Auburn Hills -- Sporting a ponytail and speaking better-than-expected English, new Piston Luigi Datome hopes to make a smooth transition to the NBA. He?s eager to prove he belongs at the highest level of basketball.
?I want to come here and show I deserve to be an NBA player,? said Datome, who?ll wear jersey number 13. ?I?m just like a kid who made his dream come true.?
Datome, 25, was the Italian League MVP but hasn?t seen much NBA basketball through the years. He?s talked to fellow international players Danilo Galinari (Denver Nuggets) and Andrea Bargnani (New York Knicks) about what his rookie year will be like.
?I?m not scared about hard work. This is a great atmosphere to play,? said Datome, who?ll go by the nickname Gigi. ?It?s more athletic, more physical. I?ll need some time to adapt to the NBA game but I have veteran players to help with the culture. Basketball is a common language, though.?
And shooting the basketball with Datome?s precision doesn?t leave a player when he comes across the Atlantic Ocean.
Having played overseas since he was 15, something clicked this year in Rome, and NBA scouts flocked to see him, making him one of the top free agents internationally.
?It was the first year someone from the NBA wanted me,? Datome said. ?I?m not too young to move to another country. I?m ready to face those (rookie) moments with hard work. The last five years have made me a better player and better man.?
It was why he felt no trepidation about signing a two-year, $3.5 million deal with the Pistons, although he?ll start back from the bottom of the totem pole when training camp begins in late September.
?Maybe I needed more time or years to get confidence with my play,? Datome said. ?I played a lot of minutes, I was the main guy on my team and the expectations were high this year.?
Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130715/SPORTS0102/307150096/1127/rss13
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