08 October, 2019
04 October, 2020
25 Tyrus Mcgee (ITA)
15/10/2019
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Expect the unexpected from Tyrus McGee, Pau-Lacq-Orthez

PAU (France) - The fortunate spectators at Wednesday’s Group B opener between AEK and EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez will almost certainly watch a great ballgame and they might, just might, also be in for an extra little treat.

In basketball, you have to expect the unexpected - Tyrus McGee

 
If it does happen, it will probably be when they least expect it, so they have to keep their eyes peeled whenever EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez guard Tyrus McGee is on the floor.

The 6ft 2in (1.87m) guard might just reward them with a play as memorable as his dunk in the Italian Serie A play-off finals last June, when he was playing for Dinamo Sassari, that went instantly viral and was hailed by fans as one of the best dunks of the year anywhere on the planet.

 

"I like to be aggressive when I play and I was playing against my former team [Reyer Venezia], so I wanted to come out and show them what they are missing," McGee recalled for championsleague.basketball. "Most people thought it was the adrenaline but it really wasn’t, it was nearly the end of the third quarter and I was tired.

"It just happened. In basketball, you have to expect the unexpected. We’d played against them during the regular season in their gym and I tried to dunk on the same guy, but I jumped a little late and he blocked me. So I thought to myself 'ok, next time, I am going two feet, one hand'. It just so happened that the next time was Game 6 in the play-offs."


McGee helped Sassari conquer the FIBA Europe Cup last season

McGee, a 2019 FIBA Europe Cup champion with Sassari and an Italian league champion with Venezia, is one of those American players who has by now established a reputation in European hoops and he won’t be out to prove anything in Wednesday’s premiere. He is just looking forward to playing at the home arena of a former Basketball Champions League champion.

"I expect the AEK fans are going to bring the energy for their players, they have a big arena and I am sure they are going to be very supportive, but I think we’re going to be fine," he said.

"The Basketball Champions League is a little different from the French Jeep Elite League, I think it’s going to be a bit more physical and, personally, I feel free to play basketball because they have good officials in the competition. I am very excited, really excited.

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"We have grown as a team. We have a lot of young guys on our team and we, the more experienced guys, are trying to help them. I think playing two games a week [between the LNB and the BCL] is more of a focus thing, you just need to take it one game at a time and stick to the plan the coach has prepared for that game.

"We’re going to travel to Poland, Turkey Spain, Israel, Germany, all those different places and [as far as I am concerned] those trips are fine because that’s how you get to know your teammates and bond together. It is great for us to get to do something we love to do and see all those different places at the same time."

 

The 28-year-old American’s first club in Europe was Spanish LEB Oro side Breogan, and then he played in Germany for Eisbären Bremerhaven before spending almost four seasons in Italy. Orthez is his first club in France.

"I love it here, people here are very nice and very professional both on and off the court," he said.

"Our point guard is Ronald Moore, we played together two years ago in Italy and the fans are very supportive. Everyone is patient, which is very good and I love France, it’s a beautiful country.

"You walk down the hallway and you see the history of the team, the guys who played here in past years. It’s maybe the nicest gym and maybe the biggest gym in the French League and I love that because it reminds me of my NCAA days, although of course the atmosphere is quite different."

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In McGee’s experienced eyes, Orthez is one of the teams poised to advance to the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs.

"I can see us, AEK for sure, Banvit [Teksut Bandirma] who are kind of rolling right now, my former team Sassari and RASTA Vechta, who did really good last year in the German league," he said.

"These teams are strong but let’s not forget that the Basketball Champions League is quite different from domestic leagues. Right now, I would say our goal is to stay consistent.

"We started the season with a win but then lost the next two games and we just won the last game. One of our biggest problems is that we relax midway through games, we start off well but once we go ahead we don’t keep the tempo high anymore.

 

"The goal for me and for the team is to make sure we finish in a good position in both the French and the Basketball Champions League. A

"As an individual, I just continue to work hard and take it day by day, game by game, and just help my team fight from the beginning to the end."

And maybe, just maybe, keep all of us on our toes as we expect the unexpected.