Erwin Dudley, Turk Telekom
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 Just when it looked like Turk Telekom was facing an early exit in this year's Eurocup Last 16, the Turkish powerhouse last week pulled off a critical, life-giving road win against previously undefeated Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, Serbia. Telekom started Group L with a 0-3 record and trailed 58-42 against Zvezda midway through the third quarter, but rallied to stay alive in the competition. Telekom's signature player, power forward Erwin Dudley, had as much reason as anyone to celebrate his team's change of fortune. In his fifth season with the team, Dudley is a fan favorite in Ankara and even got Turkish citizenship recently. Dudley's consistently high level of play is part of the reason Telekom is still in the race to reach the Quarterfinals He is averaging 11.9 points on a league-best 29-of-30 free throws, and leads Telekom with 6.5 rebounds so far in this Eurocup season. Now that Telekom found its momentum, Dudley will make sure he and his teammates do their best to advance. "We managed to play our best basketball at the right time," Dudley told Eurocupbasketball.com. "For us, being able to go there and get a win in an unbelievable way showed us that everything can be done if we play well. Our next opponents are going to have a lot of troubles against us."
Hello, Erwin. Congratulations on the big win in Belgrade, coming back from 16 points down in the third quarter. How did you find the right rhythm to win that game?
"Thanks a lot. We played together and were in that situation before. We let up but managed to play together as a team and fight back. We got the energy to continue the fight and knew that we needed to win to stay alive. Everything went well in the fourth quarter and pulled out a great victory for us. This is a very big win for us. We lost our first Last 16 game in Gran Canaria with chances to win it, then came back home to play in Ankara twice and lost both of them. We needed to come back starting with big, big road win like this. We managed to play our best basketball at the right time. For us, being able to go there and get a win in an unbelievable way showed us that everything can be done if we play well. Our next opponents are going to have a lot of troubles against us. They are a great team, but so are we and like I said, this is a great victory for us."
Telekom is one of the most experienced teams in the competition. How important is that experience for the two must-win games left?
"Well, we've got Demond Mallet, whose had already won the Eurocup in the past. That is a big thing for us, too. He talks about a different types of things his team - DKV Joventut - went through that winning season, being together as a team and small things on the court. We now have all of our players back from injuries and like you said, this is a very experienced team. We now we have to go out there and give our best every night."
Your next game is against Gran Canaria, a direct opponent in the fight to reach the next round. Having played already against them, what do you have to do to beat them?
"We have to play our type of basketball. This is what we did in our road game against them but they beat us by eight points. We just have to play basketball as a team, just come out, compete and play hard. If we just go out there and play basketball, I am sure we will have a very good chance to beat Gran Canaria."
After a knee injury towards the end of your college career, you sat out a full season before coming to play in Europe, first in Israel. Were there times during your recovery that you doubted your ability to make a comeback?
"I ended up having two surgeries. I had a serious injury, as I broke my kneecap and it was the type of injury I had never heard of. I did one surgery that did not go well and ended up having a second surgery. When I went to rehab after the first surgery, my knee was still bothering me, it didn't feel right. I had to go in and do another surgery. Once I did it, everything started to fall into place. Once I went into the second surgey, I managed to come back and play basketball."
Did that injury change your game in any way and make you a different player?
 "It did help me a lot. I looked at basketball differently. I have never took basketball for granted since that moment. I see every game as if it is my last one, so I have to go out there and do my best. I am more aware of the different type of injuries and how to take care of your body. I understand that and have worked harder on my body, especially on my flexibility. Getting injured ended up helping me in a lot of ways. I wasn't aware of all these things before it happened."
This is your fifth season with Turk Telekom. What do you like about the club and the city to keep you there for so many years?
"I have been blessed to be here for five years. I haven't had a problem in all the time I have been here. My wife likes it here, we have friends... we just enjoy it in Ankara. The club is also a good place to work, so everything is positive. We like it here and enjoy ourselves, so there has been no reason to change."
You seem to have found a home in Ankara, even getting Turkish citizenship this season. Did you expect to stay so long when
you first went there?
"Actually, I came here from Israel, were I played for one year. At first, I signed a one-year deal, so I didn't expect to be here for so long. I liked the club a lot and they liked they way I performed, so I extended my contract for two more years. Once my second contract was about to finish, we sat down again, discussed it and ended up signing for two more years. I try to come out and produce, people like me here... So this is why I signed back-to-back contracts."
After three years in the competition and seeing that Telekom is alive in the race to make it to the Quarterfinal, what would it mean for you to keep fighting to win the title?
"It would be very big for us, especially for the club. I don't think that the club has made it to the Quarterfinals of any European competition. I think it would also be big for Turkey. We have to perform well, especially now that Galatasaray has no chance to advance. We have a chance and have to do our best in the next two games, give everything we have on the court."
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Friday, February 26, 2010
Javier Gancedo, Eurocupbasketball.com
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