Clyburn reveals when he signed for Efes, talks about Ulm's offer and driving issues / News - Basketnews.com

The 2019 champion and Final Four MVP chats with Joe Arlauckas about his life journey, from his childhood in Detroit, USA, to signing with Anadolu Efes last summer.

Credit: D.Lukšta Credit D.Lukšta

The latest episode of The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas features one of the most dynamic players in the EuroLeague -- Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Will Clyburn -- who came from humble beginnings to become one of the most accomplished players on the Old Continent.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul / Schedule

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Anadolu Efes Istanbul114-111 Anadolu Efes Istanbul Zalgiris KaunasWed17:30 Olympiacos Piraeus Anadolu Efes IstanbulFri19:00

A self-described gym rat, basketball wasn't even his favorite sport growing up. That was baseball, which to this day his father still contends Will was better at. But after taking a year off from baseball, he was never able to readjust and basketball fans across Europe are thankful for that.

Clyburn was not a star at his suburban Detroit high school and had few options to play afterward. After a coach saw something in his at an open practice, he wound up at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa. The adjustment period took some time and Clyburn had a pedestrian freshman season, but that summer he put in the extra work that would change his life.

"I spent 10 days at home and the rest of the time I spent in Iowa by myself with my junior college coach. And we just worked. That’s all we did was work, drills," Clyburn recalled. "I wasn't disappointed with how my freshman year went, but I knew I could do better. I had a taste of it. I ended up getting invited to top JUCO players for the summertime [camp] and I think that's where I was kinda like: 'you got a chance.' I went there, I played well and that's when I finally said, okay you actually have a chance to go to a university. And it went up from there."

His second season forced people to take notice, especially after he scored 54 points in one game. That led to a series of scholarship offers and Clyburn eventually settled on the University of Utah for one season before spending his senior year with Iowa State University.

Clyburn knew little about basketball in Europe, but was pleased with the offer from Ratiopharm Ulm and played his first two professional seasons in Germany.

3-pointers this season

39%10,8Points made:10,8Accuracy:39,4%Place in standings:2Record max:17Record min:5Most made 3FGs:Vasilije MicicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"I still remember where I was when I got the phone call. I was lying on the couch in my mom's apartment and he [agent] told me about it, how much money it was. It was 90 thousand for the first year and 110 thousand for the second year," Clyburn recalled.

"In my eyes, I'm like, I'm rich (laughs). I'm rich, and I get to go play basketball. Okay, I made it. It was a culture shock when I got there, but easily the best place I could have started my career."

Why is that?

"Just the living wise. It wasn't like a really hard adjustment. Everyone spoke English. I had no issues, the only issue I probably had was driving a manual [car]," he said.

"That could have made me go home (laughs)," Clyburn remembered. "I had no idea [how to do that]. I used to see my father drive, but he never taught me. I don't know what it is. I remember leaving my car at the gym for maybe two weeks and I didn't drive.

I tried to make it to practice from home, and the red light probably changed three times, and I never moved from the spot (laughs). I couldn't move, I just put my hood up, I kept trying and trying, and after that, I never drove for like two weeks," Clyburn recalled the 'Welcome to Europe' moment.

Following his time in Germany, Clyburn moved to Israel's Hapoel Holon under Dan Shamir, who is now an assistant coach at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Shamir put in a good word for Clyburn with David Blatt, and soon he was signed to play for Darussafaka Istanbul.

"Once I get to some places, I'm like, 'Hey, I made it pretty far. I'm just happy to be here. I beat the odds.' And [Blatt] was the first guy that told me don't see it that way. Don't look at it that way. I brought you here for a reason. I brought you here to help this team. I think you can help this team," Clyburn said of the start of his time at Darussafaka.

"After we had that conversation, he kept his word. I was a part of the team. I was a big part of the team and he gave me the freedom to really play my game. He gave me an opportunity."

Clyburn had a major role as a starter for Darussafaka as it made the playoffs and even took Game 2 of the series from Real Madrid. From there, Clyburn signed with CSKA Moscow, where his career reached new heights as he won his first EuroLeague crown and went twice to the All-EuroLeague team in five seasons. But, as Clyburn revealed in the podcast, it could have gone very differently.

He suffered a sprained ankle late in the semifinals victory over Real that would require surgery that summer. He took a shot just to be able to play in the championship game against Efes. But even that did not help too much.

"In warmups, I went to test it out to make sure I was good and I jumped, and, oh man, it just came just flying back at me. All the pain came out at once and I said, 'This is not gonna go well for me'," the 32-year-old said.

"Still to this day, I'm just lucky that Efes never decided to attack me off the dribble because for sure I couldn't play against it. If they were to decide to bring me to pick on Shane [Larkin] and had me out there on Shane. Done. Bring me to Vasa [Micic]. Done. It didn't matter. I had Adrien [Moerman]. He doesn't dribble the ball, just crashes the boards. I could do that. But if I had to move, no way…"

Clyburn went for 20 points on 4-for-6 three-point shooting in that game to take home 2019 Final Four MVP honors. It would be his last big game for a while as he suffered a torn ACL early the following season. But Clyburn worked hard to get back and was a dominant player again after that.

Last summer, the EuroLeague star transferred to the aforementioned Anadolu Efes, forming a Big Three of him, Larkin, and Micic. The signing fact was surprising but what was even more surreal was the timing.

Ugur Ozan Sulak of Socrates broke the news just after Efes claimed their second EuroLeague title in a row on May 21, 2022.

As Clyburn revealed in the conversation with Joe Arlauckas, he signed a contract even before the Final Four in Belgrade.

"My birthday, the 17th of May," he revealed the exact date when he penned a deal. "I do not know who leaked that right after the Final Four, after they [Efes] won the trophy. That put a lot of uncomfortable situations on me. We don't have to get into that... But yeah, it's a birthday present."

Full conversation:

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