Bartzokas: “After the departure of Spanoulis and Printezis, I created a team with a different style”

He spoke for everyone and everything George Bartzokas in the context of the show “Coaching Experience” of Spanish TV!

His coach Olympiakou he referred to the philosophy with which he built the “red and whites” after his retirement Spanoulis and of Printezis, the teamwork that his players have, which is reflected on the floor but also for the confidence of the Angelopoulos brothers.

Also, the Greek coach spoke about his behavior, both in training and in the matches of the Champions of Greece, but also on his father, who helped him shape his character.

The statements of Giorgos Bartzokas in detail

For the constant movement and circulation of the ball that is an element of this year’s Olympiakos: “Circulating the ball and how we pass it is probably the most important part of our game. We have players who like to pass. Slukas is probably the best passer in the Euroleague. We have Walkup, Fal and generally players who are not selfish, they like to make their teammates happy. They don’t play for their numbers. Papanikolaou is one such player, an altruist who doesn’t care about his numbers, but about everyone being happy. It is very important to create movement through the trajectory of the ball. For us, spacing is very important. In every training session we have many exercises involving ball movement and passing. In training we always congratulate the passer, not the scorer“.

On how the center position has changed in recent years: “We are in a new era in European basketball. Some years ago, in my first term at Olympiakos, we had Kyle Hines, we had agile talls. Basketball has now gone to a state where everyone wants to have a player like Tavares. Some teams have two players with these characteristics. We have Mustafa Fal, a very important player for the attacking part of our game, mainly because of his ability to create.”

About Sasha Vezenkov and his season: “Vezhenkov is probably the main reason we’re on top of the Euroleague. He’s one of the 2-3 best players in Europe. I don’t know if he’s the MVP, which is just the standard part. For me, MVP is the one who gets the cup. Apart from that he had a good year last year, this year he has much better numbers and a bigger impact on our game“.

On how Olympiacos is handling the pressure of first place and that some are labeling them as favourites: “It doesn’t concern us. Thank you very much to those who say this, it is something that makes us happy as an organization. I’ve always thought they want to flatter us a bit before the games as part of the tactic, but it really feels really good to be in this position. We don’t think we’re the favourites, we don’t feel like it. It may be a cliché, but every time we think about the next race. With this logic, we reached the Final Four last year, and we are doing the same this year. If we can go to the Final Four and fight for the title, it will be fantastic“.

Regarding the departure of Spanoulis and Printezis from the courts that happened during his tenure: “It is always difficult to be in the final years of legendary players like Spanoulis and Printezis. What I did was to make a team with a different style. I didn’t try to bring a new Spanoulis or Printez because there are no such players. I tried to build a group where each member will be part of a system, will understand his role and will know what the team needs from him“.

On the tension in the matches of the Greek teams and his own reactions: “I am the calmest person in training and throughout the day, but during the two hours of the race I let myself express myself spontaneously. Sometimes it’s bad for me, but it’s better for my health to express my feelings than to watch speechless.

The situation in general is quite toxic in Greece. Only here and in Serbia does this happen, that an Olympiakos fan cannot go to OAKA or a Panathinaikos fan to SEF. In Spain I saw Real fans in Palau and Barcelona friends in Madrid. It’s something we have to improve, take steps forward to make the environment and platform better. However, it is not only a matter of sports, it is something more general“.

On the fact that his father was a political prisoner and how it shaped his character: “I am very proud of my father, for fighting for humanity and his beliefs, for socialism. On the other hand, for me and my sister, he was absent until we were 10 years old. We had seen him 1-2 times in prison and were wondering why we are without our father. It was very difficult for our mother. Later, of course, when I understood what was happening and there was a dictatorship in Greece, my father helped with some others to restore democracy, so I understood very well why he defended his ideas and this was very pivotal in the way I grew up and formed the character my“.

On the upset in the EuroLeague final against Real in 2013 and what was said in the locker room: “It was good that we got back into the game before the end of the first half, turning -17 into -4. Then Spanoulis was on fire with four three-pointers. The whole team played really well, we scored 90 points in 30 minutes. Ace Lo had a great game. At half time I tried to calm the players, to give them courage. I didn’t want to put pressure on them. I told them we are back in the game and need to get back to basics. Let’s do what we know and everything will be fine. Indeed, against this Real we had a fantastic performance and completely different to the game we played in the semi-final, where we relied on defense and beat a mighty CSKA very comfortably“.

On his move from Lokomotiv, with which he reached the Final Four: “It was my first job after my departure from Olympiakos, a departure that came through strong and unpleasant emotions, very charged. I had a basketball style in mind, sometimes it’s just what the market gives you. I decided to go without the classic centre, with Singleton playing for the first time in Europe, Claver who is a player with special characteristics, Randolph, Delaney and Draper. We had a very good chemistry, we made a good team that could reach the final, but in the semi-final CSKA was really good“.

On how he handles successes and failures: “It always has to do with the owners’ trust in you. I had some successful years, with Olympiakos when I won the EuroLeague, with Khimki, with Lokomotiv. Even with Marousi we had reached the Top-16, we could even reach the Final Four“.

On his move from Barcelona: “I made mistakes. I had the opportunity to live in a fantastic city like Barcelona, ​​coach a fantastic team and bring my family with me and we were all together. It was like I was in heaven. But, in the end it was like… depression for me. With Barcelona we had a failure. Bad luck, a lot of veteran players… a lot happened. I needed time to pass my philosophy, but I was not given it. There were changes in management, I didn’t have the necessary confidence to be able to put my philosophy into the team. This is happening at Olympiakos. I feel the trust of the owners, I feel like we are on the same page. A coach is only as good as the team owners think he is and trust him“.

On whether he thinks he’ll get a chance to coach an NBA team: “No, I won’t get that chance. I like the NBA very much, I watch it. I disagree with those who say they don’t play proper basketball, but there they trust their own people. Those who either live, or are from there, or have a long process as assistants and then maybe have the opportunity to be first. I cannot have such a course“.

For the coach’s loneliness: “It is indeed a feeling that is always the same, whether you are in the smallest group or the largest. You can be in 10-15 thousand people and feel completely alone. You have to be okay with yourself and then with your partners, with the players. It’s exhausting. The feeling of defeat is always just as hard at any level“.