By George Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
In recent years the Italian coach has been producing significant coaching work in Bamberg, who won three championships in a row (2015-2017) and who, during his time at the helm, have been playing intelligent and spectacular basketball.
Of course, every “cook” needs the right materials and Trinchieri is unique at finding the… choicest ones and turning them into fully formed athletes who are capable of delivering even at the top level of the NBA and Europe.
But what are the most characteristic cases? Eurohoops presents 5+1 players who showed rapid improvement under the guidance of Andrea Trinchieri and raised their stock in Europe and on the other side of the Atlantic.
Darius Miller (New Orleans Pelicans)
In February 2015, Darius Miller crossed the Atlantic to play in Europe for the first time in the colors of Bamberg. Up to that point in his career, the American forward was considered a player with little experience in the NBA (102 appearances) who would give substantial help to the German club so that they could achieve their goals.
In actuality, however, Miller proved to be more than a great addition. Under the directions of Andrea Trinchieri, he evolved into an all-around player with a poisonous shot, excellent movement on the court, very good defense and contribution in all areas.
Miller completed the 2016/2017 season with an average of 12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2 assists and 41.1% in three-point shooting, and as a result became a target of both CSKA and Barcelona. In the end, he got a contract with the Pelicans, where he registered a new career best with 21 points and 5-for-8 in three-point shooting on last Tuesday morning.
Nicolo Melli (Fenerbahce)
Andrea Trinchieri’s Bamberg will always be considered a “school” for Nicolo Melli, one that helped him climb several steps and turned him into one of the best power forwards in Europe.
What is telling is the fact that the Italian travelled to Germany with good enough averages (5.3 points, 3.5 rebounds) but when he left the team he had more than doubled those numbers: 11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 43.4% (!) in three-point shooting.
However, the numbers alone cannot fully capture Melli’s presence on the court. The current forward for Fenerbahce became visibly more creative, perfected his defensive game, learned how to score and create from the post, execute from long-range and put the ball on the floor.
He might go down in history celebrating his most important titles with Zeljko Obradovic, but the one who will have given him the necessary skills will have been Trinchieri, among others.