Last weekend, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv hosted a group of about 50 students from Stanford University. Drikes: “We’re pleased to do our part as ambassadors for Israeli sports.”
By Amy Samin
On Saturday, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv hosted a group of about 50 graduate students from California’s prestigious Stanford University.
The delegation of students came to Israel in the framework of their MBA program at Stanford. During their week-long visit, they met with public figures and leading business people, including President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer, Ofra Strauss, and others. When it came to the field of sports, the delegation asked to meet with representatives of the Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv basketball club.
The exciting meeting took place in the E11even restaurant at Nokia Arena, and included a speech by chairman Shimon Mizrahi on the history of the club, as well as a conversation with team captain Derrick Sharp on the subject of American players’ acclimation to life in Israel in general and to Maccabi Tel Aviv specifically. Head coach David Blatt gave a talk on excellence and professionalism, and General Manager Eli Drikes spoke about marketing and the club’s organization. After the speeches, the students observed the team’s practice, and capped off their visit with a stop at the team store.
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The students were very excited about the visit and many of them remarked that it was the pinnacle of their stay in Israel. The students, who came to Israel as part of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business’s Student Study Trips program – and included students from countries such China, India, Holland, France, and Portugal, as well as from the U.S. – had their pictures taken with Sharp and Blatt, and got a big laugh when Coach Blatt (Princeton ’81) told them, “Stanford is the best place in the world to study, if you didn’t get into Princeton.”
The most famous student in the delegation was Mark Madsen, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers during their championship seasons in 2001 and 2002. He has since made the move from the NBA to an MBA, and was delighted to meet Blatt and Sharp.
Eli Drikes said of the event, “It’s an honor to host these students; the event was interesting and successful. We’re happy to know there is such great interest in the club, and we’re pleased to do our part as ambassadors for Israeli sports.”
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