Jock Landale talks basketball in his first Zalgiris interview 1

Jock Landale was battling for a medal with the Australian national team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Beijing just last Sunday, but he was already in Zalgiris practice come Tuesday morning.

While Australia finished fourth, just shy of the podium, the big man had a solid debut, averaging 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Landale took the time to share his thoughts in his first interview with Zalgiris TV.

“Those guys know how to play basketball. Lithuania is a powerhouse in Europe and they produce a lot of quality players. Grigonis is a really good scorer – I think he had 18 or 20, and he was a tough match-up for us. These guys can play at a really high level and they’ve showed that throughout their careers.”

The Aussie drew attention from Zalgiris early on, as he made his debut in Partizan during the 2018-2019 season. In his debut professional season, the athlete averaged 11.2 points and 6.5 assists in the EuroCup.

“They contacted me a while ago. They expressed interest and told me they’re thinking about the future with me. That was very exciting, especially it being my first year going to Europe and fresh out of college. I didn’t really think I would step up that quickly.”

The upcoming season will see Landale taking his career a step higher, as he makes his EuroLeague debut. While he had the chance to take on world-class opponents in the two-week tournament in China, the upcoming season will see at least 34 games of the highest caliber in the regular season.

„It’s really hard to play at that level. There’s not much room for mistakes and you have to be on top of your game every single night. EuroLeague basketball is always physical, like playoffs all year round. I understand it’s going to be a really tough year, ups and downs, and all that. I’m excited to get this going and see how well we can do.”