EuroLeague.net did an interview recently with Joel Freeland , currently of the Euroleague team Uracaja. Most of the interview talks specifically about the Uracaja team and their situations but there were also some tidbits about conditioning.

You're 22 now, but you started basketball at a rather late age, 16. Is it true you were exhausted when you first tried basketball?

"Yes, it was very difficult for me physically, and I still struggle now with it. Six years later, it's hard for me still to come to grips with the speed of the game. I'm better now, and one of my assets is I can run well, which is very useful at my position. But it's still hard for me to run like that over long periods of time; I get gassed quickly. I grew up playing football, and though you can't quite relax, you are not always running in football. In basketball, you are always running or moving or doing something. It was hard for me to adjust, but it's something I learned with time."

And continuing on talking about his playing style...

Far from being exhausted, you seem to outrun other big men as part of your playing style? Did that style develop naturally or were you taught by someone?

"A bit of both. I always had people who taught me how to play, but I kind of took that and elaborated on it myself. Roberto Orellana helped me one or two years with my individual skill development in Gran Canaria. In England, with Jimmie Guymon, we worked on individual skills, too, but at a different level. It's all a learning curve, but I came to realize that I was not going to be getting points from being stronger than the people in these leagues who are so big and strong. It's going to be hard for me to back someone down and dunk over them. It's easier for me to get a quick backdoor or an alley-oop or run the floor faster."

 

Also, an update on Joel Freeland's statistics from the Euroleague and the Spanish league . In the Euroleague Freeland is averaging 14.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, an assist, a steal, 54.5 percent shooting in three games playing 24 minutes. His numbers aren't quite as stellar in the Spain league. In six games he's averaging 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 1.5 steals, shooting 55 percent in almost 23 minutes. Solid work so far.

Assist on finding the interview from amlmart1 .