Virtus Bologna forward Christian Drejer is on the way to establishing himself as the finest ever basketball product to come out of Denmark.

The 208cm Drejer has been a force for Bologna in this year’s EuroCup, averaging a team high 14.8 ppg for the Italian side who will take on Azovmash Mariupol in the Final Four on 13th April in Girona.

Fibeurope.com caught up with Drejer at the EuroCup All Star Game in Cyprus to discuss his first steps in basketball, Final Four prospects and thoughts on his controversial decision to leave Florida in 2004.

		Drejer at the All Star Game

What was your reaction to earning selection to the All Star Game?

Drejer: Of course I was excited; it is fun to participate in these kinds of events. It is a good two or three days to take out of your daily schedule so it is fun.

Have you played in many All Star Games before?

Drejer: Last year I played in the Italian one, which was also a lot of fun, but this is in Cyprus where we can also enjoy the great weather (laughs).

What about the chance to hang out with the other players. Is that something you can also do during the season when the games are much more competitive?

Drejer: I mean the teams you play, you talk to the guys and ask them about their situation where they are, so of course you try to communicate as much as possible.

If this is the fun part of the season, the serious part is coming soon with the EuroCup Final Four. You will play Azovmash Mariupol in the final, do you know much about their team?

Drejer: I don’t know a lot because we have not played against them, but I have followed their results and they look like a good team.

Are you happy with how Virtus has played in the EuroCup?

Drejer: Yeah, very. I think it was a big boost for our team to beat Turk Telekom in two games because they are a tough team and going to Turkey to play two out of three games was not easy so we are very happy.

And you must be satisfied with how you have performed in Italy where you are currently second in the table.

Drejer: Yeah of course we are satisfied, not enough but we want to do something in the play-offs.

You come from a country where basketball is not very popular. How did you get involved in the game?

Drejer: I think my very first step is that I have two parents who played basketball with the national team. When they played it was at an even lower level than now, but they wanted me to play basketball and I started when I was seven. I think the first time I started to get more serious was when I was 15 and we played the Youth Olympic Games and then European qualifiers for U18.

Drejer: Did you play any other sports growing up?

I played everything. Soccer for five or six years and handball is very big where I am from, and tennis and ice hockey too. I played all sports.

Drejer: What is the current status with basketball in Denmark. Do people recongise you when you go back home?

Drejer: No. I would love it if it would be like that but it is not. Basketball is not a big sport. It is growing, but very slowly. I think the only solution for basketball to get bigger is for the national team to get better and maybe qualify for something. You see that with handball with both the men and women who do great in European championships, World championships and Olympic Games, and suddenly half of the nation is playing handball.

Has the national team progressed in recent years?

Drejer: I think it is very important if you want to make a winning culture that you try to do this over more than one, two or three years. You need to have the same amount of money and the same focus and commitment for a long period. You can’t do this over one year and hope you will beat teams like Croatia because it’s not going to happen and you won’t have a good enough team. I think they are slowly understanding what it takes to become one of the best teams.

What is your personal commitment to the team?

Drejer: I mean of course, there is no doubt about that, especially where

		Drejer on national team duty

I am from where basketball is not big. My job is to play basketball in Italy right now and if I have injuries it is going to be hard to overcome the national team part, but of course it is very exciting to play with the national team and I want to help basketball become bigger and help us do as well as we can do.

One of the highlights for Denmark was qualifying to Division A in 2005. You beat Ireland 86-70 in the play-offs and you scored 39 points. What are your memories of that game?

Drejer: It was two games we played and the first we went to Ireland and lost by 15 points. Then we came back to Denmark and knew we had to win by 16. Everyone wanted to win and play hard but we were a little bit sceptical as to what would happen, but we played a very good game and I played very well. Actually everyone played a great game and I think it was one of the highs of my career because it was so big for basketball in Denmark.

You played at Florida before starting your professional career in Europe. How was that experience?

Drejer: I think college basketball is incredible. I loved my year and a half there and it was a shame that I suffered under a bad ankle injury and it made it hard for me to do what I wanted to do basketball-wise. That’s probably the reason why I made the decision to go back to Europe just to try to get a chance to overcome my not only physical but mental problems with the injury. I think college is great. Its something different that not a lot of people understand how big basketball is in America so it was an important time in my life, but also difficult because I had a lot of expectations on me and I couldn’t fulfil them with the injuries that I had.

Your decision to leave Florida for Barcelona was quite heavily criticised by the American media. Do you have any regrets?

Drejer: I don’t regret it. I don’t regret any decisions I have made. It was very difficult because I liked Florida, but I had a coach who understood that for me I was going go there for a few years and maybe I would leave during the season if a European team came. It was a tough decision but I was happy I made it. When I saw them win the NCAA title last year it was incredible I was so happy for them.

You are in your third season back in Europe. What is the best thing about being a professional basketball player?

Drejer: I think the best thing about playing pro basketball is you have to be very committed to your sport, but at the same time you have a lot of freedom and you have a lot of time and you have some of the best years of your life because you can enjoy what you like to do. You have your hobby as your job and I think that is a great thing.

And what about the negatives?

Drejer: It is difficult to be away from my country and family. That is for sure the number one thing and I wish I could do it back to front but unfortunately that is not possible.