Bologna, June 10 –
Brandon Taylor’s statements to “Black White,” broadcast on Nettuno Bologna Uno: “I was shocked, really, obviously I was focused on the season finale in Spain and when I saw the proposal coming I was really amazed. Clearly I knew Virtus, it was a lot of emotions all at once, shocked is the right word… the first reactions were these.
Tell us a little bit about your first days here, about fitting into a strong group that has been playing together for many months. Was it easy for you? You know what? It was a lot of information in a short time, understanding everyone’s character and personality, from the staff to the players. They were all really open with me and made this process much easier, we quickly made a nice connection with all the guys on the team and the coaching staff. They are all good guys, strong personalities in a very professional club; that made it a lot easier for me.
This is not your first season in Italy, you had a good season in Reggio Emilia in 2020-2021 when the public still could not enter, during the pandemic.
That season was really special, my son was born in Reggio! It’s funny because I still hadn’t been back to Italy since that year, not even on vacation, so it’s been a while… But when I came back here it all seemed so normal that I almost felt like I was home even though I hadn’t been coming for a long time. Reggio will always be special to me and so will Bergamo, the place where I started. Italy for me represents the beginning of what I would call my rise to professional level basketball. Bologna is a nice place to be, Italy in general is… I am a cheese lover and Parmigiano Reggiano is “VERY GOOD” for me, it is fantastic.
A very young Momo Diouf played with you that year in Reggio, now you found yourselves here. Did you know any of your other teammates?
More than knowing them personally I knew them indirectly. Matt Morgan and I played for the same club at different times, but we have mutual friends, so we knew each other even without really knowing each other. With Isaiah I attended the Summer League his first year when he was picked by the Atlanta Hawks; he was very young and was skinny, nothing like the player he is now. Otherwise I was watching the Euroleague, so of course I knew Will, Dani and Toko…it was nice to get to know them and create a friendship in a short time. Young Momo (laughs)… that year in Reggio they were going hard on him, they loaded him up a lot and now look what a player he has become! He is special, even then I had a great relationship with him and it was exciting to meet again.
Back to the current Playoffs: you played a great gamein Game 3 against Olimpia, now you have to face Brescia for the title; what has Dusko Ivanovic asked of you since you arrived and what is it like to be coached by him?
He first told me that he wanted me to be myself, to come out making a contribution to the team but without distorting myself. I knew I was coming in on the eve of the playoffsff into a broken group with a strong identity, so it was clear to me that I should give whatever would help the team. Then of course he told me a few things that would come in handy, but always with the promise to be myself on the court. Coach Ivanovic knows exactly what he wants, he is a legendary coach, sometimes less experienced coaches or players miss some details and look a little bit at how things develop, but with him … let’s say for me it’s also important to be able to learn, to see his temperament, how he handles situations. He is a legend, to be part of that for me is very positive.”
