Another pair of players has arrived in Israel: Americans Devin Smith and Richard Hendrix landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon and were welcomed by dozens of Maccabi fans. Smith: “It’s a warm welcome.”
By Amy Samin
The first practice of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s training camp will take place tomorrow (Sunday) at Nokia Arena. Most of the team’s foreign players will take part, including Richard Hendrix (who will be starting his second season with Maccabi) and newly-acquired swingman Devin Smith, both of whom arrived in Israel today (Saturday). Several hours earlier, the team’s two Greek players, Theo Papaloukas and Sofo Schortsanitis, also landed at Ben Gurion Airport. Jon Scheyer will arrive in Israel on Tuesday, and Serbian Milan Maćvan will join his teammates once he has completed his participation in the European Championship.
“It’s amazing to come in here and be received by such good fans,” said Smith of the welcome. “I came to just be myself. The coaches know the type of player I am, and I’m not trying to do anything outside of what I’m capable of. I met Richard in Philadelphia [before the flight to Tel Aviv]; it’s nice to meet someone who’s going to be on the team with you. We’re going to start practicing and we’re going to work hard. It’s an opportunity for me to play with Papaloukas and the other great players. It’s definitely a wonderful chance for me.”
Hendrix said, “I’m glad to be back. I’m ready to get back to playing ball with my teammates. I’m looking forward to a good year. We’re expecting this to be a great season. We’ll have a lot of challenges and we’ll need to work hard. It won’t be easy. I know the team and the new players, and I’m looking forward to working with Farmar and Smith. I’m going to continue to play hard and do what I like to do on the court. I think I can carve a niche on this team in all three leagues.”
