On the other end of the phone, the foreigner who played the most games with the Real Madrid shirt, a shooter like never before, answers from his estate in Wellsville (Utah).. “I'm a farmer, a financial advisor, and I coach my daughter's team,” Jaycee Carroll says of her busy new life.. From nature and “working with the animals” he does not lose eye or contact with his former colleagues, with whom the conversation always ends with “you know how this goes”. “I would give everything” to be at the Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas tonight, where the whites will look for another Euroleague final against Barça (8:00 p.m., DAZN).

You played your last game two years ago, what is a day in your life like now? I wake up at six in the morning, go to the office and start reading or studying about any subject. Things of faith, something financial, basketball or the farm. Depending on the need of the week. Then I go to the farm and I take care of the animals, that they have water and everything is fine. I come home and start calling clients, until two or three in the afternoon. I pick up the children from school and in the afternoon, basketball training. He also takes time to keep up with his Real Madrid. What they did against Partizan was incredible, a difficult series, going to Serbia to win both games. .. Congratulations to the boys and to Chus Mateo as the new coach. He was the protagonist of a similar comeback. How do you explain the fifth game? In those moments, you no longer have anything to lose. You can give up and give in or you can get up and fight. The key thing is confidence. 18 down, with nothing to lose… You start making baskets, defending, taking risks…. And the push from the fans is a bit overwhelming for the opponent. All that mix is incredible. Do you miss those moments? Yes, you can’t find that in a normal life. That feeling, that adrenaline, is unique. How do you see the Final Four? In 2015 and 2018 you were also not going as favorites…This year is similar. We were not favorites, we were going to fight and to try to surprise people. Last year, they came and almost won. In 2018 we should not have been in the Final Four, we lost the first playoff game by almost 30 points in Athens. Suddenly, there was a mental change and we didn’t lose anymore in the whole Euroleague. That push, that confidence from Game 5 against Partizan, is going to be key for the Final Four.The veterans, Rudy, Llull and Sergio Rodriguez, are still key.They are special, absolutely. I was lucky to play with these golden-age Spaniards for 10 years. They know how to win. They have won everything. Sergi, Chacho, Rudy? every one of them has the ability to overcome bad things and win. They have the confidence that nothing is impossible. It’s something you have inside, but you can also learn a little bit with experience.. Because there is no situation that they have not experienced. They have been down, they have been the favourites… What did you learn with them in that locker room? I also had that, we knew how to win, we are winners. We knew when we had to sacrifice ourselves for the common good and when we had to prevail. For example, in the 2015 final, when I took four shots in a row and scored 11 points in one minute.. I knew it was my moment and so did they, they sacrificed some of their shots to give me the ball. We also learned it day by day, training, studying ourselves, watching the videos of our rivals.. and competing. The key is to trust your partner.

Carroll, at the tribute a few months ago at WiZink. ACB PHOTO Do you think players like Musa and Hezonja can reach that status? Musa and Hezonja have had a good season, scoring points, playing hard. I hope they are learning. I think they are also winners. But they lack the experience of playing finals, the experience of winning titles.you know Chus Mateo well.first, I am very grateful to Pablo Laso for what he did, I still see a lot of basketball in his future, I wish it could have been at Real Madrid. With respect to Chus Mateo, he is a fantastic person. I had many experiences with him, we would hang out for hours after practice. I would talk to him, ask him a lot of questions. He always told me: ‘Trust’. And to know that I would always have my moment. A very simple and very effective message. He’s a very smart and capable guy. And he’s proving it. Reaching a Final Four is very difficult. I congratulate him, I hope the best for him. Could things have been better when he left Madrid? Honestly, I have no regrets. I was in the U.S. trying to make a decision, but I didn’t want to be a distraction for the team or the club. I still don’t know what would have been the best way to do it. I could have been giving information every week on social media. But that would have been a distraction. I was in contact with the club, I’m grateful to them for keeping the doors open for me. When I knew 100% that I wasn’t coming back, I called the club that same day. I also told them I wanted to say goodbye to the fans and thank them. Madrid invited me to the tribute and everything ended well. I have a lot of affection for the club. I wish I could talk to each of those fans to tell them thank you, to give them a hug. I’ve lived a dream. Do you still dream about the last shot? Yes. Besides, I’m training with young people and I like to share my experiences. I show them videos, so they know a little bit about me. I still think a lot about basketball.in his career, everything could have changed if he had accepted that offer from Barça.[laughs] It would have been different. I think about it from time to time and I don’t know how it would have been. I would like to say that we would have won as many titles as we did with Madrid, but I don’t know. I think I came to the perfect team for me, having Laso who understood basketball as a point guard, as a shooting guard. He was with the Spaniards, then young, of the national team, who knew how to win. At that time they were single, without children. We grew up together, forming our families. There was a huge evolution, not only on the court, but also off the court. Being an American it is difficult to play for our national team. Seeing the competitiveness of the Spanish national team and knowing the people, I wish I could have. I had a touch of all this living with Chacho, Rudy, Sergi, Felipe? I shared almost 700 games with them… The shooter, is he born or made? it’s a mixture of talent and work. But my conclusion is that it is 20% natural and 80% work. I’ve had the privilege of talking to other great shooters and I’ve been surprised by the similarities we’ve had in our work routines for so many years.What was your secret to playing until you were 38?I’m not a big believer in extreme diets. I believe in living a healthy life, in eating healthy. I am a Mormon, because of my religion, I have never drank or smoked.. And I like to eat things that are not food. If I see a lot of things on a restaurant menu that I don’t understand, I try not to eat it. If I pick an apple, I eat it. A healthy life.
At the titles, not even a glass of champagne.
I liked to throw champagne on top of others at celebrations. I was a bit strange, after winning many people wanted to go out and party and celebrate. I needed to take a break, I wanted to ride my horse and go where there were no people, no noise. Something strange. He spent two years as a missionary in Chile, which was not a problem for his sporting career. It was the first time in another country, with another language. I grew a lot. I had a life of accomplishing goals, but this was something different than basketball. And it also made me stronger, because 90 out of 100 people rejected me. I did a lot of street preaching, it was a humbling experience. It was different but nice, I learned from the world, from myself and from other people. I stopped gambling and gained a lot of weight, I have never been so fat in my whole life. But I don’t know how, the last month the fat started to come off and I came back from Chile with the same weight I left. It was a miracle. It was also two years in which I didn’t punish my body, maybe that allowed me to get so far.Finally, what would I give to play another Final Four?I would give everything. If they call me now, I’m already there. Physically I could play for 30 seconds, but I would do everything I could to win.. I would love to sink the last triple to win.

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