Parker on Partizan and Obradovic: “He took a risk with me, and I took a risk with him”

By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net

The saga of Jabari Parker at Partizan has finally ended, as the two parties parted ways on Friday evening, following a not-so-great stint for Parker with the Serbian team.

Jabari came as a big signing, but his first season was very turbulent, and midway through it, he went on loan to Joventut. After that, he never wore the Partizan jersey again.

Now, the former second pick of the NBA draft shared his version of the story with “Sport Klub”, where he emphasized that Zeljko Obradovic was one of the main reasons for his arrival, and he was surprised that Obradovic left Partizan without a word.

“It was a specific experience. I wouldn’t say anyone is to blame. After all, we’re talking about a team. There are things I could have done better, just as there are things everyone could have done better. When you take on a commitment and commit to something, you need to persevere. I knew that when things weren’t going well, there was a temptation to give up. Everyone wanted to give up, to throw in the towel.

But then some things happened with the coach. He is the man who decided to resign. Why he did it, it’s up to him to explain. Maybe it’s important to make that clear. He never explained his decision to me. But I had a personal conversation with him, and he is a man who commands respect. He was one of the reasons I wanted to be part of Partizan. I wanted to take on that challenge, just as he took on the challenge with me. He took a risk with me, and I took a risk with him. That mutual commitment was important to me. When I saw he left, it surprised me. And then everything else started to fall apart.”

Parker noted that everything starts to collapse when the leader leaves the club.

“Everything always starts with the leader. My job as a player is to come to practice and, as best as I can, follow the instructions. When you remove the leader, the person everyone relies on, things become difficult.”

“Fans had bricks, stormed in, and broke into the facility”

One of the most stressful experiences Jabari had was after Zeljko Obradovic’s departure, when a large number of fans came in front of the arena with bricks, and Parker still wonders how the fans knew the training would take place, as it was at a different time than usual.

“What surprised me the most was seeing about 2,000 fans outside our training gym. They had bricks, stormed in, and broke into the facility, and they were threatening us. It almost seemed to me like it was all set up. Because who could have given them such information? Who could have told them when we would be there? It was very strange and suspicious to me that people who are not part of the team knew when we were coming to the gym, especially since we usually train in the morning. I don’t know, what would you think if you found yourself in a situation where your safety was threatened? Someone who knew about the training obviously passed that information to others…”

The American added that he doesn’t know why the fans did that, as the players were not to blame for Zeljko Obradovic’s departure.

“I don’t know why the fans did that. I don’t know why they were angry with us. We weren’t to blame for the coach’s departure. He knows he did what he thought was best for himself. He’s a grown man. He has the right to make his own decisions. He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. And then we started losing games under the pressure of all that madness. Okay, fans can continue to support us in a positive way, but why would someone come to a game just to throw things at the players? Do you want us to win, or do you come already expecting the worst, with a preconceived decision to throw batteries, lighters, or beer at someone? That really hurt me.”

“I don’t know why I was separated from the team”

Jabari explained what happened since Joan Penarroya came to Partizan, revealing that he was told in just one training session that he would be practicing on the side, after which he was left out of the team the next day.

“Here’s how it happened. I had a heel injury. I think we were playing an ABA League game when I hurt my heel. Because of that, I was sidelined for a week. After that, I did a few training sessions during which I was gradually coming back to the team. And then, during one training session, the coach simply decided that I wouldn’t participate in the rest of the practice. He told me to go to the bike. I was making some mistakes because I hadn’t been with the team for a while, and in the meantime, new plays were introduced. He expected me to master them immediately. That’s why he told me to go to the bike.”

“Instead of the coach talking to me, he just informed me that I would be staying in Belgrade. Because of that, I didn’t travel to Munich, where the team played a game. That’s when I found out that I was out of the rotation. I was separated from the team. I don’t know why.”