Guy Panini calls him "Ares" • His video meetings last for a full hour • Focuses mainly on attack • Talking to the eye-level players • Stefanos Dedas, the Greek Savior of Purples closes first month on duty • And also: Relationship with Halperin and curses in Hebrew

• Dadas. Connect with Holon's audience as well

  Photo:

  Bernie Ardov

Last Saturday after the victory in the heart of the colony when Hapoel Holon fans called out their Greek coach and it replied with vigorous hand gestures, it was hard not to recall the familiar sights of the Hall of Moors in the last six months as hundreds and sometimes thousands of Tel Aviv fans shout "Yannis, Janis" As a signal of encouragement and appreciation for their coach.

A little over a month has passed since Stefanos Dadas was appointed Holon coach and during that time he turned the team around, or as he calls it: "day and night." The Greek revived the veteran Israelis, returned the smile to the players, achieved chain victories and as mentioned, became the favorite of the secular audience. "Israel Today" concludes the first month of the coach in the Holy Land.

"There is no bullshit in him"

"As soon as I arrived I saw a mentally broken group," Dadas told his associates during his early days in Holon. He decided to pick up the fragments, took the leading players for personal conversations, brought Guy Penini and Shlomi Harush, the team's two leaders, closer, and set off.

One of the people with whom Greek is in contact is Hapoel Jerusalem's Sports Director Yotam Halperin. The two know from their 2011 joint season at Spartak St. Petersburg when Dadas served as assistant coach to Yuri Zdovac and Halperin played on the team. In talks between them, Halperin complimented the good work of bringing the Israelis back to business and explained the great importance of players such as Panini and Yogev Ohayon to the team.

His first game was at Arena and he couldn't change much. Except for a few reasonable minutes, the Purple did not really threaten Hapoel Jerusalem who won 84:91, but even then the players started to connect with their new coach.

"Modern basketball players smell bullshit by a mile, and Stefanos has no bullshit. He speaks honestly and honestly, and the players love it," Holon says. However, even when you have to "get in" someone, the Greek does not do it in front of everyone, but takes the player for a personal conversation, where he makes it clear what he expects.

"Greek Hers"

Like Sparopoulos, whom he often spoke with some admiration, Dadas also immediately learned the power relations within the club. He maintains close contact with some of the role owners, after home games The professional team goes with the owners and management to have dinner together at one of the restaurants in the area. On flights, too, he shows the club members videos of the team and explains what he intends to improve.

When management brought up the possibility of signing Joe Alexander, the coach immediately supported. Already in the summer, he wanted to bring him to his former group in Shakshir, but the Turkish club could not meet the financial costs. Now, the joint agent of the two, Bear Pick, has been working to release Alexander from the French portal, and complete the deal with Holon to the satisfaction of all parties.

He learns as many words as possible in Hebrew and does not give up on the local curses, and makes sure to maintain a good relationship with the journalists (until the losses come). "Like a good Greek, he has an Israeli character, and he takes advantage of it," says a man familiar with the coach.

In one of the games, Hemlock made a mistake and then went down to the bench. The captain got off the jitters and went to the last bench seats, the Greek stopped him on the way and asked, "Shlomi, do you want to go to the house?" Not just Guy Panini calls him half-jokingly-half-seriously: "The Greek Desert."

No defense, attack

With all due respect to character and conduct, it is impossible to win seven out of nine games without doing things professionally. In most games the team did not shine and there were times when there was a big lag against weaker teams, but something changed nonetheless.

"We thought a Greek coach would come straight and talk about defense," says one of the Holon players. "But we were wrong. He emphasized the attack." Dadas probably realized that from this roster you can't build a good defensive team, but it's better to invest and get the best out of offensive talent, and there is plenty.

Holon tells of a coach arriving in the hall in the early morning, even if the training is in the afternoon. He is constantly talking about basketball and loves to be up to date with everything going on. After each game, he holds a video assembly of bug fixes that lasts close to an hour.

On the field he arranged the rotation and hierarchy, and if at the beginning of the season most players did not know their place on the field and outside it, today everything is much simpler and clearer for them. "Stefanos gives me a lot of freedom and a lot of space to make things, and see it on the field," said Penini recently, who has already had quite a few coaches during his career.

A special bond is formed between the two. The team says that one day the coach stopped training and said, "Guy, I know you won the Euroleague and I can't teach you too much, but still, listen to me."

Want to stay in merit and not in grace

It is no secret that the 37-year-old coach was not Holon's first option who had already submitted an offer to Ilyas Zoros, but the deal was not implemented because of the coach's demand to come with an assistant. Dadas, on the other hand, agreed to come without a helper and also agreed to sign until the end of the current season. "If I do a good job and want me to continue, I'm sure we will come to understandings and sign another season," he told Holon people.

Tonight (Tuesday, 9:30 pm), Dynamo Sassari is waiting for him, a team that has made it very difficult for the Purple in recent years. If he wins it too and moves Holon to the next level in the FIBA ​​Champions League after already being in the deep hole, the contract for next season will only be a matter of time.