After making the game-winning free throws to lift Mornar Bar to victory in its first ever Top 16 game, veteran guard Jacob Pullen discussed his and his team's season – and what's next – in this interview.
Jacob Pullen, Mornar Bar: 'Now we're back clicking'
Interviews
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Mornar Bar is back rolling. After closing out the regular season with back-to-back wins to reach the Top 16 for the first time, it held off a late Herbalife Gran Canaria charge for a 100-102 road triumph in the first game of the new stage. Veteran guard Jacob Pullen came through yet again for Mornar in that game with the game-winning free throws in that game. It hasn't all been smooth sailing for the club, which struggled with COVID-19 cases on the team and on the support staff during the regular season. Pullen has shined for Mornar all season with a team-best 17.3 points per game on 40.3% three-point shooting, countless big baskets and veteran leadership. In this interview with EuroCupBasketball.com, Pullen talked abut what Mornar has been through to date and looked ahead, too. "We've got guys on our roster who really can play basketball at the highest level and play against some of the top teams," Pullen said. "It's in our hands. We just have to play and play well."
Congratulations on starting the Top 16 with a win. A road win at Gran Canaria is never easy, but you guys made it tough on yourselves at the end.
"It was a learning experience for us. We made bad choices at the end of that game, but at the same time, it's something we need to understand that playing in the Top 16, no team is going to quit. Regardless if we’re up 10 with a minute to go or if we're up 12 with 2 minutes to go. Every team is going to play till that final buzzer because they're playing for something. It's all good teams. So we have to do better at that. But at the same time, a win is a win. They don't care if you win by 1 or if you win by 12. As long as that W is on the stat sheet at the end of the game."
What was going through your mind after they tied it and how much pressure did you feel on your shoulders when you went to the foul line with 4.4 seconds remaining?
"I was as calm as could be. I had told 'Pajo' before we got the ball that we would win the game. He was upset at that last possession, where I made a questionable decision. But at the same time, I told him, 'it's our ball with 9 seconds left. We're gonna win the game. Don't worry.' And we walked up there, we executed, I got to the free-throw line and we were able to get a stop at the end of the game and win. My teammates did a great job."
"I'm a junkie. I'll watch basketball all day and all night."
It seems that Coach Pavicevic gives you a fair amount of freedom. What do you like most about playing for him?
"I've played in a lot of places in Europe and he doesn't act like a normal European coach as far as putting pressure on guys, or if you're having a bad night, him changing his attitude or his outlook of how things are supposed to go. He believes in us. Plus he's been here before. Me and Needham have played for him before. Isaiah played here last year at the end of the season. So he believes in us. He believes in the guys he brought in. He doesn’t think that us having a bad night is the end of the world. He really gives us a lot of leeway and freedom to play our game. He trusts the shots that we take. He tries to put us in a position to be as effective as we can and as free as we can. So that's one of the plusses in playing for 'Pajo'. He's a guard coach. He really lets us do our thing and it shows as well as we've been playing in the EuroCup."
Mornar is 4-1 at home in the EuroCup this season and you play your next two games in Bar. Have you had a chance to see MoraBanc Andorra or UNICS Kazan play yet this season?
"For sure. I'm a junkie. I'll watch basketball all day and all night. I've watched them both play numerous games and I’m a fan of Kazan, I’m a fan of Andorra. I think Kazan is really tough with Canaan, Smith, Holland, Brown, Morgan. They have a lot over there. Kazan is always a top team in the EuroCup. They are always fighting to get to the final four and the championship of the EuroCup because they want to win and get back to the EuroLeague. So I expect a tough game out of Kazan. Andorra has been fighting injuries and they haven't been as strong this year, but they're still a Spanish team and Spanish teams play at the top level in Europe. All Spanish teams because that league is just a tough league. The bottom of the Spanish League teams can beat most of the top teams in leagues in different countries just because of the way they play. So we can't look at it as, you know, Andorra hasn't been playing well. We have to go in and we have to take care of home court, which is our main goal. It's something that I expressed to the team after we won in Gran Canaria. Now all we have to do is win these next games at home and we put ourselves in a position to reach the top eight."
Like many other teams, Mornar's season was greatly impacted by COVID-19, both on and off the court. In what ways did those difficulties and tragedies make your team stronger?
"We went through a tough stretch in the regular season in the EuroCup where we only had about seven or eight guys for a couple of games. So that put a lot of pressure on me and Isaiah; we were playing about 37 minutes a game. We had no Needham. Nemanja [Gordic] wasn't here yet. Bjelica was out. So it really was down to me, Isaiah and Jeremic for a good stretch of two or three weeks. And I believe that's why we lost to Ulm at home after just playing against Paris on the road and Buducnost at home. We had a tough stretch, so it affected us a lot. But at the same time, we were rolling before COVID hit our team and we were playing really good. We had beaten Brescia by 30. We had beat Malaga at home. So it took us a second to get back into our rhythm. So I think that's what showed when we lost at Malaga and we lost at Brescia. It took us a second to get back to playing the type of basketball that we were, but going into the end of that round when we beat Paris at home and Buducnost on the road, I think we were getting back to ourselves and now we're back clicking, so it could be really good for us that we already beat our COVID stint and some teams are still going through it. So I think that we can focus for the rest of this season and stay healthy."
"We're not just a pretend team or a Cinderella or something like that."
The roster doesn't really have any young players and most of the players are around your age. Has all of that cumulative experience helped you guys become a more dangerous opponent?
"100 percent. You've gotta think about it. Kenny Gabriel is a EuroLeague-level player. He's played at the top level of basketball in Europe. And Taylor Smith has been in the EuroCup before with Nanterre. Milko Bjelica has played at the top level of basketball in Europe. We've got a lot of guys with top-level experience. Jeremic has played in Europe before. We have a lot of guys with experience. So, like I said, it's not about overdoing it with us and I think 'Pajo' has done a great job with that. We don't have to over-practice. We don't have to do things that most teams would do at this point in the season. We’re more hands-on where we can walk into a gym, take us an hour, focus on the other team, focus on our selves and we can get out of there and be focused and prepared for the game and I think that that's been showing for us."
You’ve been to the EuroCup Quarterfinals before with Khimki, but I would imagine there was more pressure on that team than there is in Bar, where making the Top 16 is already seen as a historic achievement. What would it mean to the club and city to advance to the quarterfinals?
"It would mean a lot. You've gotta think about it. A team in a town like this that has been in the shadows of Buducnost for a while and we're really trying to make our own name and show that we can compete at the highest level. It would mean a lot to show the Adriatic League, the EuroLeague and EuroCup that we're a real team. We're not just a pretend team or a Cinderella or something like that. We've got guys on our roster who really can play basketball at the highest level and play against some of the top teams. So making the quarterfinals would be completely different than at Khimki. At Khimki, it was expected and if we wouldn't have made it it would have been a bad season. Losing to Valencia that year was looked upon as a bad season because we had a lot of talent that year. But this year I think it's completely different and it's in our hands. We just have to play and play well."