Katsikaris: “A realistic goal for the National Team is the 8th”

Fotis Katsikaris spoke about what he expects to see from the National Team in the upcoming World Basketball Championship. The experienced coach referred to the evidence he saw from the “blue and white” in the pre-season friendlies and agreed that qualification to the 8th is a realistic goal.

At the same time, he spoke about the presence of Lefteris Bohorides in the 12, but also about the teams that will claim the trophy.

In detail, what he said to EEC Web Radio:

For his impressions of the Men’s National Team: “Everything he played was good and strong friendly. Obviously, we also saw the weaknesses of the National Team, but also some things which, if they “build” them, will be good. It is not necessary to play perfect basketball, but to play with the material you have, to find your possibilities and chances to beat the opponent. It seems that the atmosphere between them is good and here maybe comes the fact that there is a dispute, due to which egoism catches you and “binds” you as a group. It seems like the team is tight, they play for each other, they believe in each other. Competitively and technically, we know we have issues in attack. Almost everyone watching this year’s team will say we need to be at 70 points to have a chance to win. This is true to a large extent, because the team’s philosophy should be built through the defense, finding some players at certain moments to score, so that this makes you believe in a victory or qualification”.

On whether the goal of the 8th place for the National Team is realistic: “Certainly the goal of the 8th is realistic. If he does well in the group and qualifies, then he will likely play Lithuania and Montenegro. The Lithuanians go down with a very short roster, Montenegro have Vucevic, Dublijevic and some other players, but we have the potential to beat them. Then of course we will play Italy or Serbia. With the difficulties that the national team will face in this tournament, it can find its potential to enter the 8th.”

For the rotation in the World: “For sure the rotation will be different. As a prediction, I will say that 8 or 9 players will play the whole tournament, because there must be chemistry. I find it difficult to get to 10 or 12 players in rotation, because he will have to be solid. The chemistry part is important. We saw in the friendlies the fives that were most efficient and there will be 2-3 changes that can be made for 2-3 minutes to give the starters a breather. That’s how I see it, so that we don’t have this “hunting” for differences that we saw with Serbia and Italy”.

For Lefteris Bohorides: “He is a tough kid, a kid who has played Euroleague and has experience. Here we are not comparing the talent of one and the other, but what the team needs. Dimitris Itoudis thought he needed Lefteris Bohorides more and that’s all. There is no comparison. Surely Dimitris Itoudis has something specific in mind for Bohorides and it will obviously be one of the reasons to cover with his experience and to put some open shots. He is a tough kid who is not afraid of fouls, besides, he plays on the edge of the foul and is also a tall guard.”

For the World Championship: “Big names are missing from this Mundomobasket. I see the Americans as very serious. The names may not impress, but they are a team. They’re also probably the No. 1 team the Americans shoot at over 38% on 3-pointers. I consider it the 1st favorite. I saw Canada with Spain and I liked it from the names as well. They have a European coach who will certainly and mentally prepare them for this part. The French obviously have a full roster, the Spanish will not be the same as last year. From there, we’ll see… It’s all about crossovers, where some big team will be left out. In terms of medals, I think these teams in theory have the lead.”