welcome back this is all see the headline it's. israel's defense chief william sense and gaza and so will be doing so you know only a seismic scene in minutes in a sauna to blockheads in retaliation for a strike. iran says it's ready to a tight ship instead get to close to its war against me at a vital on the supply route the maneuvers are taking place in neutral instantly at a crucial moment strait this comes after tehran spreads to hostages it west proceeds with top scientists. on your show security forces raid human rights groups

offices nationwide reports citing soldiers stalked employees leaving and interrogating them outside that computer says critics claim the ministry leadership is using mubarak era type takes to curtail their revenues. and right now he talks to and based on drake about what it takes a russian guy to become a sports celebrity spotlight is up next. culture is that so much alhaji people at nigeria will dance it'll tell a different bit of mulch it was here two thousand and eleven the world changed in ways hardly anyone could have expected we witnessed the rise of people power on. how we're here and welcome to the spotlight i'll do no event today my guest on the

show is kitty lanka russia supported by the world always known around the world they were always among the best in the world but after the iron curtain fell off the soviet borders twenty years ago many russian stars started to go abroad to play in the best clubs of europe and the united states a bit later russian clubs started making big bucks and they also started hiring the best athletes in the world and sometimes retreating the russian stars so came back so stayed abroad what does it take to make a living to make a career in big sports today we have a chance to ask a person who made it both in russia and in play united states kill no one in the n.b.a. as a k forty step. and drink or lentils basketball career is

a great success story he first played in russia's top league at the age of sixty but didn't stay there for long after two successful years he was drafted in the n.b.a. becoming the youngest european player in the league during the twelve years he spent with due to jazz he was one of the team's best players with an annual salary above fifteen million dollars due to an n.b.a. lockout in the. moved back to moscow to play for say a scott club which is where he wants to stay still many american teens want to recruit him and keep making proposals. drain welcome to the show thank you very much for being with us well first of all you play in russia today and european basketball is generally considered to be softer than in the united states do you believe that's true after that game when you suffered a broken nose and

a concussion is released after that in the states well i don't believe it's softer because you know the level of the basketball growing up every year and you know more and more and be a player players with n.b.a. experience coming to europe and playing here it's different yes but i wouldn't say it's softer. so it is a tough game gives you know people people doesn't want to lose either everybody fighting for every piece of on the floor and everybody competes hard so that's probably the same type of intensity. and be a pro dilemma will probably a little bit lower but you know you played in your team here in moscow in new year two thousand now it's two thousand and eleven more than ten years have passed can you compare the level of basketball in russia well has it changed during these ten years definitely definitely future. improvement.

idea back to the russian team after ten years being in the n.b.a. and. all the infrastructure of the team changed it's more professional people in here way better players their league or improved so much more and more players playing professionally and the highest level right now a lot of young guys who potentially can be a man. playing here and that's why the level you know where we were raised and everybody stepped up when the interview last time it was several years ago you told me i remember that your own club says colleges are also the red army club you said if we bring it to the states and give them a chance to play in the n.b.a. for one season they would level up with a level up of the n.b.a. clubs and a and b. like of the same level is this still true i would say that the current team if you

bring to term be their root there would get probably fifteen twenty wins a season but if they play more and more time i mean they would get some time to adjust and get used for the n.b.a. style. i want to say we would be a playoff team but we would be somewhere close and fighting for that spot what is the reason i don't know you ask yourself this question why why. clubs other than the united states be as good as n.b.a. what's what's the main reason. well low profile i think it's all preparation before the n.b.a. you know the c.w.a. it's a huge. leap for the students where all the young talents grow up to be. you know as best as they can be and very joining and be a right after this great great using as you know

a very big. proving and they've grown up getting you know muscles and fighting so hard them. unfortunately there's not a lot of good steering basketball guys who was very talented fifteen sixteen years old big. have to play for the for the senior teams and they may also be good because for the states for americans basketball is just like football for brazilians it's like a religion as it well a lot of a lot of contras have a basketball as a religion likely to any sort of. but i'm saying those america have all the steps and you know with a little kid having a great talent he comes to school then he comes to the coach then he comes to the n.b.a. . those are three steps you know there's going to become such a complete players and europe unfortunately you know after right after school

players have to go to the professional team and they skip that part. with their student basketball with a coalition the university basketball and i think that's the future loss but even the best machines break down we have this lockout this is the reason why i came here to play what was the reason for this and for the previous lockouts only greed or something else i mean we only see the one part you know all the fans want to see the best can bowl everybody thinks it's agreed and you know everybody mad on the players everybody made their own errors and you know i can understand that but you should understand one thing it's a huge huge business. which is broadcast in a three hundred contracts everybody likes to watch everybody likes to. be around basketball and you know be involved somehow so so that's why you should have rules you should have agreement between two sides one little things so in the future you

don't have problems and when you don't have that agreement that's why the problems all the problems comes out so right now there was a time when two sides cannot reach that agreement you know fortunately right now everything is set up you know and players can play basketball owners can own and you know enjoy the basketball and all the fans can enjoy it and the way we know when the lockout is finished and. who's the winner is there a winner the players all the others i think they have their winners as the fans really your friends you've lost. i don't think you know both most sides cannot win because this is where i see it should be it should be compromised both sides have to stand there for one hundred compromise before without the lockout because there is not enough time for you know they only have like two or three months to reach that agreement and unfortunately there wasn't enough time to reach

it so this wife happened that's why you know for three months almost four monist lockout was happened you know the season didn't start in the right time wasn't you tell me that in russia basketball is progressing it's moving to are becoming better and better well do you think that the police here the russian players should also defend their rights and defend their rights the same way they do that in the united states it's impossible because because players in europe don't have a lever which. it's a profitable league which is making money and you know if the players stop playing and stop making money in the europe. teams usually i would say ninety nine percent of the teams not profitable and not making money and most are sponsored you know they're the reason guys who like storm the best football team they pay money just to support it and they're not making money so

that's why there's the only reason why the players can step up and say look we're not going to play ok at home play we're going to have someone else who will say well you know the way we go this is the reason so listen so that means that players in the league in the n.b.a. i mean they they they feel themselves free here because because the they're in business i mean i mean they know that somebody needs them well that's definitely you know i think players and n.b.a. down the stamp they're part of the product you know they know if they don't play well they're going to lose money so you know every time they step on the court they have to give their best to have to give hundred percent they have to make people like the game of basketball lie to themselves like a bit well organised because you know they're working on the same side with their own arse to make. basketball as a product very attractive. you are

a russian you are a guy born in the soviet union and just before before this interview you just told me i make a decision for my future and money isn't everything you know there are things that matter more than money well what is it in russia that matters so much for the for the players what they call get in the united states. i mean when you play in russia from when misunderstandings for you know you're playing with the guys here you are you grow up with you know we have nine russian guys on the team right now and you know every day you're spending so much time when the locker room. as for the chemistry you know when you have your guys coming every day and you know joking around the you know having fun with together and playing together you know you always some the same page you always kind of have same mentality and this is

worth a lot you know we all want to play in the best leave definitely you know n.b.a. is the best league for this and we want to play there but you can't replace the atmosphere in a locker room because it's just a little different so so so so this locker room stuff we're talking about i understand that it's maybe even more important than the game itself. it's not important in the game but what i'm saying is this part of the life. you want to feel as comfortable as you want because you can be and i think. a locker room playing in the russia and play and i want to remember it's a little different it's just way more easy for myself because i'm russian. to feel the chemistry here rather than in america so getting into the russian n.b.a. basketball spotlight will be back shortly after the break so stay with us and.

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amplification to go on the phone called touch from the stops to switch on t.v. lights on the six six video on demand all th money fuel costs an r.s.s. feeds now in the palm of your. six questions on the dot com. welcome back to spotlight i'll get it over in just a reminder that my guest on the show today is our lady of the famous rochelle. basketball player known in the n.b.a. as a k forty seven. well we started talking about the ability of russians to play abroad the sort of comfort or discomfort that you have when you

play when you play in a fairly well this is true not only for basketball this is also true for for hockey players in the n.h.l. this is also true it might sound funny for the russian girls in the modeling business last of them are i working work it's also a kind of sport you have brought well what do you think what's the reason that russians do really often they do really fit into that for that though they may be very good professionally well oh i know a lot of examples for the for the athletes who plays in america and you know they feel very comfortable and i know a lot of examples of people who doesn't know it but there's a language barrier i think it's all individual language probably psychologically you know people get to use for the russia and for the russian friends you know they don't want to miss their family to be france you know they get to use for the you know you know sort of co. food i think it's important sometimes and.

the chinese are different from russian but america is american food so different. it is different you know you have to get used to. i think one of the people coming to america alone you know i was a little bit lucky because i came and i came here with my wife and i have a support on my side. good cook. so she supported me and i feel like you know i have somebody on my side but you know a lot of a lot of becoming alone and and that's why they always alone you know they suffer they feel lonely very warm you know and. nostalgic you know bringing them back home kids. oh the american do they feel themselves american all russian or what i have two boys who was born and salt lake city and i believe they show

america. you know would be this big both languages. they know they have fresh and they have america and. pretty free normal and. very comfortable in russia or ecstacy and i like it like that you know they don't have a problem to leave moscow and leave in salt lake city or leave in france i think it helps them in the future you know a bit they want to feel anything any any bad nights you know being in and out of contre. i've heard the pinion from from russian leads and try to to where can broaden the came back to russia that working abroad especially in the united states in the best leagues and a channel and the and the and be a requires who are so disciplined who are sacrifice if you want and then when you play here way can be more relaxed is that true. maybe partially because

if you want to be in math we're on the highest level you have to have it anyway it doesn't matter where you play in n.b.a. or you play in the russian elite if you want to be of the top when you want to be a successful athlete. you have to you have to have self-discipline you have to be you have to work hard you know to reach a grow you have to sacrifice some some some things in your life to get there and i don't think it's particularly go to the m.h.o. n.b.a. . you know american sport was when you personally enter a career like a k forty seven when you come back now to play in the army club and are you different from the other guys i mean. because you've got your good n.b.a. today you'll have four hands so does that make you different does that make you special. well i think be experiences definitely helps. players look at your little bit different. know that you have

a great experience but it gives you away more responsibility because you can't. misstep you have to be on the same level every day and you have to. give the good example for everybody a bit you know i'm here but i'm here to relax i'm here to work i'm here to show you the example how it's supposed to be and you know it takes some probably external just sometimes because if you don't play in the n.b.a. you already do everybody knows that you know you're in the team and you play him what you can but it is no more than i have here you are more like a symbol b. and you know you can't really have you know. they would allow you the usual mistakes and you know it's not you know love to make. you mentioned that only nine. russians this is

only fifteen guys that really you know well. well now you are native here but you are a foreigner when you play in the states with your opinion there's a huge discussion now in russia about about attracting foreigners to play for russian teams in football and ice hockey and basketball your opinion about that for is it good or bad should we limit the number of foreigners i think i think it's a different situation. in russia. you know r. and b. is the best league and everybody will support it doesn't matter a. whole team is foreigners you know because there's a lot of examples like when a lot of foreigners play there in russia i think it's a little. different situation because. we. have a very big institute over national teams and we all want own national team to be successful. or there are to be successful we have to have russian players to play

well and if we have every team you know to bring a lot of foreigners and the russian players in a play we're going to lose our national team. that's why i think we should have a restriction so you are in favor of i think we should have a result. but it shouldn't be a like a crazy you know it should be a balance what would you say how many how many is enough pretty in first person dhoni five person to be honest well you never know the coach you know that you don't have an answer you know and that would be involved and a wiser should be it should be analyzed because you know they're for the relationship then wise and see how the season goes how many russian players played well and you know monitor the situation so next year because change it or keep it like this you know keep it the same way. it's not my job right now maybe in the future when i you know finish my career. somebody in a federation of them will do it ok well speaking about your career you definitely

want to take part in the london olympics you were pretty successfully personally at least at the previous olympics the olympics even with the flag bearer for the russian team so what can you say about that london is sort of trying to look forward to to learn their work is about the future russia would definitely looking forward to be an olympics and a lot of them we know there are you know you know we july second we're going to have a qualification tournament and three teams are going to go to them so we're going to do our best to be there and you know being a russian delegation team. two thousand and twelve what he say today this winter the russian national team isn't something to really be afraid of you can compare the teams i mean they're actually the american team you know a lot about oh i don't think we should be afraid of you know well i think we have

a very promising team a last european championship we get the bronze medal two thousand so i want to get the gold medal and we play in pretty well you know we have young guys from all the girls you know he plays inventor and i gets right now he improved a lot and we'll get another guy from a bit which is pretty good for the team you know for the experience and the rest of the guys we have a great young guys from brother army club. and i think we're i think we have a very very good young talented team so this is. do you think that that basketball is one of the one of the rushes go the expectations full and are not really just here in the first of all we have to be there we can jump ahead to you know think about gold medal before we even you know we're going to fight for that for the invitation and. then i think oh main goal will be to get

from the group for the quarterfinal and try to be trying to get the best for five for the medal if we talk about the quality of qualifying for the for the olympic tournament who do you consider your main rival. was that will. always been pretty successful and pretty good grief team always tough. you know solid teams much don't much are going to show the great corage last year obamacare plus the teams from south america sports rica and new zealand team will be tough cookie so. there's going to be probably five sixteenth's who is really going to be great for three spots thank you thank you very much and graeme that just a reminder that my guest on the show today was a carrier because of the famous russian basketball players that are in the n.b.a. i'm a k forty six and that's what they're from all of the spotlight will be back

with more comments on what's going on and sure if you want to send me a letter if you have a when you let me turn to the next right just took me a lot of. r.t. if you need are you let's keep spotlight and we'll be back until then stay on r.t. and take.