Walkup after blow-out win against Baskonia: ‘We are far from perfection’ / News - Basketnews.com

Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

Thomas Walkup’s EuroLeague season debut with Olympiacos Piraeus was accompanied by a comfortable Greek club victory against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Olympiakos Piraeus / Schedule

Olympiakos Piraeus TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz75-50 Olympiakos Piraeus Real Madrid10-0818:00

The American himself played 15 minutes, scoring 2 points and dishing 3 assists. However, after a strong start, Olympiacos won the game 75-50.

“I think our attention to details on the defensive end was really what did the job,” Walkup said to BasketNews after the win. “We set the tone early, got a 10 point lead, and that set the tone for the game.”

Despite the convincing victory, Olympiakos’ newcomer was sure that his team was nowhere near perfect.

“We are far from perfection. This Baskonia team had some injuries; Baldwin being out gave them only one ball handler. But then, on the defensive end, we slept a couple of times and gave them many easy points. Even if we won by 25 points, there’s still a lot of stuff to work on. We are not satisfied yet,” Walkup continued.

Asked about possible improvements, the American guard named a couple of points on the defensive end.

“I think tighter switching and ball pressure on passes. We gotta keep the ball a little bit stagnant, not letting it go from side to side.

We managed to keep the intensity for most of the game, except 5 minutes stretch, which was ugly. Other than that, we had a really good game,” Walkup said.

He also compared his role between Zalgiris and Olympiacos, saying that scoring isn't everything.

“In Zalgiris, there were games where I wasn’t scoring but still trying to affect games. My versatility on offensive and defensive ends, being able to do multiple things.

It’s something I’m proud of. It’s not enough to come out and score or just be one-dimensional. You have to affect the games in a lot of different ways. I think that’s kinda where my values lie, so that’s what I’m trying to do,” Walkup concluded.

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