His father having preceded him as a player in Europe, forward Kyle Wiltjer of Umana Reyer Venice is back in the BKT EuroCup and loving every minute of the experience.
Kyle Wiltjer, Venice: 'It is fantastic to be back in the EuroCup'
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Hello, EuroCup fans! I thought it was a good idea to start this blog by introducing myself. I am Kyle Wiltjer and play for Umana Reyer Venice. My father was Greg Wiltjer, who played in Europe and even made it to a couple of EuroLeague Final Fours with Aris.
I knew my father was a good player overseas, but when I got to Athens, Greece, to play for Olympiacos, we had an off day and I went into the city to get some coffee. My dad played in Greece like 25ish years ago, and I was amazed by fans coming up to me. I was thinking they were coming up to me because I'm a new Olympiacos player, but they were really coming to talk to me about my father, how great his team was back in the day in Greece. So it was a funny experience for me when I first got to Greece, and it just showed me how passionate they are about basketball, that they remember those times and then they were so excited for me to be in Greece.
"These are experiences that my whole family will always remember."
We are different players, though. Maybe the first thing is just my father is much bigger. I'm like a smaller version of him. As a bigger guy – more weight, more kilos – he was more of a traditional basketball player at the center position. And he couldn't shoot, but when I was a little kid growing up, he sent me to a lot of shooting basketball camps and he really worked on my fundamentals. That was the most important thing that he taught me: to work on my skills and my shot. And so from an early age I just kind of developed into a three-point shooter from that.
I won the NCAA championship with Kentucky in my first year in college. That was a dream come true. In the United States, the NCAA March Madness is just this unbelievable event, and to be a champion in my first year in college, it was great, one of my favorite basketball memories! And winning a championship at any level is special, so it was a great moment.
In college, I played with some great players. Some of them are in Europe, like Alex Poythress, Nigel Williams-Goss and Kevin Pangos. I was very blessed to play for some really good teams, and I think I'm at my best when I'm around good players. I just get the most out of myself that way, and that's what I tried to do in college: be part of the best team possible, just to push myself and push my skills to as high a level as possible.
I was lucky to try out for the Houston Rockets my rookie year and I made the roster. I had a really good pre-season and had an unbelievable experience in the NBA. The next year, I got a call from Olympiacos. One of the veterans on my Houston team was Patrick Beverley, who had played there. And he said that it's an unbelievable program, because he experienced it playing overseas. He told me I had to take the deal, and so I talked to my father and he said Olympiacos was just a historic program. And that was just an amazing experience, getting to play with legends like Spanoulis and Printezis. My first year overseas was amazing.
"It is amazing, getting to see the world."
I have played in many different cities– like Malaga, Ankara, Tenerife and Hangzhou – before I came to Venice. It is amazing, getting to see the world. My wife and I just have a love for travel and getting to see different cultures. And I've been very lucky to be in some beautiful cities, especially this year. Getting the opportunity not only to be in a beautiful city but be in a program like Reyer's, that is like a family and also has a really talented roster and a good team... I'm really fortunate that I've gotten these opportunities.
I played in Hangzhou, China last season. I didn't know much about the city before going. I just wanted to support my family and, at that moment, it was really good money, an opportunity for my family to save some money. So I went there just not knowing what to expect, and went away with a mind-blowing experience. It was just a gorgeous city, the culture was amazing, the people just love basketball over there. And so for me to be able to go to that side of the world, experience something completely different and also have a great time, it's something I will always remember and will always has a special place in my heart.
I have some good news. My second daughter, Nahlia Snoh Wiltjer, was born two weeks ago. I am very lucky to be able to have two beautiful daughters, and it's so amazing to bring them in the world, into this lifestyle. My first daughter, her name is Airiah, was able to live her full first year of life in Tenerife, Spain, on an island. It was just an unbelievable place to live. And then we go home and it's kind of the joke around the street. I live on a street [in Portland, Oregon] called Springbrook Street and everyone on the street always asks, where are you going next? Where are you going next? We chose Venice, Italy and now my second daughter Nahlia gets to live her first year here. You couldn't write it any crazier, and these are experiences that my whole family will always remember.
Last week, I got to play against Andrew Andrews, who is now with Joventut Badalona. We have known each other since, I'd say, fourth grade. We played basketball together at a very small age, and it is just cool to see other people from our city make it and play overseas because there are not that many players still playing. And there's another guy, Mike James, who's from Portland as well and is playing great here in Europe. So it's cool to see guys from Portland, Oregon over here. And it's always cool to play against them.
Now, I am back to the EuroCup and traveling to many cool cities this season: Paris, London, Istanbul, Barcelona... It's a dream. That's the best part about playing the EuroCup, the EuroLeague, even the BCL: you just play in some really cool cities. Even though our focus is on basketball, most of the time it is fun to be able to get to these cities, just travel the world and still stay focused on the task at hand, but also enjoy it a little bit off the court. It is fantastic to be back in the EuroCup, it is incredible. All the teams are really talented. The cities are amazing. And it just feels great, especially after being in China last season, it feels good to be back in Europe. I'm really looking forward to a great year.
We got out first win and now, we get to play against Besiktas in Istanbul. It is a business trip, but again, fun to go back to Turkiye because I played there a full season. It's fun to be able to go back to a place like that, trying to get our second win!