Gerald Robinson (6’1, 28 years old), the new AS Monaco’s american swingman, talked about his transition from the States to Europe, but also his come back in the french championship.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Gerald Robinson. I am a guy from Tennessee. This is my sixth year as a professional basketball player. And I went to the University of Georgia.
When did you started playing basketball?
I started playing as a kid. When I was growing up, I played a lot of sports: basketball, baseball, football… My parents wanted to keep me busy, to stay out of trouble. So I started playing at a very young age.
How is your journey overseas?
For me, it’s pretty great. It’s been a good transition. For my first year, I was in Belgium, a place which is pretty americanized. The second year, I went to Israel. And not only just on the basketball court, but the teammates I had, I played with a lot of good guys on and off the court. That helped make my transition easier. I am a simple guy who can adjust to a lot of situations. I don’t need a lot, I am not picky. I don’t need a big city. I’ve been in small cities for most of my career. I mean Nanterre is close to Paris, but when I went to Israel, I didn’t have Tel-Aviv. I enjoyed my journey so far.
After playing for Nanterre two years ago, you made your return in France this season…
Yeah, I played for Nanterre and I enjoyed it. I appreciated things like the league, the way to run the basketball, so I was excited to come back.
Can you talk about your experience with Alba Berlin too?
I played for them for an under season: the last six games of the regular season and the playoffs. It’s a very nice club. I wasn’t there long, but Germany is also a good league.
To conclude, what about the pre-season with your new team Monaco?
My main goals are to go-ahead and to win games, especially playing against guys and teams that we will be playing again in the regular season during 3 or 4 more times maybe with the cup, the leaders cup and the playoffs. So you want also to get informations about the style the people play. We will play better to compete for the championship.
