Kevin Panter talked about staying at Partizan, Crvena Zvezda, Dragan Šakota…
Source: MN Press
He gave an extensive interview to the Greek media and touched on various details. Among the main questions was why he stayed. “Money has never been an issue in my decisions. I told them that I don’t want to go and start all over again. There are a lot of offers in the pre-season, Barcelona, Panathinaikos, there was interest from Turkey. There were conversations, you’re just trying to find the best place for you. Željko’s presence had a great influence on my decision to stay. We’ve already built something, he made me a better player, I’m the captain of the team and all that had an impact, it’s important to me”Panter started talking to “BN Sport”.
The fans also had an influence on that. “Things in Serbia and Greece are really crazy when we talk about the atmosphere, although I wouldn’t say that it affects me, I’m even more focused because of it. I’m used to that charged atmosphere. Arena is without a doubt the best hall, I don’t know how the opponents feel when they play against us and when 20,000 people are standing over your head. We have the best fans in Europe, they fill the hall at every match. The craziest thing is when we play against Zvezda, I feel like the ground is shaking. I really can’t imagine what it’s like for the away teams.”
In addition, one of the factors was the Partizan team. “Many people wonder how teams make success? Time is an important factor, it is the key. You progress through experience. When I grew up, I wanted to be with the same teammates for three or four years, that’s important, you build team spirit, you don’t start from scratch, you go one step higher, all successful teams in previous years did just that. I’m not a young player anymore, I’m 30 years old and things have changed a lot since then.”
SHAKOTA SAVED ME, THE STAR BROUGHT ME BACK! Panther remembered the past and revealed why he STAYED at Partizan: Money is not the key
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Panther started his professional career in Greek Lavrio, then moved to AEK, then went to Virtus from Bologna, then spent a year in Olympiakos before moving to Red Star (season 2020/21). “When I was in Olympiakos, I doubted myself a lot, I lost confidence. It will sound crazy to say this, but I learned a lot from that experience, primarily spiritually. It wasn’t about basketball, but I learned about myself, how to fight with differences, especially when you don’t agree with everyone, I learned to think differently.”
Then came an invitation from Belgrade that changed a lot in his career. “When you leave a place like that, you want the next stop to be better, to restore faith in yourself, that self-confidence. Zvezda gave me a chance to come back and of course coach Shakota. We knew each other well from AEK, he believed in me. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that work emerges at that time. I stayed in the Euroleague, Sakota gave me the same role as when we were in Greece. I was coming off the bench, I knew how much they would use me, I was a safe choice, that saved me. The rest is history.”
He then returned to Partizan and gave a short analysis of the season. “Last season, we added more experienced players like Naneli, Andušić, Exum, Papapetrou to the young and talented team, everything came together under the command of coach Obradović. It took us a little time to put it together properly, at the beginning it was difficult, you had to get used to the roles, to your teammates, we struggled then. And then everything came together perfectly when it was most needed. All of Europe saw it, as a leader and captain I did everything to help us find the right harmony. We did some obvious things, just with a lot of confidence“, Panther concluded.
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00:23 Kevin Panther is being chanted Stay Source: MONDO
Source: MONDO