By George Efkarpidis/ Gefkarpidis@eurohoops.net
Few basketball personalities enjoy the respect that Ettore Messina has on both sides of the Atlantic. And for Eurohoops it was a pleasure to meet him again, this time at Staples Center.
The assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs and former coach of the Italian national team talked about Danilo Gallinari, Fenerbahce’s Nicolo Melli who he considers NBA-ready, he also gave his EuroLeague predictions for this season which include a favorable view of AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano and also he addressed the issue of the FIBA Windows.
Messina has expressed his disagreement with the new qualification system in the past and he had some important insight to share: “We had a strong discussion with the late Patrick Baumann just this year in the summer, during the Basketball Without Borders and in the NBA Africa Game. We had the opportunity to meet and spend some time together. The fact that he is not here anymore is a sad thing. Having said that, I think that the overall consensus is that it’s not good for basketball, it’s not good for the players, even if in some countries a lot of people go to the games. I continue to think that a solution can be found. Basketball is different than soccer and hopefully will be a common will to sit on the same table, maybe with the players and the coaches also and find a solution“.
Watch the full interview, starting with Messina’s words about Italian star Danilo Gallinari.