 Although he's making his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut this season, center Andre Riddick of Spirou Charleroi is far from a rookie. At age 37, Riddick has spent eight seasons in Charleroi trying to reach the Euroleague through the Eurocup. In that eight-year-old competition, Riddick is the all-time leader in rebounds, steals and blocks, ranking second in games played and fifth in career performance index rating. But this season, he and Spirou took advantage of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds to finally break through to the continent's top competition in spectacular fashion, winning three series despite playing the second game of each on the road. And last week, after four defeats to open the regular season, Spirou shocked everyone by downing Real Madrid 67-49 to match the Spanish giant's lowest-scoring game ever in more than 50 years of European competition. Riddick's game-highs of 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and a performance index rating of 21 had everything to do with Spirou's historic victory. "Before last week, I think a lot of people questioned if we belonged in this competition after not winning the first four games," Riddick told Euroleague.net. "Well, now they know why we are here."
Andre, it's been a long time coming. How are re you enjoying your first season in the Euroleague so far?
"I had played in basically every other European competition except this one: the ULEB Cup, the EuroChallenge... I also watched teammates of mine, like Matt Walsh and Jerry Johnson, leave to go play with Euroleague teams. I knew that the Euroleague had great players and I wasn't sure that I would be able to play on that level. Especially, when Jerry Johnson signed last summer with Lietuvos Rytas, I thought about maybe trying to find a way to get on a Euroleague team before my career finishes. I thought maybe I'd have to go to another team, because I didn't expect it to happen with Charleroi, honestly. After last year's disappointment in the same qualifying rounds against Orleans, qualifying this time was a big surprise for me. I wasn't sure we could do it, but we did."
How does last week's victory over Real Madrid rank on your list of great moments with the teams you've been on?
"It's one of the top moments I've been a part of, for sure, for what it meant to the city of Charleroi and our organization. It had been so long since the team has been in the Euroleague and won a game. And not only to win it, but win in the manner we did. Before last week, I think a lot of people questioned if we belonged in this competition after not winning the first four games. Well, now they know why we are here, and I hope last week's game can be something of a spark for us to want to go out and win again. The Euroleague has been a learning experience for all of us. Each game we learned a lesson and last week we put them all together, played well and did it for 40 minutes. Before that, we were missing about 10 minutes each game."
It was an especially defensive victory, with Madrid suffering one of its lowest scoring games ever. As your team's defensive anchor, does that make it more satisfying?
"That was one special part, yeah, but everybody had their part to play. Everybody gave something to the team. I tried to play good defense on Tomic and Fischer, sometimes switching to play Reyes, too. They are all good players, so it was tough trying to defend those guys. I think they didn't shoot well as a team, either, so we can't take all the credit. Some of it was their difficulties shooting and some of it was the defense we played. That's why we won by such a big margin."
And one of your blocks made the Euroleague Top 10 plays. Not bad for a 37-year-old...
"Yeah, it felt great to see that. It shows you're not only playing, but doing well and showing that, 'Hey, I can still play at this level. We can compete here.' Anytime you can do something special, individually or as a team, it feels great to get that recognition. After those first four games of negativity - people asking if we thought we could win a single game, things like that - we just stayed focused on playing the right way. That's why we were able to do what we did."
Is it true that your teammates call you Grandfather? You take that from the young guys?
"Yeah, I'm the old guy on the team and probably in most every game we play. My teammates are so much younger; it's a huge gap now! They're in a totally new generation from what I am used to having as teammates. There's a lot of fun about it, though. The thing to understand is I try to not look 37 on the court. My goal is to play and mix in with everyone else, without anyone questioning my age. That and helping our team get a victory are the goals when I go out on the floor."
You started your pro career in Asia and South America. How were those experiences?
"They were great. I started in Japan. I had not played a lot in college at Kentucky, so it was good for me to get out and see what I was able to do professionally. Then I went to Taiwan for two-and-a-half years. Of course, the culture was different, a little bit of a shock, and hard to get used to, but what was great about both places was the people. They were nice and helpful and made the experience better for me. So I started off bouncing around at the beginning of my career, just to get out and play and see what I was able to do. I had some success with a championship in Venezuela. That's a tough competition there, with a lot of guys getting fired if they don't play the right way. There, you have to fight to keep your job, and that helped me stay aggressive and focused. In all those places, I learned a lot about other cultures in a way that a lot of Americans don't get the chance to experience. So I feel lucky to have really enjoyed every place I've been."
 From bouncing around to nine consecutive seasons at Spirou: What keeps you in Charleroi?
"Most of the time, it has been the opportunity to be on really good teams that has kept me here, especially the last three years. They've been great teams that I didn't want to leave when I saw their potential. The last couple years, I thought we'd do well in the Eurocup. Last year it didn't turn out that way, but the year before we had a chance. This year, with the opportunity to play the Euroleague qualifying rounds, when I saw the players we signed, I knew that I wanted to be part of this team. Besides that, my wife and kids are so comfortable and we have friends here. So it's really our home away from home. So, the answer is that I've always felt this was a good place to stay for my basketball and for my family."
How special were the qualifying rounds for you and the club, winning on the road in three series to reach the Euroleague?
"It was funny because each qualifying round went the same. The first game against Nymburk, we were up big and let them get close at our place, so people were nervous we wouldn't be able to protect the difference when we went there. Then, when we won did the same against Unics Kazan, which started it all. No one thought we had a chance against them. But the players and the coach believed in what we were doing. We felt that we would be competitive if we played the right way for two games and 80 minutes. Then, in the last qualifying round, it was great to see our fans travel all the way to Berlin to be part of the experience. They were behind us the whole time and that helped us qualify. We learned a lot from the qualifying rounds, but it turns out we played a little better at that time than we did in our first four Euroleague games. We had a better output then, and I hope we can get back to that now."
What kind of motivation does beating Madrid by 18 points give the team for the second half of the regular season?
"It was big for our confidence. If we had fallen to 0-5, I don't know. If you keep losing, believing becomes harder and harder. So, winning last week took a lot of pressure off. We showed ourselves, too, that if we come out, play the right way and focus on what our coach says, we can be successful and have better chances to win, against any team at any gym. But to do that, we have to play the right way. Getting close on the road against Olympiacos the week before and then playing Real Madrid at home, and winning, was the perfect sequence to see where we were."
What does the future look like for you and Spirou Charleroi?
"I have two years left on a contract here. And I really want to play in the Euroleague again. If that were possible here, it would be great. I know exactly when I want to stop and I want to make sure I am in the right place. Mainly, I really want to compete. I don't want to sit and rest at the end of my career. I want to play and I want to win. If anyone needs me to win games, I am ready to go. In the end, though, like I said, my family and I will decide together what the future brings."
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