After 5 years away from the French national team, Mike Pietrus was visibly happy to be back. He was all smiles and he had some incredible punchlines during the press conference yesterday. See for yourself.

About his goal for the European Championship:

“My goal isn’t to finish at the 7th or 6th place. It is to win the European Championship. I’ll tell you straight up. I’m not interested in anything else. We have to finish first.”

About the level of competition:

“The most important thing for us is to win the Championship. We know that Spain will be there, but France is going to be very competitive. This year, we will have a lot on our plate. All we have to do now is chose with which sauce we’re going to eat it. We don’t know yet if we’re going to have mayonnaise or ketchup. If we go to Pau, I will bring you some béarnaise sauce back.”

About his hunger for a title:

“I’ve been playing in the NBA for 9 years now, and I’m still as good looking as ever as you can admire, but I haven’t won anything yet. I’ve been to the finals once and I really want to win something. I’m 30 years old. I’d rather win now and not risk having any regrets later.”

About the way he keeps in touch with European basketball:

“I can read in Serbian, in Greek and in Lithuanian too. I’m pretty good, you see? People call me Google. I can translate anything.”

About the pressure:

“I don’t have any pressure. The pressure is on Tony Parker, Joakim Noah and Nicolas Batum. This is their team. Me, I’m just here to win a title with them. I never have any pressure. I’m like a bottle of Vittel water, without pressure.”

Unfortunately, he won’t have a chance to prove this on the floor since it has just been announced after he finished doing his physicals that he wouldn’t be able to play at the EuroBasket. The nature of what the tests have revealed hasn’t been disclosed yet.

By Barbara Youinou, basketsession.com