At an early stage of building the squad, the coach of Hapoel Jerusalem, Aleksandar Dzikic, marked Kadin Carrington.
The American guard was wanted in Israel by several teams, but the financial costs prevented his signing.
This did not stop the group from the capital.
The role that Džikić assigned to Carrington was accepted after a long conversation between them - the sixth player to lead the second unit coming off the bench.
This role was foreign to the player throughout his career, but he accepted it, and already in the preseason, in the Winner Cup, he proved himself in two games of 27 points.
While most of the team's players are complementary, Carrington is the one who is destined to score points when nothing is working on offense.
"He is our 'quiet killer', the player we go to when we need an important basket," compliments the team.
Dzikic stuck to Carrington's original role, with the exception of one time, in the round of 16 of the Cup against Hapoel Tel Aviv, when Leivai Randolph was injured. For the first time, Carrington started and led the team to an impressive victory.
Carrington.
Led to a victory against Hapoel Tel Aviv, photo: Maor Alxalsi
"We needed more offensive options in the five, so he started. He is an amazing person and accepts his position, he is the king of the second five," complimented Džikić at the end.
The zoning changes were not easy for Carrington.
After a disappointing performance in the Champions League (8 points, negative record), he was the last to leave the dressing room, with his head in the ground.
The one who took him for a surprising conversation was ex-Jerusalem, Ratin Obasohn, who happened to be in Israel with his new group Villerban.
"Don't lower your head, I promise you will have good moments in this place and with this crowd later," he told him, and so it was.
"This is the first season in which I come off the bench. I had my ups and downs, but I always try to enter the game, be as positive as possible and do what the team needs from me," Carrington shared honestly after the winning basket he scored against Hapoel Holon as part of the Israeli derby in the Champions League.
Tonight, Jerusalem will host the French Strasbourg, which maintains a perfect balance.
In order to continue fighting for promotion to the top eight in the Champions League, the Reds from the capital will need their ace off the bench at its peak, once again.
Carrington celebrates, photo: Oded Karni
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