Virtus head coach Luca Banchi spoke to Basketball Sphere about when he realized he would become an elite strategist and touched on how he built his style. He also talked about his relationship with Daniel Hackett, and shared an interesting story about Keith Langford.
There were not many who gave the Latvian national team a chance to go far in the previous FIBA World Cup. They were mistaken, so the Baltic team registered a historic success and got the fifth place, with a missed chance for a complete sensation, since they were one shot away from the semifinals.
A little bit later, the turbulent start of the season in Virtus was reflected in the immediate dismissal of Sergio Scariolo, due to a controversial statement. At that moment, the awakened giant from Bologna had to find an ad hoc solution and react quickly.
The epilogue of the later decision was the second place in the standings when it comes to the EuroLeague before the Italian team fall in form due to numerous injuries, but they still occupies a high, eighth position. Considering the financial power, Virtus can hardly be dissatisfied with such a situation.
The flourishing of the Latvian national team and the raising of Virtus to a higher level have something in common – Luca Banchi. The Italian coach’s career was in a slight decline after his tenure in Montepaschi Siena and Milano until Latvia revived him. In Strasbourg, Banchi hinted at a big comeback, which he confirmed at the FIBA World Cup and this season’s edition of the EuroLeague.
Not everything was destined for the 58-year-old strategist to become what he is today. Born in Grosseto, not so much a basketball environment, as they say, he ambitiously carved out his place among the best year after year.
“Passion is what drives me”
At the beginning of the conversation with Basketball Sphere, he described what his answer would be if someone, as a young man from a small town in central Italy, told him that one day he would be named the best coach of Mundobasket and that he would have an enviable EuroLeague career behind him.
“It would sound crazy. Grosseto is not a basketball place, although Toscana has had a very successful era in recent years, with Livorno, Montepaschi Siena, Pistoia… All of them are or were in the first division. I believe that my story can be an impulse to people who love this game. What drives me is connected to my passion. I continue to try to create opportunities, because in life sometimes things happen, and sometimes you have to make them happen”, said Banchi.
The coach from Grosseto then touched on the turning points in his career, which had great importance on his development path. He started with not-so-well-known teams and ended up at the very top of European and world basketball.
“In our business, a certain decision has to be made every day, which can affect your career or future and not only your life, but also the lives of the people around you. If I had to define one moment, I would highlight it when I took over the senior team of Livorno, after several years in the youth program.
That’s when I realized that I was entering a new dimension and a part of my career from which there was no turning back. The second is related to my seven-year experience at Montepaschi Siena. That period is the trademark of my coaching style. That was the first time I got the opportunity to be in contact with the best coaches and players and become what I am today”, said the Italian strategist, who sat on the bench of the former EuroLeague team from 2006 to 2013, of which the first six years he was assistant coach.
Offense and defense – one cannot do without the other
Banchi has profiled himself as someone who cultivates an aggressive approach on both sides of the court. With Latvia, he built an offensive machine, merciless from a distance, which at the same time “grinds” in defense and does not shy away from physical contact. He is trying to implement something similar in Virtus, whose defense was recognizable, especially in the first part of the current season.
“In modern basketball, you cannot separate offense and defense. You have to build a system, which can valorize the skills of the players. When we talk about the game in both directions, you also need to have the capacity to hide the bad things on those two sides of the court. The level of scouting and efficiency of other teams tends to take advantage of even minimal flaws in the game.
It is very difficult to judge whether offense is more important than defense, or vice versa. Although due to the schedule, we do have not enough time to influence our teams, the point is that the players share the sacrifice and the responsibility. That’s why offense and defense are more and more connected to each other.”
Sergio Scariolo and Ettore Messina – a turning point in history
The Italian coaching school is very recognizable, as Banchi confirmed, in an attempt to explain who has most influenced his philosophy, which has produced excellent results in the last period.
“I managed to capture many generations. In the beginning, there were those who no longer do this job. I’m talking about authentic icons of Italian basketball such as Sandro Gamba, Giancarlo Primo, Gianfranco Benvenuti, Dado Lombardi, Valerio Bianchini… I don’t want to forget someone. We had a coaching school, they were pioneers.
At that time, contact with the USA was very difficult. They had the capacity to share knowledge with everyone. They were not jealous, they felt that their mission was to share the love of basketball. This way of thinking is close to me, because as coaches we should be ambassadors of love for basketball.”
Then the key moment happened, as the Virtus strategist said.
“The new generation, made up of coaches such as Ettore Messina and Sergio Scariolo, are very successful. They developed in youth programs, before becoming what they are today. They were also the first coaches in Italy who had the chance to work abroad. It was a turning point in the history of Italian coaching, because we entered a new dimension. Before that, we accepted what mostly came from the Balkans.
That was the first time we realized that we had material that we could export, so those two generations influenced me the most. I am happy that at the current moment, for example with Andrea Trinchieri, we are head coaches of clubs abroad, as well as different national teams (Trinchieri was the head coach of Greece). There is also Maurizio Buscaglia, the former head coach of the Netherlands…”
How Keith Langford became part of basketball terminology
What has been a Banchi constant over the years is the relationship with Daniel Hackett. The Italian point guard was the most responsible for Montepaschi Siena’s title in the 2012/13 season, when he was named the most valuable player of the final series, after bringing the same team the trophy in the Italian Cup, again as the best on the court.
This tandem then worked together in Milano, where Banchi became the second coach in history to win two consecutive titles with different teams. Their paths crossed in Bamberg and now in Virtus.
“Hackett is the player I brought from Pesaro to Montepaschi Siena. At that moment he was still young and inexperienced. I gave him the opportunity to play in the EuroLeague for the first time. This is our fourth team together. That’s life. He is definitely a good player, I am happy for what he has done during his career. There were ups and downs, but he found his dimension and has a very successful experience, not only in Italy, but also abroad.”
During the period spent in Milano, Banchi, in addition to winning the championship, was also close to making a significant result in Europe. In a very intense quarter-final playoff series, the Italian side lost to eventual champions Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-1. It was a series in which Milano had the home court advantage, but even that was not enough for them, partly due to the serious injury of Alessandro Gentile, one of the most important players at the time.
What marked that EuroLeague season was Keith Langford. He was unstoppable in the Milano jersey, experienced the peak of his career and established himself as the best scorer in the league. The American guard finished his career last year, and recently became a member of the Milano Hall of Fame.
“It was a short experience with Keith, we only worked together for one season and it was successful. He won the award for the best scorer of the EuroLeague that season. It was great with him. A great professional, a great worker and I really appreciate his approach to matches. Offensive mentality, very ‘clutch’. It is not easy to find such a player. I remember in one of the transfer windows we talked about the possibility of finding a player like Langford. It has become part of basketball terminology. When you want to define a creator, who has not only the skill but also the personality to take the initiative in ‘clutch’ moments.”
Banchi about Dobric and the performance of Serbian teams in the EuroLeague
Certainly, leaders like Langford are needed in every top team, which must also have players with different roles. Responsible defenders, but also scorers, when the situation demands it from them. Such a role was intended for Ognjen Dobric by the Italian strategist, which, according to him, the Serbian national team member has not yet been able to fulfill, for objective reasons.
“He is still far from the best version, from what we expect from him, from what the former coach who brought him expected. After very successful games at the FIBA World Cup, he suffered a serious injury in the finals of the tournament, so it was not the easiest for him to prepare. Another injury happened, this time to the other ankle, which all affected the realistic image of what he is and the role he can play. We are still trying to bring out the best in him and I hope that both he and the club will find a successful path.”
Banchi can be said to have had a great influence on some of the failures or potential failures of Serbian teams. The win of Virtus over Crvena Zvezda at the beginning of the season largely influenced Dusko Ivanovic to leave the bench of the red and whites, while the two wins of the team from Bologna over Partizan are perhaps fatal for the fact that Zeljko Obradovc’s team could miss the play in. Both Partizan and Crvena Zvezda announced that they want the Final Four. It turns out that both of them are far from that, as things stand now.
“I have no opinion on that. I believe it is down to the people who work inside the club. When we read their teams this summer, it was easy to declare them to be of high quality. It is a lesson for everyone – managers, coaches and others, to understand how difficult it is to be placed well in the EuroLeague. Injuries affect the team a lot, which makes it impossible to predict things in the summer. Everyone competes, more or less at the same level, and every year there are teams that positively or negatively surprise. That’s the law of the sport. This format of the EuroLeague is very difficult”, Luca Banchi concluded the conversation with Basketball Sphere.