After completing a dream debut season marked by two titles on the domestic front and fifth place in the EuroLeague, Tomas Masiulis spent the summer intensively as well.
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First – arranging the team composition work for the first time, and then – enjoying rest.
He visited both Iceland and played golf in Scotland, and also visited Botswana.
“This year I had a better and more productive summer than ever. I feel rested, gathered many impressions, and now I am looking forward to work,” said the 50-year-old Kaunas native on the “Žalgiris” podcast.
T.Masiulis has as many as 15 equivalent players in his hands.
“We should start with the fact that we wanted to keep all our main players, but we failed to do so. During the season, we knew it might not work out, so we were already looking for candidates to replace them. The management worked well and had several options planned. Last season, we saw what we lacked and wanted to strengthen those areas. It is not easy to replace departing leaders, but this year we have both talented and one of the deepest rosters. But with a deeper roster come new challenges,” said the “Žalgiris” leader. “Speaking of those challenges, it all adds up. We have 15 practically equivalent players, three players in each position, but only 12 play on the court, usually 10 in games, so there will be challenges for the coaches to unite everyone into one fist and play together. There are also challenges for the players – some came from teams where they had a lot of ball time, and we want everyone to play because it is much harder for other teams to guard us when we have strong players in every position. We want to be versatile and believe we will be, but we are still far from a perfect picture. Of course, the players are experienced, they see the roster and gradually understand what we want, so we try to go in that direction so that everyone is happy and strives for one goal, for the good of the team.”
– Did you have such a deep roster, without raw youth, in the “Barcelona” and Istanbul “Fenerbahçe” teams?
– It is a challenge for me and the coaching staff. Probably we didn’t have that in either “Barcelona” or “Fenerbahçe”. But all teams are moving towards that now because the number of games is huge, practically 90 matches per season. The load is really big. As we say, sometimes there are triple weeks. Our players are not the youngest, so we will try to rotate and arrange. It will be a challenge for both us and the players, we understand that, but we think it will be good.
– How different will “Žalgiris” be with Jonas Valančiūnas and without Jonas Valančiūnas?
– Of course, Jonas is a big figure and both we have to adapt to him and he has to adapt to us, returning to this basketball which is more about speed and three-pointers. I have had strong players in my career, but Jonas is definitely one of the stronger ones. Ąžuolas is not weak either, Rolandas Šmitas, I remember, was really solid, but in the fifth position Jonas is strong, tall, powerful – we just need to use him well. Jonas has seen and played European basketball, so it is much easier for him to return, but he needs to adapt – the paint is more crowded, opponents will double-team him, so he has to be prepared for that.
– Is the “honeymoon” phase, which players talk about, felt during the preparation stage, where everyone is supposedly too nice to each other now?
– Yes, exactly. There were no games, so there is a lot of energy, everyone missed each other. New players are trying to settle in. I would also say that now is the honeymoon, but our job as coaches is to end that honeymoon as soon as possible and start serious work. It is a natural process, everyone has to get used to each other. The real face will show when it gets tough. Probably everyone talks about that.
– Do you plan to integrate youth into LKL games?
– It depends on the situation. We want to give every young player a chance, but if all fifteen players are healthy, those who play less will have to play in the LKL. There is not much space because only five players can be on the court. We will think and consider. The season is long, there will be injuries, someone will need rest. We have to be ready, the youth has to be ready.
– How much easier is it to introduce new guards into the system who have already played at the highest level in Europe?
– I see that for players who were with us last year, everything is now simple and clear. We want to know what we want to do in every situation. New players come from different systems, and some were required more in their previous teams, some less. Each new player can be discussed separately. Even if they have seen that basketball, there is still something new here, so it will take time and patience. As we say, new players roughly understand the system by December, some in November, and some still try to catch up in January. We hope experienced players will integrate even faster.
– How do you feel before your second season as head coach in the EuroLeague?
– Speaking about organization and preparation, it is easier for our coaching staff because we have already been through this, so there is less figuring out since we understand each other halfway through words. But there is still tension and anxiety because the team is new. Everything starts anew, so the difficulties are new, and tension is an inseparable part of the job. It will be interesting to see how we look, and we will approach every game as if it were decisive. My job is to prepare the team for every match and every training, and the result will be what it will be.
– How is the only foreigner, Dane Johs Andersen, integrating into the coaching staff?
– Really well. He understands video analysis perfectly, knows computers best among us. He wants to learn, works, sits in the office all day every day. I am very satisfied with him and glad he is here.
– What did you understand about Carsen Edwards during the first weeks of work?
– We have been watching him and playing against him for years, so we definitely know what he can do. I would like to talk more from the human side because the image was that he is a difficult player to control, but so far there have been no such problems at all. He is very polite and listens, but we will see how we feel in extreme situations, but the same can be said about every player. So far, Carsen fits in well and tries to understand what we want, and we want even more defense because in all teams he was the offensive leader, so he had to defend less. As coaches, we want to arrange everything so that he feels good and can reveal his best qualities. What he can do is shoot. We know he cannot be left open.
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– What do you think about the fact that he can shoot practically from anywhere?
– It is not surprising because we saw that he attacked practically from anywhere last season in the EuroLeague. We want to select shot choices. There will be moments when such shots are needed, but there will also be moments when we can look for better shots. It is hard to talk now; we will see everything when serious games start.
– How pleasing is the fact that Sterling Brown’s career long-range shooting exceeds 40 percent?
– We want him to maintain this shooting, but every season is different. Opponents also know them, so they will not let Carsen or Sterling shoot easily. We have to be prepared for that. We want more freedom under the basket for Jonas and to surround him with shooters so that opponents go to help as little as possible. There is nothing strange about that. We want the ball to move and find a free man in every attack. That is a coach’s dream.
– How well does Saben Lee, distinguished by speed and drive, manage to compress opponents’ defense during training in the preparation phase?
– Perfectly. We know his strengths. He can drive into the paint, from which Saben can both create and finish attacks himself. We want to use these qualities. Opponents know the weaknesses, and our job as coaches is to hide some things and highlight others. He can play fast, pull forward, and find shooters in the corners. This is Saben’s strong point. Another thing is defense because Saben has long arms and fast legs. We want him to understand what style of guard he should be.
– Can Saben take over some of the speed functions of former Sylvain Francisco?
– All players are different, and you cannot replace everyone. But he can take over the speed functions so the team runs fast. With Nigel Williams-Goss, we want to play slower; with Saben, the team should run because we have running big men and shooting guards. We want to maintain intensity. Saben has to push the team forward, quickly move the ball from one side of the court to the other.
– What kind of Marius Grigonis did you see in training?
– I remember my first season in “Žalgiris” under Šaras when Marius returned and fought in training with Thomas Walkup. Both came from German clubs and wanted to prove themselves; it was healthy competition. This image has stuck with me until now. They fell, helped each other up, and stood up. That was the last time I had to coach Marius.
What impresses both me and everyone else is that Marius is now physically stronger. It is clear he has worked hard. Marius had health problems; we want him to stay healthy and play the whole season without injuries. That is a challenge for him. But he understands it himself. We have physical preparation coaches and doctors. It is clear Marius is ready, so it is only a matter of time before he gains game rhythm. Everything is fine with Marius because he is a fighter, and that is the kind of player we wanted.
– How do you imagine M.Grigonis’ functions on the court?
– I would also like him to have the ball in his hands somewhat. Of course, nowadays, the first and second numbers on the court differ little. The main thing is that he can play with the ball. There are not many true playmakers left. He can do that; he did it in youth basketball. Maybe it is something new for Marius because he hasn’t played like that in recent years. But in certain situations, Grigonis can do it. He needs time, but he can play with the ball and control the team.
– How much fighting spirit of Marekas Blaževičius is felt in training?
– He was only in a few trainings, but we know he is a person with character. He will not give in to anyone. We want him to give effort in training and to Jonas; we see that it is not easy for Jonas to push against Marekas. Marekas is also one of the stronger players, although maybe it is not very visible to others. He is ambitious. I like that he has basketball understanding and a desire to learn, move forward, adapt, and be useful to the team. We want him to provoke opponents’ big men with his actions, but provoke smartly. He can get under others’ skin. Marekas can also be useful in offense.
– What is your first impression of Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu?
– I have seen high-jumping players, but how he can jump, I probably have never seen before. If you give him freedom, he can create spectacular plays with good guards. He is quite a smart player. Kao is not a young player, but he shows willingness and accepts information, and I like that the most. When he is on the court, we are completely different than when Jonas or Marekas play. The biggest challenge is how to fit these three centers? One way in some games, another way in others. Kao can definitely give us versatility. With Kao, we can run even faster. We showed the players how fast he ran to the center of the court when others were still at the three-point line. That is Kao’s strongest quality, so we have to use his speed.
– With such a versatile roster, do all defensive systems fully open up to you?
– Don’t forget that Ąžuolas can also play in the fifth position, and other players too, because basketball is increasingly moving towards “small-ball” (a small five). It is not easy for opponents’ big players to catch our small players. According to the roster, you can roughly play with all defensive systems, as we tried last year.
– What would be the advantages of this “Žalgiris” in your mind if this team met last year’s on the court?
– The first thing is strength under the basket because we have Jonas. We didn’t have that kind of strength. Speed, roster depth. Now we have more equivalent players, so maybe we can play energetically throughout all games and press opponents. Last year we also had a talented team, good players. I didn’t think who would win such games, but I think it would be a close fight.
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