By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Dwane Casey, the 2018 NBA Coach of the Year, credited Serbian basketball – and Serbian coaches in particular – as pioneers when it comes to training, practices and game preparation.
“I would say that Serbian coaches were the first to use physical training, weight training, and today every team in the NBA does it,” Casey, who last coached the Detroit Pistons, said to Basketball Sphere. “It started at Partizan. They paid attention to measurements of body weight and body fat percentage. They used different types of training. That’s what I noticed in the Serbian coaching culture.”
Casey specifically named Zeljko Obradovic as the primary example of the Serbian basketball school. “I have to mention coach Obradovic,” he said. “He is the winner. Whether he is here in Partizan or earlier in Fenerbahce. He won trophies at all levels, so hats off to him. I have an interesting story…”
“I was the coach of Japan, and my center was maybe about 190 centimeters tall. We played against Obradović and Yugoslavia and they beat us by about 30 points. Even then, it was noticeable how well-prepared his teams were. We had no chance. That was the first time I met him.”
A few days ago, Partizan Belgrade star guard Kevin Punter said that he was close to joining the Toronto Raptors at some point before eventually renewing his contract with the Serbian team. Now, Casey revealed that his Pistons were also following the game of the American guard who played spectacularly last season in the EuroLeague.
“I watched a few games because we followed Kevin Punter,” Casey said. “Partizan has some very good young players, like Tristan Vukčević. I like him. Everyone must have a lot of respect for all that Obradovic has done.”