Jeffery Taylor talked about the moves Hapoel Tel Aviv made this offseason and happily told his memories about sharing the court with Rudy Fernandez in Real Madrid.
At 35 years old, Jeffery Taylor will begin his 10th season in Europe. He might not be as feared and revered as before, but his basketball skill and knowledge are still very much there.
"Nothing much different, to be honest with you. The preseason as usual, nothing big changed. Getting a little older, but that's about it," Taylor smiled when BasketNews asked whether there was anything different to this start of the season compared to all the others.
While his Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius teammates were stretching on the floor, Taylor was still hitting some corner threes, a part of the game he became known for in his Real Madrid days.
Patrick Beverley
| Position: | PG |
| Age: | 36 |
| Height: | 185 cm |
| Weight: | 84 kg |
| Birth place: | Chicago, United States of America |
"As you grow older, you have to pay more attention to your body," Taylor said. "Your preparation becomes longer. You just have to make sure that you stretch a lot, that you're rolling, that you're doing all the necessary things to stay ready."
So far, it's been a bumpy road for Taylor. Just a month into his debut during the 2022-23 season, he pulled a hamstring. Before the start of the 2023-24 season, he underwent knee surgery.
His comeback on the court was pushed back time and time again until the initial four-week projection turned into a ten-week absence. In the Lithuanian League (LKL) playoffs, Taylor suffered a head injury after an elbow hit by an opponent.
"I feel great. I feel like I've worked a lot. The elbow to the head - you can't help those things. Those are things that happen in basketball," Taylor said. "I felt great during the whole spring when I got my legs underneath me. After I had knee surgery, I felt great. Mentally, I feel ready. I'm excited. I think we have a good team. So I'm just ready to get going."
One of the first opponents the Wolves will have to play against in the new EuroCup season will be Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, a club that announced itself loud and clear this offseason by signing a plethora of big names.
