Andrew Goudelock reminisces about his one-year stint at Fenerbahce that included a EuroLeague record, a stormy night in Athens and an incompatible relationship with Zeljko Obradovic. The veteran guard also dissects the reasons for a bumpy season in Milan and reveals what he and Kobe Bryant thought of Ettore Messina.
Exiting Kolossos Rhodes' locker room on a humid winter night after his team's loss in the Greek league is hardly the worst thing that has ever happened to Andrew Goudelock.
"I'm good, considering my age and everything else," he laughs. "I'm OK. Everything's been good since I got to Greece. I've been trying to help as much as I can, and I feel well. I'm healthy, and that's the most important thing."
Goudelock has displayed his talents across Europe so far. Before moving to Rhodes, where he's averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, his previous stops included Russia, Turkey, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain.
Goudelock is a EuroLeague veteran of 74 games. Still, his most recent continental experience was in the Basketball Champions League, where he appeared in four contests as a member of Rytas Vilnius in the 2020-21 season.
Even though he started off his European career at UNICS Kazan in 2013, his most memorable stint was with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in 2014-15.
"From a basketball standpoint, that was probably when I was close to my peak. I had a lot of fun playing basketball there, and I thought I was at a high level," he recalls.
Throughout his one-year stay in Istanbul, Goudelock was his team's first scoring option, averaging 17 points over 29 EuroLeague outings. He also became the season's top scorer, scoring 493 points in the competition.
However, once the campaign ended, Fenerbahce used the clause in his contract that allowed the club to release the player by paying him $200,000 within 10 days after the last official game.
Hence, the Turkish side informed Goudelock of their decision just a few hours after their last match in the 2014-15 season, a playoff loss to Karsiyaka on June 6 that put the stamp on Fener's early exit.
That development didn't come as a surprise since the two sides were expected to part ways, especially after Goudelock faced backlash from fans for visiting a nightclub in Izmir following his team's defeat in Game 2.
"Maybe with [Zeljko] Obradovic, it gave him an excuse or something like this," he concedes.
"But I think he had plans for what he wanted to do in the future with guys like Bogdan [Bogdanovic]. I wasn't really part of those plans, and he made the decision that he felt was the best for him and the team. So, I don't have any hard feelings for him."
Overall, Goudelock thinks he and Obradovic weren't a good fit because
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
FC Barcelona
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Anadolu Efes Istanbul