Mar
07
On The Clock With Victor Claver
By DHawes22 Posted in: Blazers
This past Media Day, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down and interview the Trail Blazers and Head Coach Terry Stotts ... But these aren't your average, run-of-the-mill basketball questions. Without further ado, here is the next installment of "On The Clock" with
Victor Claver.
What's the one thing you miss about Spain the most?
Victor Claver: My friends and family. Food, too.(
Ed Note: Just a fair warning, but this turned out to be a food-heavy Q & A!)
Have you found any good restaurants in Portland, yet?
VC: Yes, Patanegra. Rudy [Fernandez] and Sergio [Rodriguez] told me about it.
What's your favorite restaurant in Portland?
VC: Oba. It's Latin food and they make good guacamole. (
Ed Note: I was fortunate enough to interview Victor twice, once during Media Day in September and more recently at Internal Media Day on February 25th.)
What is your favorite food?
VC: Paella (
Ed Note: This photo is actually Victor's paella from a Portland restaurant, in which he was hopeful that good paella existed in PDX.)
What's your favorite part about the city of Portland so far?
VC: Pearl District
If your house caught on fire and you could only save three things, what would they be?
VC: Laptop, Olympic medals, and clothes.
If you could do any even in the Olympics, other than basketball, what even would you do?
VC: Handball (
Ed Note: Shout out to our intern Mario Lucero for the great Photoshop.)
Why did you choose to wear No. 18?
VC: It was the first number I wore and the number my father wore in handball.
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?
VC: Dani Rovira. He's a Spanish comedian.
What's currently playing on your iPod?
VC: Spanish rock and Indie rock
Can you Salsa?
VC: No *laughs*
Would you ever run with the bulls?
VC: No
(Ed Note: Can't say I disagree with him here!)
What's your favorite movie of all-time?
VC: The one with Will Smith and his son...Pursuit of Happyness.
Do you play video games?
VC: Not really. Only with Nic [Batum] and Joel [Freeland] on the road. (
Ed Note: This was a photo taken by Nicolas Batum during one of the earlier road trips this season of Joel and Victor going head-to-head in Fifa. Batum claims no one can touch him at Fifa.)
Who is the one NBA legend you would love to match up with 1-on-1?
VC: Kevin Durant
What are your summer plans?
VC: Rest after the season. Play in EuroBasket in August and September. Improve my game both technically and physically. (
Ed Note: Victor went on to mention that he doesn't plan on trying to improve just one aspect of his game and that he is targeting all-around improvement. I'll definitely be checking in on his EuroBasket games, because I can't wait to see how he progresses. He' already becoming one of my favorite players on the team as I love his style of play.)
To learn more about Victor, check out this tribute video Valencia Basket (his former team) created for him.
Have you checked out On The Clock with
Coach Terry Stotts |
Adam Morrison |
Nolan Smith | Meyers Leonard |
Wesley Matthews |
LaMarcus Aldridge |
Eric Maynor
Photos via Victor Claver's Facebook, pdxglutton.blogspot.com, frugallivingnw.com, matinrealestate.com, https://twitter.com/ArtistJotaErre, @Victor_Claver, prognostics.fr, Getty Images, flutterspeed.com, lefthandedstyle.tumblr.com, 8thingstodo.com , clker.com, bytesandbanter.blogspot.com, middlechildswag.tumblr.com, @nicolas88batum, interbasket.net via Gastoria/Kulbis, and, http://youtube.com/user/ValenciaBasketClub?feature=watch.