Paul Nilsen is a freelance basketball journalist writing for various web-sites and publications across Europe. If you would like to contact Paul you can e-mail him here badaball@hotmail.co.uk.

One of only two Hungary national team players to average double digits at EuroBasket Women in Latvia during the summer, the decision of Mizo Pecs 2010 to bring back the talented guard could prove to be a masterstroke as they look to make a big splash in EuroLeague Women this year.

With the domestic league in Hungary now in full swing, preparations for Europe building momentum and having had time to reflect on her EuroBasket Women debut, it seemed like the perfect time to catch up with the 25 year old affectionately known by everyone as ‘Zsofi'.

FIBA Europe : You have some younger and less experienced players at Mizo Pecs 2010 this year but you are certainly someone who has some useful playing time in Europe already in your locker - tell us about your experiences of playing in Euroleague Women so far.

Zsofia Fegyverneky : I have played EuroLeague Women since I was 19-years-old so I have experience in this competition. Last year I played in Gambrinus Brno but I am now back where I first started to play basketball. I was twice in Final Four, first when it was on our home court at Pécs, then in Samara the year later when I really started to be one of the main parts of our team. We played for third position and I played well and I think I scored 17 points but we lost the game so on the other hand, I have bad memories about this game too.

FIBA Europe : Tell us about your experience at Gambrinus Brno last season.  Is it fair to say that you did not get as much time on the court as you had wished for?

Zsofia Fegyverneky : Last year was a great experience for me. I think whoever has played as a foreign player knows that first year is always difficult and consequently it is not the best year for most players. I played almost 20 minutes in EuroLeague Women which is not too bad in a team which has won EuroLeague Women in recent times and they were in the Final Four the year before last. Of course there are not so many Hungarian players who play in EuroLeague Women outside of Hungary! I wanted to try somewhere else because of course I am from Pécs and up until that point, I had never played in any other team. I needed to change something and if I had the opportunity to have to make a decision again from last year, I would always choose to go to Brno and do the same thing.

FIBA Europe : Tell us about going to Latvia and your own and the teams performance at EuroBasket Women now that you have had some time to reflect on what happened.

Zsofia Fegyverneky : It was my first EuroBasket Women, so I was really excited. Latvia is really nice place and I was so m happy I could be there! If am being completely honest, I probably expected a little more from our team than what we actually did! We played much better during the preparation period and we had good results against good teams such as France and Russia showing we could play with them. However, after in the first game nothing seemed to want to work for us with that game against Greece the key because we lost by many points. That meant against Poland we needed to win by 10 points but we couldn't make it and so we didn't go into the next round. I think for a team with our players (many of us playing in EuroLeague Women) it was a bad time for us. I really hope next time we can make it better and I think we will.

FIBA Europe : You have some of the best to learn from at Pecs like veteran Dalma Ivanyi who you must have looked up to growing up.

Zsofia Fegyverneky : When first time I practised with the senior team I was so scared. I could suddenly practice with the likes of Dalma Ivanyi, Timea Beres, Slobodanka Tuvic, Andrea Karolyi, Jolanta Vilutyte, Eszter Ujvari and so on. They were superstars as far as I was concerned. I really studied them closely and learned a lot from them during the practices when I was younger. After I turned 20 years old I had to play one-on-one against Vickie Johnson almost every day. I think this definitely made me a better player every day. It is really nice if you have team mates like these type of players. Dalma was there when first I came to the practice and she is still the captain of our team. I think this tells us everything that you need to know about her. She is an icon in Pécs. Young players can be happy that they can study from her now, just like I did too.

FIBA Europe : Mizo Pecs 2010 have so many good young Hungarian players coming through with Krisztina Raksanyi, Bernadett Balla and Melinda Kesoi all helping the U18 get promotion to Division A. How do you assess them as players and how far can they go?

Zsofia Fegyverneky : In Pécs I agree we have some really talented young players. They can be EuroLeague Women players if they will work hard and they have patience. It takes time and they need to take it step by step. They are in a good place with good people and so they just have to work and I think eventually they will get everything that they want.

FIBA Europe : What are the expectations of you and the Mizo Pecs 2010 team for the 2009-10 EuroLeague Women season?

Zsofia Fegyverneky : I think we can have a really good team this season as we have many players with EuroLeague Women experience. We worked so hard in the summer, so I think physically we are ready but we need to get better as a team. The only thing that can make it harder for us is our two WNBA players playing in the finals, meaning they arrive only 10 days before EuroLeague Women starts. However we have been supporting them in the WNBA Finals. To summarise, I am really positive and I hope we can make to the last 8 of the competition and after that I guess anything can happen!

FIBA Europe : Overall, how would you assess EuroLeague Women as a competition?

Zsofia Fegyverneky : I think EuroLeague Women is changing every year. In the beginning you never know who will go to the best eight teams and especially the Final Four. Only when it starts you can truly see who has the better teams during that year. The other thing is that more and more WNBA players are now coming to play in Europe and I think it is good for the competition."

Overtime

The person you most admire is:

"As a player it is so difficult to say exactly someone who I admire because of course there are so many very good players in my position in the world and in Europe too. I really like how Anete Jekabsone-Zogota is playing and last year we played many times against USK Prague and I think Evanthia Maltsi is one of the best too. I also like Cappie Pondexter or  Penny Taylor who both play amazing. For me, Vickie Johnson is special, because we played together for 2 years. I know she is finishing her career but she was so good. I saw how she was professional and concentrated during every practice and so I try to work this way too."

The habit that annoys you the most is :

"I don't like it if somebody lies to me. That really makes me upset but I think probably nobody likes that."

Your dream European Five :

"Celine Dumerc, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, Ann Wauters, Sandrine Gruda, Evanthia Maltsi"

Your dream Non-European Five:

"Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter, Lauren Jackson, Sylvia Fowles"

Your favourite place in the world is :

"My favourite place is always anywhere where there are people who present who I really love."

Tell us about your first basketball shoes :

"I remember I had one shoe which I used until it looked really bad and dirty because we won a junior championship and I played in those shoes so I didn't want to buy any new ones! I think even now I still have them somewhere in my closet!"
 
Something funny one or off the court :

"There are so many funny stories so maybe just one of them quickly! It was couple of years ago before a game in EuroLeague Women (somewhere in France I think) when I said that if we won the game I would jump and swim in the pool afterwards.  We won by two points and it was the middle of December!"