Keenan Evans: “I want to show that bulldog mentality” 3

After arriving in Lithuania on Sunday, Zalgiris Kaunas guard Keenan Evans has already undergone a medical check-up before joining the team’s first training sessions.

After the procedures, the new Zalgiris player arrived at his new home court and had a tour of the team’s facilities and met with the coaching staff and other Zalgiris players, both those working individually and those training with the Lithuanian national team.

Sitting down for his first interview in a green jersey, the 191 cm tall American, who celebrates his 26th birthday today, enjoyed his first moments in Lithuania.

“I feel very good, the city looks very nice, what I could see when I was walking the streets and seeing the people. The locals immediately came up and said hello and admitted that they are big basketball fans,” shared Evans.

After praising the arena and all its facilities, the basketball player recalled that the last time he wore the green jersey was when he played in his school basketball team.

“Green suits me really well. You know, I used to play in the high school basketball team with a green jersey. Four years of playing in that outfit – I’m going back to the roots. I hope that green will be the color of victory,” smiled Keenan.

After last season with Tel Aviv Maccabi, where he made his EuroLeague debut, Evans spent the summer relaxing with his family and working on his game. As for the upcoming challenge with Zalgiris, the American explained that everyone in the team will want to prove their worth.

“You have to perform well, everyone wants to play an important role. Everybody wants to prove that they are better than they were last season. I want to show what I have been working on lately. I want to show that bulldog mentality. I want to help the team win another trophy in the local league, too,” the player said.

When assessing his chances in the new season, Evans did not want to name personal goals and turned to the team, saying that he would like to reach the EuroLeague playoffs with Zalgiris.

“I can’t say that I have any specific individual goals, because then I would be limiting myself a lot. Every day I want to be better. It doesn’t matter if I improve my personal records in some games. I still want to continue to improve after such duels. So, I don’t have any specific goals, but I would like to make it to the Top 8 stage of the EuroLeague. That’s the goal, making the playoffs. Then you have to see what you can achieve next, and in Lithuania you have to win the championship,” Evans explained.