While countless players have shined and taken the individual awards as parts of the Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv dynasty over the past three years, no one has meant more to the Israeli champs than their captain, Derrick Sharp. His leadership has always guided the team through the tough times and his trusty shooting has meant numerous wins, the biggest of which forced overtime as time expired in the last game of the Top 16 in 2004, allowing Maccabi to beat Zalgiris and continue on its path of what would be back-to-back Euroleague titles. Now 36 years old, Sharp is having one of the best seasons of his career and though many thought this season was a rebuilding year, the captain has his club focused on Athens. In this Euroleague.net interview, Sharp talks about how that shot boosted his career, what it's like to play at Nokia Arena and how he helps his newest teammates adapt to the pressure at Maccabi. “I think we've got a lot of guys that have learned a lot and grown up a lot in a short period of the season,” Sharp told Euroleague.net. “Anything from now on our expectations are high. The guys have confidence and they believe that they can do it.”
Hello, Derrick. First of all, congratulations for your win against Lottomatica in Rome. Once again you played a critical role, scoring all of your 8 points in the final minutes to win it for Maccabi. How important was this win for you and your club?
“Every win is pretty important. We've had a string of close games that we were on the losing end. I think the last couple of weeks we've been working hard and we're deserving to win close games like this. It gives us some momentum going into this home game and hopefully we can continue what we started.”
This is your 11th season with Maccabi and you seem to be doing better than ever at age 36, hitting 57.1% of three-pointers and 90.9% free throws. Does the amount of big games you have played in this last decade helped you to improve your shot selection over the years?
“No, I mean I've been playing for so long, so I've been shooting all my life. I think that just shows you that the more practice you get, the better you're gonna be. You know practice makes perfect. I just try to shoot with confidence. And like you said, I've been shooting for so many years, so hopefully it's improving every year. Hopefully I can continue that way and continue to shoot well and help my team in any way I can. But I think it's mostly from shooting all my life.”
You have been in all kind of situations with Maccabi, winning back-to-back Euroleague titles in 2004 and 2005, as well as making it to the final last season. That recent history seems to give the team a lot of pressure to make it once again to the Final Four in Athens. Do you see that as an extra motivation to get back to the Final Four?
“Yeah. I think there's more pressure at Maccabi than at any other team. Just because we represent the entire country as opposed to other teams that just represent their city. It's a challenge for new guys and young guys coming in, it's something new for them. It takes more time for them to be able to play under these circumstances. But, we brought the expectations so we have to live up to it. With every dynasty there comes expectations... the Lakers, the Celtics, the Bulls. So it's a challenge. It takes experience to be able to handle it and thrive.”
Maccabi underwent many changes last summer, as only you, Nikola Vujcic, Tal Burstein and Yotam Halperin remain from the 2004 winning team. It is a new era for Maccabi and the team needed an adjustment period. How ready is the team for all the big challenges coming up?
 “I hope we've been through enough battles, played a lot of different games for them to gain the experience and to gain the confidence that they were lacking maybe in the beginning. I think a lot of them have more of an understanding of what to expect and what to expect of themselves, what kind of hard work and time they need to put in in order to be successful and to deserve to perform and play well in certain situations. I think we've got a lot of guys that have learned a lot and grown up a lot in a short period of the season. Anything from now on our expectations are high. The guys have confidence and they believe that they can do it. So we'll see what happens.”
With the arrival of Goran Jeretin, Maccabi has brought in five new players - and Simas Jasaitis was the only one who had previous Euroleague experience. What kind of responsibility do you feel to prepare the newcomers for what to expect at every stage?
“Just to stay on them in practice. To keep 'em working hard every day. To give 'em confidence, to give them that emotional boost, to compliment them. To help them out with anything they need really. I think with us, experience is really about games and practice. You need to come in ready to practice hard and make it 'game-listic,' is what I pretty much call it. Prepare for practice and go out and practice like it's a game. If you practice like it's a game, you'll be used to doing that all the time. That's what I try to tell them.”
The team had a surprising home loss against Tau Ceramica, not only because of the loss itself against one of the best Euroleague teams in the last five years, but because of the fact that you were limited to just 68 points at home - your lowest score in Nokia Arena since 2003. Has this loss been, in a way, a wake-up call for you guys?
“No. We don't go out expecting to score 68 points and we don't go out expecting to score 168 points. We try to go out and win and not really think about how many points we score or they score. As long as we score more than the other team, then that's what's important to us. I try not to get caught up in how many points we're gonna score. I try to get caught up in how many points we don't let the other team score. I think if we focus on our defense, the offense will come. That's an issue we've been trying to instill in the guys this year, to approach the game from a defensive point of view and everything else will take care of itself, especially on offense. We have enough talent to score.”
Looking around the competition so far, it looks like the Euroleague is more balanced than ever. Who are your candidates to make it to Athens and why?
“I'd say Maccabi, CSKA, Panathinaikos. Who else? There are so many other teams. Benetton you can take or Dynamo or Barcelona. It's usually around the same teams that continue to thrive and continue to perform, because a lot of these teams keep the same players and that experience and team unity helps. That's why it's usually the same teams that are fighting for the Final Four every year: Tau, Panathinaikos, Maccabi, CSKA, Benetton. These teams are usually the ones that maintain the right chemistry and the right players to get there and they usually make it every year.”
You have been around in the competition since 2002 and you have seen the evolution of the competition. What do you think about the evolution of the competition, since you have been in virtually every major Euroleague Basketball game in the last four years?
“Like you said, there's just more competition, better players, better coaches. The teams are getting a lot better. The young players growing up are really getting a chance to prove themselves and a chance to perform on the European level. Basketball has evolved so well outside the United States that players are really working hard and it shows. The teams are a lot better. And that's the reason for it. I think it's more overall balance. Instead of being always a two or three-team race, now any team on any given night can come out and win, make it to the Final Four and take the European championship. It's a testament to the players growing up and it's great.”
 There is something that never changes in Maccabi and that is its incredible fan base. You have seen their support over the years and everyone who follows European basketball knows how Maccabi is backed by some of the most loyal fans in sports all around the globe. How could you explain the fan support you get to someone who never saw a Maccabi game live?
“Wow. I guess I have to say it has to be similar to playing in the final, the championship game on your home court in any NBA crowd. But our games are like that every game in the Euroleague. It's a final for us every game we play at home. It's a final, championship atmosphere from the crowd. I guess that's the only way I can explain it really. There's not many words to show it. Every game for us and our fans is pretty much a championship game, that's how they approach it. They want to win every game, every second. That's how they support us. Maybe also at Partizan it's like that. We were winning there by like 18 and they still were cheering for there team. That kind of sticks out in my head a lot.”
We will never forget the big shot in 2004 in the last Top 16 game against Zalgiris that allowed Maccabi to force overtime and eventually go on to win the game and the Euroleague title. How often are you asked about that shot and what did it mean to your career?
“How often? Probably once a week, running into people or maybe twice a week. I might see someone on the street and they say: 'Whoa, Sharp, I love you. I remember the shot. Zalgiris. This. That.' So I get reminded a lot. As for my career, I mean it just helped out Maccabi, so of course that helped out my career, cause if we're continually winning, that's gonna help us out and help me out basketball-wise. I think it was a boost in my career. I guess maybe it was a point in my career where either I was gonna continue in Maccabi or go somewhere else it seems. That's what people around me where saying. I don't know how true that was. I think it changed the face of Maccabi for probably the two or three years after that and catapulted us to where we are now. So I think it was big shot for everybody at Maccabi.”
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