George Washington University Athletics
Catching up with Jaren Sina
6/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jaren Sina is set to play for the Kosovo National Team this summer
June 15, 2016
After sitting out the 2015-16 season from competition, Jaren Sina has a busy summer ahead of him. The junior guard, who joined GW after two seasons at Seton Hall, will be a starter in the backcourt next season and has plenty of competition ahead of him to shake off any rust that might have accumulated during the last year. American born, Sina's parents and grandparents have roots in Albania, allowing him to join the Kosovo Men's National Team in July for training camp as it will try in August to qualify for next summer's FIBA European Championship. In between training camp and qualifying, he'll join GW for its trip to Japan. Sina recently talked with GWsports.com to discuss his busy summer schedule, how he improved in the last year and what he thinks of next year's team at GW.
How did the opportunity to play for Kosovo's National Team this summer develop?
The National Team coach and the Federation President reached out to me and expressed interest in having me play. My whole family is from Albania and Kosovo, so we have so many roots there from my grandparents and my entire family. Kosovo just became an independent country in 2008, but Albanians make up the majority of the population. I had a lot of family all over that area. They had to trace the lineage and when they went through that process, they knew I was eligible to play. Also with the European qualifiers coming up this summer, it's a great opportunity.
You'll spend July in training camp - what do you expect from it?
We'll have training camp and two or three exhibition games. I just went over recently for a long weekend to sign paperwork and that was my first time there. I'm excited for training camp - obviously European basketball is a lot different. I know there is a lot of excitement because basketball is huge in that country. I actually got to watch the championship of their professional league and it was an environment that I've seen nothing like. They love basketball, so I know training camp is going to be exciting and this is the first year they're competing in FIBA. It's a big year for the country and the people.
And then after training camp, you'll join GW for the Japan tour?
I'll come from Kosovo back to America because we have some practices before the trip. So I'll do some practices with GW, go on the trip to Japan and then the actual pool play games [for Kosovo] at the end of August. Going from not playing basketball for a year to this - its one way to get the rust off.
With FIBA Qualifying, who will you play and where?
We do a home-and-home with three teams. First game we'll play is against Slovenia, a top-10 team in the world that has Goran Dragic, the point guard from the Miami Heat, so I'll probably be going up against him which will be pretty sweet. And then the other teams in our pool are Ukraine and Bulgaria.
You'll be facing some elite competition, which must be exciting for you.
I got to play against great players in the Big East (while at Seton Hall from 2013-15), but I think this is going to be different going against great players that are grown men, in their prime. I think that's a big difference once you get to 28, 29 years old, and I think it will be a great opportunity and a great experience to go against them.
You have some experience being overseas, being born in Portugal where your dad played professionally. How much of that do you remember?
I remember a little bit because he had a long career. I remember some of him being in Spain, Italy - very little. I remember more through the pictures we have. As soon as my parents had me, my dad finished out the season in Portugal and then I was back in America, but I would visit him in his different stops.
Do you think the international game will suit your style of play and why?
My dad played professionally in Europe for 13 or 14 seasons and he got to play in some of the top leagues. He's always told me since I was younger that he thought my game would translate well in Europe. When I would be playing at Seton Hall or even in high school, I'd have coaches and players tell me they think my game would translate well over there. I'm excited to see how that goes, playing against and with European guys.
It's been a long time away from competition, so how excited are you to get back to the court and play games?
I'm ready to go. Right now I'm training two-to-three times a day between strength training and working out with basketball trainers. I'm doing yoga and just making sure my body is healthy. It's going to be a long summer so I don't want my body to be in shock.
Sitting out a year can't be easy, but did you find it to be beneficial?
Yeah. It's funny - everyone asks how terrible it was. Listen, it was tough not playing. I wish I could have been on the court with my guys. But at the same time, I feel like it was really beneficial getting to workout with [strength and conditioning coach] Matt Johnson. He really took care of me this year, he took me under his wing and made this year great for me. And academically it helps you out, when the team is gone you can really focus in on your studies. I thought the year was great and it helped that we were winning. That made it go by quick.
What part of your game do you feel improved the most?
I was talking to my dad about this and I think my shot has gotten so much better off the dribble. When the guys were gone, I had the gym to myself and I was able to get up a lot of shots. Then coming back home, a lot of people that I've been working out with have told me that my shot has gotten a lot better.
Looking ahead to next season, the team will have a lot of new parts, but still some veterans in yourself, Tyler Cavanaugh, Yuta Watanabe and Matt Hart. You've not all played together, but what are your early impressions of the roster?
Obviously we have a lot of new guys coming in that I haven't played with. But I think we're going to have a good team; it's going to be a completely different group but it will be exciting. We have some really good talent.
What kind of role do you expect to play?
As a point guard, the role I think - even from being on the sidelines this past year I was in a leadership and vocal role, so I want to continue that. I want to set up the guys, I want to help out Yuta, Matt Hart, just help all those guys have an even better year next year than they did last year. That's important to me as a point guard.
