West Brom Basketball Club forward Mudie Kapfumviti is more than willing to bring the physicality on the basketball court, should it result in more wins this season.
Joining last summer, Kapfumviti has quickly become a key player for Tim Rudge’s Premier Division side – thanks in part to his physical presence on the court.
That style of play, whilst racking up a higher proportion of fouls, has been vital for the Black Country side, and Kapfumviti believes it fits in well alongside his teammates.
“I think my style of play suits West Brom well because of the way everyone else plays.” he said.
“I’m much more physical than everyone else, I’m always the one that walks out with four fouls or something like that!
“But everyone else is getting one or two, maybe three max. But I definitely think we need that physicality, it balances the team.
“I feel like I fit in well because everyone else keeps going. Everyone calls me hustle, and I think that’s definitely needed.”
Rudge has experimented with a pressure defence throughout pre-season, claiming the team’s first piece of silverware in the Clive Hurst Summer League.
That success was based behind his 1-3-1 defence, which calls upon his players to give their all to try and force turnovers and create chances to score on the break at every opportunity.
Utilised at the base of that defensive formation, Kapfumviti feels like it suits him perfectly – whilst the tactic as a whole fits in with the team’s ethos.
“I think it does [suit me]. I’m pretty physical and I think my anticipation and probably the way I am in terms of actually being out there and using my physicality to try and get in those positions that hurt teams works well.” he said.
“I try and communicate with everyone and it definitely helps because I can see everything from my position on the court.
“I think as a team we have developed a whole lot. We now know how everyone plays, everyone believes in the coach and the way we now play is not for self gain.
“Everyone plays for the team and I think we’re definitely going to be challenging that top three without fail.
“With the way we’re playing defence and the way we’re playing offense we can definitely challenge.
“I think getting to know everyone seeing how everyone talks, how everyone is on it about winning games and playing together as a team I think it definitely is something that is more self-less every time.
“Nobody’s looking at points, nobody’s looking at assists because we’re looking at winning the games and that’s what’s important.”
LIKE | COMMENT | SHARE