Friday, August 28, 2009

Israel's Omri Casspi is King, NBA pioneer for his country

LAS VEGAS — Omri Casspi single-handedly might be changing the goals of young basketball players in Israel.
"When I was young, I dreamed to play with Maccabi, the biggest club in Israel," Casspi said. "Now the kids can dream about playing in the NBA, because we've got somebody over there."
That man is Casspi, who last month, after playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, became the first player from Israel taken in the first round of the NBA draft, at No. 23. The 6-9 Sacramento Kings forward could become the first Israeli to play in the NBA this fall.
Just about everything is a first these days for Casspi. Until he made his debut for the Kings on Friday in the NBA Summer League, no Israeli had gotten even that close to the league.
"It's not pressure on me, but there's a lot of expectations going on," Casspi said. "My country is on my back. I was the first one to play in the summer. I was the first one to wear the NBA jersey. I'm the first one to play in the NBA," if he makes the 2009-10 roster.
He isn't the first player an NBA club has drafted from Israel, where he said basketball is huge. Doron Sheffer, a former Connecticut star, was picked in the second round of the 1996 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Sheffer elected to sign with Maccabi.
Casspi, 21, just completed his Israeli-required three-year service in the army. He said basketball players generally are not sent into combat, but friends of his did go.
Americans are trying to make Casspi comfortable. He said Sacramento has a small Jewish community but its members have been a big help.
"They called me, and they took me out to see the city and they arranged a house (for me) to rent," said Casspi, who will live in Sacramento with his brother, Eitan. "They want to rent me a car."
Casspi expects to see friendly faces even on the road. When he travels to cities with large Jewish populations, he figures plenty of fans will be waiving Israeli flags.
The Kings are hopeful Casspi, who has drawn comparisons to gritty New Jersey Nets forward Eduardo Najera, will be a heady and active player willing to do the little things to help the team win. Casspi still needs to work on his jumper before he's a potent inside-outside threat.
He has shot 7-for-19 in two games, averaging 8.5 points, with five turnovers in each game.
"He's struggled so far," said new Sacramento coach Paul Westphal, attributing some of that to Casspi's missing most of the Kings' pre-league practices while finalizing his contract. "But he's talented and he's got an intensity I think will translate very well once he gets comfortable."

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