KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait) - JaKarr Sampson hardly needed time to acclimatize in this city the moment he arrived here about a month ago after signing with Kuwait Club.
"It felt good, especially since the temperature went down," the former NBA veteran said while chuckling heartily. "The temperature is really nice now."
This region is growing, basketball-wise.
No doubt that the native of Cleveland, Ohio has grown that comfortable being in Kuwait, considering that he's never played there until he and the ball club formed a partnership. But it's not solely the reason why he has gotten settled this fast.
In just the short time he's been in Kuwait, Sampson has become enamored with how basketball is growing not just in the country but in the region as well.
"I feel like Kuwait basketball is growing. This region is growing, basketball-wise," said the 2.01 M (6'7") forward, who began his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Perhaps that take of his comes from what he's experienced thus far with the club. Just last September, they fought other teams mostly from the Gulf and West Asia in the annual Al Wahda International Basketball Championship in Abu Dhabi.
The crew finished as runners-up in that campaign, which served as an indoctrination of sorts for Sampson as well on the level and style of play in this region.
Now, the 31-year-old is further broadening his understanding through the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL), where his team is gunning for a Gulf League three-peat.
He and Kuwait Club opened the 2024/2025 season on Monday night in their own stomping grounds at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex, emerging victorious as they spoiled the debut of Al Ahli Club of Bahrain, 88-77.
Sampson had himself a solid FIBA WASL debut, finishing with 19 points on 52.9-percent shooting from the field alongside 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and a steal.
He helped lead the charge for the home team together with Briante Weber and Augustine Rubit as the new foreign reinforcements served a breath of fresh air for the club that makes head coach Peter Schomers optimistic of their campaign.
"Well, they fit in really well, I think. I think we did a great job recruiting this summer," the decorated mentor said, as Kuwait Club let go of Cady Lalanne and Marcus Georges-Hunt - important figures in their back-to-back WASL-Gulf title runs.
"We have a lead point guard (Weber) that's good. And with JaKarr, we have a very versatile big man, great defender, transition guy. I think we're gonna be a better transition team this year and a better defensive team, too," he added.
"We have Augustine, we have an experienced Euroleague player off the bench," continued the German bench tactician. "The rotations are good. I'm really happy with the recruiting we were able to do this summer. No doubt about it."
Yet Schomers feels far from contented, saying that they all remain a work in progress as far as chemistry is concerned, especially with the new acquisitions around.
"We still have to gel as a team," he said. "Like I said, we have upside, and that's a good thing. We know we have the potential. And we have time right now, actually. But, you don't wanna get lazy and bored. So, we gotta put the work in."
Sampson agreed. "I feel like we got a lot of room to improve, so that's great. Even though we got the win, we see things we still need to get better at," he said.
But all in all, the seasoned pro out St. John's University likes everything about Kuwait Club, so much so that he's positive of winning a championship with this squad.
Sampson has personally been collecting gold over the past two years, having won in Europe in 2022 and in the Chinese Basketball Association the following year after helping the Liaoning Flying Leopards annex their third title in franchise history.
He definitely wants to win in Kuwait too, although this, surely, would be much sweeter as it could also mean doing his part in further elevating the game in the country.
"I like Kuwait. I like this club, I like this organization," he said. "Basketball-wise, I see that we got a really good basketball team. Especially our team, we got some professionals on our team, some players that take the game seriously."
FIBA