Nathan Jawai may have had a tough time adjusting to his new team in his first game for FC Barcelona Regal but after the siren sounded Big Nate spoke to his Spanish fans about growing up as an indigenous kid in Cairns, how it shaped his life and his basketball goals for the future.
“My parents are my role models. I’m from a small town, troubled by drugs and alcohol. I was forced to be home by five and my parents wouldn’t let me go out at night to make sure they kept me away from all of that”.
Jawai noted his role is to play defence and played down the fact he had a quiet game.
“I am a powerful and explosive player. My offensive game does not bother me, but I need to improve on defence and not make the same mistakes forever”.
It is clear Jawai is happier than ever in his new home, noting he has been enjoying the beaches of Spain much more than the cold mornings of Russia where he played for Unics Kazan last season.
“I hope to have a long career, successful and injury free” noted Jawai who is now looking further down the road in terms of what he can achieve in his basketball career.
Today we are seeing a Nathan Jawai who is clearly more focused on his basketball career than he has been before, a fact that bodes well for the Australian Boomers and their 2014 FIBA World Championship hopes.
A big part of his development will be in part due to esteemed Barcelona Regal coach Xavier Pascual. Pascual has already noted that developing Jawai’s defence and eliminating inconsistencies from his game is what Barcelona needs to make a big run in the Euroleague this season.
“Having coach Pascual is a challenge, I never had a coach like him”.
Thanks to a new location, a new coach and a new outlook on Basketball, Nathan Jawai is focused on winning championships and improving himself, and he wasn’t afraid to let the Spanish fans know about it.
“I want to win as many titles here as I can”.