By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The saga between Johnathan Motley and Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv is over, at least for the head coach of the Israeli club, Stefanos Dedas.
“For me, this player is not in my mind anymore,” noted the Greek tactician in the postgame press conference following a losing effort opposite Bahcesehir Koleji in Round 7 of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup Regular Season on Tuesday.
Motley, 29, recently left Hapoel Tel Aviv. Heading to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, the report by Eurohoops has since been denied by officials of the Belgrade outfit. His future is currently unclear but certainly away from the team coached by Dedas.
“I have to fight with who is on the court. History is written from the present, not from the guys who are not here,” said the play-caller of the team based in Tel Aviv, “We will see.”
His side fell to 4-3 in Group A of the EuroCup Regular Season. Eleven team outings are left in the double-legged round-robin schedule with spots in the Quarterfinals of the second-tier club continental competition of Euroleague Basketball up for grabs.
“It was disappointing on the defensive end,” Dedas described the effort in Aleksandar Nikolic Hall against Bahcesehir Koleji without Motley, “You don’t need to be a professor to understand we need somebody in the paint. I don’t know when and who will be this player, but from my side I try to focus on improving the players that I have right now.”
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net