Wade Baldwin, Fenerbahce star and reigning EuroLeague champion with the Turkish team, touched on numerous topics regarding the current EuroLeague landscape.
There has been no shortage of excitement in European basketball in recent weeks. Several coaches have left their clubs, and some of those decisions have caused major public reactions. Wade Baldwin is someone who has been in European basketball for a long time and has played for a large number of teams. Since arriving from the United States, he has worn the jerseys of Olympiacos, Bayern, Baskonia, Maccabi, and currently Fenerbahce. He is one of the players who truly knows what it’s like to constantly change environments and search for real success with a club.
In an interview for the Greek outlet Sport24, Wade Baldwin was asked, among other things, what he thinks about the resignations of Zeljko Obradovic and Ettore Messina, and whether he was surprised that their clubs made such moves:
Claim Now “I think their cases are somewhat similar, as far as one can see from the outside. I mean, Partizan 3–4 years ago had a real chance, and I think they deserved to go to the Final Four. Then there was that fight, and Partizan hasn’t reached that level since. So it’s not unreasonable for a coach to get fired or resign in a situation like that. Obviously it’s difficult, because of the history and the prestige that these coaches have.
Same with Ettore Messina. Messina went to the Final Four against my Bayern Munich during the COVID period, in 2021. And that was one of the last times they made the playoffs. Maybe they’ll make it next year. So I think the organizations showed a lot of respect to these people and gave them a lot of opportunities. But at some point, like with players, if there’s no performance, it’s hard to continue with them. So it wasn’t that big of a shock. For me, the most shocking cases are when a coach signs in the summer and after seven games they fire him.”
Igor Kokoskov was also dismissed by Anadolu Efes, but Baldwin believes that situation is somewhat different, partly because of Kokoskov’s (too) short stay at the club:
“His case is a little difficult, because Efes had a lot of injuries. And, okay, I don’t know the real reason, I’m not in those locker rooms, I’m not in those situations. But speaking from the outside, that’s crazy. You’re like, ‘Wow, he got fired? It’s only six, seven weeks into the season.’ It’s crazy.”
Wade Baldwin has also had the opportunity to work with several big-name coaches, and currently that is Sarunas Jasikevicius at Fenerbahçe. Speaking about how he sees their cooperation so far, the American guard said:
“Successful. You are given the opportunity to play under the brightest lights in Europe and it is no coincidence that you join a team with a big budget, a great organization like Fenerbahce, along with a high-level coach. It is a recipe for success. Obviously, you still have to do the work to go and perform. But he’s done a good job with all his teams in the past. And it was nice for our group to get there and be able to respond.”
On the mental aspect of the game and the psychological weight of the EuroLeague:
“It really depends on what culture you’re in. I’ve been at a lot of different clubs, and it depends on what your locker room is like and what the tone of the team is. As for mental toughness, you can be in a situation like at Olympiacos, where my first year was very serious — it felt like every game was a final. Fenerbahce is very similar to Olympiacos, where every game is “life or death”. If you lose, it’s like the sun won’t rise the next day. If you win, it’s just “yeah, that’s how it was supposed to be.”
On the teams that have stood out to him this season:
“There are 38 games and we’re only in the 13th. We’re not even halfway through, we haven’t seen the teams for the second time. It’s too early to draw conclusions.
Many teams are playing well. Zalgiris is playing very well. Playing against them is like… training for us. Their new coach is Tomas Masiulis (who was an assistant at Fenerbahce). They have ‘stolen’ all our plays, our tactics. But they are a very good team, they have great chemistry this year. And they beat us in the second game of the season. They are playing very well.
Crvena Zvezda are also playing very well, they seem to have great team chemistry. These are the dangerous teams so far.”
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