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Bojan Popovic, Lietuvos Rytas
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 Although he's just 26 years old, Bojan Popovic is an old hand by any measure when compared to the rest of the Lietuvos Rytas roster. Only three of his teammates are older than the Euroleague's October MVP, and two of those are making their Euroleague debuts this season. Popovic, on the other hand, has been with two different Euroleague teams before L. Rytas, including a debut season in 2006-07 as a full-time starter and double-digit scorer with a Dynamo Moscow team that reached the Quarterfinal Playoffs. All of which made Popovic a logical choice as the on-the-floor leader for Lietuvos Rytas even before he averaged 38 minutes in two victories to start the season. Now that he's leading the Euroleague in assists after two weeks too, expect Popovic to grow even more confident as a young leader - and his teammates even more comfortable. "After these two games, I am one of the leaders, sure," Popovic told Euroleague.net. "But that is what Coach [Rimas] Kurtinaitis spoke to me about and wanted me to do. I have no problems with it. In fact, I play more comfortably and play better with this role than some other roles."
First of all Bojan, congratulations for being named MVP of October. How do feel about receiving the distinction?
"It feels nice. When the people from the club called, at first I was surprised, because I had not thought about it as a possibility. This early in the season, you don't think about awards. After a couple hours, the journalists here in Lithuania called and told me more. So yes, I was surprised, but it feels nice, because I think it belongs to every player on the team. If the team is winning, and if you play good, such things can happen, but no matter how good you play, if the team doesn't win, nothing happens. In this case, what is very important is the two victories."
Has the 2-0 start changed the feeling among the Lietuvos Rytas players now as compared to a couple weeks ago, before the Euroleague started?
"Nothing is changing, in my opinion. We continue to practice as hard as week practiced before. We are not relaxing. Everyone is satisfied and happy for a good start with two victories, but everyone knows it's just a start. Two victories aren't enough for the Top 16. We have to continue working as hard as we have worked until now and keep winning more games."
You started 22 games for Dynamo Moscow a couple seasons ago and got 42 assists. Now you have 19 in two games. Is it fair to say you are looking to pass more?
"It's hard to compare seasons, but I think that, first, I have more playing time, and second, I have the ball in my hands more, so I can decide to pass or penetrate or do something. Maybe that is the main difference. I think that during my first year in Dynamo, maybe there were not so many assists, but I also played good and helped my teammates play well. The playing time is the big difference, and the things that Coach Kurtinaitis wants from me, to have the ball in my hands, makes for more assists now. I am happy about it, because it means we are playing as a team and a lot of players get to score."
 What is Coach Kurtinaitis telling you, both when you signed for L. Rytas over the summer and now?
"He is always telling me to control the game and to control our offense. He knows me, and I am one of the most experienced guys on the team, since many of our guys are playing for the first time in the Euroleague. His main advice is that: control the game, control our offense. We spoke in the summer a couple times about this, too, about how we are going to play, and now we are doing it the way he said we would then."
How much did you want to get back to the Euroleague after a year away?
"It was very, very important. Every player wants to play with the best, and in Europe, the Euroleague is the best. If you want to be one of the best, you must compete in this league, against the best players, and beat them. So that opportunity was one of the main reasons I signed for Lietuvos Rytas."
Let's talk about the two big wins. Efes comes to Vilnius and you guys jumped all over them, up 15 in the third quarter. How?
"It was my first game in our big gym. The domestic games we play in a smaller one. There were thousands and thousands of people, a good atmosphere. Every first game in any competition is a little nervous and tough for both teams. But we had a lot of time to prepare for Efes, because during the domestic games, we worked on some options that helped us very much. And maybe Efes didn't start the game so good. Maybe they underestimated us, I don't know, because they have a lot of good players who were not playing on their normal level in that game. It was a big game, a big victory and gave confidence to every player, me included. It was a great way to start, and especially at home, where every victory is important."
Were you surprised to play all 40 minutes against Efes?
"Yes, I was a little surprised that I played so many minutes. But coach asked only one time, during a timeout in the second quarter, if I was OK. I felt good and told him that, so I kept playing until the end. I can't say that I wasn't tired after the game. Of course, I was. But it was a good game, and I think I played well, even though 40 minutes is not usual, as you say. Others have asked me about it, but it was probably just a one-time thing, a specific situation. But as I said, coach wants me to control the game, so that's why it happened, I think."
How much did 10 assists help you as the new point guard win confidence from your teammates?
"Maybe it gave them more confidence in me, yes. I felt even before that game that all the guys trusted me, but for sure they probably trusted me more due to the assists. We had been a month together before the Euroleague opener, but I felt like had known them much, much longer, maybe because we are all close in age and becoming good friends. I don't think something would change in their heads about me if I pass to them or not. But maybe after two games, they can feel more sure that they are going to receive a pass from me when they are open."
The next week it was very similar, up 15 in the third quarter, 9 assists, everyone involved in Orleans. How important are those early leads for a young team like Lietuvos Rytas?
"If we can lead from the start, even by a few points, it's very important for us and our confidence. And that's why we are starting all our games by playing very hard. From the first minute, we want to have an advantage, and we had that in the two Euroleague games so far. For sure, when you are leading by five or 10, everything is much better and easier. You can play comfortably without having to chase all the time. For a young team like ours, it's even more important for the players to play comfortable. You can have that if you lead early much easier than an up-and-down game or playing from behind."
Now you guys are 2-0 in Group B. How do you keep it going now with such a young team?
"These two weeks gave us much more confidence. We saw, if some of us perhaps didn't believe it before, that we can compete with teams like Efes, Olympiacos and others. Our players understand now that we can win any game. Our goal is to win all our games at home and see which ones we can steal on the road. For now, we have one road win. But everyone feels confident and feels good physically. So we will keep trying for more."
 With more Euroleague experience than any of your teammates, how do you talk to them this week about playing Olympiacos away?
"I am the leader for now, but for sure, I don't need to tell them about Olympiacos. They are a good team at home, so surely it will be a difficult game for us. We want to respect all teams, but not over-respect any team. We all know what we can do. If we play hard as we did in the first two games, all 40 minutes, we can win. For sure, Olympiacos is a candidate for first place in our group, and maybe the Final Four. It will be difficult, but we have a chance. If we get a third victory, it would be great for us, but we have nothing to lose really. We are looking at our goal, which is the Top 16. We have started preparing well for Olympiacos and we'll be ready to compete."
How do you like this new role as team leader?
"In my career, I had a couple of situations before with, let's say, one of the most important roles on the team. Now, after these two games, I am one of the leaders, sure. But that is what Coach Kurtinaitis spoke to me about and wanted me to do. I have no problems with it. In fact, I play more comfortably and play better with this role than some other roles. I think also we have very good guys at every position, players who can help us in all different situations: scoring, defense, passing, rebounding, whatever. One of the reasons everything is working good now is all players know their roles, which is very important for all of us."
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Euroleague.net
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