By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Unicaja Malaga has been having a so-so season, holding a 5-6 record in the Spanish Liga Endesa while fairing better in the Basketball Champions League with 3-1 so far, and the team’s sports director Juanma Rodriguez has pointed to some things he doesn’t like.
“There are some attitudes of Norris Cole that I don’t like, Katsikaris will talk about it with him. As long as I am the sports director, the team will be above any player and any attitude. We are not happy with their behavior. I hope Cole understands and changes. I like players with character and winners, but who know how to use that attitude well. Not in a way that can harm the team, as he has done on more than one occasion. If he repeats it, we are going to have problems. But as he is a veteran player and knows that the club is going to act, it will not happen,” Rodriguez told La Opinion de Malaga.
He also commented on the situation with Marco Spissu who the club didn’t sign after the player failed the medical exams.
“It was a pure and hard medical decision. All players have to pass a medical examination. He did not pass it and others who came later did. He is a player I like, he is a good directing point guard who passes the ball very well. The doctors considered that he was not fit, that there was a risk that he would suffer injuries and he did not stay.”
Unicaja moved to the Basketball Champions League and has had a great start. Rodriguez is happy with the call to change competitions and notes that the level is high.
“I think that Unicaja has positioned itself very well in the face of the new panorama of European basketball. I’m going to give you an opinion on a professional level, the difference between the BCL and the Eurocup is 3 or 4 teams [refers to Virtus, Partizan, Valencia and Lokomotiv] that are in EuroCup with tremendous potential to be in the Euroleague, but the sporting level of the rest is very similar to that of the BCL.”