Interview: Levour Christopher Warren

Levour Christopher Warren is an interesting player. He walks like Charlie Chaplin and many would thought he is not able to run with such a style. But well, he is a master in doing this, he is extremely fast, always the first one in defensive acts. He started to play basketball when he was six, he was lucky to grow up following Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson on a TV. It was his father Edward who made him choose basketball. There is nothing strange in this since Edward Warren was also a player, picked by New York at the 1978 NBA draft, but unfortunately had to end his career due to a severe injury. His son Christopher went through the College Collin County CC and the University South Carolina. He was playing for the national team of Panama while later he moved to Europe and also already won the regional league trophy in 2004 with Reflex.

You were very dominant already in the previous season but at that time the leading position in the team was reserved for Scoonie Penn. Nowadays Scoonie plays in Greece, roles have changed, you are more under the spotlight now. Do you feel that it is more difficult succeeding Penn in the team?

Scoonie is an excellent player who does a great job in Olympiakos. It is difficult to compete against him and that is why I even don’t try to do this. Everybody has his own style, his own way. My goal is to improve every season.

Is one of the goals also making the NBA?

This is definitely the dream every player has but you have to stay realistic. And I do think I am.

Pretty clear since Warren is one of those players from USA who doesn’t spent spare time only in front of the TV, playing video-games or listening to the music. Once he stressed that if he would be a teacher in a school instead of a player, of course if the sporting career would not succeed in sport. Namely, he likes being with children. By the way, he is still single and he likes grilled meat.

The head-coach Dražen Anzulović was pretty unsatisfied with the team's performances lately to finally came with some positive words in front of journalists after the victory against Helios. Not just that you celebrated after two defeats in a row, you were also the MVP of the whole round in the regional league. How much credit do you take for the final turn in Cibona play and for the first step out of the crisis?

My merits are the same as the ones of the whole team. I did do anything special and even for what I did a lot of credits goes to the team which followed me excellent. I am glad we won, now it is easier to continue. But if this is also the sign we ended the crisis, then even better.

What was happening with the team lately when you throw away almost everything you were working for from the beginning of the season? Here I mean especially the Eruoleague where you were knocked out of the competition already after the first part of the season and didn't reach the Top 16.

If only I knew how to answer your question. Injury and illness among players were something that affected us quite a lot during a certain period of time, there were also many changes of players on the roster, some newcomers joined the team … I do not look for an excuse. The biggest reason for our break down is within the team, we had a clear situation for qualifying for the Euroleague’s top 16 but we blew it off. The defeat in the Croatian cup was only a consequence of the state we fall in after the knock out in Europe.

The head-coach Dražen Anzulović begun the season with three American players in the team, besides you there were also Brent Wright and McCullough in the team. Did you find that the system of play was kind of adapted to the American one since there is a big difference between the basketball that is played in Europe and the one in USA?

I think we adopted quite good to the European basketball which is definitely different to the one we play in USA. In USA there is more focus on the physical side of the game, there are more contacts.

The club signed a significant number of guards since the beginning of the season and therefore and sharpened the competition for the playing minutes. How did you accept your role and moreover how did you get used to the fact that every player needs to spend a certain number of balls?

This is more a question for the head-coach, this is his job. He is the one who decides, we only have to adopt to the system he has. But I do think I am quite good in doing this.

Dissapointment followed, the whole team must've faced the lack of motivation first. How did you came back, what did you do inside the team to motivate you at least for the next goal, the regional league, after a slip in the Euroleague and in the national cup?

You have to find a motivation as a sportsmen, the dissapointement must not last for too long. You have to know how to react.

Can the regional league trophy be an additional motive? You are currently at the first place on the national standings, besides the play-off is introduced instead of the Final Four this season.

I do think we can win the NLB trophy as the national championship. Of course it will not be easy in the NLB League since the Serbian clubs are very strong. But so are we and we will try to prove this too all in the following weeks. We are not without a reason the leading team of the league for quite some time now.