By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Last season, Wade Baldwin helped Fenerbahçe win the treble, including the EuroLeague, the Turkish League, and the Turkish Cup.
Now, Fenerbahçe is chasing the same goals again, pushing hard and leading both competitions in the standings.
Speaking to Eurohoops, Baldwin reflected on the pressure of expectations and the significance of Fenerbahçe’s successful history:
“When you come to Fenerbahçe, you have to believe and understand that you are only competing to make the Final Four and win championships. You hold yourself to a certain standard. Other clubs’ goals might be to make the playoffs or just be over .500, but here you look around, you see players from the past — star after star, legend after legend — and you want to become one of those guys.”
After winning the treble, the Istanbul team made several key changes, with players like Marko Guduric and Nigel Hayes-Davis leaving the club, while newcomers such as Talen Horton-Tucker joined and immediately made an impact.
“Talen is simply a hungry player. He has a positive mentality about where his feet are in the EuroLeague, and that shows his character and professionalism. It’s not easy to be, in a way, kicked out of the NBA at 24 years old, then come and adapt to the European way of playing basketball. Some players still have their minds in America instead of here. But Talen is 99.9 percent locked in on Fenerbahçe and Turkey.
When you have players committed mentally, it’s easy to become a good team. He is one of a kind in Europe. There’s no one with his ability to attack the basket. He has unique athleticism, so it’s very easy to play with a player like Talen. Of course, there are several players like him on this team. That’s why it’s such a pleasure to be on a team like that.”
Nando De Colo also rejoined the team mid-season and proved to be a valuable asset from the start.
“If we look back at my career, that’s a guy I wanted to kill. I’m saying this with complete honesty. Nando De Colo is a legend — a Fenerbahçe and European legend. I’m lacing my shoes up every night playing against De Colo, and I’m like, ‘I’m f***ing killing this guy.’ That was the goal. So becoming his teammate feels like a breath of fresh air for me. You say to yourself, ‘Now we’re together, we can look for ways to win together.’ The game becomes much easier. As a veteran and a legend, he found success easily. He’s a tremendous asset and pickup, and we will need him more than ever throughout the season,” Baldwin said.