# Zaza Paculia....up close...



## DHarris34Phan (Oct 28, 2004)

From jsonline.com:
The Story of <IMG WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=150 BORDER=0 ALT="PACHULIA, ZAZA" TITLE="PACHULIA, ZAZA" SRC="/img/headshots/100x150/bucks/PACHULIA, ZAZA.jpg"> Zaza Pachulia

An argument can be made that his mother is still the best, pure basketball player in a family of two.

For Zaza Pachulia, the game has been a way of life, handed down to him from his mom, Marina, who was a key part of the women's national team in the former Soviet Union.

And if the 20-year-old Milwaukee Bucks center has a particularly tough game, he most certainly will hear about it when he gets home.

Pachulia, a 6-foot-11 native of Tbilisi, Georgia, is living with his mother in a downtown Milwaukee apartment. The two are far removed from their former life in Georgia and Istanbul, Turkey, where the young Zaza began playing with the famed Ulker club at age 14.

"I see his progress, but I see the little mistakes, also," Marina said through interpreter and friend, Leana Dolbaya, in a recent courtside interview at the Bradley Center. "When I got married, I had to stop playing. But it was for the best, because I had Zaza."

Mom and son have formed a close relationship, made even tighter when Zaza's father, David, died of a heart attack during a routine checkup in a Tbilisi hospital. At the time, Zaza was just 15 years old.

I was feeling like a different life started for me," Pachulia said. "He was running the family, he was the boss. We were really confused, whether my mom was going to take his spot or me. Mostly, I had to go in his spot (as a wage-earner).

"I was really young."

The decision was made for Zaza to continue pursuing a career in basketball, and at age 16, he began playing professionally in Turkey's top league. The rough-and-tumble lessons learned in that environment have served Pachulia well in the National Basketball Association, after he was chosen by the Orlando Magic with a second-round pick in the 2003 draft.

"I think he has been playing against men for quite some time, and that's helpful," said Bucks general manager Larry Harris. "It's a different mentality over there than it is here in college and the NBA.

"It's like they're playing for their statehood; it's really personal. You never lose at home, and when you go on the road and win, it's like you don't know if you can make it out of the city."

It was that toughness and potential that prompted the Bucks to acquire Pachulia during the off-season. They sent a 2004 second-round draft pick to Charlotte, which had obtained Pachulia's rights from the Magic in the expansion draft.

Pachulia, who will turn 21 next Thursday, has displayed the inconsistency of youth, but he has filled an important role off the bench for the Bucks. He is averaging 19.5 minutes per game, up from 11.3 with Orlando last season, and has marks of 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

He has set single-game bests in nearly every statistical category this season, including minutes (37), rebounds (13) and assists (six), and his scoring-high of 13 is one shy of his personal best.

For a team that entered the season with many question marks surrounding the center spot, Pachulia has supplied at least a few answers.

"The ability to get more playing time has really made his confidence go up," Bucks coach Terry Porter said. "There are still some areas where his game needs to grow. He competes extremely hard, he's a live body, and he definitely bangs on the boards. He's smart with how he moves on the floor."

It's clear that Pachulia and his mother have lofty aspirations for his career, and his work ethic has impressed Bucks management. Pachulia is in the second year of a two-year contract, but the Bucks do have limited Larry Bird rights and will be able to match any contract offer by another team, up to the mid-level exception.

"Who knows what happens with free agency?" Porter said. "He's a guy we definitely like and would like to continue to be a part of our organization."

Pachulia speaks five languages - Turkish, Georgian, English, Russian and Italian. He started learning English at the age of 6, and that has eased his transition to life in the States.

It also has helped to have his mom, who attends all the Bucks games and sits in a prime seat directly across from the Milwaukee bench, with him every day.

"He's everything for me," Marina said. "First of all, of course, he's my baby. Beyond that, he's my friend and my brother. I can trust him with everything."

Marina also was with her son in Orlando last season. She said she finds the people in Milwaukee to be more friendly than those in central Florida, even though the weather is more like that of her home country.

"She is the most important help for me," Pachulia said. "Instead of going to different restaurants with different food, where you don't know what you're eating, everything is ready. I don't have to think about what to eat, where to eat, what to get."

Marina admits to being nervous during Bucks games, although she rarely shows much emotion.

"My hands hurt because I squeeze them so much," she said. "My dream goes so far that I can visualize him being a superstar."

Harris believes Pachulia is becoming a more consistent force off the bench. The 265-pound center had nine points and three rebounds in 21 minutes in the Bucks' 91-86 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday, and he played a key role down the stretch in a recent road victory against the New York Knicks.

"What you see in the games, he brings every day in practice," Harris said. "The players love playing with him. He wants to get better, and he's not going to settle for being an average NBA player. You like that tenacity and approach to the game."

Whatever Pachulia does and wherever he goes, it will be with his mom's help.

"Her support is huge, especially at this age," he said. "It helps me to have a good start in the league. At first she doesn't have anybody here. But as time goes along it gets easier for me and for her also."

Zaza's Mom​


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## alex (Jan 7, 2003)

He came to my school about a month ago. There's a Giorgian who's in my grade, and he personally knows Zaza. So for multi-cultural week he had him come over one day during lunch. He attracted a large crowd around him, and seemed very bashful. He was very friendly and answered everyones questions though. I wish him nothing but the best. He seems like a great guy who could become a very promising player.


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## DHarris34Phan (Oct 28, 2004)

*Pachulia and Gadzuric will be provide awesome depth upfront once we can land 2 quality big men. Gadzuric can come in for 15-20 minutes a game and provide great hustle and great defense. Pachulia is only 20 years old and has shown good rebounding skills and also some offense.

Great story on Zaza...*


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