Zvezdan Mitrovic, the head coach of Galatasaray, talked about basketball events in Europe and the NBA in an interview with Meridian Sport.
Zvezdan Mitrovic took over Turkish club Galatasaray at the start of this season. The Montenegrin coach acknowledges that things are not all rosy with the Istanbul giant but is happy to lead a club with such a rich tradition.
“It’s a club with high expectations. We’re talking about a sports society with over 30 million fans. The Galatasaray University itself is an institution. However, the football and basketball clubs are like night and day. Our budget is moderate, but the expectations are high, especially in relation to our capabilities. We have the sixth-seventh budget in the Turkish league. But I knew all of that when I came here, I was very aware of where I was going,” emphasized the former head coach of Montenegro.
“The only problem can be the immense pressure from the fans. We’ve had some bad games, and the players immediately feel the pressure, probably also due to the influence of social media. But they are good guys,” Mitrovic says, adding:
“From the beginning, we lacked a playmaker, but now we’ve brought back Dee Bost, who has been here a few times and worked with me in Monaco. Relying on Corey Walden, who’s already injury-prone, throughout the season wouldn’t have been easy, even though he’s a great guy. He lost his rhythm a bit last season, dealing with injuries, but now he’s healthy. He’ll show what he can do. My assistant is Nikola Birac, who knows him well.”
“I’m not a coach who leaves behind a vacuum”
As a former coach of ASVEL and Monaco, he emphasized that he keeps an eye on these teams in the EuroLeague, and of course, he rarely misses games of the ‘eternal’ rivals.
“Monaco is a team. They are the best after Real, Barcelona, and Olympiacos. These are the teams that should be at the top.“
Mitrovic also said that Baskonia has been the biggest disappointment this season and then commented on his time at ASVEL.
“I’m not a coach who leaves behind a vacuum. ASVEL had a good system when I was there. The older players, with David Lighty, were really the foundation. The younger ones were Maledon, Strazel… ASVEL’s best year was when I was working there, before the pandemic when I was replaced. We were the most pleasant surprise in the EuroLeague.
In Parker’s academy, there were kids I introduced one by one, just the way I like it. It continued to thrive, and they increased the budget. Although in France, when you see a €20 million budget, immediately cross out half. But the later moves of the club… Letting Victor Wembanyama leave, letting go of the best young players… Keep the gold you have,” Zvezdan Mitrovic expressed his surprise.
“Then, what were the comments about Partizan last season? Terrible! And then it turned around…”
“Crvena zvezda has assembled a serious team. These are all top-class players; it’s just a matter of whether they are compatible with each other. It’s still early in the season. Look at how many teams start poorly and then improve. I remember as if it were yesterday when Dejan Radonjic was coaching Crvena Zvezda, and Maccabi came to play here. There were doubts whether David Blatt would even lead the team. And then, DeMarcus Nelson missed a buzzer-beater, and Maccabi won, started playing better, and eventually won the EuroLeague. There are countless situations like that,” recalled the experienced coach.
When a season takes a downturn, everyone looks at the coach. Mitrovic explained why it is necessary to give coaches time.
“It annoys me when coaches are changed. It’s a circus. Nenad Canak came to Turk Telekom, everything was entirely new, and immediately they want to get rid of him. At Crvena Zvezda, it has become a tradition. Clubs put together a roster, make mistakes, but let them change two players. It’s easiest to change coaches.
We are expendable. Then, what were the comments about Partizan last season? Terrible! And then it turned around. If it weren’t for the name Obradovic, he would have been replaced a thousand times. And what happens next? Partizan plays the best basketball in Europe. By far the best!” said Zvezdan Mitrovic.
“If Wembanyama played in our league, someone would have already taken him down.”
The conversation with Mitrovic couldn’t pass without mentioning the 224cm-tall French talent, Victor Wembanyama, who everyone predicts to have a brilliant career.
“I watched him when he was still a kid. A monster emerged. Slim, tall. But I was afraid someone would dive into him, break his knees, and it would be over. If he played in our league, someone would have already taken him down,” said the former Asvel head coach.
“He was frail and prone to injuries. When I was coaching against Asvel, every time Wembanyama was in the lineup, we won. You’d set a screen against him, he’s weak, set up a good block, and that’s it. The next year, when he was in Paris, he was guarded by Charles Kahudi, who is two heads shorter, and Wembanyama couldn’t score a basket. There were solutions.”
“One contact with Oakley, and Wembanyama goes back to Paris.”
“I watched San Antonio. I see muscles. It’s not the same ‘fight’ in the NBA as it used to be; now it’s all about finesse. Imagine Charles Oakley guarding Wembanyama. One contact, and he goes back to Paris. I preferred that style of basketball more, but I am old-fashioned,” said the Montenegrin coach.
The role of coaches in the NBA is significantly different.
“They’ve put them in tracksuits. If you want to replace someone, a player pushes you aside and returns. There are two or three authorities in the NBA. Now they’re even going to put artificial intelligence to replace us. But in the past, Pat Riley, in an Armani suit, was a Hollywood star! Now we don’t even know who half of them are,” concluded Zvezdan Mitrovic.