by Yiğit Alp Kalkancı & Buğra Uzar, Translation: M. Bahadır Akgün / info@eurohoops.net
Having gone through a huge change during the offseason, Besiktas Sompo Japan appointed Dusko Ivanovic, one of the most experienced coaches of Europe, as head coach following Ufuk Sarıca‘s departure.
After working at EuroLeague powerhouses for many years, Ivanovic faces a new challenge with Besiktas, trying to restore the pride of the “Black Eagles” as the club is nicknamed. Despite the fact that Besiktas built its roster relatively late, it seems that the experienced coach has already shown his impact on the team. Besiktas won two out of three games so far in the season failing only against one of the best teams in Europe, Fenerbahce, against which they really put up a fight.
Eurohoops met with Dusko Ivanovic and talked about his decision to take over Besiktas, his goals with the team, the best players he’s worked with and his message to Besiktas’ fans.
– After a one-year break, you are back in action as a head coach. Did you miss basketball? Was it hard for you to be away from the sport?
“Sometimes it’s good to have a little holiday. However, I remained related to basketball during that period as well. I saw games in person by traveling all around. I guess I was 13 or 14 years old when I started playing basketball. Basketball is my life. It does not matter if I am on a sabbatical, it’s always in my mind”.
– How did you decide to accept Besiktas Sompo Japan’s offer in the summer?
“I saw the desire for competition and to be better when I spoke to the Besiktas officials. I could see that they love basketball and they have the same mindset with me. These were the main reasons for me to come here. Besiktas is a really great club in my opinion. I believe that we can accomplish something special”.
– It has not been so long since you came here, but what would you like to say about the Besiktas organization?
“It has just been a month, and I have not seen much yet, but so far everything has been great. I can see that it’s a great organisation. People over here are coming to work willingly, happily. Besides that, when I watched football games of Besiktas, I saw the incredible support of the fans”.
– Speaking of which, will we see you at Vodafone Park, the Besiktas football team’s home stadium, in the future?
“I already watched two games. Everything was amazing. I was impressed by the fans”.
– You started building the roster a little bit late this year. Do you think this will be a huge disadvantage for you? The team looked pretty good during the first games. How did you manage it?
“Yes, we built the roster a bit late. I signed late, we made our moves late and we started practicing late. However, none of these are excuses. We should definitely play hard and do our best with the roster we have. My players are working really hard and right now everyone is focused. Hopefully, it will continue to be the same way”.
– What were the main criteria while making moves in the offseason?
“We, the coaches, first of look at the quality of a player. They should have quality not only on the court but also as persons. This is really important about how they will adjust to the team. I do not think that players win something just thanks to their quality. As long as they are united with the rest of the team and on the same page, you can have success. I think a real team is much more important than a great-but-out-of-team player”.
– Turkish Lira lost a lot of value against the Euro and the Dollar this summer, which made things harder for many teams. Naturally, Besiktas was affected, as well. How did you handle this situation? Did you talk to the board?
“I talked to the board before our transfer moves. We tried to sign the best possible players in the market. Of course, it was not a good timing, as we were a bit late. Some players that we wanted were too expensive for us, but it had nothing to do with Turkish Lira losing value. The players were really expensive. (Laughs). Considering our budget, I think we could find pretty good players”.
– Do you have any plans to make additions to the current roster? Plus, Robin Benzing has an option in his contract. Will he remain here?
“Robin Benzing will stay with us. He had an option for one month, and he will be here till the end of the season. We will probably add one more player. We are planning to have six foreign players, but of course, you cannot know what may happen in the season”.
– The team played well in the first games, especially in defense. You used all the players. What’s the secret for having such a good start early in the season?
“I think we worked very hard during all practices. My players gave more than their 100%. Surely, working hard and doing a good job will have as a result playing hard in the games. Everyone in the team is quite hungry early in the season. All players have energy and they are ambitious. Sure, we will see how it goes in 2-3 weeks, but for now, we are on the right path”.
– What do you think is the biggest advantage of Besiktas this season?
“I think it will be our defense. We have some issues in the offensive end at the moment and we need some time, but I can say that we have been good in the defensive end. Still, I think we can be better by developing ourselves. It is hard to seperate defense and offense, but if you play hard in the defense, players will be more comfortable in the offense. Even if they miss chances in the offense, they can compensate with a good defensive performance. On the other hand, if they play bad defense, they should make all their shots, which would put the pressure on their back”.
– You had a huge success with a low budget during your Baskonia tenure beating European powerhouses. Do you think Besiktas has similarities with your years with Baskonia?
“Yes, there are some similarities. Baskonia has a big budget right now. Moreover, they have a great structure in terms of their scouting network. They can sign young and talented players with cheap contracts, and within 2-3 years, those players develop into really good assets and thanks to that Baskonia can remain at the top level”.
– Are you planning to build such a scouting structure in Besiktas?
“That’s a possibility but it takes time. You should analyze young players and watch them for many years. It is not something that can happen in a season. I have a contract only for this year. My priority is to finish the year in the best possible way. Of course we can think of that if everything goes well”.
– Besiktas fans did not have a huge interest in basketball during last season. Do you think you can revitalize their love for the game?
“I do not precisely know the previous situation, but I hope they will help us. I think my players deserve their support. We have really good players and they work very hard. I hope our fans will attend the games because we will need their help”.
– Besiktas fans are a passionate group that loves a fighting team, which fits your game style. What do you think about it?
“I do this job because I am in love with it. This game is my passion. If I lose this passion, I will quit my job. Of course, I also need my players to play with the same passion. I hope our fans can see it as well”.
– You introduced many important players to the basketball scene. Can you see such talents in Besiktas? For example, we can see Omer Utku Al play some minutes this season.
“Our Turkish players are playing really good right now. They have many chances to develop themselves, but, of course, we will see. I think we have good potentials at the moment”.
– During the last two years, Besiktas was one of the biggest contenders in Basketball Champions League, but things did not go as expected. Do you think you can win the title this season?
“We will try. It’s our biggest goal. We played good and won our first game. We will continue game by game. As I said, it’s our most important goal. We will do our best. I hope we can do good things in the competition”.
– The Turkish League is one of the most competitive competitions in Europe. What would you like to say about the league? What are Besiktas’s goals in this competition?
“It is really a difficult competition. I think it is the second best league in Europe after the Spanish League. It will be a tough season. You do not have much time to prepare for the games while playing in two different competitions, but many teams can make it. We should do that and be ready to play. This season will be very difficult for us, but we are also working hard. We will see game by game and prepare ourselves accordingly”.
– There are also really talented coaches in the Turkish League, such as Zeljko Obradovic, Ergin Ataman and many more. What would you like to say about other coaches?
“It is a natural outcome of having good teams. When a team plays well, of course they have good players, but also they definitely have a good coach. It’s pretty normal. There are many talented Turkish coaches. I am excited to play against them”.
– This season the Turkish League has a new foreigner rule and only five non-local players are allowed to compete in BSL games. Do you think it will have a good impact on Turkish basketball?
“It’s there for Turkish basketball to be better. This way, Turkish players will have more minutes. I have seen many talented Turkish players at U18 and U16 levels, but they need to play in order to get better. Surely, it would be better to have six foreign players from a coach’s point of view (Laughs). Spain also has a foreigner rule, they do not have many problems with it”.