Right before the start of his second season with Lokomotiv Kuban in the Russian League; Malcolm sat down to answer a few quick questions.
How did you spend the offseason. Did you mostly relaxed or worked hard on certain aspects of the game. How do you like to approach this time of the year?
Most of the summer I enjoyed my time off with my friends and family. I worked on my game some to keep a good rhythm and be in good shape but I love to enjoy my summers because the seasons in Europe are too long.
Did you manage to watch any Eurobasket games? Looking at the Russian National team do you have an opinion why they didn’t come out good even with having one of the strongest European leagues.
Not sure, I didn’t really watch them, I only watched a few eurobasket games. The ones I watched were teams with my American friends playing.
You are coming to Russia for the second year straight. What are your personal and team goals for this year of the competition. What crucial facts did you learn about Russian League last season?
The biggest thing playing over here is the grind being so far away and dealing with a different culture. My personal goals are to be all-Euroleague and VTB and for the team I hope we can compete for a VTB title and get into the Top 16 for euroleague. After that it depends how we are playing how far we can go.
So far playing in Russia, what was the most interesting thing/place that you have seen there?
The craziest thing is probably the weather in some of the northern cities. It gets really cold some places and how some places have the old feeling and look.
What do you think is the ceiling for Lokomotiv this season in Russia and Euroleague?
We are in Euroleague this year but it will be tougher with teams like Khimky and CSKA improving their rosters a lot and Us losing some important pieces but we have a great coach who will maximize our potential but competing for a championship is always the goal.
Coming back to Russian League. Did you think about moving to a ‘warmer’ league this season, like Spanish League?
I don’t really have any interest in the Spanish league. There are only a few teams that Americans can play a major role on, but if the right deal and situation comes about moving to a warmer climate and great city for multiple years is always nice for an athlete.
This year I get to play in the backcourt with one of my close friends Dontaye Draper. We are from the same city so it will be interesting for me playing with a friend. Never had this before so this year should be fun.
Thanks a lot to everyone who stopped by to read this short interview!
Thanks a lot to everyone who stopped by to read this short interview!
