After the end of the evening practice Michael CARRERA, the first Venezuelan basketballer in the history of Avtodor and the VTB United League, and the American forward Nick MINNERATH shared impressions about their meeting with the team and expectations from the upcoming season.



Michael CARRERA
Avtodor forward:

“I believe Saratov is going to be a great place for me. You know, this is my first year as a professional. I would like to grow both as a player and as a person here in Avtodor playing basketball, learning new culture, communicating with new people, getting new experience. When my family comes to visit me, I’m definitely sure they will love it all. We expect to be a great team. Next season is going to be a new era of my career. I will play with all my heart doing my best for my team and playing as hard as I can. Hoping we could win a lot of games during the season to make our fans happy. I am here to win and to be successful. As a team, we are going to be a family. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to speak a lot with my Russian teammates so far, but our Americans are really cool.”



Nick MINNERATH
Avtodor forward:

“The first day was very successful. The coach seems to be very personable towards the players. He speaks English very well, so I could easily understand everything. Everybody in the club does a very good job. I like such professional attitude. My expectations from the upcoming season are strongly high. I think we have a great team. The coach expects a lot from us. I am waiting for a very successful season ahead. Avtodor is an excellent opportunity for me. I wanted to play in Russia and now I’ve got the chance. It is definitely good for my family, for my wife who is Russian-speaking. Where did I meet my future wife? It was in the University of Detroit. She played tennis and I was playing basketball there.”