Haidbrider on first impressions of Latvia and a possible national team future

On Friday, September 25, "Valmiera Glass"/ViA defeated "Ventspils" 98:76 in front of their home crowd in a Latvian-Estonian basketball league match. After the game, team newcomer Jake Heidbrider shared his first impressions of life in Latvia and compared local basketball to the level of US college play.

The player admitted he is still adjusting to the style of basketball played here, though overall his start has been enjoyable. In his view, the pace of play in Latvia is faster than in US college basketball. Heidbrider also highlighted the strong fan support, saying he now understands why home-court advantage is talked about so much here.

Progress compared to the season opener

The player compared the win over "Ventspils" to the season-opening game against "Rīgas Ekselences juniori", in which the team struggled to beat a nominally weaker opponent. He said the team performed better in every aspect this time - while shots weren't falling in Riga, playing at home allowed the team to find its rhythm and shake off mistakes to secure a convincing victory.

Latvian passport and the national team question

Heidbrider also spoke positively about his first week in Valmiera, mentioning both the city and the local food. A couple of weeks ago he received his Latvian passport, which raised the question of a possible future with the Latvian national basketball team. The player said it is theoretically possible, but first he needs to prove himself on the court.