"I realized that I had to change, that I had to reduce my emotions. That I couldn't continue with the hand movements. That I couldn't look like a fucking crazy. I thought about it a lot and knew that I had to take care of myself."
Thus, six years ago, with admirable openness, Serbian basketball coach Saša Obradović told Walla!
Sport for the change he decided to go through.
"It's not that I became a calm and settled person, who just stands on the lines, doesn't move and doesn't shout, but I reduced the expression of my emotions. Everyone knows the stories that have been told about me, and I know that I got a reputation as a difficult person, who even threatens his players to some extent."
That was at the end of 2016. And now, in 2023, Overdovic symbolizes a phenomenon that is beginning to spread in European basketball - and is largely reminiscent of the NBA: the stars loosened their ties, took off their suits and took to the floor in jerseys and shoes.
A large part of the successful teams are those who put their leaders in the front, make them the face of the club, and do so in a conscious, complete and absolute way;
And in order to complete the move, the decision makers understand, coaches need to be placed on the lines who will give those players the freedom to create, run without stopping, and yes, also make mistakes, lose balls and do nonsense.
From the moment he realized that he was not the star, he returned to the wheel and reached the peak of his career.
Sasha Oberdovich (Photo: Reuters)
Overdovic currently coaches Monaco.
In that interview from six years ago, when he started coaching Lokomotiv Kuban, it was impossible to imagine him placing himself at the top of the Euroleague.
And even if you were able to imagine this situation in your mind, you certainly wouldn't have guessed that his team would turn into a traveling circus of stars and be led by dominant, opinionated, independent and sometimes a little disturbed guards.
Mike James is the most prominent among them, and he is not alone, with Eli Okobo and Jordan Lloyd by his side.
And Oberdovich, it is he, manages to manage this staff.
Last year he was called to the Principality to replace the control-sick Zvezdan Mitrovic, who didn't get along with James: he benched him, tried to educate him, took the ball out of his hand and found himself out of a job.
Once his replacement arrived, everything changed.
The explosive guard exploded on a weekly basis, and Monaco - in its first season in the Euroleague - was one win away from qualifying for the Final Four.
The coach gave and gives him complete freedom, and receives back a committed, happy and team player.
James was and remains one of the greatest scorers on the continent, but in many cases (and even in the decisive minutes of close games) he leaves the stage to the players next to him and concentrates on managing the game.
Truly a doomsday vision.
It is understood that Monaco is not the first or the only one to conduct itself in this way.
The reigning Euroleague champion for the past two years is the one who advocates exactly this policy;
Argin Atman, another one who is already considered irrelevant at the highest levels and has undergone a metamorphosis to reach the peak in his sixth decade of life, has been managing a star-studded and ego-laden squad at Anadolu Efes for four years, and controls it with a firm hand.
That is, he lets his stars - led by Vasilija Micic and Shane Larkin - set the pace, set the tone, rest when they want and star when they need to.
Credit should be given to its management;
On the way to the two wins, Eps suffered a weak start, suffered almost embarrassing losses and found herself with negative balances.
No one even thought to touch the coach or move him, and the team made a huge profit.
Not only the talent brought two trophies to zero, but also the freedom from Atman.
Vasa Micic (Photo: GettyImages, Giuseppe Cottini)
The liberation and freedom that coaches like Atman and Overdovich have allowed themselves does not make them lazy, nor does it exempt them from training methodically, placing the right lineups, finding ways to get the most out of the stars and supporting players, and also, to produce a defensive game worthy of its name (referring to trends from the NBA, which It's good that they won't reach Europe).
The maligned Atman has always been considered a game management animal, but the change he realized he had to bring about on his own brought him back to the forefront - while coaches such as Zeljko Oberdovic and Ettore Messina are floundering at the bottom of the table.
Fenerbahçe's and Barcelona's place at the top cannot be ignored, but Eps' and Monaco's basketball is much more addictive and eye-catching than Saronas Jasikvicios' display of shouting, roaring and education series on the lines, which sometimes seems as if he is limiting his players and even oppressing them.
It is too early to assess how Monaco's season will end, as well as Eps's - which is again in the center of the table at the halfway point and is still waiting for Larkin's return from another injury.
It is certainly too early to eulogize the great and decorated coaches in the Euroleague.
The fight for the 2023 Euroleague Cup will also largely symbolize a fight between styles, perceptions, policies - and of course, stars.
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Sasha Oberdovich
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