Hayes-Davies: ‘I told Vezenkov he had to go for the record – He won’t have many nights like this’

THE Nigel Hayes-Davies is the holder of the absolute points record in Euroleaguehaving scored the only 50 in the history of the event. Recently, however, Sasha Vezenkov scored 45 points against Bayern and threatened to surpass his performance.

The American forward spoke to “Amerikanos24” and emphasized that he sent a message to the Bulgarian that he should have chased the record.

At the same time, he talked about his course in Lanternthe European basketball, the Euroleague and many other interesting topics.

What he said in detail:

We knew you as a good forward at the EuroLeague level, but at Fenerbahce, you became a superstar. Can you tell us about that transition? And don’t tell me you’re not a superstar.

No, no, I would never say that. But thank you for saying it anyway. Time, environment, opportunity. Status is very important in life. Sometimes, you know, things happen in life and you’re at points that might not be the best for you or it’s a point where you need to… learn some things, you need to grow up. And I consider my time in Barcelona and then with Itoudis bringing me to Fenerbahce and the confidence he gave me to play. He told me “Shoot the ball. can i have someone else play defense. Be aggressive and score.” So from that first year, that was it. And when Saras came it was more than that. Both managed to coach great players. And then more recently, I was on a team that Saras was the head coach of and had one of the best power forwards in the league, Mirotic, who was MVP at the time. So for me now, you know, coming into this role, it’s been important that I’ve seen what it’s like to coach someone in the ‘4’ position who’s really good in the EuroLeague. So, like I said, sometimes you’re in a position to learn some things and grow. And then they will put you in the place where you can flourish. I think that’s the best way to put it.

Okay, coach Itoudis said you don’t have to play defense. Anyone else can do that, but you played the best defense of anyone against Sasha Vezenkov. Can you tell me about it? Because everyone expects this matchup, every time your teams are facing each other.

It started two years ago when we had them in the playoff series, they won in game five here, but he’s an amazing player. I’ve said it many times. I’m a big fan of him, of his game. The way he plays is amazing. The way he can score, the way he rebounds. He is special. Anyone who can score 45 points on three dribbles is obviously in a league of their own. But, I think it requires 100 percent concentration on defense from me. Even then there are times when I’ve lost him. As soon as you relax, as soon as you lose a little bit of concentration, he shoots in your face, cuts in front of you, makes a basket off an offensive rebound. For example, sometimes it’s at the point where I might have to help out on defense. I don’t help because of what it is. I have the utmost respect for his game and what a great player he is, but it’s just a matter of focus and trying to do my best. Obviously, like I said, he’s a great player, so he’s going to score and do what he does. But the goal is to try to make it as difficult as possible for him.

When you saw him come off the 45-point game, can we tell you felt a sense of relief that your record will be there?

I had no idea. I had the day off and as you may have heard, I travel on my days off. So I was in Lebanon, in Beirut, walking around. I think I was in a grocery store. Because I like going to grocery stores in different countries. I was walking around and in a group chat my friend Nate had texted me and says “did you see the game today”? “Of course not, I’m traveling today.” But I texted him and told him he had to go for the record. Because as great as he is, this was a near-perfect night of basketball. And you don’t have many of those. You don’t get many days like that in the… office, but, you know, he’s happy with his performance as it should be. He broke two, three, maybe four records during this game. So… yeah, I’m happy to still be number one.

How hard is it for a player to be in a similar situation again, you know, to be hot and score 45-plus points. it’s just being in a state of flow. I ask the man. You are the Lord 50 points.

It’s a matter of being in a situation like this. I had such situations this year. They just didn’t last close to 40 minutes. I think one of the times I remember was the second half of the Bayern game. It was an all-in situation. The beautiful thing would be if I could do this at will, whenever I want. It would be amazing. But, I think the key is to try as little as possible I think that’s it. Try to play the game with just the reaction. Let the game flow, and there’s a mix between letting it flow and taking it and being aggressive. And once you meet both, that’s when really big scoring nights happen for players.

Who do you think is the best player in Europe right now?

The best player in Europe is whoever he is. I stay away from discussions like this because I see everything that is said in the media. And I bookmark and save everything that is said. And I use that as a source and fuel for my motivation throughout the season. So whenever I am asked a question like this, I will never give an answer. Because I don’t want anyone to play against me and they have the same feeling as me. So the best player, whoever he is. And we will continue from there.

Your name was written many times here in Greece for Panathinaikos. Also for Olympiakos. Can you clarify if you were ever close to signing with a Greek team?

Not as far as I know.

If you didn’t have a contract, would you want to stay here in Greece?

Very beautiful city, great basketball fans. I mean, it’s not up to me. I am where I am as you see Yes, of course. And I can only be where my feet are. My feet are in Istanbul and in the Fenerbahce shirt. And I try to be as professional as possible and do my job to the best of my ability.



You said recently that you learned Serbian because it’s a basketball culture and basketball people. Will you learn Greek or have you learned Greek from Papagiannis or Kalathis?



Kostas in my first year here, and Itoudis, are Greeks. His assistant, Steph, was Greek. And then we had a physiotherapist named Kostas, he was Greek, and then we had Kostas who came, another Greek. Papagiannis came. So I tried to learn a little Greek. Oh, and our other physical therapist, Kosmas. Four or five Greeks in the first two years I was here. So I always tried to learn the language.



How many languages ​​do you speak?



I started learning languages ​​late in life. Six years ago I started learning Turkish. And then I went to Lithuania, I tried to learn as much as I could. Then I tried to learn as much Spanish as possible. And then back to Turkish. And when I was in Lithuania, I was learning Croatian. Because in college, I had a teammate, Duye. He is Croatian. It was the first experience with this language. And then I said, you know something? I will learn to talk to his mom. She speaks English, but I just wanted her to speak in her native language. Well. I’m not fluent in anything but English, but I can manage Italian, Spanish and Turkish and a little Croatian.



What is the proudest moment of your career? and which one is the most embarrassing?

The proudest moment of my career is definitely turning 50. Definitely because it’s something I wanted to do. I wanted it. As a person, you want to leave something behind, in whatever field you are in life. For me, I’m into basketball. So to do something in the game of basketball where my name is going to be here for at least some time and to be able to be the first person in the Euroleague to score That’s something that… You know, for the rest of the year, when someone talks about scoring records or who is the first to do something, I will always be able to relate. This is something I wanted to do. I am extremely proud of it. And the most embarrassing moment… probably in recent memory, just the game in Bologna that we played two years ago, I got caught, the ball was stolen from me And like, I had such a crappy game and I was thinking I have to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible. Nick runs in front of me and I just threw the ball and made a mistake. It was like we were sure we were going to win this game. I was kind of disappointed in myself, but that’s life though. Sometimes you are low. Sometimes you are high, but the goal is always to stay balanced.



Can we say that the series with Olympiakos was the most difficult you played?



Yes, I would say so. And every point felt like a final. And every time you got a basket, it felt like the season was over and every possession was so important and to be so close, you know… We won one away and then at home we were ahead until the last shot. My coach at the lily school always said that this is what you do sports for. You play so that you can feel the highest level of victory, but you also have to understand that sometimes the trade-off is that you don’t really get what you want and you find yourself at the lowest point. And within 30 seconds, we could be up 2-1 in the 8th. Now we are behind 1-2 It is a beautiful game. The best sport in the world. The best job in the world. I’m glad I can do it every day. And we like to do it as much as I can.



You said there is no joy in playing basketball in Europe. Can you tell us, what did you mean? What was your mindset about it?



Being on that bench with Team USA, there’s a different style and culture in basketball from American to European basketball. There were times with USA where we smile and laugh on the bench when Steph hits a shot and the whole bench celebrates. LeBron shrugs and everyone on the bench does. In Europe we don’t have these moments. Like, you don’t have the joy of seeing because when you watch these games, when somebody scores, the coach turns around and yells why did they score and when did they score, the coach yells at you because you fouled them two seconds ago or when there’s a timeout, everybody’s cursing . There is no time. There is no joy. There is no culture to have that. Well, and the best part is that everyone who has played basketball knows exactly what I was talking about. All players know what I mean. It was the media and the fans who are a little disconnected from the idea I mentioned, but the most important reviews always come from my colleagues. And they know what I mean.