"We would definitely have played at the Eurobasket"

The head coach of the Russian national team was one of the headliners of the Expobasket in Perm (August 29-31), participating in a number of discussions and communicating with everyone on the sidelines of the forum. The 53-year-old specialist also gave an interview to Izvestia and Sport-Express, answering a number of topical questions.

"Frolov received a call-up to the Real Madrid base

— You spoke at the Expobasket and repeated the idea of the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyarev about the lack of coaching staff. What do you think is the problem with this issue?

— I spoke about adults in my speech during the Coach 2.0 session. Our coaches must be trusted, without trust there will be no evaluation — positive or unsatisfactory. If we are talking about children's rooms, then this is obvious. We are experiencing a shortage in this segment. And here we need an integrated approach. Traffic cannot be one—way - from the Russian Federation to the regions. There should be a mutual course. The Russian Football Federation is now actively promoting the "Online Academy", which should be very useful for coaches of all levels. A major clinic conference was planned before one of the tournaments, but due to the cancellation of the tournament, the clinic was also canceled. I hope that it will be held at another time, as we need to understand the coaches' requests.

The Federation actively cooperates with the Serbian Coaches' Union, which runs one of the best coaching clinics in Europe. The videos from there will be used in the Online Academy. A series of books has been prepared for coaches, starting from mini-basketball. We are moving forward, but there is a request for further steps.

— Recently, a number of Russian coaches went to clinics in the NBA. Where should they go next? Most VTB League clubs have coaching staffs mostly made up of foreigners.

— It's a matter of trust. Nizhny Novgorod trusted a local specialist, and the result was the playoffs and the Russian Cup final. NN cannot compete with the big clubs over a long distance. Let's see how the situation will be at Loko.

— Which of the young players who have come through the national team can shoot this season?

— I am waiting for a breakthrough from Kardanakhishvili, he will definitely get his time. I'm waiting for the Kvitkovskys to improve the game. Although Bielenicki has gained a foothold in the UNICS rotation, he must play an even more important role. It will be difficult for Chadov, very difficult at CSKA, but there will be a chance. Frolov received a call-up to the main Real Madrid team, and this is a great chance and challenge (in the summer, the 17-year-old center played a number of matches for the national team. — Izvestia). Lev Svinin must realize his capabilities, I am waiting for progress.

— What do you think about Egor Amosov's chances at Real Madrid?

— If he studies the way he's been doing lately, he won't last long there. He will return to Russia quickly. If he changes his attitude, he will play. If he is a real basketball player, then he will change.

— Vsevolod Ishchenko?

— Let's see what his role in the team will be. There is something to progress in.

— Kirill Yelatontsev?

— It has its own specifics. Let's see how he performs.

"This Eurobasket is a tournament of questions"

— How well is it possible to follow the Eurobasket?

— I watched some matches in their entirety, some just saw the statistics.

— How do you like Serbia's game?

— We started very powerfully. In the second game, the nervousness within the team was visible. Bogdanovic's injury may change the way the game is structured.

— What causes the nervousness?

— It seems to me that crushing victories at the start are always relaxing. It affects the team chemistry. I don't want this to happen.

— Don't you think Nikola Jokic is playing on one leg?

"No, I don't think so. Nikola understands the level of her form perfectly. Jokic is a very humble guy. He doesn't try to star where he doesn't need to.

— Luka Doncic looks like the complete opposite of Jokic.

— They are good friends among themselves. It seems to me that Luka should think about what is happening around him: why he was traded, why the friendly games were like that, why the team lost the first match against Poland.

— Doesn't he reflect a lot?

— It is clear that Luka is not very manageable. Unfortunately, Slovenia's team chemistry is not up to par so far. I hope that's just for now.

— Were you surprised by Poland's game?

— The victory of the Poles was not a surprise, as well as Portugal's excellent game, as well as Georgia's victory over Spain. There are many questions. We need to look deeply at these victories. The Spanish national team has not looked good for a year and a half or two years. We can talk about a generational change, but Spain has a good set of players who play all over the world. Here it is necessary to analyze the reasons. These are questions for their federation. For example, in Italy basketball is on the rise, they occupy high places in different age groups. But their best player right now is 34—year-old Nicola Melli. Why is that? We need to watch and conduct an in-depth analysis.

— Is Alperen Shungyun's confident start and the Turkish national team?

— To be honest, I would associate it all with Ergin Ataman. You can see that his teams play better at the right moments. He knows how to adjust in the right direction when necessary.

— The miracles of Lauri Markkanen's performance?

— Finland is not just Lauri. These are 11 players and Markkanen. Finland is playing very well so far. Tell me, who would have thought 10 years ago that the Finns would play like this, that the Germans would be so powerful and become world champions? Personally, I am very happy when basketball takes such steps in countries where it has never been a leading sport.

— Lithuania and Valanciunas?

— Lithuania is Lithuania. A top team that is always expected to win, but for a long time they can't cling to anything. It also needs to be analyzed. Basketball is a religion in Lithuania, and the NBA players are not playing the last role. What's happening? Where is the quality lost? In general, this championship is a tournament of questions. I would like to pay attention to the details that are not always related to basketball on the floor. These are not small things, they are details. We need to understand who is making mistakes and where. We must pay special attention to these points. Spain, where a lot of foreigners play, where young people are heard, but what about the national team? Where do the players disappear to?

— Greece and Yannis. Don't you think that a super player with such an ego is harmful to the national team?

— This is a question for the head coach of the Greek national team.

"I'm waiting for Turkey, Serbia, France and Germany in the semifinals"

— Who will play for medals? Let's fantasize.

— We expect Turkey, Serbia, and France in the semifinals. By the way, French players are very athletic, but that's just athleticism. Who's the fourth? Germany.

— Don't you think they look a little stiff in the first matches?

— Maybe, but I would associate it with the illness of the head coach. You train with one coach, you work according to his schemes, and then suddenly this situation happened. You don't know what to do, but there's no chance of a mistake. Before that, I saw that the team is very well organized.

— What is the position of the Russian national team in any composition of playing basketball players?

— What I see is that the Russian national team is playing at the European Championship. This is 100%. What kind of place? I won't tell you because it would be wrong. Poland is a surprise, Portugal is a surprise. We would definitely have played in the tournament, but we can't talk further. Let's see when that happens, and then we'll remember this conversation.

Just look at the results. Estonia defeats Serbia soundly, and then almost puts the squeeze on Latvia. Is it a pattern or an accident? Let's look further. I'd rather have two feet on the ground, floating in the clouds.

— What do you expect from the United League tournament this season?

— The number of games is the same, the opponents are the same, except for Astana. The most important thing for the league against this background is to keep the level as high as possible. A new intra-season tournament is being added. The Super Cup will be held in Belgrade with the participation of two Euroleague clubs. It is clear that the league is working.

— Andrey Kirilenko, during the presentation at Expobasket, told about the project of a youth national team that can play in the Super League. How do you feel about this?

— There is such a project in several countries. He has especially established himself in France. The most important question is whether the clubs will send their players to this national team. For example, will CSKA give up Zaitsev and Klyuchenkov? If we can come to an agreement, it will make sense.

— But is the idea itself sound?

— Very cool.