Israeli shooting guard Ethan Burg has spent just over two weeks on Tennessee’s campus as he begins to get accustomed with the American game and the Volunteer basketball program.
Burg met with the local media for the first time Tuesday ahead of the Vols’ first official preseason practice. Burg discussed playing in the FIBA EuroCup, his early impressions of Tennessee basketball and much more. Here’s everything Burg said.
More From RTI: What Point Guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie Said In First Tennessee Press Conference
On the differences he’s seen in college basketball at Tennessee compared to professional basketball overseas
“I feel like the pace is much different. I think over there, meaning Europe, basketball is much more slower. You mostly play with your head instead of your legs and arms. I feel like over here, here we’ve been running, I’ll tell you that. We’ve been running, I’m still trying to get used to it, get my cardio up. Obviously, I’m a little bit older, so coming in here at the age of 23, I got a lot to learn, but at the same time, it’s easier for me to just make sure that I get everything right by the time we need to play. And yeah, I feel like mostly the pace. The style here specifically is much different than what I’m used to, but it’s good. Overall it’s good. I feel like it’s a good learning experience. It’s one of the main reasons I chose to come play at the NCAA level, college level, especially at Tennessee. And yeah, looking forward to it.”
On what he would consider the strengths of his game
“I feel like I can get downhill quickly. I feel like I’m a good passer. I can also score the ball. I’m a good defender, obviously going to need to prove it this year at this level. But yeah, I have a lot of, I don’t know how to call it, I have a lot of experience. I have a lot of experience. I just came from the EuroBasket play, tough competition out there, Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Luka (Doncic), a lot of talented teams as well. So coming in here mostly to give some of my experience back to the team if I could help the guys. And I hope that translates to the game.”
On how much his experience helps him as he makes the transition to Tennessee so late in the year
“It helps. It helps because first of all, I feel like I don’t take anything personally. I didn’t really know Coach (Barnes) before I got here, but I got to know him the past couple of weeks. I thought my first practice I ain’t going to get yelled at, but I understood real quick that it’s different around here. But we talked about experience, so I don’t take anything personally. I’m coming here to learn, to be better, to make everybody else better. And I feel like that gives me a little edge. And yeah, I think I’m going to be fine. I’ve got a great group of guys here. Everybody really made me feel comfortable, wanted me to be myself, and really, really looking forward to the start of the season.”
On his favorite thing about Knoxville since arriving here
“I feel like it’s a beautiful city, honestly. Great weather, great food. I live in Stockyard, so I got this restaurant, Stir, right under my apartment. I love it, I love it man. Great food, downtown has been amazing. My girlfriend here takes me hiking every Sunday. I don’t like that part much, but it’s beautiful views out there man, I’ll tell you. I really love this city man, it’s just amazing.”
On his cultural adjustment and how familiar he was previously with America
“My dad is American, that’s where I got the accent from. I mean my English is not 100% because I was born and raised in Israel, but my dad’s American and I’m really familiar with the States. I think it’s probably my most preferred vacation destination — Miami, New York, L.A. Like, yeah, I’m a tourist when it comes to that. But, I’ve been in the States multiple times. I think it’s the fifth year in a row where, in the summertime, I come to United States. And, yeah, this time I’m playing here.”
On if he had been to Knoxville before moving to Tennessee
“I’ve been on a visit, but it was super low-key, because I didn’t really have my eligibility yet. So it was kind of an unofficial visit. I was here for three days and it was the only college I visited. But I knew right away this is where I want to be. My entire recruiting process was with GP, with Gregg Polinsky. He was super, super, just a great guy. Just a great guy.
It’s been easy to communicate with him. And I really felt at home even before I got here. He made me feel super comfortable. And when I got here I met Coach Barnes, Coach Gainey, and it was just amazing. I knew right away that this is a spot for me.”
On what has been the biggest surprise for him since arriving at Tennessee
“Fanbase, honestly, I didn’t really get to know some of our fans. I think I’ve been here for like a week and a half, so I haven’t really had too many interactions with fans or whatever. But I went to the football game against Georgia. I’ve seen a lot of people out there, man. It’s a lot of people.
So hopefully we get some of the love the football gets. I heard it gets pretty noisy here, especially home games and rivalry games. And yeah, I just think it’s a different experience than what I’m used to. It’s a different experience. I’ve been playing professional basketball for like the past four years now.
And coming into college, it’s a different route. It’s a weird route, right? You usually go to college and then pros. I already played pros, so now I’m coming into college. Honestly, just looking forward to it. I think it’s a beautiful city, amazing people. Just happy to be here.”
On why he wanted to play in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament, why that was important to him
“That’s a good question. I feel like I learned a lot from this tournament.
It was a short time, like two weeks, but I still learned a lot. Coming in on the roster I was the youngest player on the team. I think about 20 people were invited to the camp. I really didn’t know if I’m going to make the cut, the final roster. But each practice I made progress, felt more comfortable, played better, so the coaching staff decided to keep me and let me go with the 11 other players to represent Israel in the EuroBasket. But this experience overall was just amazing. I mean, getting to guard NBA, probably Hall of Famers, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, just that level of competition and the rest of them EuroLeague players, EuroCup players, high, high, high level competition. So I think I learned a lot from it. Just being out there, gaining more experience. It was important to me.”
On what it meant for him to represent his country in international competition
“Yeah, it means a lot especially everything that’s going on in Israel right now. The situation is not the best. I really hope it would all end soon and we’ll eventually have peace, but this is the situation. It is what it is. So just being out there, representing my country, it was amazing. It was probably the best experience that I’ve ever had in my entire life. Beating France, which won the silver medal in the Olympics, for a small country like ours, it’s a hell of an achievement. So yeah, probably the best moments of my life.”
