All in the family: chemistry counts with champs - David Vanterpool

Hello, what's up everybody! It is kind of funny, but a lot of people freaked out when I talked about the jinx in my last blog. I kind of want to clear the air so that a lot of players don't get scared when being interviewed on Euroleague.net. I want to let everyone know that I had some things going on some time before I actually had to sit out. I was already having some pain and it is nothing that happened in the next day after blogging. It was something going on for a period of time and when we finally had the chance to get everything looked at, it was more serious than I thought, but that news came right after writing the blog. Call it what you want, but jinx or no jinx, I am feeling a lot better now, trying to get myself in the best condition to get ready to back to the team and help them to reach our goals.

Our team signed Oscar Torres right before I got hurt. Honestly, we were probably looking to get him or a player like him before I went down for this period of time. He is the type of player that a lot of fans in the Euroleague will learn to like, because he plays hard all the time, doesn't need the ball, is a great teammate and a great person. He is the type of player that the Euroleague is all about and you all will have the chance to see that. We have a great atmosphere on the team, taking one game at the time and trying to get closer to the playoffs. We have a big game coming up on Thursday at Olympiacos. We already understand what it takes to move on to the next round. We know how important it is to get as many early wins as possible. OK, we won two games, but both were at home, which is one of the keys to advance, you have to win at home. We also have to win games on the road and, in the position we are in right now, we have to play two road games against two of the toughest teams in Europe. We have to be prepared for this stretch and get ready to meet every challenge as it comes. We are not looking too far ahead, we don't think that we are already into the next round. First we have to qualify and then try to finish first in our group so that we are in the best position possible to make it to the Final Four.

Olympiacos is a really strong team and we are looking forward to the challenge. Scoonie Penn is playing well, Henry Domercant can score a lot of points on any given night. Since the beginning of the season, when we knew that the Final Four would be in Athens, we knew Olympiacos would be one of the favorites to make it there, as it is a strong Greek team. We have to be as prepared as we possibly can be and put everything that we learned together throughout the season on the court. Our job again is taking care of ourselves. Olympiacos is a strong team but this is the Top 16 and you cannot expect to face weak teams right now. Some teams did not want to face some of the Greek teams, but in my opinion it is better to do it. You have to beat everybody, anyway, if you want to win the Euroleague. So facing a strong Olympiacos team is a good thing. We are looking to go in there and try to get a win.

David Vanterpool, CSKA Moscow

Most people wouldn't know that most of the CSKA players live in the same neighborhood in Moscow. That helps make the atmosphere on the team as cool as it is. This is like a family and we spend a lot of time together. I can give you an example. I was supposed to go to the trip to Greece to face Olympiacos but in the end I am not going to go. Theo Papaloukas has this satellite TV with SuperSports Greece, and he gave me the keys to his house so that I can go and see the game live in there. So this is what I will probably do, go to his house and watch the game there, hopefully watching CSKA win! The atmosphere is good, we have so many guys playing a great role on our team right now, trying to do the best than they can. That's why it is kind of easy for Oscar Torres to fit in, being the kind of player that he is. He just plays hard all the time and I think it is a good fit for us. Other guys have the chance to step up in big games, like Anton Ponkrashov. He is ready for the task. We are all looking forward for the game against Olympiacos and hopefully moving on to the next round.

Team chemistry is very important to win games. I compare what we have in CSKA right now with the team chemistry we had at Montepaschi Siena in 2004, the year when we won the Italian League title and made it to the Final Four. It is very comparable. This is what championship teams have and the others don't. Not only on the court, but most of it off the court. Our team, being so close to each other, is like a family and I mean it. There are family members that are closer to each other, and it is almost exactly as any family would be. Those are the types of qualities you have in a champion team. Being with the team in Siena, it was just that way. I see the same type of quality in this team. We are basicly the same team as last season with a few additions. Ultimately, you have to get on court and win all the important games. We will see how it goes down, but we are definitely close to each other and that makes CSKA a special team in a tight battle. We care too much about each other and nobody wants to lose.

I hope you all keep reading my blog here on Euroleague.net. I want everybody, especially CSKA fans, to know that I am not going anywere and that I am staying here. I will be back, playing again and helping the team. That is one of the keys to our success, our fan support. The bottom line is that every CSKA fan pushed for us to win the Euroleague title, just as it happened last season. We want to win another title and this is our goal, what it has always been. I hope that all my friends all around Europe will keep reading it, too. Some younger players and friends that I know are following it. I just talked to a friend a little while ago, his name is Tony Dobbins and he plays in France. He reads the Euroleague.net blogs all the time, especially mine, and he didn't know what exactly happened to me. I thought it was cool that the people I know for quite some time read the blog and stay tuned to Euroleague.net!

POSTED BY

David Vanterpool - Moscow