Es war der größte Erfolg einer deutschen Junioren-Nationalmannschaft jemals. Bei der Basketball-U19-WM in der Schweiz gewann die Auswahl Silber, verlor erst im Finale gegen die USA (76:109). Einer der Leistungsträger: Jack Kayil. Bei der WM machte der 1,91 Meter große Aufbauspieler 11,1 Punkte und 6,6 Assists im Schnitt.
Trotz des jungen Alters hat Kayil schon einige Stationen hinter sich. Aus der Jugend von TuS Neukölln und Alba Berlin wechselte er mit 17 zu Rasta Vechta, ein Jahr später zum serbischen Klub KK Mega Basket, der in der 39 000-Einwohner-Stadt Sremska Mitrovica 75 Kilometer westlich von Belgrad beheimatet ist.
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„Die Zeit in Serbien war nicht einfach, weil ich zum ersten Mal allein gewohnt habe, noch dazu in einem fremden Land“, sagt der gebürtige Berliner. „Aber sportlich hat mich das Jahr unheimlich weitergebracht. Das Niveau in der adriatischen ABA-Liga ist sehr hoch. Dort spielen auch Euroleague-Teams, ich habe gegen physisch starke Gegner gespielt. Außerdem ist Mega Basket dafür bekannt, junge Spieler individuell zu fördern.“ Durch das Krafttraining nahm er in den vergangenen beiden Jahren acht Kilo Muskelmasse zu, jetzt wiegt er 89 Kilo.
In der neuen Saison kehrt Kayil zu Alba Berlin zurück. Mega Basket leiht ihn für ein Jahr aus. „Für mich geht ein kleiner Traum in Erfüllung“, sagt Kayil. „Ich freue mich riesig, vor den Augen meiner Familie und Freunde zu spielen.“
[–>Als Alba den Kontakt zu ihm herstellte, sagte er sofort zu: „Der Verein ist im Umbruch. Das bietet neuen Spielern wie mir eine große Chance. Ich bin ein Gewinnertyp und möchte mithelfen, Alba wieder nach oben zu führen.“ Vergangene Saison belegte der einstige Serienmeister in der regulären Saison nur Platz sieben und schied im Play-off-Viertelfinale glatt 0:3 gegen Ulm aus.
Nach historischem WM-Silber: Deutscher U19-Held Jack Kayil will über Berlin Alba in die NBA!
Doch Alba soll für Kayil nur eine Zwischenstation sein. „Ich möchte in die NBA“, sagt er. Auf dem Weg dorthin könnte er für ein amerikanisches College spielen. „Das könnte vielleicht schon im nächsten Jahr ein Thema werden“, sagt Kayil. Einige seiner Teamkollegen aus der U19-Auswahl wie Christian Anderson (19/Texas Tech Universität), Eric Reibe (19/Connecticut) und Hannes Steinbach (19/wechselt von Würzburg zur Universität Washington) sind schon jetzt in der College-Liga NCAA aktiv.
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Auch in der A-Nationalmannschaft gab Kayil bereits sein Debüt. In der EM-Qualifikation gegen Schweden (80:61) im vergangenen November kam er auf Anhieb auf zehn Punkte. „Er hat gespielt wie ein Veteran“, lobte Bundestrainer Alex Mumbru (46).
Ein Vorbild hat Kayil nicht. „Ich wollte immer schon meinen eigenen Weg gehen“, sagt er. Seine Stärken sieht er im Allround-Spiel: „Scoren, passen, verteidigen – ich mache alles gern.“
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In dieser Woche erholt sich Kayil im Urlaub auf Kreta. Danach organisiert er den Umzug aus Serbien, wo auch noch die WM-Silbermedaille im Koffer verpackt liegt, nach Berlin. „Dann“, sagt er, „werde ich voll angreifen.“
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