Igor Milicic, the Head coach of the Poland and Napoli, spoke to Basketball Sphere about winning the Italian Cup, his job in Poland, and other topics.
The Croatian expert achieved exceptional success with the team from southern Italy. Therefore, we decided to talk to him about it. His response was prompt, stating that after the international break, he is available, and we will talk when he returns to Naples.
And so it was. With Napoli, he made a big surprise and won the Italian Cup in a very impressive manner. He didn’t have time to sit down and think about it, as he mentioned at the beginning of the interview.
“It was really chaotic after winning the Cup. We returned to Naples halfway from Turin. The distance between the two cities is 700-800 kilometers, and we celebrated as best we could. I had a flight to Poland that same evening at 10. So it was a bit chaotic. I just finished reviewing the games again to relive what we did.
Honestly, now is the time to reflect a bit on what we’ve done, at least for me personally. I gave the players time off after the Cup, they rested a bit, except for Sokolowski, who was with me in the national team,” Igor Milicic began the conversation for our portal.
Napoli’s journey to the trophy was impressive, and it became even more impressive when you look at the opponents they defeated. In the quarterfinals, they beat Brescia, who is at the top of Serie A, then Reggiana, who is in the playoff zone, and finally Milano, a team that needs no introduction. The preparation for these three matches by the Croatian coach was at an admirable level, and he revealed to us how he prepared the team for these challenges.
“Every game is a special story and a special achievement. First, because we play with a very short rotation. We have seven or eight players in rotation, and playing the Cup, which was played on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, is an impressive feat from a physical aspect. My coaches and doctors did an exceptional job preparing the players to play three such games. From a tactical standpoint, each game was different.
Each game needs to be seen as a small feat. I think tactically we outsmarted all three opponents. The first one was the most important because Brescia beat us by 20 points about ten days ago in a full arena, on our court. Here we set up tactical traps that gave us the belief that we could beat them. When we beat them, our confidence and appetite grew.”
The situation that handed the trophy
Then we reflected on the situation that decided the final match against Milano. With the score 71:70 in favor of Milano, Jacob Pullen, a well-known name to the local audience, hit a three-pointer 17 seconds before the end that sealed the final. We asked coach Milicic if he had planned for American with Georgian passport to hit that three-pointer. The answer was very interesting.
“Generally, we practice special finishes, end-of-game situations, and down-three scenarios twice a week since we only play once a week. We’re down by three and don’t have the ball, then with twenty seconds, we have the ball, down three. It was a situation where we were down by one, and we practice not calling a timeout and going for a quick shot with an offensive rebound and have tactical variations that we utilized there.
Now, the fact that he hit it, that’s our luck (laughs) and his quality. The idea was not to call a timeout and go for a quick execution and an offensive rebound. Luckily, he made it, he has the quality of a clutch player, and this time it brought us a great result.”
Igor Milicic in a town that adores football
Then we reflected on life in this wonderful city and in Southern Italy itself. Italy is a country often described as divided between the wealthy and industrialized North and the poor South. Therefore, sports are seen as a way out of life’s difficulties, and the Napoli football club is the representative of the South that best and most proudly represents this part of Italy.
As is likely known to all sports fanatics, Naples is a city that adores football with a capital “A.” After winning the third “Scudetto” in the club’s history, the streets were painted light blue, and the celebration was enormous. Diego Maradona is a deity there, but basketball also has its place. Our interviewee emphasizes that the management of “Azzurra” keeps things grounded and fosters a healthy atmosphere around the club.
“Our first home game of the season was also against Milano. There was a mini euphoria for basketball because we won against Sassari away in the first round, which was a big surprise. Then we had that game against Milano, and maybe they weren’t quite ready for the start of the season, and we took advantage of that and won. From that moment, every game has been sold out, which is a big deal because in the last two years, none have been sold out.
Another thing is we have top-notch support. The club maintains that tradition of keeping things grounded. They say that even though we’re achieving great results, we’re taking it step by step. First, survival, and then we move forward. But there is a positive atmosphere around basketball, especially because the footballers are having a weaker season. Then we become that ‘Pride of the South’ and the ‘Pride of Naples.’ They are extremely ambitious and passionate.”
Poland
Our interviewee, figuratively speaking, sits on two chairs. Igor Milicic is successful at the club level but also has notable achievements with the national team of Poland. Next year, Poland, along with Cyprus, Latvia, and Finland, will be hosting the EuroBasket tournament. Naturally, as the host, Poland automatically qualifies, and the significance of organizing this tournament was explained to us by the national team’s coach.
“It’s a culmination of events that have been happening. We performed well at the World Cup and then had an excellent EuroBasket. We elevated basketball in Poland to a high level at that moment. The federation and the president are doing a great job in terms of organization and popularizing the sport. We now have the U20 tournament and the women’s tournament.
We tried to host the FIBA World Cup as well, but it didn’t go through. The president of the Federation and the president of the Olympic Committee made a great effort to elevate basketball to a higher level. Now that we are competitive as a national team, there is a great hunger to host these events in Poland. It’s a culmination of all these events that has given us the opportunity to host in Poland, which we await with great hope, and we are preparing the team for the tournament, with everything geared towards it.”
During his duties with Poland, Mateusz Ponitka was ordered to return to Partizan, which he did. The former Split player explained his perspective on that situation.
“That’s the club’s decision, and we have to adapt to it. The club is more important at this moment than our matches. He is our main player, playing in the primary position, and we use him as a point guard. I think the game against Lithuania (13 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists) gave him a lot of mental strength. It means he will return to Partizan stronger, and it will give him an extra boost to secure his position in Partizan and finish the season strongly.
We can’t go over the fact that he returned. I would have liked him to stay, but it’s the club’s decision, and at this moment, it’s the most important thing, and we all agreed, and we’re grateful that we had him for that one game. I thank the management and the coach for letting him go; it’s significant for us and for Mateusz as well, who always responds to the national team with a great deal of energy.”
Igor Milicic eyes up another surprise
Before the spectacle in their own country, the Poles will have an obligation in Valencia. There, they will play in the Olympic Games qualification tournament. Their opponents in the group are the Bahamas and Finland, and if they advance, a potential match against Spain awaits. However, the longtime coach of Poland isn’t getting ahead of himself, as he’s preparing an intriguing plan.
“We lost two games in this window, where victory wasn’t imperative. We’re looking to prepare as best as we can and to bring in players from America. They couldn’t help us now, and we’re close to naturalizing one player, and we’ll see who that will be. We’re heading in the direction of A.J. Slaughter or someone new.
We’ll definitely have a player in the guard position. We’re preparing to surprise from the sidelines, as we’ve done it a couple of times, and it’s not a surprise anymore. I believe that Poland is now a team with a playing style that no one underestimates anymore,” concluded Igor Milicic for our website
