Bartzokas broke his silence about Sluka: “Some players are not so positive to listen to”

THE George Bartzokas first mentioned in Kostas Sloukas and his departure from Olympic implying that he was unwilling to settle for a particular role and showed no inclination to… listen.

“Most players deserved more playing time, each in their own way… It’s perfectly normal. Players want to play a lot, get a lot of tries and plays for themselves, feel important. We have to achieve the latter, but we also have to manage the game itself. Our work is always in the same direction, sometimes, however, from a different starting point. I believe in characters and if someone is positive, they will overcome difficulties“, he said in an interview with Eurohoops the coach of Olympiakos.

As for whether he had discussed his role with Sluka during last season, he said:We talked, as I did with all the players. It’s just that some players are good at listening and others are not so good… It’s a matter of personality and character. You know, any player who comes as a mature adult, it’s not easy to reshape his character. He has some recruits from his childhood, from his adolescence, the circle of people who surround him and often want to tell him only what he wants to hear. With each player there is the human factor in the partnership, which may or may not go well. This even happens in our family. Even marriages, some work out and some don’t. It is not a rule that we will become close friends with everyone we work with. But we all have to be on the same page and going in the same direction, because otherwise there is a problem».

Finally, when asked if after the end of the season he had any contact with Slukas regarding the issue of his contract, he answered… dryly “No!”.