The place he was raised in, in New England, on the East Coast of the U.S., is called Claremont and the last time somebody took the time to check it counted 13.555 citizens. The McKale Center where the University of Arizona plays its home games can host more than 14.000 people. “There was more people in the arena, always sold-out, than people living in my hometown”, Kaleb Tarczewski smiles.

This is Tarczewski’s third season in Milan, but it’s less than two years since he came here coming from the Oklahoma City Blue of the G-League. He was a rookie, just out of Arizona, tipped off by Joseph Blair who explained to him like Europe, Italy and in this case Milan could be a very viable path for a prestigious professional career. Tarczewski understood, every day he’s a little more Italian than the day before. He changes his haircut, he learned to eat as an Italian, he loves truffles and espresso coffee, he started to speak and understand Italians ( “I’d love to say I can speak Italian in my third season, unfortunately my Italian is not good enough yet. Hopefully this year I will take classes to learne and catch-up with where I shoulde be by now”). “I’m excited to comeback for a third straight season. I love the place, the city, the fans, the organization. I’m excited to see what we can do this year; there’s a lot of buzz around the new players and then we have the returning players: we should have a great season”, he says.

Last year, Kaleb Tarczewski made his EuroLeague debut,starting 29 games out of 30. “I’ve been fortunate to play in the EuroLeague, it’s obviously the second best league in the world, the playesr are incredibly talented. Playing the EuroLeague helps us in the Italian league; there are talented player there as well but the style is different. As the season grows, we need to learn how to play both styles and bring the same energy in both leagues”. Tarczewskiwas the fifth best rebounder per minute in the EuroLeague and the best in the Italian league. “I love to get dirty down in the paint. I don’t want to settle for it, I’m shooting to be the best this year in every league”.

He was also reliable free.throw shooter. It’s crucial for a big man who gets fouled a lot. Last season he was a 80 percent free-throw shooter in the Italian League. “Free-throw shooting sometimes gets you nervous. When I was at school, at Arizona, when I went to the line, alone, there were more people watching in the arena than people living in the place where I grew up. Sometimes you can be nervous so you have to talke a breath, relax a little and try to be as natural as possible. I’ve shot thousands and thousands of free throws in my career”.

One of the biggest difference at the moment is how Mike James is trying to establish a connection with Tarczewski in pick and roll plays. “I’m excited by the new guys, Mike James and Nedovic, I think we can really grow a connection on pock and roll. I’m looking forward to catch his lobs and dunk, it’s what I like the most. I hope to have a lot of dunks this year”, he says.

Here you can take a look at the complete interview.

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