By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Ahead of his debut season in Europe with Italian EuroCup club Fiat Turin, veteran coach Larry Brown talked about his job, his goals with his new team, “falling in love” with European basketball legends and his deep appreciation for how the game is played and coached in Europe.
Here’s what Brown said in an interview for the official website of EuroCup.
On the level of European basketball and coaching:
“American coaches were always invited to give clinics and talks, me included,” he said. “At one time, we thought we were the greatest coaches in the world. But every time I got to experience the situation here (in Europe), I realized how bright and brilliant these guys are.
“The coaching is very underrated. People just assume that the best coaches are American. I laughed every time I watched EuroLeague and EuroCup games because I was amazed by the level of coaching.”
“I do love the way the game is played here. I have unbelievable respect for the coaching and the quality of play. It’s going to be a challenge for me. It’s not going to be easy; I understand that. If we can get healthy, though, it’s going to be fun. I’m very excited.”
On Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marculionis:
“When I coached the Clippers, Gomelskiy was in San Diego and he’d come to our practices and we talked a lot about the game,” Brown said. “I was in love with [Arvydas] Sabonis and [Sarunas] Marciulionis, who had been his players.”
On his goals for the new season:
“The expectations here are that they want me to be fair with the players, make them play hard, play the right way. And that’s going to be our goal from the first day,” he said. “Whether we win a championship or not, I never worry about that. I worry about every day being prepared and having players excited about coming to the gym. And I’m hopeful that the fans will respect what we’re trying to do.”
On Anadolu Efes coach Ergin Ataman:
“We played a friendly game against Efes without five or six of our players. Coach [Ergin] Ataman let me watch him practice, and I was really impressed with the practice and the quality of coaching and playing. Then we played them with a few guys on our team out, and we competed well. I was thrilled with our effort and how hard our guys tried, but I was unbelievably impressed with Efes.”