Kuzminskas: «I want to pay back the love I’ve been getting from the fans»
Mindaugas Kuzminskas will be wearing the ‘reds’ jersey in the new season and as he explained to the official web page of the Piraeus team (www.olympiacosbc.gr) he knows everything there is to know about the team and the country in general. That’s something that makes him anxious for the upcoming season.
“I follow European basketball, the Euroleague and of course most of the national leagues. Even when I was with the NBA, I used to watch many of the games that were being played in Europe. Olympiacos is a team that has written golden history with amazing victories, conquering European trophies and significant success. I remember the Euroleague titles of 2012 and 2013, then Martinas Gecevicius was playing for the team, and we are really close, so this achievement is immense for a Lithuanian player. I used to watch the Olympiacos team and I was really in awe. Now, a few years later, I’ll be together with players like Spanoulis, Papanikolaou and Printezis”.
To make his final decision and accept the Olympiacos offer, he got to talk to many people that have a ‘red’ past and this is due to his zodiac sign: “I’m not shy to admit that I have talked to more than ten people before making my final decision. Among them, there have been many fellow Lithuanians, like Jonas Kazlauskas, Reinaldas Seibutis, Martynas Gecevicius, who had been with Olympiacos in different time slots. Of course I had also contacted David Blatt, who explained my role on the team and the general plan he has in mind for the upcoming season. I have also talked to Vassilis Spanoulis, as well as the former General Director of the team, Christos Stavropoulos. Apart from coach Blatt, I also talked with Kestutis Kemzura, who is his closest associate and a fellow Lithuanian. Indeed, everyone had only good things to tell me about the team. I did not hear one negative comment and this made me feel even more comfortable to make my final decision. I’m a Libra, so I tend to … weigh everything in and sometimes it takes me a long time to make a decision. However, all these opinions that I gathered, made me decide fast and I feel confident about my choice. So, I’m very happy to be part of Olympiacos”.
The 30year old forward said to be excited to join the “three musketeers”, as he called them. “Olympiacos has relied on a Greek core for years and one can say that the backbone of this team are these players. I’m excited to be part of this group and get to play alongside them to fight for the same goals”.
“Kuzmi” wants to leave last season behind him and believes that Olympiacos wants to do the same, so the new season is going to be a challenge. “Last season Olympiacos did not get to do what they had hoped for. The same went for me in Milan, so I believe that we have a great challenge ahead of us, both myself and Olympiacos, and I hope that together with our fans, as an organization, we can make the comeback we wish for”.
The Olympiacos’ fans … attacked him with love through the social media on the day the agreement was made public and the Lithuanian forward stated to be shocked about it. “To be honest, I hadn’t expected for something like this to happen. I would like to sincerely thank the fans of our team for the warm welcome. I received thousands of messages and I couldn’t believe my eyes. This made me feel so nice, but also made me feel I have to pay back this love. I promise to do the best I can to justify their trust and joy”.