On a quiet late summer afternoon, the Apu Old Wild West drops Briscoe’s ace on the A2 series table. The presentation of the new American overshadows the eve of the Super Cup quarter-final, if only because high expectations are placed on the New Jersey player. Without going around it too much, in the Juventus environment it is hoped that this is the promotion shot, the new Charlie Smith.
FIRST WORDS
During the presentation press conference Isaiah Briscoe answered the questions of professionals and fans connected online, starting from the reasons that led him to accept the Udine proposal. «I chose to come to Italy because I thought it was the right time to change after two years in the G-League. My first experience out of college was in Europe, I missed this kind of basketball, the APU offer seemed to me the right one ». Space then for a first description of himself as a player: «I can score, defend, be a leader when he serves. The most important thing, however, is to be useful to the team and its objectives ». A mention of his first impact with coach Boniciolli is inevitable: «He is a passionate and passionate person, he loves the game very much and has already said that he will be very demanding towards me. I like it, I can’t wait to get to work ». The first impression of his new “home”, the Carnera sports hall, was also good: «It’s a very nice facility, on Saturday there was a wonderful atmosphere and a good audience».
CURIOSITY’
Isaiah Briscoe is a character to be discovered. Maybe starting to browse his Instagram profile, where he boasts 209 thousand followers. “Zaaay”, his nickname on the social network, is also his nickname in everyday life. Briscoe is attentive to fashions, takes particular care of clothing (“I brought several clothes in my suitcase, but no overalls”) and sports numerous tattoos: on his back he has an indelible number 13, which will be his shirt number at the Apu and because he was born on April 13, both to exorcise the US cabal that 13 brings bad luck. He is friends with former Apu Dominique Johnson and Troy Caupain (with whom he played in Orlando) and played against Allan Ray, another former Juventus player, during the 3×3 “Big 3” tournament. Speaking of US basketball: Briscoe is related to Kyrie Irving and in 2018/19 at the Orlando Magic he had Aaron Gordon, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic and Frenchman Evan Fournier as teammates.
THE RIGHT MAN
The technical director and senior assistant coach Alberto Martelossi illustrated the reasons that prompted APU to choose Isaiah Briscoe. «He is a player in the prime of his career. We have never hesitated on his name, we are convinced he is the right man. We were looking for a player with ball-handling and personality, the merit of the club is not being in a hurry and making the right offer at the right time ».