ITA - Daniel Hackett eager to spread his wings

ROMA (Euroleague/NBA) - The upcoming NBA season will mark a record for Italian basketball as it will have four players in the league: center Andrea Bargnani (New York Knicks), guard Marco Belinelli (San Antonio Spurs) and forwards Danilo Gallinari (Denver Nuggets) and Luigi Datome (Detroit Pistons).

But the list should get longer in a few months, as Daniel Hackett likes his chances to move back to the United States, where he lived an important college experience with Southern California, before turning pro in Italy.

"When I left college in 2009, an NBA executive told me 'in five years, you will be in the league'. That time is running out," said the 25-year old point guard who was born in Italy to an Italian mother and an American father, Rudy, a former player himself.

Montepaschi Siena won three trophies in 2013: the Italian Cup in February, the Italian league in June and the Italian Supercup two weeks ago. Hackett was the recipient of the MVP trophy on each occasion.

Three months ago, Hackett's chances at making it to the NBA were affected by Achilles tendon problems.

The injury also prevented him from playing for Italy at EuroBasket 2013. It was a tough blow as he had helped the Azzurri book their place for Slovenia thanks to a perfect 8-0 record in the Qualifying Round in the summer of 2012.

Despite being one of several important absentees - alongside Bargnani, Gallinari and captain Stefano Mancinelli - the 1.99m guard had high praise for the team that finished eighth in Ljubljana, to just miss out on a qualifying place for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

"Italy played an excellent EuroBasket," Hackett said. "It was a fantastic group of guys who played unselfish basketball and excellent defense."

Despite Siena - who have won the last seven Italian league champions - deciding to lower their budget heading into the 2013-14 season, Hackett decided to stay with the team whose ambitions remain very high.

The club ensured Hackett would have a leadership role in the last year of his current contract.

"Siena is the best situation for me. I am working on my consistency and I have to play with better confidence in my decision-making and in my perimeter shot," he assessed.

"Next summer, I will be free agent and I hope I will get an NBA chance."

Hackett talks NBA with Datome who is about to start his rookie season.

"He was happy because last season many NBA scouts attended his games. I appreciated his humble attitude and his mental strength. He deserved the call-up to the NBA."

Hackett's reputation has also been enhanced thanks to performances on the biggest European stage. Last week, he had the best Euroleague performance of his career, scoring a career-high 26 points against Turkish side Galatasaray.

"I went through a painful injury but now I feel good, I wanted to stay in Siena because I love the team's mentality and here I can improve. I want to defend what we won last season. We have got a competitive team," he explained.

With his mind firmly set on getting to the NBA, Hackett intends on making the most of his time in Italy.

"It could be my last season in Italy, I want it to be perfect."

FIBA