wants to go get the trophy and I really like it. I don't know, in any competition, you feel some type of intensity, but yes, EuroCup games are maybe even more intense for me. It is a feeling you have when you are on the court."

Is there any team that has impressed you so far or any player that has stood out?

"There are always some very good players. I have been following the games and there are a lot of quality players. One of the players I am following is AJ Slaughter, who I played with when I was in ASVEL. He is doing pretty good with Gran Canaria. There are good players in this league and every single game, every single team we're playing against, we always have great matchups. So that's also one of the things I like in the EuroCup."

How about Ismael Kamagate of Paris Basketball? I am sure you know him better than most...

"Kamagate is a really impressive player. He is young and talented, and he's improving every single season, doing better in the French domestic league also because I have been following the league and yes, he is a good player. He had a good game when I played against him and we lost that game, unfortunately. But yes, he is a really good player and I think he's going to be a great player in the future."

For a big guy who finishes alley-oops, point guards are always important. How do you like playing with Trae Bell-Haynes and Petar Popovic?

"Oh, I love it. I love it because both of them are really good players. They can pass the ball and do a lot of things on the court and they bring a lot of intensity, offensively and defensively. They are the type of players you really need to have on your team, so I'm really glad to have them by my side. And yes, they are really helping us in a lot of things."

There are many good teams in this competition. I think that... we can contend to win the trophy.'

Alpha KabaBuducnost

In early February, Buducnost plays in Paris, just a two-hour ride from Blois, your hometown. How much are you looking forward to that game? Will you bring family and friends?

"Oh, yeah, that's for sure. You know, I'm really waiting for this game, playing back home. It's going to be a really good feeling. And, of course, as you say, it's like two hours from my place so I'm going to have some of my family coming, some of my friends. And yes, it's going to be a nice game, playing back in your country is always something you really appreciate. So I'm really waiting for this moment."

Looking around the competition, which teams do you see as the main candidates to fight for the EuroCup title?

"I would say us first, because I really trust in our team and I think we can really do great things this season. And then I was talking about Slaughter playing with Gran Canaria, and that can be a good, good contender, too. They have been playing great and also Bourg en Bresse are playing good. I don't know, there are many good teams in this competition. I think that, in this EuroCup, we can surprise, or we can contend to win the trophy or get to the final."

What would you consider a good season for you, personally, and for Buducnost?

"For me, as I say, we can challenge to go to the final. So I think we need to focus on every single game to reach this goal. And for me, that is what I expect. And then personally, I am just trying to, of course, help my team to go this way. I still try to do what I have been doing lately, and try to help my team win games day by day."