Facundo Campazzo: 'I'm a better player now than when I arrived to NBA' / News - Basketnews.com

Facundo Campazzo talks to BasketNews about Argentina's World Cup triumph, his time in the NBA, and ambitions with Crvena Zvezda. He also comments on Partizan president publicly congratulating his club on signing him.

Credit: ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic Credit ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

When Crvena Zvezda came to Piraeus for their EuroLeague Round 15 game against Olympiacos, Facundo Campazzo's routine didn't resemble the one prescribed for players who don't make the 12-man squad.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade / Schedule

Olympiacos Piraeus Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade86-90 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade FC BarcelonaFri18:00

The Argentinian point guard was announced by the Serbian club just three days before that contest.

But the main issue for Zvezda wasn't that Campazzo didn't have enough practice sessions with the rest of the team. The problem was that Red Star couldn't - and still can't - register the player until they provide the EuroLeague with quarterly payment confirmation.

That's why they haven't been able to use him in any international game so far, and the upcoming contest against FC Barcelona will probably be no exception.

That didn't impede Campazzo from following the team on the trip to Greece, warming up before the main core of players showed up on the court, and sitting on the bench next to his new teammates.

At times, when he didn't approach coach Dusko Ivanovic during timeouts, the former Real Madrid guard was having a conversation with Stefan Markovic, Zvezda's most experienced player.

And, of course, most of the time, Campazzo made himself part of the game by reacting to what was happening on the court.

Eventually, Crvena Zvezda escaped the Peace and Friendship Stadium with a big road win in one of the very few games where the arena's name perfectly matched the atmosphere created by Greek and Serbian fans.

Right after the final buzzer, the Greek media were queuing up outside the visiting team's locker room to have a word with familiar faces. Ex-Olympiacos big man Hassan Martin had been injured and hence stayed in Belgrade.

Meanwhile, former Panathinaikos players Miroslav Raduljica, Ben Bentil, and Nemanja Nedovic were there. So was Zvezda's second marquee signing of the season, Luca Vildoza, the man who torched the hosts in the second half.

2-pointers this season

54%18,2Points made:18,2Accuracy:54,0%Place in standings:15Record max:27Record min:11Most made 2FGs:Nemanja NedovicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

When Facu Campazzo showed up, smiling from top to bottom, his first question upon meeting the media was, "Are we allowed to talk?" That was a pretty valid question to ask, considering the nature of Campazzo's encounters with the press while he was playing for Real Madrid.

In most cases, the only chance to get hold of Campazzo (or Sergio Llull or Rudy Fernandez) would be by entering his team's locker room - and again, only if the player in question wasn't surrounded by several cameras and microphones.

Credit ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

But this time was different. Campazzo was one of the first people to exit the Serbian team's private area and had some impressions to share with BasketNews.

"I'm glad to be here again," Campazzo said. "I really wanted to come and play. I haven't been able to play with the team in a EuroLeague game so far, but I hope that will happen very soon."

Campazzo arrived in Belgrade on December 17. The Argentinian international watched the first 45 minutes of the FIFA World Cup final featuring his native country and France at Luca Vildoza's home in the Serbian capital.

But after the halftime break, Vildoza had to leave in order to attend Zvezda's ABA League game against Mega Basket. Thus, Campazzo had to move back to his hotel and watch the rest of the game that saw the South American country be crowned world champions for the third time.

Although Campazzo has never played basketball with a football game in mind, he laughed when he thought about how he'd react if he were in his teammate's shoes.

"I could never have imagined a situation like that, let alone a World Cup final," he said.

"I watched the entire game live at a hotel. Luca saw it in the team's locker room. He suffered a lot. It was super exciting. Football in Argentina is something that moves the whole country and its 40+ million population. We really wanted to see our national team become world champions, and more so with [Lionel] Messi."

While Luca Vildoza leaves no room for discussion about Messi's claim as the greatest football player of all time, Campazzo can't decide between Argentina's football icons.

Leo Messi led the team to the trophy in Qatar, but Diego Maradona did the same in Mexico in 1986.

"I'd say both. I can't choose," Campazzo admitted. "I couldn't watch Maradona live, but I'd pick both."

Watching his country reach the top in the Argentinians' most beloved sport is a feeling that only a handful of experiences can equal or top. Campazzo acknowledges that basketball can't be compared to football, especially because the former is a sport he enjoys watching from the stands or on TV.

"In basketball, I'm playing the game," he pointed out. "The feeling is different, and they're enjoyed in different ways too."

But has there ever been a feeling in basketball that has given him the joy and excitement he felt when Argentina won the World Cup? Campazzo took some seconds to reflect and pointed to an answer that most people would expect.

"The World Cup final we played in China against Spain [in 2019] was very important for us," he replied.

"Despite losing it, we had never imagined that we would get there. Obviously, one always wants to win. But things turned out like that, and we couldn't perform up to par in the final game. Still, I'm proud of the team and of what we achieved."

Campazzo also talked to BasketNews about his two-year NBA stint with the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks, his return to Europe for Crvena Zvezda, Dusko Ivanovic's practices, and the reasons Argentinian players of his generation failed to make an impact on the NBA.

As one can easily tell from his answers, Campazzo is keen on using the word 'super' before every adjective. As for most Argentinians, there's no middle ground when dealing with sports. They might fall hard, but their competitive spirit and passion can lift them up anytime.

Luca said you have seen images of the atmosphere before the match against Zalgiris where the fans were cheering for him. Did you miss the atmosphere of European arenas?Yes, the truth is that I missed it a lot. While in the States, I watched games every week whenever I could. It's super exciting to be back.

Which teams did you watch?All of them. I tried to watch everything. But mostly, I kept an eye on Real Madrid, Lapro (Nicolas Laprovittola), and Crvena Zvezda.

What do you think about how the competition has grown?It's super competitive. The EuroLeague has become much more athletic; many teams play with switches from '1' to '5'; centers can defend against point guards. All this leads to less space and to games becoming more difficult.

Basketball in Europe requires a very high intelligence level. It requires 100% of your capacities, not to mention the aspect of physicality.

Did you know that Partizan's president congratulated his Zvezda counterpart on signing you?Really? I didn't know that. That's cool! They are rivals with a lot of history, but it's good that these gestures and comments are being made.

Ostoja Mijailovic also said that Partizan have their trump card. What's Zvezda's advantage?We are a very close-knit team. I came here recently, but from what I saw, there are players with great talent, and I'm not talking only about Luca and Nedovic.

There are other players who are standing out and are very solid defensively. If we keep our defensive concentration, we can achieve many wins.

What do you think about Dusko Ivanovic and his practices?He's a very good coach. He's strict, he practices well. He demands that you always be focused. I like to practice, and the truth is that Dusko likes it too.

Is Spanish a widely-spoken language in the locker room now that you, Dusko, and Luca are there?There are many people on the team who speak Spanish. With Nedo, we speak in Spanish too. He has played in Malaga and can still remember the language.

You have a pretty low termination clause on your Zvezda deal. What can that mean for your future with the team?Nothing. I want to live day by day right now. There has been a lot of noise these past few months. I was trying not to pay attention to what people were saying on social media. I turned everything off.

Why?Many people talk too much, some without knowing anything about my situation. They were just saying what they thought I wanted. I want to enjoy being with my teammates.

What was the biggest takeaway from being in the NBA?Oh, it was all about learning stuff. In my first year, I happened to play a lot. In fact, I was a starter in the playoffs. In the second year, I thought I would play a lot, but in the last few months, I played less and less and then not at all.

But overall, I think I'm a better player now than when I entered the NBA. The experience helped me a lot to know myself, play, and compete at a high level against the best players in the world.

I will always remember the good feeling I had while I was in the NBA. When I played, I felt confident and comfortable. When I didn't play, I tried to pick up things from practice: how to take care of myself and my body and how to be always ready to play.

The NBA had always been a dream of mine, even when I was at Real Madrid. But now I'm going to enjoy my time here. It's hard to come back again. But thinking about the future now doesn't make much sense.

Watching Luca Vildoza have such an impact as it happened in the game against Olympiacos, do you think it will be easy for you to adjust again?If it were easy, a lot of players would be here. It's not, but my teammates make me feel comfortable. It's a new team with a new coach and players. I really want to fit in here as well as possible.

How does Luca make it look so easy?Luca has a talent for playing basketball and a knack for scoring and reading the game. He's a winner, and he defends well because he's always where he should be at the right time.

Credit ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

Why do you think that the Argentinian players who have been in the NBA in recent years, from Laprovittola to Gabriel Deck, have returned to Europe after a couple of years?

The NBA is difficult. It's about trying to fall in the right place, in the right team that needs your game and way of playing. It's important that you win games, that you achieve important things, and that you have an impact in a short period of time.

There are cases when it happens, as it did with [Luis] Scola, Manu [Ginobili], Chapu [Andreas Nocioni], Pablo [Prigioni], Carlos [Delfino]. It's another generation, totally different than ours. They arrived at the right place, and NBA teams needed their game.

But we are another type of talent. Maybe, it takes us a little more to adjust there. But hey, I think the challenge was still worth it.

What's your main goal with Zvezda?I want to play with the team and give everything the coach needs. I aim to enter every game, leaving my soul and life in every single play. I want to transmit to the team my passion for basketball, my style of play, and my experience.

Hopefully, we will get more wins and reach as high as possible.

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