By Antonis Stroggylakis/ AStroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Some moments after leading CSKA Moscow to its ninth consecutive EuroLeague Final Four and the sixth straight since he took over as head coach in 2014, Dimitris Itoudis walked into the locker room and did a gesture that was the battle cry of his players during the playoffs against Fenerbahce: Putting his index fingers in his mouth as if they were knives.
“You know, sometimes little things are bringing big results,” Itoudis told Eurohoops in a live interview. “That came out of my guts. The players embraced and they liked it so that’s the most important thing. And they made it a motto.” Clearly. CSKA star forward Will Clyburn, fresh after a career-high 34 points in the sweeping Game 3 win, also made the gesture when he entered the locker room.
Itoudis was then traditionally doused by his players in celebration, a quite familiar experience for him. Maybe the next one will take place in Cologne, the destination of the Greek coach’s sixth Final Four trip in a row.
Six consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours. It’s something that no other coach had ever achieved before in the history of the tournament. And we’re talking about “all-time” here, not just specific eras or different editions of the competition.
“You might say ‘OK, CSKA is the favorite today, this year they will go to the Final Four, this year they’ll go all the way.’ Which is respected. But for us who are living the daily routine and the things we are facing on a daily basis, nothing is granted,” Itoudis said to Eurohoops.
CSKA has possibly been EuroLeague’s ultimate championship-or-bust organization and this “must-win” heat has been addressed by prominent current and former players of the team. This level of pressure may not apply to the same extent this season due to the club’s reduced budget, the extenuating circumstances that the coronavirus pandemic has created, several injuries (including the blow with Nikola Milutinov’s season-ending surgery), or incidents like Mike James’ suspensions and then his exit.
Despite all these, the Final Four achievement was unlocked once more and it was a “very celebrated one” as Itoudis admitted to Eurohoops. Among other topics, the two-time EuroLeague champion as head coach and five-time champion as assistant looked back to the rocky road to the Final Four and how he and his players overcame all sorts of challenges thanks to the togetherness they have built.
He also talked about the “haters” of CSKA, whether his future includes the NBA, and explained how his team maintained a quality, game-winning brand of basketball despite the departure of its leading scorer and passer.
Eurohoops: Is it my idea or this qualification [of CSKA] to the Final Four was celebrated more than others?
Dimitris Itoudis: Now you make me recall the qualifications we had a little bit… I would say that also 2019 at Baskonia when we had to overcome the fact that they tied the series in Game 2 and they got the homecourt advantage to bring it there. You know how tough is to play with a full gym at Baskonia. We had to go over there and show character. That’s also another hardship that we had to share.
You know what’s the important fact…. It was a very celebrated one. The most important thing and what brings people together is when you are sharing the hardship. We had a lot of adversities and we overcame a lot of obstacles. Definitely, each and everyone that witnessed this, from the president to personnel, will remember these memories with fondness because of the adversities we had to overcome and because we shared the hardship. This is when people are coming closer, when people are coming more together. When they do look at the left side and they look at the right side and they know that their back is covered and they go to fight out there no matter what and give their best.
So, yes. It was one of the fondest memories among others we had.
EH: It speaks of the brotherhood and camaraderie you have on CSKA….
D.I.: If I go a little more scientifically and given the fact that I have talked and I was taught by professors in this kind: This is when the body produces oxytocin that is the fact people are coming more together. Camaraderie is a great word that you mentioned. You know, “I’ m going to help, I’m going to pick up my colleague from the floor, rise him up and go out and fight together”
Team comes first, and that’s pretty much what it is.
EH: And this is is how winning teams are created. Now, when you entered the locker room after Game 3 you made the “knife in mouth” gesture. Will Clyburn, had made it too and I also noticed that players actually got some souvenir knives. It has actually become a thing.
D.I.: You know sometimes little things are bringing big results. That came out of my guts. We are both Greeks and you know when you go out to fight you try motivate people and you say that you got to be so ready, so ready that you are going to the battle like the warriors are going with a knife in the mouth.
That’s pretty much how we entered Game 1. And when we won Game 1, then we said we’re going to have two knives. Players embraced and they liked it so that’s the most important thing. And they made it a motto.
I’m very proud and at the same time it’s kind of funny…
“But, sometimes from a stupid thing you might think you say, players can go grab it and really motivate themselves. And that’s the most important thing.”
And I’m proud of this group of people that are really fighting, staying together despite the adversities, despite the problems, the injuries we had. They came together in the most important moment of the season when it mattered and they qualified to the Final Four. They are the ones who deserve all the congratulations.
EH: You talked about adversities. This is a word that you used several times during the season. For coronavirus problems, for injury problems, for all sorts of difficulties that CSKA went through before making the Final Four.
Was this the most challenging season ever for you as head coach?
D.I.: It was among others. The reason why I’m saying humbly, really humbly among others is this: What I try to say to my associates and to my players is that nothing is granted out there. In life nothing is granted. You might sit at your desk, with all the respect to you and say ‘OK, CSKA is the favorite today, this year they will go to the Final Four, this year they’ll go all the way”. Which is respected, OK. But for us who are living the daily routine and the things we are facing on a daily basis, nothing is granted.
Out there you have the highest competition, you have 17 teams that are chasing you. Especially when you are a champion, the fingers are pointed at you. Everyone is looking at you. Everybody is trying to put their best performance because you play against the champions. So we are the defending champions and even though we’re handling the third generation of a group of people we have, because we pretty much have a different team from 2019 to 2021.
You are all aware that teams aren’t built through the night. You need to create the right chemistry. It takes time. It takes adversities. It takes to get some punches. It takes a lot of upsets to handle.
You mentioned our streaks. In between we have a lot of things to overcome. The fact that we choose the difficult way, it gives an extra credit to my players.
“You know, when you are facing adversities or obstacles you have two ways: One way is probably raising your hand up and saying “I tried it all. I tried it all, it didn’t work.” You start crying, you say “I tried it, I couldn’t manage it. This toughness to came me, this came and that came”. The other way, which my players, and all my staff and the whole club chooses is the hard way. You say “No, we are going to fight that. We are going to go through that. We are going to embrace, see it, work and go through that.
Because, at the end, it buys you the ticket to the success that you never ever dreamed of.”
It was hard and that’s why I really say it not just say it but because I really believe deeply in that, that they deserve all the credit. In the moment that matters, the players and the leaders that mean a lot to that club they came together and they became a team and that’s the most important.
EH: Then we had the playoffs. The series between CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce was considered by many in European basketball the most open-ended one. That was before the coronavirus problems of Fener.
Fener had its problems, CSKA had its problems. And in the end everyone was like how it was a shame that we didn’t see these teams battling at full strength. And the thing I really missed was a “battle of the benches” between you and Igor Kokoskov.
D.I.: With all the respect to your question, I do believe that coaches are very important in basketball. We do have a lot of interest into the game.
“I texted Igor because he’s my friend and he’s one of the best in his kind. Definitely one of the best coaches. We are all very proud, I’m proud of having such a friend being the first European head coach in the NBA after being so many years in the USA. I’m very proud of him. I texted him and I said “I’m sorry” he texted me in August when I had the virus. It was kind of a bad luck for him facing it now. I faced it in the beginning of the season, he faced it now. You never know. That’s the uncertainty we’re facing.
I said I’m sorry, I said that he belongs there. But we had to go out there and go against our problems too.”
Fener though – congratulating also his assistant that took over (Erdem Can), and he fought through that, wasn’t easy for him too – they had their main creators. Nando and [Marko] Guduric and [Lorenzo] Brown they were there. Those are the guys that held them all together with [Jan] Vesely‘s absence and [Jarell] Eddie.
E.H:… Nando gave you so much trouble in Game 1. This picture where three CSKA players focus on Nando is classic now.
D.I.: He (Nando) was scoring at any certain moment. He gave us a hard time. He came out strong in the first quarter and then Guduric came out in Game 2 and scored 22 points in the first half. And then I said alright these are the guys who are really playing in such games. Nando has a certain amount of huge experience, tremendous experience of playing such games.
You can’t go that easy. We were preparing but it didn’t work. We tried to contain them. Thank God we contained them in the second half. It was obvious that we also changed our attitude in the second half, defensively, and we overcame that.
Coming back to what you’re saying: It’s a pity [that we didn’t see both teams at full strength]. We were missing Nikola that was brought over here with so many double-doubles that he had. But, as I said, we had to choose the only way it is left and the only way left was fighting. And we kept fighting and believing.
E.H.: You got a comfortable win in Game 3 that led to the sweep. Will Clyburn had the career-high but we know what he can do, he’s a Final Four MVP and that’s who he is. I’d like you to tell me something about Iffe Lundberg who made a huge step-up. We also knew what he can do but not in this kind of games.
How did you feel seeing this new acquisition stepping up so big in such a game?
D.I.: Before I reach Iffe, allow me to say that in this series in general we have talked a lot and people understood. That’s why I’m bringing it up again and lighting the light on my players. Daniel Hackett was big in the series. Ivan Ukhov gave us great moments. Semen gave us great moments too. Johannes Voigtmann together with Antonov. Toko [Shengelia] was always doubled over there… it was more than clear that Fenerbahce‘s tactic that they don’t want to lose from Toko’s creation or execution down the block. So you got to find a solution and try and have a better spacing on him creating.
I’m starting on these guys helping and that’s the meaning of the team. That each and everyone understood that his role will be different. That’s something to embrace and applaud.
Will Clyburn… well you said it, when he’s healthy that’s what it is. He’s a franchise player and I’m very happy for him. Everybody in the club is pleased and blessed to work with such kind of competitor and a leader. He leads by example, as also Toko Shengelia. As also Nikita Kurbanov. They are going to give their best in practices and games. They really are all competitors.
But Iffe is coming to this environment. In this amount of time we’re spending together – I also tried to explain him also in the first phone call when tried to recruit him how it’s going to look. because we still learn each other.
Iffe is emboldened with so much self-confidence, because: “I’m a hard-worker and because I have high expectations from myself”, as he put it. And I told him that he needs to establish a good status-quo among his teammates because he’s coming to a winning team. With all the respect to Zielona Gora, this is a different step in your career.
But he was ready to embrace it because he had that inside him. In his first game against Olympiacos on the road he had a pretty confident game. He was doing his job feeling comfortable. He will play as a shooting guard in some occasions but in my system the shooting guard can become a secondary creator and an executor. It’s easy to say it now but difficult to make it happen.
His tank is full. He has a lot of things to give. A lot of development to show. There are some things, to become more consistent as a defender or rebounder or when he’s reading the game. But since we’re talking about Iffe.. his son recently probably gave him a bit of tough moments with the flu. But he’s not the guy who’s going to miss practices. He’s a guy who wants to use every moment that he’s living and he’s so thankful of being in that environment, the locker room and wearing the jersey of CSKA.