Kaunas “Žalgiris” driver Tomas Masiulis was elected the best head coach of the championship this season.
Read more Political scientists after the Social Democrats’ decision: Žemaitaitis may become even more radical
The representative of the temporary capital’s team received this recognition after a seven-year break – since the era of Šarūnas Jasikevičius, no other Kaunas coach had won such an award. Moreover, T. Masiulis almost became the coach of the season in the EuroLeague, where he was only surpassed by one colleague.
The specialist, who is finishing his debut season in such a role, led and continues to lead the Kaunas club to one of the most dominant performances in history. In 41 matches in Lithuania, including the Citadele KMT tournament, the Kaunas team stumbled only once – on October 19, in a match against Panevėžys “Lietkabelis”.
Although “Žalgiris” is a favorite in almost every LKL match, which is supported by “Betsson”, such a flawless season has not been seen for a long time. The Kaunas team also suffered only one defeat in the 2011-2012 season. However, fewer matches were played then – a total of 27.
True, for complete happiness, the green-and-whites still lack championship rings, which will have to be earned in the grand final series against Utena “Juventus”. Between the semi-final and the final, the defending champion team had as many as six rest days, so at the beginning, they might have to shake off the accumulated rust.
All about this – a detailed LKL.lt interview with T. Masiulis.
– This time, the saying that you won’t be a prophet in your own land worked in reverse – you finished second in the EuroLeague, but in Lithuania, you became that prophet and were chosen as the best coach by journalists. What do you think about such an award?
– I always say – in team sports, you can’t achieve anything alone. It’s a nice recognition, but the contribution is from everyone. Thanks to the players, thanks to the coaches, to the entire staff. I know that neither a player nor a coach can do anything alone. Thanks to those who voted for me, but this year we still have to finish the job.
– Your first year as a head coach, if we don’t count the period with “Žalgiris” reserves. Did you exceed your own expectations with how everything eventually turned out and continues to unfold?
– I don’t know, I didn’t really have any expectations coming in. As I always say, the expectations were to go from game to game, prepare the team as I understand best, and that’s it. It’s pleasant, it’s nice that something worked out, that we achieved something – that’s truly a great joy. But before the season, every game was like a final to me. With that mindset, I want to continue.
– Were there new things you understood about the head coach’s job specifically this year? Did new perspectives open up?
– The specifics of the job differ. When you’re an assistant, you’re more of a friend to the players. Here, there’s a greater distance between players. Sometimes you have to make not the most pleasant decisions. All decisions are for the team. Maybe I needed to communicate more with the players off the court. This is a bit new to me, but I think I’m managing everything quite well.
– Last summer, when it was announced that you would coach “Žalgiris”, there were not only praises but also doubts that you might be a very good assistant, but lacked charisma for the head coach role and might find it difficult to break through. Looking back a year, how much doubt or indecision did you personally have about these things then?
– There were no doubts. Of course, I heard those talks, but I came with the thoughts of how to prepare the team, to do my job as I understand it, because that’s why they hired me. It was time to go and try something. A good offer came along that you couldn’t refuse. I saw that the club really wanted me. That’s very important – that the organization, the club management believed in me and supported me. And those talks… everyone will always talk. No matter who comes, everyone will still talk, so I try not to pay much attention to it.
– Coaching “Žalgiris” in the LKL, which is supported by “Betsson”, is tricky, because even winning the title probably brings not so much joy as relief that failures were avoided. We know that there have recently been seasons when such dominance was not achieved, so how did you personally manage to navigate and deal with that?
– This season, we could certainly have had more evenly matched games that we managed to pull out, but all credit goes to the players. Those who played less in the EuroLeague really wanted to prove to me and everyone that they can play, they wanted to fight. It’s their credit that we played this way this year. But yes, as you mentioned, if we win – there’s not much news. In Lithuania, if “Žalgiris” loses, then that’s the biggest news. If you’re in such a club, you understand that, you have to live with it, and you know where you’re going.
– It’s natural that many compare your game systems to Šaras’ “Fenerbahçe”, but this year you had the chance to develop your own direction, your own vision. How do you evaluate how you managed to draw up a vision and strive for its implementation at “Žalgiris”?
Read more Women are restless: neither the beach’s location nor its size is suitable
– That’s normal, because I grew up in that environment, in that system, I believed in it, I saw everything happening. I probably wouldn’t have stayed with Šaras for so long if I had thought completely differently. There were similarities, they remain, and probably will be. We see and understand basketball similarly. Of course, with each year we will probably drift further apart, everything will change somewhat, but that defense, discipline, order – I would probably always want to play that way.
– Your coaching staff was newly assembled, you functioned as one collective for the first time. How much credit goes to your assistants for how the team is coached?
– As I mentioned – it’s everyone’s credit. My job was to make everyone feel important. Everyone is needed, everyone is important, we all strive for one goal. I think it’s very important how the team is motivated. Again, we all heard those talks that we don’t have experience, but on the other hand, that’s what drives us forward. We want to prove our ideas. I think we worked well together, and by the end of the season, we understand each other better. In the beginning, everyone had to get used to me, a lot was new, but now we all know what to expect, what to look forward to, how to prepare for games.
– You are first in the league in points scored after a timeout (according to the “Genius IQ” platform, “Žalgiris” scores an average of 1.29 points after a consultation). Of course, you have enviable executors, but this is probably one of the more objective indicators of a coach’s work. How important is this indicator to you, and how do you generally try to reflect on and improve your coaching?
– Those numbers are interesting, but for me, the final result is always the most interesting. I can even be last in points after timeouts. If the team wins – I can live with that. In sports, the final result is the most important. We have top-level players, sometimes you need to interfere less there, because they themselves see and understand many situations. This is largely their credit.
– For a coach, it’s not enough to just understand basketball tactically – you also need to deal with the psychological and managerial aspects. Nowadays, “Žalgiris” is no longer an impoverished team; it features famous names, millionaires with their own egos. How challenging is this part of coaching for you?
– A great credit goes to those experienced players: both Nigel and our Lithuanians – Arnas, Ule. All those experienced players supported me and helped a lot. Other players from the side might have looked at it differently at the very beginning, because an unknown, young person came and was trying to do something. It’s normal that you have to earn that spot. Everyone tested me somewhat at the beginning of the season. It’s like that in every team: they test where the boundaries are, how much I will allow, how much I won’t. Experienced players in the locker room really helped a lot. With younger players, there were perhaps more conversations, trying to explain that we must all strive for one goal together. Only then can we achieve something. But overall, the entire collective consists of good people, and it’s much easier to work with such people.
– Before the season, you said that your dream was for every attack to be played as a decisive one, regardless of whether it was in Lithuania, the EuroLeague, or practice. Did you manage to realize that dream?
– I could say definitively after the finals. But generally – yes. The players really wanted to play, to win, to listen. For a couple of games, I felt really good on the bench when we played without the main leaders, but everyone fought for the team. Although we were losing at the beginning, there were no conflicts, we all pursued a common goal and managed to win victories in the end. The greatest credit goes to the players for striving and wanting to prove themselves. They know what club they are in and who they represent. We must always give one hundred percent.
– Currently, the team is confidently marching towards the championship rings. It seems the path has become even more open after “Rytas”‘ elimination, as the final series over the past four years have been truly interesting and intense. Are you currently facing the challenge of needing to additionally motivate the players for the final steps, especially when the series has to be awaited?
– That’s normal. I know from experience that the season is already coming to an end for everyone, and it’s harder for foreigners to be here. We try to motivate and energize them in every way. Now this waiting period is interesting – how we will maintain our form, because other teams are playing at maximum pace, and we will be without games for almost a week. It’s not easy here, it will be interesting to see how we look. But again – we are in the final, we know where and why we will play. Not much left, we have to finish such a season by squeezing the maximum out of ourselves.
– How did you manage to use the free waiting time? You had an outdoor practice and the unveiling ceremony of Sylvain Francisco’s palm print. Does all this help clear your head before the final?
– We try to change and diversify those practices a bit so that we don’t just stay in the gym. We’ve been doing the same thing over and over for seven or eight months now. Of course, we don’t forget basketball, but at the beginning of the week, we tried to change everything so that the players would get different emotions. We see that it works, and soon we will start working seriously again and preparing for the finals.
– It can probably be stated that the first season at “Žalgiris” can be considered successful. However, a coach’s job is such that one day you are praised, and the next – you are driven out of office. Pressure probably also grows with good results, and “Žalgiris”‘ ambitions will certainly not decrease. What expectations do you have for your future in Kaunas?
– My expectations are the same as when I arrived: to prepare the team for every game as I imagine best, and to play every match as a decisive one. Nothing changes. We have to finish this season well, we haven’t finished anything yet. And that such is the job – that’s our reality: one day you are praised, the next day you will be the worst. As experienced coaches say: don’t rejoice too much when you achieve something, and don’t grieve too much when you lose something. That’s how we work – so that everyone gives their maximum effort, and then we can either win or lose. I go step by step, I don’t think about terribly big goals ahead.
