Jaycee Carroll explains why he signed with Real Madrid instead of Barca / News - Basketnews.com

Carroll didn't want to take minutes away from Juan Carlos Navarro and wasn't sure how this partnership with another sharpshooter would work. As such, he chose Real Madrid because he saw a young-and-coming team capable of great things.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

Jaycee Carroll is known as one of the best pure shooters in EuroLeague history. With his EuroLeague career associated with Real Madrid, there was a significant chance he could've signed with FC Barcelona.

2-pointers this season

58%21,4Points made:21,4Accuracy:58,5%Place in standings:5Record max:32Record min:13Most made 2FGs:Walter TavaresTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Carroll spent ten seasons with Real Madrid from 2011 until 2021 when he retired from basketball. Now, at 40 years of age, he says he could still play if he wanted to.

"The incredible thing is that I weigh the same as when I was playing, exactly the same, physically I'm almost the same. The only thing missing, of course... The other day I thought, 'If they gave me a month, I would be fit to play again.'" he told in an interview with Javier Balmaseda from JotDown Sport. "But right now, I don't do weights or anything. I'm looking forward to it, really. I'm getting to the point where I'm saying to myself, 'I have to get back to that lifestyle, it's time to start getting fit again, to live a healthier life physically.'"

Carroll was a prolific sniper in the NCAA, registering the second-highest three-pointer accuracy in college history. After arriving in Europe, he played in Italy (Teramo) and Spain (Gran Canaria) before landing in Madrid.

Then, he had a difficult choice to make - choosing to either play for Real Madrid or Barcelona.

"The reason was basketball. Barcelona, ​​in 2011, was one of the best teams in Europe, they were winning everything, they had just won the Euroleague in 2010. They had a great team. That team was fantastic: Juan Carlos Navarro, Fran Vazquez, Boniface N'Dong, Ricky Rubio, An incredible team," Carroll began.

"I saw the club and this team, and I thought, 'Where am I going? I'm not going to take minutes away from Juan Carlos Navarro. I am not going to do it. He is a Spanish basketball legend. Can we play together? I think so, but will the coach see it the same? He didn't know it. On the contrary, I saw Real Madrid and said, 'Here we have a young team, with some of the best Spaniards, who are still growing and improving, and I think they are missing a person who does what I do,'" the former player explained.

FC Barcelona / Schedule

FC Barcelona Virtus Segafredo Bologna84-57 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade FC Barcelona76-85 FC Barcelona ALBA BerlinFri19:30

Carroll arrived at a team that had two amazing point guards in their primes - Sergio 'Cacho' Rodriguez and Sergio Llull. That same summer, Pablo Laso signed to become the head coach of the team.

"Honestly, I was just another piece, but Pablo Laso's style, that way of playing basketball, and his personality was exactly what Madrid needed at that time," Carroll said.

"We were young and we could run like no one else in Europe, scoring 100 or so points per game. Chacho throwing alley-oops to the players from midfield, and Pablo Laso saying things, like, 'Look, I know that Chacho is going to pass a ball into the stands, but I put up with it, I accept it because I know he's going to make five incredible passes,'" Carroll remembered.

"He also said, 'I know that Jaycee Carroll is going to come out on the court and he is going to shoot a terrible, defended shot, but I put up with it, I accept it because I know that he is going to come out on that court and he is going to make three or four incredible shots. So I accept it.'" the former shooter recalled. "He gave us the freedom to fail, that freedom to make mistakes and not be afraid of consequences. In this first year, he gave Chacho, Sergio, Felipe [Reyes], Rudy [Fernandedz], and me the confidence to be ourselves and play. Those were very fun years."

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