"Want to get to the NBA for a group that suits me" | Israel today

In November, Yam Madar will hold his breath for an entire night, at the end of which his life may change • But even before the draft, the coordinator clarifies: "There are teams I will refuse" •

• Madar.

  "I will not be in a non-competitive system"

  Photo: 

  Danny Maron

About two weeks ago, at about 22:00, we made initial contact with Yam Madar to schedule an interview.

The 19-year-old coordinator of Hapoel Tel Aviv did not answer the phone, not even the text messages. In the morning, around 08:00, he sent an apology: "Wake up early, sleep early."

This post exposed us to the young actor's grueling daily routine.

"It varies depending on the team, but there are things you try to maintain, like a regular routine as much as possible. As soon as I wake up in the morning I do a shooting practice, no matter what happens.

"I work very hard on my shooting. At the moment you do not see it, but when I work on it every day and progress - it is expressed in percentages in training. I have a quartet that surrounds me: personal trainer Ofer Ron, Yogev Bardugo, Amit Goldian (Hapoel fitness coach Holon and former member of the Israel national team; SS) and nutritionist.

I get 18-17 training units a week, including strength training. "

Danny Abdia said that during the corona there was not a day that he did not train.

What about you?

"I did not miss a single training session. I have been waiting so long for such a break. I have not had such a thing for years, because every summer we are with the teams. In Corona I took off in training, because you can do a lot of strength training, athletics, sea when it was still possible. The results. "

And the results were felt mainly by Maccabi Tel Aviv. From a season average of 9 points per game, Madar jumped in the playoff quarterfinal series against the Yellows to 17.3 points, 5.3 assists and 2 steals. Everyone who bounced in front of him was amazed by the agility of his legs and long hands, Which caused many Maccabi ball losses in the series.

Did people from Maccabi talk to you after the series?

"Actors and functionaries approached me after the third game and complimented me, saying 'You gave a series beauty.'"

How much does your family's involvement help or influence you?

"My family members are the people who accompany me. Dad also accompanies me in professional matters."

So how did it all start?

"I started playing at Beit Dagan and at the age of 16 I moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv.

I was in the tests at Maccabi and Hapoel.

The Yellows wanted, but I thought the actual situation would be better for me and that there I would have a better chance of getting minutes in the senior team.

I was not in the cadet team, in the first youth team I was sacked after two months of training (coach Sharon Avrahami), and in the second youth team I was already. "

Madar.

"I always believed in myself" // Photo: Danny Maron 

"I will not be in a non-competitive system"

Madar, 1.90 m, will celebrate 20 winters on Hanukkah, and it seems that only in the last two years have they begun to believe in him.

"I always believed in myself. I am realistic at every stage I am at, and when I got to the cadet team I told Dad 'I'm not level, I'm not good enough.' Even when I got to youth I told him that, but I also promised that in two years I would be at that level."

When did you first think you would be an NBA player?

"At a very early age," he answers the question, and the family says that when he was very young he told his brother, Hof, "when I'm in the NBA - you will advertise me."

His brother replied that it would not happen, so Yam threw him: "Then you will not get tickets from me on the parquet."

"From the first moment I saw Ofer Ron, he said I would be an actor," adds Yam (and also Yogev Bardugo, who took Yam to training camps in the United States at the age of 13).

How much has the European Under-20 Championship in Tel Aviv contributed to your personal upheaval and brought you into the global consciousness?

"I think she did me a very good service. A lot of actors need this stage to get far."

It was actually the first time she had faced such a situation, with pressure and expectations.

"There are players who are built for it, and the fact that I have not experienced until then does not mean that I was not ready for the task."

Why did what Ariel Beit Halachmi in the reserve did not succeed at Hapoel Tel Aviv?

"Ariel's construction at Hapoel was smart. He tried to make it smart and bring in strangers who would suit me and can play next to me, but it fell apart, maybe also because Hapoel has pressure and a little impatience."

The pressure at Hapoel is like at Maccabi?

"I was not at Maccabi to know, but in practice, when you lose a game - questions arise. It's not that you lose and come to training the next day as if nothing happened. You have to explain why you lost and correct quickly. And don't get me wrong, this is something I really want to have. I do not want to be in a non-competitive system, one that has no requirements. Hapoel Tel Aviv is a great place for a young player.

"Rami Cohen and her friends Rapaport pushed for me to be on the field, even if sometimes coaches saw the victory, and were not sure I could help them achieve it."

With the personal trainer, Ofer Ron // Photo: Danny Maron 

"A young player needs to learn from mistakes"

On the way up, Madar also had a small incident.

In December last year, he was called up to the Israeli national team for the first time and was included in the squad for games against Poland and Romania.

In Poland he did not take off his tracksuit, and in the face of the drive-in romances, despite a big advantage, he did not agree to enter the last two minutes.

The team was furious, and Pini Gershon said: "Yam Madar did a serious thing, Sharas would also go up for ten seconds."

Madar did not wait for Yom Kippur to apologize.

"I'm totally sorry, but also glad it happened. I think a young player should make a mistake and learn. Reaching a team at that age is what you dream of. I'm proud to play for my country. I really wanted to play and it did not happen. Next time it is clear that such a thing did not happen. dear".

Were you surprised by the degree of criticism?

"I refer to it less. I do not read at all what is written in the media and what people say. Until you said, I did not know at all that Pini or Oded Katash talked about it. I do my mental arithmetic with myself, not with others. I was wrong because I was wrong, and that is a decision "That I can not accept. To tell the coach I do not come up? It is something I have not done in my life and as I said, I will not do. It is not my character."

You snatch balls and your hand reaches everywhere.

Where did this defensive bat come from?

"At a very early stage I realized that defense would be the key that would get me to big places. The focus I will put in my head, how to stop big players, is what will put the initial ticket on me. I work on it every day in training."

His brother Hof, also a basketball player, is harnessed for sea training.

He and his brother-in-law show up for training and guard the sea and he guards them.

He does not like one - on - one training.

These family trainings are held in the hall in Beit Dagan.

There are huge posters of Tony Parker, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

What other aspects do you need to improve in your game?

"Everything (answers without thinking). Whoever says otherwise, probably at this age - in trouble. Depends on where you aim, of course. If you want to get to the best league in the world - you have to improve everything, all the time."

With the fireplace, beach // Photo: Danny Maron 

The NBA interviews and the repression with Parker

On November 18, the Madar family is expected to huddle in their home in Beit Dagan and watch the NBA Draft 2020 broadcast until dawn.

Around Yam, they say there is a high chance that he will be selected at the end of the first round.

In such a situation, the Madar family may move the draft to Bristol, Connecticut, where it is scheduled to take place.

Until then, Madar had replaced an agency: from Octagon, which represents, among others, Yannis Antocompo and Steph Kerry, to the CAA agency, which represents, among others, Zion Williamson, Devin Booker, Joel Ambide, Paul George, Carl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kozma.

About a month ago he went to a pre-draft camp, and one of the candidates to be selected in the top 10 said: "I wish my team had a player like Yam Madar."

You mention Tony Parker.

"We started doing interviews with NBA teams ahead of the draft. At first you do an interview with the European scout, and if the team wants you, then the next interview is with the assistant GM (general manager), and there are cases where the coach or The GM itself is on the line. "

Give the names of some groups that have spoken to you.

"Anthony Parker (GM of the Orlando Magic Development Team) and Sean James (Utah Jazz Scout and works in the club's player development department)."

What was in the conversation with Anthony Parker?

"He saw the games against Maccabi Tel Aviv, so I said to him, 'Oh, you are with Maccabi, we have no chance.

He replied with a laugh: 'No, it does not count.'

I told him 'it always counts' ".

And what are you asked in these interviews?

"You ask everything, even when you go to the grocery store. You ask who you mention, so you check out players you look like and what process they did. You see how Tony Parker got to the top and became an NBA champion, you can try to see imagination. Go draw an exercise and check how you react to things.

"I was in an interview with San Antonio, and they told me, 'We only continue the interview if you know what choices we have.' Obviously I knew."

Madar knew the answer because he was preparing for such a question.

He asked them if they cared to say the answer at the end.

One of their choices is his shirt number 41 - the first is

Right now, are you sure going to the NBA Draft?

"Everything I do is one hundred percent. My focus right now is not there, but in practice. You have to be focused where you are. It feels like it's going in a good direction, but it should be the business of the team around me, it takes care of it. My head Only found in Hapoel. "

Were you surprised you were named captain?

"It was in the air. If the club sees you properly - it means a lot."

What is your biggest dream?

"To be healthy. And professionally, I want to reach the NBA, a group that suits me. To reach a good organization that I will integrate into and influence the group."

Is there any NBA group that will choose you and refuse?

"There is a chance. I need to have a good situation that suits me."