How Kaun tempered himself

Olympic bronze medalist Sasha Kaun talks about the history of his career, the secrets of success in the American student league and European basketball. A selection of the most interesting statements by the Tomsk basketball player in the federal media.

- I started playing basketball when I was twelve or thirteen, I don’t remember exactly. He trained at the Tomsk sports school. Even then he was very tall, but thin. He weighed about seventy-five kilograms with a height of two zero seven. Because of this, in the Tomsk team I had the nickname Worm, that was the association. He left to study in America at the age of 16. It was a family decision, a very difficult one.

- At the first training session in America, it seemed to me that I didn’t know how to play at all. There, even in youth basketball, people with good muscle mass are valued; it was very difficult with my weight. But the coach gave me a chance. Then I started working out in the gym, before that I didn’t even know what it was. I played for a year, and then I decided that basketball was for me and started playing professionally. I spent the whole summer with a coach and after the second season I went to a summer league for schoolchildren, where I was noticed.

- At the American school I tried to study well and play well. Later this helped: universities invited me not only because I played basketball well, but also because they knew that I was academically oriented too, and that I would not have problems with this. In the USA, people who strive for something are valued. Those who work every day succeed in everything in the end.

- I am a programmer by education, my university specialty is called Computer Science. In programming, you can do as you want, go your own way, experiment, create, but the final result will still be assessed according to a simple principle: either the program works or it doesn’t. I like it.

- Throughout my career, neither at the university, nor at CSKA, nor in the national team, I have never been in the leading roles. I always knew my role - to do what I can to help the team. All you need is to be a “big” center, defend, rebound, score easy goals - that’s my concept. This is what I have always played and continue to play with.

- Most of all I like to play defense. I really love defending against other centers, I get energy from it. In attack, I make almost all my shots directly from under the hoop. I don’t throw from distance or medium distance, I focus on working in the three-second zone. Well, when you score almost everything from above, this, of course, affects the percentage of hits for the better.

- Much of the American student league does not work in professional basketball. Especially when it comes to Europe. The American approach is based on athleticism: who can run faster, who can jump higher. But in Europe they pay more attention to positioning in the attack and all sorts of tactical nuances in general. When I moved to CSKA, I had to reconsider many things: learn to play defense differently, choose a position on the court differently, set screens.

- Basketball is such a thing: the longer you play, the better you understand it. When you perform with veterans, you understand this very well. In our college, one of the coaches was Denny Manning, he sometimes played with us in training. So, you are surprised, a person can no longer jump, cannot run, but plays! He makes rebounds and scores. Just based on knowledge of the game and experience alone.

- In Russia, when a person sees you for the first time, they keep you at a distance. And only when he gets to know you better does he become a good friend. In America, on the contrary, at the first stage of dating people are very open and smile constantly. But later it often turns out that they are not what they show themselves to be. In this regard, Russians are better than Americans.

- Getting into the NBA is a cherished dream for a basketball player. But you must always objectively weigh your chances and make the right decision. I accepted CSKA's offer because I wanted to return to Russia. This is my homeland, I missed it for 7 years while I lived and studied in the USA, But someday I will return to the USA, to the NBA and continue to improve as a player and a person.

Egor Knyazkov, basket.tomsk.ru