After a season plagued by injuries, Barça is grateful that its best version is re-emerging. After training, Cory Higgins (California, 1989) appears smiling and open to answer questions from La Vanguardia even at the dawn of the season. He talks a lot about basketball but when his face lights up it is when he talks about wines, his great passion hidden from him.
What grade do you give to the first weeks of competition?
I must say that we are in a good moment. It is obvious that there have been many changes in the team compared to last year, very important new parts have arrived, but we have started quite well.
It gives the sensation that in the last parties a better Barça is being seen.
I agree. It's going to take time with the new signings but the most important thing is to play well at the right times.
This summer almost half the squad has changed, how are the new ones adapting?
I think they're doing an excellent job and it hasn't been easy for most of them, since they've had little rest due to the Eurobasket. In addition, we use a system that is not easy, it requires a lot of time to be assimilated and feel comfortable. I think they will get better as time goes by.
Do you get along especially well with any of them?
I have a great relationship with everyone, although I admit that this year we all talk more with everyone. It's being very nice.
Why's that?
Players with a lot of experience have arrived and we all share experiences. We have been seeing each other for many years, such as the great battles we have had with Vesely or Kalinic at Fenerbahçe. It's fun to have them in the locker room now.
How much does Barça miss Mirotic?
Much. Much. Much. Mirotic is an MVP, he is the best player in Europe. And that I think that this Barça can survive any loss but once we recover it I think we will be a very difficult team to beat.
Do you think we will see you soon on the track?
I do not know. Perhaps in the next few weeks. Or months. But the season is very long and I hope that it will be in the important moments, which will be when we will be judged.
Is your injury already past?
Yes. As the weeks go by I feel better and better. And I'm adapting well to my new role, which is completely different from the one I've had in recent years.
What new role is that?
I'm starting games on the bench, something that hasn't happened to me for a long time. I had enjoyed it so much years ago. I'm playing less minutes but I think it's about recovering the rhythm. I missed most of last year but I'm getting better and better. I hope to continue gaining consistency.
Is it one hundred percent already?
I'm very close. But I need games to go back to being the Cory Higgins of before and to be able to play 25 minutes at a high level. As I play more games, let no one doubt that I will reach my level.
Was it very hard to have surgery in the middle of the season when the team was doing so well?
Yes, a lot. Having surgery is the last alternative, but there came a point when it was the only one for me.
How do you explain Barça's downturn at the end of last year?
As I've said before, I think the most important thing is to play our best basketball at the right times. Last year everything started very well but sometimes it is difficult to extend that moment for so long. I hope that this year we know how to change it and focus on playing well when it's time.
You have repeated this concept several times, is it the message they receive in the locker room?
It's not that Jasikevicius repeats it a lot but it's obvious because at the end of last season, after shining 90 percent of the year, it tasted like a big failure. We played very well but in the worst moments we were not at the level and that is why the feeling was that it was a bad season. Grades are given at the time they are given and it is important to get them right then.
What do you think Barça lacks to take the last step in the final four?
I think we have been unlucky. In Cologne, for example, we were not at our best in the final. Calathes was injured and I wasn't 100% either. That's why I say that in addition to playing well and paying attention to small details, you also have to be lucky at the moment and in my opinion we haven't been.
Do you have a thorn stuck?
A little bit, yes. But I have experienced many things in my career and I know how difficult it is to win those games, playing them is already the first step to winning them. But I have never been too anchored in the past, I focus on what is in front of me.
Let's get off the tracks. It is your fourth year in Barcelona, what do you like the most?
My children already go to school and with the good weather they can play in the street. I stay with the life they have, I see them enjoy.
Your two children were born in Barcelona, where do you see yourself living when you retire?
I would say that right now the plan is to stay here, at least in the near future, because I don't want to disrupt my children's lives. They are happy here. Beyond that we will see.
I think you have a little passion for wine...
To be more exact, I would say that I am in love with wines (laughs).
Does it come from afar?
I think it all started when I grew up with my parents, who were experts in the field. And then everything blew up during the pandemic. I had too much time and started to do a lot of research. I was already in Spain and didn't know how amazing the wine culture is here.
He seems to know very well what he's talking about...
I would say that now I can consider myself an expert in Spanish wines and I enjoy them a lot.
Well, he has put the last one on a tray, which is your favorite?
The Toro region is the one I like the most.
