Bits from Joe Ingles Interview, 2/5

Is it weird being a 27-year-old veteran of international basketball and being viewed as a rookie here?
Yeah, I mean, it’s a little different. I think, I mean, within the team and the club, I mean, I don’t get looked at as a rookie, technically. But guys know what I’ve done in my career, and it’s, over here, I guess it’s technically the rule that I’ve gotta wear that silly little pack, backpack that Gordon [Hayward] got me, and things like that.

But when I’m on the court, obviously I have got a bit of experience and just try to help the guys out where I can, and I think it’s been a really good fit…I’m loving the experience of being able to play a little bit and help the team.

And yeah, the other way around, I think, just, me just being able to use that experience helping other guys, and I’ve got a bit of a relationship with Quin [Snyder] from the past when he was coaching in Europe, so just bouncing ideas off each other, and yeah, just really, really enjoying it.

Having played all over the world, are you a master of fitting in and blending in with whatever’s going on?
Yeah, it’s tough. Especially, I’m engaged, getting married this summer. But my fiancee, which you guys will have no idea, and then for a lot of other Americans, she plays a sport called netball, which I, you guys, everyone can just YouTube it. It’s a lot easier than me explaining it. But since she’s only, kinda, she comes back and forth during the season most of the time.

So when you’re doing it by yourself, it’s a lot harder.* Spain was pretty cool. Barce–living in, Barcelona’s obviously one of the biggest cities in the world, and it’s a beautiful place. Then getting the phone call that Israel, at the start my mum said I wasn’t allowed to go, just because of the bad news we get about it over in Australia.

And then I went over there, and it was one of the most beautis–beautiful places I got to live in. And then jumping on a plane to America, which was obviously the final and kind of ultimate goal of my career, to be able to play over here. And yeah, just enjoying it. It’s, Utah’s a very quiet little town, which is kind of perfect for me ’cause I am second oldest in the team.

* UDQM
** Utah: Mexican territory in 1821; U.S. territory in 1848; U.S. state in 1896; city in 1985; town in 2014; very quiet little town in 2015.

You know Nicole Kidman, right?
I don’t.

Do you feel obligated to be a big brother to Dante Exum?
Well, I was his favorite player growing up, and [his first] autograph, and he has my jersey. Probably still sleeps in it. But, I mean I do a little bit, but not in a way that I’m gonna kinda baby him or anything like that. Like, he, obviously he’s 19, and living on the other side of the world by himself.

It’s his first professional year playing basketball and I think he’s doing a great job, and he knows that if he ever needs anything, to give me a call. And I’m sure his mum and dad are still speaking to him very regularly. But he’s a great guy.

We’ve got a relationship from the last couple years with the national team, so we know each other really well, and I think it’s just good for him to have someone to bounce stuff off. If he doesn’t want to speak to someone else or the coach or another player, he knows he can come to me and ask, you know?

Yeah, he’s handling it pretty well for being 19 and a little immature boy who plays Pokemon on his Nintendo every day.

Does your fiancee have a little sister for Dante?
She does have a little sister, but the little sister’s already taken. So maybe we just get Dante on Tinder or something, and try and hook him up.

Did you play with the Gasol brothers at some point? It seems like you have a friendship with them.
Yeah, I do have a great friendship with them. I didn’t play with them. During the [NBA] lockout, I was playing with Barcelona and they both practiced with — they’re from, or they live in Barcelona, so they both practiced with us for the three or four months.

And it was actually a bit of a coincidence, but I was injured a little bit at the time, and so wasn’t playing all the games, and when the team would go away [on road trips], they were really good with having me over their house and just making me feel welcome while living in Barcelona by myself.

So we did, we kinda grew into a pretty good relationship, and I got on with them really well, and yeah, happy for ’em both being starters in the All-Star Game.

Yay, I was right. :)

How does day-to-day interaction develop on a team where everyone has such different backgrounds?
Yeah, it takes a while. I mean, I’ve played for so many teams where you come into a, even overseas, you’ve, I mean, I’ve played in teams in Europe that had a couple of Spanish guys, a couple of Americans, a Greek guy, like, Israeli.

But you meet so many different people, and different cultures, and I think it’s probably different, a little bit different for the American teams because they are here most of their lives and don’t get to experience a lot of the other cultures a lot of the time…If you’re open to it, you can learn so much…

[Jazz players] try and make me speak half the time just so they can laugh at my accent, but it’s all in the fun of getting to know each other. (1280)