DREW FEELS AT HOME IN RUSSIA
11/18/2008 GB skipper Drew Sullivan finally feels at home - in the far-flung Russian outpost of Samara.

GB skipper Drew Sullivan finally feels at home - in the far-flung Russian outpost of Samara.

The 6'7" forward started the season with the Newcastle Eagles in Britain having failed to land a big-money European deal despite his summer heroics with the GB team.

But a month into the season, CSK Samara snapped up the Londoner who has made an immediate impact, averaging a steady 10 points and 7 rebounds a game in a league acknowledged as the best in Europe after Spain.

And, after steady but unspectacular seasons in Spain and Belgium with Badalona and Mons, Sullivan looks poised to fulfill the promise he showed as a youngster at top US college Villanova.

Sullivan said: "It's been really good so far. Our coach wants me to be really aggressive all the time and I feel like this is the perfect place for me.

"Nothing against playing in Belgium last year but I was brought in there to do a defensive job and, personally, I knew I could do more. With the guys we had on that team, that wasn't always easy to do.

"Now, I'm more involved in the offence than I ever was in Belgium or Spain, I feel more confident and, like most players, the more confident I feel, the better I play."

A number of key GB players have made strong starts to their domestic seasons - a boost for the national team who go into their first ever European Championship Finals in Poland next summer having been placed in the toughest group with Spain, Serbia and Slovenia.

Sullivan added: "The draw was a bit harsh but when you get to this level, you can't be surprised. At this level, all you're going to get is good teams.

"For me, just being in the same draw as these countries has made the pin drop that we're finally among the elite.

"A lot of people across Europe seem to have been impressed by what we've done the last couple of years and, maybe, they now expect us to get back in place where we 'belong.' But we all feel it's time for us to push on. We're not just satisfied with getting there."