translation by Serge Kiselev, and posted in the
JazzHoops forum.
The standard situation: The Jazz are going to another city...
If we didn’t play the previous night, then we leave at about 5 p.m.
We almost always have a practice earlier the same day. In the hotel,
the envelope with a key enclosed is ready for each player, and the
luggage already delivered. So I can travel with just shoes under
arm.
Right after the flight we go to sleep. On game day – we have morning
practice and study our opponent’s game right after it. But if we’ve
played the night before, then we usually arrive in the night and
join together only for the breakfast.
Utah goes to the game 2 hours before it begins. The young players
come out first, 6-7 players warm up for 25 minutes and then return
back to a locker room. Then – the last observations of the main
opponent’s combinations where each of us shares what he thinks of
his personal opponent. Then – the minute of silence to make up the
team spirit. And the last 20 min. before the game starts we come out
onto the court.
During the introduction they always do the USA anthem. Every time is
different. For the opening game in SLC, it was a choir that filled
all the court. In Portland, for example, it was by Scottish Celts.
If the next game is in SLC do you go straight home right after
the game?
Yes. But we have certain formalities – mainly interviews. Right
after that we are gather in the bus. Usually we have to wait our two
Johns – Stockton and Starks. The veterans stay longer in the locker
room, analyzing the game. When they come on the bus we are starting
for the airport.
The NBA players spend so much time in the airplane. What do the
Jazz players do in the plane?
Every team has its own aircraft. Ours consist of three salons. The
first is so-called playing. There are always the same four –-
Malone, Russell, Padgett and Starks –- playing cards. With money
bids. John Amaechi is also there, he never leaves his computer.
The second is for sleeping. Since you enter in there you can see the
scary movie: Stockton and Crotty are sleeping in the first row, and
not only are their mouths open but also their eyes! The rest players
and myself also stay in there.
The 3rd salon, to be honest I’ve never entered. It's always crowded
– head coach, his assistants, two doctors, two masseurs, 5-6
reporters and others.
Do you have to go through security?
Never. The bus comes right to the airplane. And when we arrive home,
our cars are warm and ready not far from the stairs.
What do you eat in the plane?
Shrimp, meat, some hot dishes, cheese, fruits. The stewards are
familiar with what each of us likes. And the orange juice is always
waiting for me, ready.
And what do your teammates prefer?
No special orders made. The cards players always have 2 new cards
sets and a big plate with fruits. So everybody can come and take
them.
Is there anything left for Malone & the band in this case?
There are so many fruits, that it’s impossible to eat all of them.
The U.S. territory has several time zones. What time do you
prefer to live in?
- SLC time. We are playing more at home before Olympics. I only felt
the time difference once – in the pre-season when we travelled to
Texas-NJ-Toronto-NY.
You probably don't have enough time for sleep because of these
trips
Why do you think so? I usually go to bed at midnight and get up at 8
a.m. Of course, there were some times when I was coming home at 3
a.m. and the next day we'd have another game. But in that situation
we don't have the morning practice so we can sleep more.
How would you describe your first months in USA?
It was hard. First of all it was difficult to adapt to new
conditions. I think I am lucky that I went to Utah. They do not have
any other big professional teams in SLC so everybody is cheering for
us. In New York, for example, we wouldn’t have so much attention.
And I get so much assistance from the club’s personnel to solve my
problems. They offered me choose several houses, cars, yet they did
not have to do it for me. They're always ready to help me when I
have language problems. I do not even think, for example, how to
send a letter – I just come to the club’s secretary.
But the problems of non-basketball life I have to solve by myself.
When I moved to a new house I needed to get gas, telephone,
electricity, and heating. I had to call all the different services.
They were checking my ID – mostly by my social security number. I
had to speak English to them, and had some problems.
There is another story. I decided to install the satellite dish.
They asked me: "Do you have snow there?" "Yes, it is snowing," I
answer. "It is not suitable weather conditions for installation."
Can you imagine, they offered to have me wait till the spring comes.
But finally they installed the dish. I can receive only NTV and NTV+
among Russian channels And no sports channels, so I can get only
brief sports reports in the news. But I can watch a lot of serials
instead.
And one problem I still can't solve - I cannot connect to the
Internet due to problems with cable.
How do you like American reporters?
To be honest, I expected more from them. Yes, they work perfect,
they cover every game in full – TV, newspapers, but... Do you
remember my best scoring game vs Hornets? So right after the game it
was about 20 of them and everybody asked the same question: "How
could you score 19 points?" So what to answer?
What do you feel about mass media representatives in general?
Benevolent at the highest extent. When they call me for an interview
I never refuse. If I am busy I’ll ask them to call 5-10 minutes
later. Yet, there are some reporters which, sorry for that comment,
are ready to abuse. In Russia I had two of them in my “black list”.
The similar two I have in America.
I know you have some experience as a reporter: Two and a half
years ago you’ve wrote for Sport Express about Stephon Marbury
moving to New Jersey...
No, I wouldn’t want to become a reporter. Maybe only a special
assignment reporter. And only in an elite magazine or newspaper. To
be sincere, it would be interesting to work for Sport-Express, yet
it would not be my main job anyway.
Can you say you are popular person in SLC?
It seems to be that way. At least I am often invited to different
events. For example, I was invited to a TV talk show – I was
answering the questions during 10 minutes, live. It was directed
perfectly, every second was thought through, yet they did not take
into account that Russians cannot follow the pattern. They ask:
"What do you prefer – football or baseball?" "Soccer", I answer. Or
another question: "What do you like the most – Coca-Cola or Pepsi?"
I laugh: "Juices!" Such an answer was a surprise for many -
"Coca-cola" is our sponsor. But the show producers were very
satisfied anyway.
The other event I was asked to is to take part in a children’s
practice. So I arrived, didn’t change clothes. I come in - and 50
kids are waiting for me on the court. Parents are sitting. I didn’t
know what to do for I was not dressed to do sports, being in jeans,
and they even passed a microphone to me. So I told them that we need
to warm up in the beginning. And the kids immediately started to
follow my instructions. We worked 2 and a half hours. Parents liked
it a lot – they were sending the pictures to me afterwards.
We have visited hospitals as a team. We autographed, presented
basketballs to them, just talked. I played a little Sony Playstation
with one of the boys. Kids were happy – looked to Malone and
Stockton with open mouths. I really like to be with children. If I
could only speak better English...
You told you wouldn’t want to become a reporter. What would you
want to be, if not basketball player?
I would spend my life doing sports anyway. Maybe I could be a soccer
player. Or making athletics. By the way, about 10 years ago I was
invited to a prestigious athletics club. I was good in sprint - 100
meters, 200... The long distances I’ve started to run later, during
the training camps.
How do you spend your free time?
At home, mostly. With the computer.
Do you come out with the other Jazz players sometimes?
In the middle of December we arrived in Miami two days early. [John]
Crotty has a house there and he invited [John] Stockton, [Greg]
Ostertag and me to sail the ocean on his boat. It was very hot in
there. Everything could have been perfect if we would not run
aground at high speed. So what to do? We started to push. It seemed
we had to go only 20 meters, so we have made it halfway but could
not move any further. I realized that there was no use in our
efforts and sat on the edge. Stockton noticed that, smiled: "Hey,
young man, why do you sit here? It’s harder to push this way!"
We stopped and started to have fun. Not far from us there were
seagulls watching us. Then somebody noticed that they were not
seagulls but vultures, probably waiting for our death. And we
started to regret that the powerful Malone and Amaechi were not with
us. Only 2 and a half hours later the other boat came and took us
off the ground. And on the team they like to talk about such
accidents. As soon as we arrived they started to make jokes: "So our
sailors are finally here!" That was the most funny sail for me in
the USA.
How do you spend your evenings?
Utah is a state of Mormons and there is not much of the night life
here. No discos or night clubs. But, to be honest, I don't really
care. If I have any opportunity, of course, I can go out to some
place, but I in fact I usually want to sleep at night. Some evenings
I may visit the cinema, once every 3-4 days I go to the restaurant.
I already have some favorite places. Steak House, for example. It’s
about 10 minutes by car from my house in the direction of the
mountains. Excellent cuisine, home-like atmosphere. And the nature,
as soon as the winter stepped in, became very similar to Russia.
It’s like I am in the middle part of Russia - forest the same as
ours, snow…I recall my childhood times, sport camp.
So as I understand you eat mostly at home?
Yes. Pelmeni offhand, borsch. But my favorite - meat and potatoes,
and drinking milk after.
Do you cook yourself?
No, Masha (cooks)...
You have been renting a house since November. What is your house
like?
Very big. Designed for two families - two equal parts separated one
from another. It has a main entrance, but we are usually come in
through the garage, which fits two cars. Just go upstairs and you
are on the main level. Here is a big sitting-room with a fireplace
in the corner, kitchen, bedroom with 3 doors: To the sitting-room,
bathroom and exit to a yard. There is a room for the washing
machine. The second level consists of two guest rooms which we are
not using.
Does your house mean a lot for you?
My house is my fortress! It’s good when you have your own house, not
a rented one. I can’t stand to buy my own house. But in the USA you
have no problems renting a house. When the time comes they will
prolong the rent with no problems.
I heard that in the U.S. you don’t need to lock the door at
night. Is that true?
I’ve forgotten to lock the garage once. There are two cars - an Audi
and a Porsche, and the keys were even left inside. I didn't even
notice it - I just got it in the morning when I entered the garage.
Everything was untouched.
Does anybody of the Jazz live close to you?
John Crotty. And the head coach of Utah, Jerry Sloan - about 200
meters from us. But even though we are neighbors, we don’t see each
other often.
What does Jerry Sloan look like outside of basketball?
Pretty old fashioned - drives a truck similar to the Russian Gazel.
It is impossible to imagine him out of basketball - he is crazy
about the game. He likes to come up to the half court line and talk
to referees.
Is your house located far from the center of Salt Lake City?
In a suburban area. It’s a pretty far to drive to the Delta Center
located in the center, about 10 minutes. But compared to Moscow it
is not really a distance, it’s like from Voikovskaya to Dinamo
subway stations.
In peak hours in Moscow it could take a lot of time to drive.
I understand what you are talking about. There are no traffic jams
in Salt Lake City. Only once it happened when it was snowing and
there was a car accident. I was recovering from an injury back then
and came late for a medical treatment.
Are you a good driver?
I was fined once. For speeding. I was driving 94 miles per hour when
the limit was 65. I did not have time to visit the police, so they
sent me a bill for $300. If I would've come by myself I would've
paid three times less.
Is the Salt Lake City street plan different from Moscow?
- In Moscow we have circles, and Salt Lake City - squares. A lot of
streets - when you go straight to the center it is 38 blocks. Each
crossroad - traffic lights! My house is located on the southeast,
and that is why I always take a highway, driving around.
Did you bring a lot of things with you?
Six bags. And all the furnuture, cooking battery , tv sets etc. I
bought here. I had problem with video only: in USA they have NTSC,
and to watch Russian tapes I needed a multisystem video set. By the
way, most of my things I brought were video tapes and books. Photos
also.
Did you bring a mascot?
I never had it. Only maybe when I turned 18 CSKA made a gift to me -
a miniature statuette with No. 5 on the jersey, my previous number.
But I left it in Moscow at my aunt’s house. Also there was a panther
- left in the same place.
Do you have any non-sport hobby?
I like wrist watches. But I wouldn’t call it a collecting hobby.
Did you make friends in America?
[Tony] Parker/ San Antonio, [Jake] Tsakalidis/ Phoenix , [Stanislav]
Medvedenko/ Lakers. In Utah - [John] Crotty. He played in Europe and
that changed his mind.
And what about real friends?
They are far away now. Kolya Padius, Nikita Morgunov, Andrei Fetisov
who plays in Poland, other CSKA players. We call each other on the
phone often. There are some other guys not known to basketball fans.
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