By George Adamopoulos/ info@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Itoudis talked to Eurohoops about the 2024 EHCB Coaches Congress and more topics ranging from the senior national team of Greece to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Opening the interview, the president of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board thanked numerous partners, including Eurohoops, for the success of the Coaches Congress in the indoor arena of Glyfada.
“In a seminar, you can invite ten masterminds, three professors, two people from the NBA, and two referees, but success would not be possible without our sponsors,” he said.
“We promise to try to be even better next year,” he shared his excitement, projecting further growth, “Overall, we had positive feedback. This makes me and my associates focus on the future.”
“He is a very experienced chess player. He has played more than me,” he referred to a photo session during the Coaches Congress featuring himself and Zeljko Obradovic playing chess.
“I wanted Spanoulis on my staff”
Moving to his role as head coach and working as the selector of the senior national team of Greece through the 2022 EuroBasket and the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the 57-year-old tactician labeled his successor, Vassilis Spanoulis, as the best person for the job. “I wanted him on my coaching staff, but he preferred to be the head coach of Peristeri and learned from there,” he mentioned on approaching Spanoulis during his spell as head coach of the Greek NT.
Under the guidance of Spanoulis, Greece is two wins away from clinching a berth in the 2024 Olympic Games through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus.
Follow all the action of the Olympics qualifiers with Courtside 1891 on DAZN
Exiting Fenerbahce Beko early in the 2023-24 season, Itoudis saw the next head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius send the Istanbul outfit to the Final Four of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi championship. “I was proud,” he mentioned on his reaction, “When the injured players recovered, the team reached its potential. Fenerbahce was indeed built to win championships and qualify to the Final Four.”
On potential format changes to Europe’s premier club continental competition, Itoudis stressed the need for further adjustments beyond the introduction of the Play-In Showdown in 2024. “I think it is obvious that the approved proposal about the Play-Ins created a different situation. Teams all the way to 15rh place were in the hunt. This way, the motto ‘every game matters’ was true,” he described, “In our sport, all must work together. We require from the players to keep distance, share the ball with their open teammate. The same applies in our ecosystem called EuroLeague. We need to work together to have results.”