Chris Kramer, the replacement for Jacoben Brown at Hapoel Jerusalem, is not really Jacoben Brown. • Donis Adomitis, who was his coach Britas Vilna, tells Israel Today:
Kramer in Rita's uniform.
"It all depends on the injuries and his physical condition"
Photo:
Eurocup - the official website
'It did not happen in Lithuania that he was a foreign captain.
Chris Kramer was perhaps the first.
This is a great thing, "says Donis Adomitis, who coached Hapoel Jerusalem's newcomer Britas Vilna.
Kramer was the captain of Ritas where he played for two seasons (2017-2019) and that shows a lot about the personality and connection to the place.
"He is a mental leader on the field and in the locker room," the Lithuanian coach told Israel Today. "He plays with a lot of emotion, is a great professional and always gives his maximum."
In 2019, Kramer swung the Lithuanian Cup as captain of Ritas.
Winning the title in Vilnius in recent years is not a trivial matter, given the dominance of Zalgiris Kaunas in local basketball.
The problem is that a month later, his beautiful period was brutally interrupted.
In March 2019 as part of a Eurocup game against Valencia, Kramer penetrated the basket, landed badly and was seriously injured in the Achilles tendon.
His cries of pain after flying behind the basket were heard in the hall for long minutes.
"A movement you make a million times is the movement that hurts you," Kramer said after the injury.
"A player who gives everything and plays aggressively can get injured," says his former coach.
Who knows how his career would have continued without this injury.
The player (now 32) appeared to be ahead of the big break to the top of European basketball.
"If this injury had not happened, he would have been a significant Euroleague player today.
"Jerusalem made a good choice, but it all depends on the injuries and their physical condition," says Adomitis.
Although he came to the Moscow Khimki last season and made his Euroleague debut, he gave a mediocre season and was also absent quite a bit due to injuries.
Now he is coming to Jerusalem to try to stand out again and lead.
Jerusalem gets a lot of European experience (played in recent years at the high levels of the Eurocup and Euroleague).
Apart from his first professional season in which he played in the Development League, he plays in Europe, where he spent the significant part in Germany.
After one season in German Würzburg he played five seasons at Oldenburg and came with it with no small achievements - winning the trophy and twice reaching the playoff final.
Kramer, Brown's replacement, is not really Jacoben Brown.
Brown is a scorer-coordinator.
Kramer is first and foremost a game manager coordinator.
He will not score Brown's points, but will provide game management and organization, excellent passing ability (for most of his career 5-6 assists per game).
Adomitis says: 'His greatness is that he knows how to make good decisions.
He controls a great team and sets the pace. '
"He is a coach's player," says Adomitis, who until 2019 served as coach of the Lithuanian national team.
This is in contrast to Brown who is less controllable and sometimes unpredictable.
Kramer does not have the outside hand that Brown has.
"He is not a pure scorer, but there is a risk of letting him throw," says the Lithuanian coach.
On the other hand he will keep much better than Brown.
He is a very aggressive guard.
His averages 1.5-2 steals throughout his career.
"Both in the team defense and in the individual defense he is just good," Adomitis concludes.
