By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Xavier Silas is basketball “royalty”. Son of the San Antonio legend James Silas, a 22 points per game scorer in college and a very misunderstood guy. People are labeling him just as a shooter and also as a “deserter” for leaving in 2014 Maccabi Ashdod. However, things are not always what they appear to be and that was evident during his season in Greece with Nea Kifisia.
Silas is more mature than ever and after meeting with him you can understand that he is smart as a whip. That’s why after four seasons as a pro and after trying even the Argentinian league he wants to settle down and make the next step in his career. From being just a good player to a solid contributor. Without excluding his dream of playing in the NBA, he believes he can do that in Europe, in which the basketball and the different style of play was a revelation for him. Don’t take our word for it, read what he had to say.
– Rate you second European experience after what happened in Israel…
“I think it was about a nine! Only because we didn’t go to the playoffs like I wanted to. But other than that, personally I think I grew a lot and that makes it a positive experience”.
– You want to clear out some misconceptions about your first European season?
“I think that the team and I didn’t see eye to eye on things that were in my contract. It was a mutual decision for me to leave. Then a journalist didn’t see it that way and wrote some things that weren’t true, but the team knew I was leaving. We had talked about it. That’s all I want to say and I want to move on”.
– In a very competitive and defensive oriented league in Greece you averaged 12 points pe game. It doesn’t seem a lot, but is this true?
“I was looking all the Euroleague MVPs of the past and all of them averaged from 11 to 14 points. And then I looked at the NBA and it’s 27, 28, 31! The lowest ever was Steve Nash with 16 points, but he also averaged like 12 assists (laughs). That’s something that a lot of people don’t understand about Europe and I didn’t understand it until recently. It’s a completely different kind of basketball that you play. Averaging 12 or 13 points in a league like Greece, it’s something that you have to be proud of and I want to grow from there”.
– You were a 22.3 ppg scorer in your senior year in the NCAA but you changed your game in Europe. What else do you feel you have to add in order to make the next step in Europe?
“We had this year a very flowing offense, not many down picks, not a lot of isolation plays and not a lot pick and roll plays for the guards. I think that I can use all of those plays, I think that I can also run the point guard if it’s needed, at least in parts of the game. It’s ok for me that I didn’t get to do those things but that’s where I have to get better. Also in posting up, cause I am a big guard and I have to take advantage of that. And also I want to be great in pick and roll. Right now I am good, but I want to be great”.
– What was the thing that surprised you the most in Europe?
“The first thing and the biggest thing was that I believed that basketball is the same all over the world.But now I see that European basketball is totally different. I don’t think that one style is better than the other, but they are different. And the other thing were the great players that are here and people in the States have never heard of, because they have the NBA. To see how good they really are and to watch them it was a revelation. It’s not that easy for Americans to beat the Europeans right now”.
– Your end goal probably remains the NBA, but all this means you are more open than ever to Europe?
“Growing up it was always only the NBA, because I am from the States and that was all I knew, but being here and understanding Euroleague and all the great players from Europe my views changes. I spend a lot of time here watching a lot of film. I am talking about Theo Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Juan Carlos Navarro and Sergio Rodriguez. Now my end goal is to be one of the best players in the world. I can do that in the NBA and I can do that in Europe also. If you had asked me this four years ago, I would say to you that my end goal is the NBA. Period. Now I understand that there are great players everywhere”.
– What’s the take of your father on the matter?
“What people don’t know is that my father has been more open to Europe than me! Always! Way more open. It was times where he said that I should just get a deal in Europe, while I was denying it and I was trying to get a spot in the NBA. From the very beginning, I am talking before the draft, he was talking about Europe and I think that’s because his good friend George Gervin has a son, Gee Gervin, who played in Europe for a long time. And also “Iceman” himself played in Italy and he always told to my dad that Europe is a great place. That’s why my dad was always more open to Europe and I am actually catching up with him in that mentality”.
– What will be the ideal situation for you?
“I just want to play for a great coach in a great team, either in the NBA, or in Europe. Somewhere where I can win! Winning is the most important thing and it helps everybody. I just want to be part of something great”.