McCollum: “The EuroLeague is the highest league, but the BCL is definitely number two in Europe”

The Basketball Champions League praise was woven by Eric McCollum, who is wearing the jersey of Pinar Karsijaka in this year’s FIBA ​​competition.

“I was very neutral towards the BCL at the beginning, but I would say that I have become somewhat familiar with the competition. I see a lot of talent, a lot of good teams, experienced players, but also a lot of young players who are starting to make their mark and make their own names in the BCL. As for the international competitions, I personally think that the Basketball Champions League has surpassed the EuroCup in terms of talent, level, teams, achievements, etc. The EuroLeague is the highest league, but the Basketball Champions League is definitely number two in Europe.

I like the basketball champions league model, but maybe I wish teams could play more games in the first round. Sometimes there can be weaker teams and some teams that are not as good as others that can progress. Perhaps there are two levels of groups. With so many good teams and so many good players in the BCL, it’s impossible to know which clubs deserve to be considered the best as they won’t be up against all the other opponents in the competition, or even those half of them.

So far in the BCL it felt like we played every game away from home because we didn’t have the support of our fans. With the crowd on our side, the game against Turk Telecom will feel like coming home. It’s a very important game that we need to win to continue in the BCL.” said the 34-year-old American guard, who has competed in all three major European competitions, in an interview granted to a Turkish media outlet.