By Antonis Stroggylakis/info@eurohoops.net

There were a lot of things that Greece guard Thomas Walkup loved about the win of his team over the Dominican Republic for the Olympic Qualifiers. What particularly pleased him was the level of basketball that he and his teammates delivered in a sold-out Peace and Friendship arena.

Its not just about the winning, Walkup said. Its about the quality of basketball for us. Not just tonight but in general. From the very first day it was about the quality of basketball. And tonight I think we had a pretty good quality of basketball.

Thats an understatement. Greece produced 109 points on 27 assists for just eight turnovers a number that gets even more impressive considering how fast-paced the game was at times. Vassilis Spanoulis players executed with the precision of 36 out of 57 from the field and their offensive prowess and fluidity generated plenty of beautiful plays and highlights.

Everybody is unselfish, everybody is willing to pass, everybodys passing the ball when they should pass the ball, Walkup commented. Its really just fun basketball to be a part of because you see how the ball is moving and how everybodys playing in rhythm.

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Walkup himself successfully played a perhaps unlikely part of a scorer rather than his usual role of facilitator. He finished with 17 points on 6 out of 9 shots, including 3-6 triples and a couple of key buckets when the Dominican Republic was trying to come back in the game during the third period.

Strangely enough, he didnt register any assists. There was no need to.

Im comfortable wherever I need to be used, Walkup stated. Whats great about this team is that everybody is playing for the guy next to him. Thats what makes it flawless.

Considering that training camp began just two weeks ago, Greece is displaying some enviable chemistry. The kind of which you find in groups that have been together for a long time.

The players communicate with each other on the floor very quickly and quite smoothly, finding each other easily, distributing the ball around with speed and being at the right spot at the right moment for their teammates to find them.

Walkup doesnt believe that this is about any tactic or strategy and attributes this to the mentality that he and the rest of the guys carry on the court.

I think its the character of the team, Walkup mentioned. Everybody is unselfish. Everybody wants the guy beside him to do just as well as themselves. It makes it easy to play for someone else. To play for the next pass, the extra pass. It also helps when you have Giannis who can create everything.

Speaking of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar had a literally unstoppable performance of 32 points on 11 out of 11 shots. The only way that the Dominican Republic could hope to put any brakes on him was by fouling often rather hard and sending him to the line.

It was great, Walkup said on sharing the floor with Giannis for the first time in an official game. He was flying up and down the court. Hes creating something out of nothing a lot of the times. Nick [Calathes] also did a pretty good job of getting him involved too, giving him a lot of easy buckets. I dont have to tell you guys you can watch the game and see how incredible he is.

The one who has infused Greece with this kind of team ethos is none other than Spanoulis. Walkup went into detail on how the legendary player and now coach set the tone from the get go on what should the dominant mindset around the squad.

From the very first day he said that there are no clubs, no egos, none of that on this team, Walkup explained. From the start, that its about the national team. Its about Greece, representing Greece. This is so much bigger than our clubs, for ourselves, than our families our friends and everything that you typically play for as an individual. Youre playing for something much-much bigger. I think thats where this comes in.

While often the main ball handler with Olympiacos Piraeus, Walkup finds himself adjusting to a different situation on the Greek national team, especially when he shares the floor with star playmaker Nick Calathes.

How does he feel about being the off-the-ball guy for a change?

I love it, Walkup said, rather enthusiastically. Of course there are still times when I do play on the ball. But I think that Nick and guy can help each other and take pressure off each other. Its tiring to play defense, bringing the ball up, create offense. I think we play off each other pretty well.

Continued here:
Greece's Thomas Walkup reveals key to chemistry, praises team unselfishness and Giannis - Eurohoops