Shake Milton, the Partizan guard, was a guest in the “Euroinsiders” podcast, where he spoke about numerous topics involving his time in Partizan.
Shake Milton is currently injured and cannot help the ABA League champions, but should be back on the floor soon. The American arrived as a big reinforcement, and he spoke on the “Euroinsiders” podcast about many different topics, including how the first contact was made with Partizan.
“It was crazy. I was talking to the agent and trying to prioritize. I was trying to do something different. I was talking to the coach, the general manager and we made a decision,” – began the 29-year-old.
He also had certain expectations from his stay in Partizan, but also from European basketball in general:
“You definitely want to come and play. And then what happens happens. When you come and you realize quickly that the game is different. It’s played differently, it’s refereed differently. You have to make a few adjustments, but you do it on the fly. The space is tighter, there are more people. There’s not as much open space to penetrate. The defensive three seconds in the racquet are different and the small refereeing decisions are different.“
The reputation of the Partizan fans is well known throughout not just Europe but the world, and playing in front of the home crowd was a special experience for the American guard:
“It’s crazy. When they’re on and they’re supporting you, it’s crazy. Running out of the tunnel and hearing them, it puts a battery in your back. You’re charged up right away. I can see that the pressure is a lot. Maybe it’s not for everybody. I don’t know, you have to have a certain level of aggressiveness, go through the ups and downs and feel like you can finish well.“
Partizan has had a disasterous season thus far, being near the bottom of the EuroLeague standings, but Milton believes the team doesn’t lack much to turn the season around:
“We are talented, if we fix some things, we can go in a completely different direction. I totally understand the fans. I’ve played in tough places in America. Philadelphia is tough. The similarities I’ve noticed are that the fans want you to play hard, leave your heart on the field, throw yourself for the ball, ‘throw’ your elbow, bleed. If they see you doing that, you’ll support it.“
He also believes that some reactions of the crowd were justified, and he recalled the day when fans booed Partizan players, which happened for the first time against Bayern, mostly related to the resignation of club legend Zeljko Obradovic:
“As fans, especially the type of fans they are, this is life or death for them. It means everything to them. When they see it’s not going the way they want, they’re going to be upset and they have every right to be. The Bayern game was a rollercoaster of emotions. That first match seemed like we were playing on the road, but we were actually at home. In the derby, you see what it’s like when everyone is together, when they stand by you and give you full support, and then you win. In such moments, the psychological factor is very important and it is important that you are calm because if you are distracted, you will lose focus.“
Claim Now He was then asked if there were any players who were particularly shaken by the shouts from the stands:
“You know, it was definitely difficult and there were certainly individuals that did not like it, but I think as a whole team we struggled with that feeling. You know, are the fans on our side or against us? Still, from the fans’ perspective, they felt betrayed and hurt because the coach left. They felt that because of what he meant to them, but also to the whole club. From that angle, I can definitely understand them. It was really difficult for everyone in that period.“
The former NBA guard experienced all that in his first season outside the best league in the world:
“That’s part of it too. Keep in mind this is my first experience in Europe. What else can I do but keep my head down, work hard and play basketball?“
There was a question about whether Milton and the players wanted to talk to the fans to try and calm the situation:
“I don’t know if we were looking for a conversation, but we were looking for understanding. Understanding about what’s going on and about the problem.“
Milton was asked about whether he could understand the importance of the “eternal” derby with Crvena Zvezda.
“I definitely did. I knew about the game itself in the summer because one of my coaches was Serbian. He told me what was happening even then. So I knew what it was about even in the preparation. You can feel it especially on the day of the derby. You wake up and something is different in the air. It’s crazy, to hear such a crowd in the derby is crazy.
I had an appointment with the dentist and they were thanking me for the win. When the coach left it got a little crazy. But in most cases, everyone shows you love. Even the frustrated ones. And that frustration comes from love. I understand them. I didn’t see many Crvena Zvezda fans,” Shake Milton concluded.
Milton has averaged only 6.7 points per game in 13 appearances in the EuroLeague, a far cry from what was expected of him when the club signed him from the NBA.
