Tyros Maggie has receipts and he came to Israel on the star standard of the Purples • He is pleased with the fans: "Loves how they go crazy" • Sure he has a place in the Euroleague: "If I get a chance I will show everyone what they lost" • And if necessary, he will also renovate your car : "Prefers old cars"
Maggie with the ball.
Aimed at success in Europe
Photography:
Liron Moldovan
Most of the players who came to Hapoel Holon in recent years, made the breakthrough in the media and later reached large teams.
But Tire Maggie is a whole other story.
This is a player who has already taken championships and titles and came to Holon on the star standard and is the one who should lead the team to success.
"I was not just looking for a club but a place that would give me a chance with a resume of success with players," he says in a special interview ahead of the season opener, "It's a historic place with tradition. I played against Holon and I really like how fans here go crazy and show support. I had good offers. In the summer, but I felt that I should be here and sometimes I should go with the feeling. "
"I have to tell you something. One of my first days in Israel I was at home playing voice of duty on the PlayStation and suddenly my fiancée tells me 'Tire, some people are yelling.' At first we thought it was a football game or something, but then C.J. Harris who lived above me knocked "He came to the door and said to me, 'Hey man, the fans outside are waiting for us and they want us to come and introduce ourselves.' I went out and there were full of fans, we sang together and I loved it. I just feel this is the place for me."
The one who brought Maggie to Israel is coach Stefanos Dadas, who already at the beginning of the summer made it clear to the management that the guard is first on his list of priorities.
"Players he has coached have always been given good opportunities to advance in their careers," the player says, "I love him because unlike other coaches it is not difficult to understand him, and he makes everything simple for the players."
Want to prove
Maggie, 29, was born in a small town in Oklahoma called Stringtown, which has only about 400 residents.
When he was a child, his father died of a heart attack.
Tire, his older brother and younger sister grew up with their mother and 14 brothers.
"Every summer I go back there, and I like to sit with them in the garden, do karaoke and sing with them. They are my people, they raised me and thanks to them I became who I am today. I am grateful to them."
At first he excelled in baseball, but later moved on to basketball.
After graduating from high school he began to study and play in a small junior college called Cowley, and then moved to the great Iowa State where he was one of the standouts.
Although he was not selected in the 2013 draft, he was close to joining the NBA teams four times.
One time a Miniscuss injury prevented a last minute contract with Minnesota, in 2014 Golden State debated and selected other players, a year later Poppy Hoyberg who coached him at Iowa State considered joining him to Chicago but "he was a rookie, and two rookies don't go together in the NBA" .
Later, Claudio Crippa, the famous San Antonio scout, was enthusiastic about his abilities and brought him to train with the Spurs, but again he was not given a contract.
"I did not give up on the dream," Maggie insists, "we are in 2020 and you can be easily found. I will work hard, I will surely be a better player, and who knows, maybe I will get another call from a team in the NBA."
Even without the NBA, Maggie has made a beauty of a career so far.
He won the Italian Championship with Venice, reached the playoff final in Italy with Dynamo Sassari and also won the European Cup with her.
Despite losing in the final to Venice in the seventh game, Maggie signed the most memorable moment of the same series when during the fourth game he drowned on the head of Mitchell Watt 20 inches taller than him during a move into ESPN's weekly rankings.
"It's the best dunk of my career, I remember it like it was yesterday," he says, "I just got back from an injury a few days before the final, and my teammates told me 'we heard you know how to jump and we haven't seen it all year.' So I said To them that when I had a chance I would show them. In that game I took a ball and it just happened. My team was surprised, but I was not surprised because I know what I am capable of. Everyone told me that this moment would come to the US and that is what happened.
Mitchell Watt is a great person, but since that dunk we have not spoken.
He stopped talking to me (laughs, YM), but of course he didn't have a chance. "
Last season Maggie stepped into Dontae Smith's big shoes and was the star and most valuable player of Frenchman Po Ortz when he scored 13.8 points at 40.7 percent to 3.
"The people in the French league are a bit weird. They probably have favorite players. In Allstars' time I was one of the best scorers in the league and they didn't invite me. I was surprised, but it's not something I can control so I took a break from my body for a few days. In retrospect, it was not bad ".
A lot of people say you're a player who needs to play in the Euroleague.
"I heard that, and I really do not know and do not understand why I did not receive offers. Probably there is politics there as well. If I get a chance I will show everyone what they lost. I hope a good season with Holon will help me progress further, I want to improve as a player and help as much as possible I want to learn from Yogi (Yogev Ohayon, YM) and Pnini who have been in the Euroleague for many years and have experience.
Every workout I tell them to tell me if I'm doing something wrong.
They are good guys and explain to me, and I listen. "
The mechanic
Maggie arrived in the country with his fiancée Anka.
She's from Romania, he's from the US, and they met in Venice. “A friend recommended I meet her and the love was there at first glance.
She is very intelligent, speaks five languages fluently and is very sweet.
I'm lucky she's a part of my life. "
He proposed marriage to her last January in the most romantic place possible.
"We had a holiday at Christmas, so we went to Paris and there I surprised her in front of the Eiffel Tower. Everything is filmed, so she can not deny."
The two were scheduled to get married in the summer in the U.S. They even obtained an entry visa for Anka, but “every time we booked a ticket they canceled the flight because of the corona.
"It affected so much and it was really hard. We tried about 5-6 times and each time they canceled for us. It was very hard because she was with her parents in Romania and we did not meet for three months."
Even now Tire and Anka miss their dog Vizi (named after their favorite rapper - Lil Wayne).
"In Israel there is a law that you have to do blood tests for a dog before you bring him in and before that you have to vaccinate him and wait 30 days before the tests. Here the family will be whole. "
I heard that besides being a good basketball player, you are also a certified car mechanic.
"My grandparents built a house for children and taught them all professions. When there are 13 children they have to be taught to work. They taught one of my uncles car mechanics. When I was with them I watched and learned from him, and when I had the opportunity I specialized in it and told myself it would be good to know if not. I can afford to repair a car. "
"Just last summer I made a renovation for some cars. I upholstered, painted and did a lot of beautiful things with them. Someone sold me an old car for pennies. I refurbished it superbly, and now it looks great and drives well. Next summer I will paint it."
So maybe we'll see you open a garage here?
"Because of the Corona I have not had enough of experiencing Israel yet, but I have heard that there are many American cars here, even classic old ones. I have not yet had time to contact people who love cars. In Oklahoma I bought cars very cheaply and I know it is expensive here, I think it was expensive here "Even more than New York. I like Chevrolets and old cars. I've never been a Ford type. Well, well, maybe a Ford Mustang yes, but I don't like Ford that way."
Numbers that you and Anka people believe.
God is number 1 for me and will always be number 1. As a child I went to church a lot and read the Bible.
Because of basketball I neglected it a bit for a few years, but when I came to Europe I experienced religion again.
Anka also grew up in a religious family and in every country we come to we do research on the religion in it.
"Right before the closure, we were in Jerusalem and there were almost no tourists there, so we were able to see everything we wanted to see in a short time."
How important is it for you to have a good season in Europe individually and as a team?
"Success in Europe can help all our players. We have young players and with our experience we can go far in all the factories. We have to play strong because when the opposing players feel that the team against them is tough they go backwards. I want everyone who plays against us to say 'Okay, should' Beware of Holon. "
