By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Ten months after arriving to take over a team that seemed to have promising Euroleague potential, Geogrios Bartzokas is getting ready to take that same Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar team on its first ever trip to the Final Four.
While he brings his Lokomotiv squad to the German capital as the owners of the Euroleague’s best defense and survivors of one of the most exciting playoff series this decade, the only Greek man to ever lead a team to a Euroleague title as head coach now hopes to make more history with Lokomotiv and in the process join the select company of coaches to have won continental titles with two different teams. So far, Bartzokas is comfortable with the underdog role everyone seems to give his team in the semifinal against CSKA. “I don’t believe that it is a bad thing. It is something that we have to accept. We don’t have such a huge roster, 12-13 players at the highest level, but at the same time, we have a very tough team that plays together,” Bartzokas said in this Euroleague.net interview. “We have to stay together in the preparation and especially during the game. If it is a tight game, you never know what will happen.”
What is the true magnitude of the success Lokomotiv has had so far in the season, considering it is also the first Russian team ever not named CSKA Moscow to make it to the Final Four?
“Well, seeing our fans’ reaction, and also from the members of our team, it was something amazing. Everybody enjoyed it very much, especially after beating such a big club like Barcelona in the playoffs. Even though we had the home-court advantage, the way we finally qualified, losing at home, then winning on the road to have the last game at home, and the chance to celebrate it with our fans, it was something unforgettable for everyone here. This is what I realized.”
Lokomotiv’s success and performances were steady throughout the season. What has allowed you to display such consistency from the Euroleague season’s start?
“For me, this was my main goal, to be stable and consistent as a team. No matter who we played against or where we played, we had to play our game in every country, in every arena. We had to play with our principles, our rules and finally see where this could lead us, what we could achieve. I agree with you; we were first in our regular season group, second in the Top 16, getting the home-court advantage. We played against big clubs like Panathinaikos, Barcelona and Zalgiris in the regular season or Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos, Efes and Unicaja in the Top 16, Euroleague powerhouses who have been many years in the competition. Lokomotiv is like a Cinderella in the Final Four. We just tried all season to stay together, be unselfish and play hard defense. This is why we were so consistent this year and finally achieved this big accomplishment.”
You know CSKA well, playing each other twice in the VTB League this season, splitting road wins. What is most impressive about that team?
“First of all, we are talking about a team that, as I read, reached the Final Four 13 times in the last 14 years. We are talking about a very experienced club, including players, coaches and organization in general. They know what the Final Four is about, how to approach this big basketball event. At the same time, they have a very talented team with extremely talented players like De Colo and Teodosic, and a player like Kyle Hines, one of my favorite players in European basketball. We worked together in Olympiacos. Also, they have guys like Aaron Jackson and Higgins, very good players who fulfil their roles in the team. They know exactly what they have to do to help their team. Also some very good players at the international level like Khryapa, Kurbanov, Fridzon and Vorontsevich. They have a very good team with very good chemistry. Their coach is very experienced, very good for this level. I have a lot of respect for Dimitris Itoudis and his staff. I don’t think anyone can say we will have an easy job in the semifinal, but the good thing in sports is this: maybe you are the underdog, but you have to try very hard to make one more big accomplishment like this.”
On paper, this semifinal is a clash of best Euroleague offense against the best defense. Having that in mind, what do you see as the key going into the game?
“There is no doubt about CSKA’s offense being the best in the Euroleague. It is not that they have two go-to guys like De Colo and Teodosic, who are so talented, but at the same time, they can control the rhythm and have excellent creation. Together with Aaron Jackson, they can play with three point guards in their lineups and still can score easily. Of course, we have the best defense, but controlling the rhythm of the game may be our goal for this game. All the coaches believe the same: in this kind of crucial game, rebounding, screening and being unselfish is very important. We know we have a very talented team and have to approach the game the right way, but at the same time, we have to play our offensive game, share the ball, play unselfishly and have ball movement, which is always very important for us.”
In Berlin, no team has players with more Final Four experience than CSKA, even their coach has won five Euroleague titles as an assistant. On the other hand, most of your players have never been to a Final Four. How can you turn that into your advantage?
“We will try! We will have, for sure, one mental plan for this Final Four, like a strategy for the game, like a tactical plan, like a physical preparation for the Final Four. We will have a psychological plan as every coach tries to do. I think we have to overcome our lack of experience with our enthusiasm of being in the Final Four.”
Speaking of experience, three years ago you were in a similar position with Olympiacos, in the Final Four semifinals facing CSKA and its high-powered offense with Milos Teodosic, Aaron Jackson, Andrey Vorontsevich and Victor Khryapa. Your defense held them to 52 points in that semifinal victory. How crucial in your preparation for this year’s game is that experience from three years ago?
“Not really, because there are many different things. You cannot compare these two games. Okay, CSKA had Khryapa, Jackson, Teodosic and Vorontsevich in that team, but they now have a different coach and I don’t have the weapons that I had with Olympiacos, players who were already Euroleague champions, talented, but also experienced at this level. Now it is a completely different situation. Of course, we will try to stop their best players, but you know, every game is a different story. Every Final Four is different. When I was with Olympiacos, we beat CSKA with a fantastic defensive game and then beat Madrid with a fantastic offensive game, scoring 100 points in the final, which is not easy at all. Every game is a different story and this is what I am trying to tell my players. We have to forget everything we did until now and the only thing that counts is the future and not too far ahead – the next practice, the next game, our next step. This is also our approach for the Final Four – just think about the semifinal against CSKA, nothing else.”
Having been through all the wonderful emotions that come along with Final Four success and winning the trophy, how differently do you prepare for this event?
“First of all, if we were considered the underdogs with Olympiacos, I don’t know what we are now with Lokomotiv! Let’s say that I never think individually about myself because I believe basketball is a team effort. What we achieved this year, I didn’t make it by myself. The players, the president, the Lokomotiv organization helped a lot to reach this big accomplishment. I feel happy and proud, but this doesn’t matter, really. What we did wasn’t easy because we had very hard road trips. We are in a province in south Russia, so travelling all over Europe in two international leagues like the Euroleague and VTB League is not easy. We know we are exhausted from this effort but have to keep our bodies and minds fresh for the Final Four. We are not living in a capital with straight flights. Maybe it is difficult for everybody to understand this, but for us, being in this situation, we know it was a tough thing to do. I feel proud of this team and will do my job, as always, preparing the team mentally and tactically. I think we have to enjoy a little bit in our Final Four participation.”
At the Final Four in 2013, your team was a defending champion, but still embraced a role of an underdog and went on to win another Euroleague crown. How comfortable are you being in an underdog role once again?
“You know, I don’t believe that it is a bad thing. It is something that we have to accept. We don’t have such a huge roster, 12-13 players at the highest level, but at the same time, we have a very tough team that plays together. We have star players like Malcolm Delaney who always cares about his teammates. He never plays with a selfish approach. We accept the underdog role, but at the same time, I think we have our chance; not more than CSKA, but we have it. We have to stay together in the preparation and especially during the game. If it is a tight game, you never know what will happen.”
On a personal level, you will go against another Greek coach, Dimitris Itoudis, coaching a Russian team. How much of an honor and a privilege is this for Greek basketball and for you in your very first coaching job outside your native country?
“Thank you for this question, because it is not about me, but about how big basketball is in Greece. I think that basketball in Greece is the most successful sport, having two teams like Olympiacos and Panathinaikos winning many Euroleague titles. Our national team is very strong and also won European titles. We also have some very good Greek coaches, a new generation working abroad at the highest level. I have to say I feel very proud of Greek coaches and Greek basketball in general. By working abroad, I have seen the respect Greek basketball has in Europe. We are making good things for Greek basketball working abroad, making people respect it even more. I am very glad we will play against a team with a Greek coach like Dimitris. I respect him a lot and I believe he is doing an excellent job with CSKA.”
There are only a handful of coaches who have won the Euroleague with two different teams. How much of an honor would it be for you to join that elite company and make history by taking Lokomotiv to the title?
“It would be amazing and a great honor for me, but I am not even thinking about it now. As I said before, we have to focus on the semifinal. I always think like this: when you finish a season, you can look back and see what you have done. In the meantime, you have to focus on what’s in front of you. We have not finished yet – we have a very big game ahead of us, maybe two, who knows? When we finish our amazing Euroleague season, when the emotions cool down a little bit, we will evaluate what we achieved. It has been a very long Euroleague season, but we haven’t finished our obligations yet.”