By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
When Germani Basket Brescia announced the signing of coach Vincenzo Esposito, the clock turned back to the 1990s. While Esposito was named coach of the year in Italy in 2017, his name is part of European basketball lore as the first Italian player who scored in an NBA game.
A gifted scorer in his playing days, Esposito was a unique talent who made the jump to the other side of the Atlantic when that was the exception and not the rule for Europeans. As a coach, Esposito has taken every step on the ladder, starting when his playing career ended in 2009, but even serving later as a player-coach for Imola in the Italian lower divisions at age 44!
Since 2014, when he became the head coach of Juve Caserta, the club in which he grew up in the 1980s, Esposito has proven that he can also be a leader from the bench. Now, in his first season in the 7DAYS EuroCup, he has a great chance of making it to the quarterfinals.
Not bad at all, considering the fact that in the summer he was asked to replace Andrea Diana, who served as the head of Brescia’s bench for the last eight years. Starting fresh with a team, as Esposito has done, is no easy task. You can make a case for Brescia under Esposito already exceeding expectations.
The club is just 11 years old and so far this season has managed to beat established teams like UNICS Kazan, Darussafaka Tekden Istanbul, Joventut Badalona, Nanterre 92 (twice) and the newly merged Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.
That’s a notable improvement compared to Brescia’s maiden season in the EuroCup last year. The Italians were eliminated after a 3-7 regular-season record. Now, with a 2-1 record in the Top 16, they are masters of their destiny.
“It’s a great feeling, a great sensation,” Esposito admitted after the last game of the regular season. “These guys have been working hard since August. They had the dream to play a great season in the EuroCup, and we did it.”
And while being in the Top 16 is not by any measure a small feat, Brescia with a win this week on the road over EWE Baskets Oldenburg can make one more solid step towards the qualification to the 7DAYS EuroCup Playoffs, which would seal Esposito’s reputation as a coach on the rise.