By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
“I was not born inside a womb, but inside a basketball”.
This is almost hybris, but when Vassilis Spanoulis said this quote at COSMOTE TV just after the unexpected win of Peristeri over Tenerife that pushed the Greek club against all odds to the BCL quarterfinals, it seemed fitting.
And not only because Peristeri started the Round of 16 with three defeats and ultimately made it through with three straight wins.
Spanoulis had already the right to say something like this and pretty much everyone will agree. He is not only one of the All-Time Greats in European basketball – and arguably the EuroLeague GOAT despite losing the throne of the All-Time top scorer to Mike James – but also a maniac of the sport, devouring every bit of basketball he can get.
That’s why nobody was surprised when he announced his decision to coach. The writings were on the wall a long time ago.
However, as is the case with every basketball icon that evolved into a coach, he must first kill the player inside him so he can move forward.
There’s no evidence that he hasn’t done it already, he is Kill Bill after all. Still, what happened these past few days was highly symbolic.
Five days after his scoring record was broken, Spanoulis in a different role achieved something big, not necessarily comparable, but for sure an accolade that proves that he will also leave his mark as a coach.
If he makes it to the BCL Final Four, things will get even more interesting, however, there’s another big event waiting for him in a few months.
Spanoulis as the coach of the Greek national team, hopefully with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the roster, will host one of the four Olympic Qualifiers and will try to make it to Paris against teams like Doncic’s Slovenia and Croatia.
And at this point it’s a safe bet that no team which finished on top of their group would want Spanoulis, even as a coach, to be their opponent in the BCL Quarterfinals.