By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After featuring as the head coach in 309 games of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and directly masterminding two championships, Dimitris Itoudis moved to the BKT EuroCup and Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv.
Stefanos Dedas, the former head coach of the team, will stay on the bench as an assistant to Itoudis as happened in the past in CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce.
Dedas himself confirmed the whole deal while speaking to Novasport TV, during their EuroLeague pre-game show.
“You have set your ego aside”, said Dedas explaining the decision, which also includes a raise on his salary despite not being the head coach anymore. The deal with Itoudis – and Dedas – is expected to be a three-year contract.
In the top-tier level of Euroleague Basketball, Itoudis coached Fenerbahce Beko from the top of the 2022-23 season until being dismissed early in the 2023-24 campaign. His previous run at CSKA between 2014 and 2022 was highlighted by the championship expeditions in 2016 and 2019. Working under Zeljko Obradovic at Panathinaikos from 1999 to 2012, the successful combination resulted in five EuroLeague championships.
Seeking a new head coach, the team based in Tel Aviv has been pursuing him over recent weeks.
In Group A of the EuroCup Regular Season, the Reds are tied for third. A 5-3 W-L tally trails leader Bahcesehir Koleji by two games. The next fixture on the 18-game double-legged round-robin schedule is against ratiopharm Ulm in Arena Samokov on November 28, following the approaching international window of FIBA.
A one-point deduction countering a 5-0 start in Israel’s Winner League limits the Tel Aviv outfit to nine points and sixth place in the standings. With one game in hand, the two-point distance from leaders Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv is a virtual tie.