Banchero has chosen the Italian national basketball team – Corriere.it

Paolo Banchero has chosen Italy. He doesn’t know when yet, but he wants the blue shirt. And he decided it even before receiving the visit of the coach Giammarco Pozzecco and the federal president Gianni Petrucci, scheduled for December. In a chat with his teammate at the Orlando Magic RJ Hampton for the podcast Young Person, the long Italian-American, first choice in the latest NBA Draft, reaffirms his desire to wear the blue colors after a start to the championship full of very high performances level (with six games in a row above 20 points) but results are not up to par (seven defeats out of seven so far).

Called on how he got his Italian passport, Banchero makes it clear: I’m thinking of playing with the Italian national team even if I’m not sure when. I’ve never been to Italy but the love I’m getting from there is crazy, I can’t wait to go there.

My father is called Mario – he says – my uncle is called Angelo, my other uncle Armando and my brother Giulio. When I grew up, my father told me about our origins in Italy. And he explains that he has been thinking about it for a while: When I was 16, the Italian national team contacted my father. They asked him if I had Italian roots and if I could obtain citizenship. My father told them yes. Thus began the whole process, i flew to san francisco multiple times to the italian embassy, ​​had a few meetings and ended up getting my italian passport. Which is why, he continues: I’ve never been on an American national team. You’ll soon be a part of it, man, Hampton’s taunt. But Banchero does not fall into the trap: No, now I’m with Italy.