Sam the man

One could point to the arrival of Sam Daghlas onto the Jordanian basketball scene as the defining moment of the new era in the country’s sport – when amateur athletics took a back seat to professionalism. The new glut of funding opened the door for the recruitment of Jordanian players who had been living and training abroad, and Sam was among the first to return “home”. 

 

Sam left Amman as a 7-year old only to return in the early 2000s as a pro baller with NBA aspirations. Despite the ongoing debate about this money-pumped strategy – one that ended with the federation being dissolved by the Olympic committee – there is no doubt that Sam and his fellow players have managed to pile up a few achievements. The biggest of them all, of course, a spot at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey next summer. 

 

Sam Daghlas: It’s a great honour. We are really proud to be part of what could be considered one of Jordan’s biggest athletic accomplishment ever. But unfortunately, with the dissolution of the federation and the current disarray the game is in, we were not really able to enjoy it. We have no idea what’s going to happen, but we need to start on a preparation programme as soon as possible. It’s been five months since we returned from China with the qualification spot, and we’ve lost a lot of valuable time. We’ve also missed out on great opportunities to promote the game locally, and we’ve lost many sponsors who where interested in sponsoring our national team. It is just a sad situation. 

 

SD: We’ve got a feeling that the Olympic Committee does not care much about the national team or basketball as a whole. Look, our qualification spot was in jeopardy as FIBA was considering revoking it, and the JOC did not move. So they removed the previous federation; it is their responsibility to come up with an alternative, and not just any alternative. They need to bring in a federation with better personnel than the last one (if they think there was something wrong with the last group), and not just a bunch of ex-players. Running a basketball federation has so many elements, from management to marketing and public relations.

 

SD: I have great respect for Tariq Zu’ibi. The man was not afraid to take a risk and he invested in one goal – reaching the World Cup. And he achieved it. There were some things that could have been done differently and I’m still a strong proponent of a competitive league that builds the base of the game. 

 

Sam: He is an accomplished coach at international level, with significant achievements with every team he’s been involved with. I would say that the most important thing he brought to our team was discipline. The bottom line is he was brought in to take us to the world cup, and he did his job. 

 

SD: And if we don’t go 1 for 12 in the first half against Iran, we’ll probably end up finishing in first place. This is basketball and that’s why it is a great game; anything can happen on any given night. But what matters the most is that we have a very good team and everyone who watched those qualifiers could testify.

 

SD: You live by the shot and you die by the shot! But, when the players are practising shooting every day and they are making those shots, you would expect them to make the same shots in game situations. But for our team, we do not exactly have post-up players who can bang the ball inside. Our best post-up player was Zaid Abbass and he is undersized for the front court positions

 

SD: My high-school coach in San Diego saw something in me and in the way I saw the court. I think I benefited from playing soccer when I was a little younger, too. But since I made the varsity team as a freshman in high school, this has been the position I played, and it has always been my only demand whenever I considered joining a team. Even when I was talking to NBA scouts. 

 

SD: There is definitely an element of that, but there are also timing and other circumstances. After the summer camp with the Kings in 2003 they were willing to sign me but they already had three point guards. So they suggested I play for their NBA development team in Idaho until they have a vacant roster spot. But I just couldn’t do the D-league. So I returned to Zain, but with a clause in my contract that would allow me to return to the NBA if the opportunity arises. At the Suns camp in 2004, I had the best basketball experience of my career, being around a great player like Steve Nash who was coming off an MVP season. I actually managed to get his team off the court when we were running 5-on-5 games in practice! That caught the attention of some scouts. Unfortunately I was only planning to stay three days in Phoenix and when I think about it now, I wish I stayed. But I never regret my decisions.

 

SD: Absolutely. I can say that I have won every regional title on the club or the national level. I have had a chance to work hard and accomplish a lot. The only regional title missing is the Dubai tournament which hopefully we can win next month!