The great failure of the Israeli national team with the early elimination already in the group stage of the European Championship will reverberate for a long time around the players, the professional staff and the decision makers in the basketball association.
There are many reasons for the failure of the current squad, which is considered one of the most talented in Israeli basketball, but has looked very bad for almost ten months and even managed to lose most of the chances of qualifying for the World Championship - and as it should be painfully eliminated from the European Championship.
"Israel Today" dives into the main reasons that led to the huge disappointment in Prague.
A sense of urgency.
There is not a single player who came to the team and did not want to succeed with it in the tournament.
Most of the players of the current squad started training as part of the national team about a month and a half ago and they certainly wanted to go far, but as someone who followed the national team closely in the last two weeks, I can say that I did not see the sense of urgency and focus on the goal required in such a tournament.
This is reflected in the relatively calm atmosphere before games, in the feelings after them and of course in the performances we saw on the floor during them.
Last night, at the hotel, it's hard to say that there was a downtrodden atmosphere.
Of course, no one is disappointed by the loss, but you can see that the players' heads are already in their different teams.
This sense of urgency had to be created, among other things, by Guy Goodes.
As the head coach, he had to drag the team and players after him who would be focused and focused under the same goal, and he failed in this big.
All the specific professional problems are perhaps consequences of this problem.
Goods.
failed to sway the players - and failed,
Lack of chemistry
.
Goodes opened a Pandora's box after the loss to Sweden in the World Championship qualifiers when he said there was no chemistry in the team, all this just a few days before the opening whistle of the Eurobasket.
The players were quick to say that there are no problems in the dressing room and that the connection between the players is good.
The connection between most of the players is indeed good, but according to sources familiar with the details, the lack of chemistry was actually between the coach and the players.
Goodes was unable to "touch" them and made almost none of the players play for him.
The sense of urgency is one of the strongest symptoms of this, as well as the lack of energy and the poor performance that a large part of the players demonstrated on the field.
Those who know Goodes know that he believes that the players are great people and should not be petted and hugged.
He treats them like professionals and expects output from them.
It turns out that in the current situation more should have been done.
It also falls on the shoulders of the coach, but no less on the shoulders of the players who had to give more.
After the game, Goodes was asked about the togetherness that his players lacked during the tournament, he actually tried to keep them and was hung up on the high number of assists, but did not refer to statistical categories that teach about commitment, determination and desire.
Medar versus the Czech Kritz.
Israel has fallen in almost every parameter,
In the return balls, Israel was behind in all the games in the tournament, except for the game against the weak Netherlands.
Throughout history the chosen one in blue and white always suffered from a lack of centimeters, but she knew how to cover it up with a lot of mind, heart and soul.
This time she had none of those.
Poor preparation
.
Already before the tournament we talked about the poor preparation during which the team played twice against the average Georgia, the very weak Romania and Auburn College with its young players.
This preparation did not flood the big problems ahead of time.
You will also wonder why Gabi Chachashvili and John Dibartholomeo were left out of the squad.
This bewilderment grew stronger in the face of the team's defensive performance.
These two players could add a lot in the defensive aspect and the required toughness.
Thinking about the future should also have guaranteed Chachashvili his place in the squad, especially in light of Goodes' demonstrated lack of confidence in the Zalmansson era.
Chachashvili.
Why was he left out of the squad?, Photo: Maor Alxalsi
Danny is a good boy
.
The team failed in perhaps its biggest task this summer - to integrate Dani Avdia into the team.
Contrary to the rumors that surfaced, socially the players got along well with the talent from the Washington Wizards.
The problems were mainly professional.
The professional team tried to play with two methods, one without Avdia which was supposed to continue the game method from the last years, and one with it which was supposed to be based on isolations and personal abilities.
Unfortunately both methods did not work.
"It's very difficult for the players," admitted the team during the tournament.
The only two wins came when Abadiah was promoted regardless of the group stage.
When he didn't step up, the team looked bad and lost.
The responsibility is also on the shoulders of the young talent who did not develop a positive body language in the tournament and grumbled a lot and got angry on the floor, on the bench and in training.
The veteran players tried to help him and take the pressure off him, but rather from the team's management and the professional staff who have a lot of experience as players and coaches, it was expected that someone would identify the problem ahead of time and take care of it even before the tournament.
Avdia is nervous.
The professional team missed it, photo: IPA
When the big star does not transmit positive energies, it can have a bad effect on the rest, especially in moments when nothing is going right.
"We mustn't forget that Danny is still young, he needs to be helped," said the team.
Unfortunately it didn't happen.
The situation is completely different and we are also talking about a more experienced player and of course a healthier and more cohesive team, but we experienced up close the conduct of Lauri Markkanen in Finland and the positivity and energy he radiated around him had a positive effect on all the friends by his side.
Ginat and Cohen.
What doesn't work in the senior team?, Photo: Reuters
Where did the audience go
?
Over a year ago, when the national team was drawn to a house in Prague, the basketball association dreamed of about 1,000 fans coming from Israel.
"Prague is an attractive destination, Israelis like to fly and travel, and our team can also do something great in the tournament," the union was confident.
In practice, a few hundred people came and the Israeli audience was hardly felt in the stands.
This is probably a combination of not good enough marketing work.
Too many people were not aware of the packages that were issued and the tournament that took place, and it is possible that the great decline in the team's ability since last summer also has a part in the public's lack of enthusiasm.
what are we worth
Everyone, including the writer of these lines, talks about the talented generation of Israeli basketball, much thanks to the good results of the young teams in recent years.
It's time to ask if after five of the last six European Championships we didn't qualify for the round of 16, and especially after the current fall display, aren't we really worth much more than that in the senior years?
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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