Ironi Kiryat Ata has put Israeli basketball on notice.
The up-and-coming club from the “Krayot” area of the country has turned plenty of heads thus far with a 5-2 Israel Premier League record while having been victorious over the likes of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon just this past week. With two games coming up next week against subpar clubs Hapoel Eilat and Ness Ziona, the sky seems to be the limit for this Kiryat Ata team.
There is no question that head coach Sharon Avrahami couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season despite all of the challenges that the club has had to face due to the war. Just as the campaign was about to get under way and it had seemed that Kiryat Ata had all of its pieces in place, the deck was flipped when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Which of the foreign players would stay? Who would go? Who would return when things would somewhat calm down? Those were all issues that Avrahami, his staff and team management had to deal with right from the get-go as they needed to make sure that when the league did return, Kiryat Ata would be able to field a competitive lineup.
However, with a solid base of Israelis along with the return of star guard James Batemon and veteran forward Amin Stevens, Kiryat Ata has been able to not only win games, but it has been able to go toe-to-toe with the best of the best. Wins over one of the EuroCup’s top teams and last year’s Israeli league runner-up in Hapoel Tel Aviv on the road at the Drive-In Arena, and against the Basketball Champions League’s Hapoel Holon up north have shown this.
No one could have dreamed that this would be a possibility just a couple of months ago, especially while playing with just three imports instead of four and with a 17-year-old guard in Ben Saraf who is taking his first steps in the Premier League.
But there is no doubt as to who the engine of Avrahami’s team is and that is one of the stars of the league up to now in Batemon, who has already proven to be worth the price of admission.
The 26-year-old point guard, who attended North Dakota State College of Science before transferring over to Loyola Marymount for his junior and senior years, is averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds so far this campaign, including some huge 3-point daggers to sew up both of the sensational wins over Holon and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Batemon's history
Batemon made his professional start in Latvia at Ogre and has since played in France, Greece and Germany before arriving in the Holy Land. Last season was split between Crailsheim and Karditsa, where he averaged 14.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 38.4% from beyond the arc. This year, his 3-point percentage has taken a leap to 45.6% as there is no question his hard work and the position he is in with the team is taking him to new heights.
One of the reasons Avrahami has indicated is that this is the first time that Batemon has been handed the keys to the car, so to speak, and he is the main man and cog in the Kiryat Ata machine.
“JB is a great guy,” the bench boss began. “He’s quiet, modest and an example of a person who has come up from the bottom. We knew how good a player he was in the summer and he is improving all of the time as we are working with him. He is a leader here and he hadn’t been one in the past, so that is something new for him. He is learning that role and he’s also a great player. I don’t even know what else to say about him.”
Having responsibility as a leader is a natural fit for Batemon as he has taken that responsibility very seriously.
“Other European teams before the summer said that I score well as a two guard but that I was too small to be a leader, a point guard and I want to show here that I can do both. If the team needs me to score, I can score, and if the team needs me to create, then I can create and lead on the floor. On the court and off the court I try to hang out with the guys to build chemistry, things of that nature, because I know that it’s a long season and leadership is important.”
Batemon continued about the interpersonal skills and how they affect the team on the court.
“The first thing I try to do is build connections with the players and after that they start to follow you and respect you a little more. It starts with practice and then in the game when they see that you can dive on the floor, they see that you are competitive going hard all day so they want to follow you. I am glad that I have some good teammates that trust me.”
Once the war broke out back on October 7, it was unclear when the league would start again and which foreign players who had left would even return to Israel. One of those players to return was Batemon, which is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. His teammates on Kiryat Ata don’t even view Batemon as an import, a sentiment expressed by lockdown defender Guy Palatin.
“James is not a foreigner to us, he is a teammate, a brother and he comes to us for Friday night dinner. I knew that he would come back to Israel and that was the case with Amin Stevens also. They are both our leaders and we trust them.”
For Batemon to return, family was a key factor in his decision and he gave his thanks to those who are making this season with Kiryat Ata a possibility.
“I want to thank my wife because she is the best support system that I have and she has been in my corner rooting for me from the start of my career. She is alone back home with my son as they were supposed to come with me, but due to the circumstances they couldn’t. Without her none of this is possible as she gave me the ok to go and I wasn’t going to come back without her approval.
“I let my family know that everything is good and that I am pretty safe and that I really want to chase my career to get to the top level. Everybody gave me their approval and said that this was my best option. Coming back for me was pretty easy, my family was the toughest part, but these guys - not only do they allow me to lead but they want me to lead. They reached out to me and they were calling me when I was back home making sure that I was ok when there was a devastating situation going on in their country.”
While Kiryat Ata may be beating top-level teams, Avrahami wants to keep his charges grounded and not let them hit a high just at this moment with plenty of games to go so early in the season.
“We have to stay down to earth and be modest and it’s only the beginning of the season,” said the coach. “Defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon are massive wins for us. But we have to be modest because we did lose to Galil Elyon and Ramat Gan. We have to be hungrier than the other teams. We have something special here and it’s just incredible to work with players that really want to win. There is no question that this was one of the biggest wins that I’ve had as a coach.”
However, the bottom line is Batemon is the engine that makes Kiryat Ata go and the fact that he did return to Israel is thanks to his own motivation and drive, his teammates and, of course, his better half, who like many spouses around Israel, has had to make due on the homefront without a present partner.
“That made me respect them a lot more,” Batemon said. “That made me want to give it all for them because of the confidence they have for me and the comfort they showed me while I was back home in the US. It just meant a lot to me. I am thanking the guys all the time for making me feel comfortable and like I said none of this is possible without them comforting me, but also without my wife believing in me and trusting me to take care of the family.”