Othello Hunter names Sfairopoulos and Itoudis' best features, reveals arguments with Spanoulis / News - Basketnews.com

Othello Hunter referred to the three Greek coaches he's had in his EuroLeague career, revealed some arguments he had with Vassilis Spanoulis, and named the team he'd never sign with.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis, Rodolfo Molina, Panagiotis Moschandreou/ Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Vangelis Stolis, Rodolfo Molina, Panagiotis Moschandreou/ Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

A discussion withOthello Hunter can be anything but dull and tedious. The American big man, who's averaging 7.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 9.8 in PIR in his second season withFC Bayern Munich, has found the perfect place for him in Germany.

Othello Hunter

MIN:18.96PTS:7.87 (51.38%)REB:5.47As:1.27ST:0.67BL:0.33TO:1.13GM:15ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

"I love Munich! Of course, the pace is different and much slower here. It was exactly what I needed at this point in my life," Hunter told gazzetta.gr before Bayern hosted Panathinaikos Athens on Thursday night.

In the summer of 2021, the experienced big man was at a crossroads. "As people know, I was thinking about retiring," he told BasketNews in December that same year.

"It was just everything: my two years at Maccabi, the great first year, then COVID, the missiles and all that stuff... I just wanted to sit back and think about life, mainly. I thought that my family - my daughter and my wife - was more important to me.

It wasn't basketball, it was more about life. Just looking at how short it is. At that moment, things can happen that can change a lot of stuff in our lives," he further explained.

Credit Christina Pahnke/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Next May, Hunter will turn 37. Although it seems that there's still plenty of gas in his tank, he's not sure if this is going to be his last season.

"Nobody knows. I can't tell you what will happen tomorrow or after two months. When that moment comes, I'll know. But I'm still feeling strong - both mentally and physically. But it's not just about me anymore."

Hunter went on to explain that his family's needs and requests will be served, no matter how much he wants to continue playing basketball.

"I have a family, and a daughter and they are the ones I think about. I have had many conversations with my wife about this. It's about what my daughter wants. And my daughter wants me home all the time," he stressed.

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In his interview with gazzetta.gr, Hunter recalled his best and worst moments from his two-year (2014-16) stint in Greece with Olympiacos Piraeus. Although the Reds didn't win the EuroLeague in 2015, losing to Real Madrid in the final game, Hunter admits he had a blast.

"In my first year, we changed three coaches. [Giorgos] Bartzokas, Milan Tomic, until [Giannis] Sfairopoulos came. In fact, when he came in on the first day of practice, I asked him, 'What do you want me to call you? What's your name?' because I didn't know his name and I wanted to show respect. And he was like, 'Just Call Me coach'", Hunter remembered his first meeting with the Greek tactician.

Sfairopoulos took over Olympiacos' reigns from Giorgos Bartzokas early in the 2014-15 season, after the Reds lost to Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup quarter-finals. Hunter says he was surprised by the coach who was to lead the Piraeus-based team to two EuroLeague title games and as many Greek league titles.

"He's different. Very intense. I remember sweating before the workout even started, while the video lasted for hours," Hunter recalled with a laugh.

"At the time it wasn't nice but when I sat down afterward and thought about the situation, I figured out that we were just two very competitive guys. We were on the same page. We wanted to win."

That's why Hunter calls Sfairopoulos his favorite coach. "I respect him and he made me see the game in a totally different way," he confesses.

The two worked together at Maccabi Tel Aviv for two years (2019-21), when the Israeli powerhouse was becoming a real EuroLeague Final Four contender.

"He's a control freak," Hunter describes Sfairopoulos. "He wants everything to be perfect. He's very intense, but he's a great guy. He has a wonderful personality and we had a lot of conversations together. After I left I heard he's a man who loves discipline. But I didn't notice that while we were together," he points out.

Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

A graduate of Ohio State (2008), Hunter came to Greece for Ilysiakos in 2010, made a splash in the EuroLeague with Montepaschi Siena and then returned to Greece for Olympiacos. Giorgos Bartzokas was the man who recruited him and Hunter, this season a 45% 3-point shooter, remembers that the current Olympiacos coach was urging him to shoot the ball from distance.

"I wasn't shooting, and he said, 'Why don't you shoot? Take the mid-range, you got this.' You know when your coach tells you that, it raises your confidence,'" Hunter said.

Asked about Dimitris Itoudis, with whom he crossed paths at CSKA Moscow (2017-19), Hunter had a different kind of praise.

"I'll tell you one thing: during a game, I don't think there's a better coach than him. It's his preparation, coaching, everything. He certainly has a big ego, which is also the case with me, but I have learned a lot from him."

The Bayern Munich big man revealed that if he would ever go into coaching, Itoudis would be the first man to call on the phone.

"I want to learn from him. But this is new info. He doesn't know it yet," he added.

Credit Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Hunter won the EuroLeague trophy with CSKA Moscow in 2019. Yet, that wasn't the highlight of his career.

"It will seem strange, but no," he uttered.

"The highlight was when I won my first championship. And it was with Olympiacos. I'll tell you why.

All the previous years I came in second. High school, college, everywhere. And the feeling of winning my first title is indescribable. When we talk about the EuroLeague, for sure the trophy with CSKA was the best moment," he argued.

Hunter left Olympiacos for Real Madrid in 2016, largely because of the side effects of the economic crisis in Greece. His presence in the Spanish capital was short-lived, however, it left a strong imprint on the veteran forward-center.

"You knew you had to win, but nobody talked about it. It was taken for granted. A professional club from top to bottom. A team built on NBA standards," Hunter described his former club.

"They think that you first represent yourself and what you do outside the floor and then the team. While in most teams, it's the other way around - you represent the club first. The way they treat you is unbelievable."

During his two seasons in Piraeus, Hunter set hundreds of screens for Vassilis Spanoulis, who went on to become the EuroLeague's all-time top scorer in 2020.

"Bill and I had long conversations," the American player recalled.

"And you know, we got really mad at each other when we talked about basketball. He was telling me to set up a good screen for him and that he would throw the ball at the right spot at the right time. Sometimes, when I gave him the screen and told him to shoot, he kept dribbling. That made me angry," Hunter laughs.

Credit Vangelis Stolis/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Despite Spanoulis being a well-known basketball freak, Hunter didn't expect his ex-teammate to become a coach so quickly.

"I knew he loved the game but I expected him to wait at least three years until he became a coach; to spend time with his family. What, just a year? Take three years off basketball!" he exclaimed.

Although Hunter was close to returning to Olympiacos in 2021, as he confessed to BasketNews, he never received an offer from their main rivals, Panathinaikos. Some rumors were heard about the Greens showing interest in the player, but nothing happened.

"I heard some rumors myself, but that's it. No one came to tell me that Panathinaikos wanted me. I never got a phone call," he said.

However, even if that call had taken place, Hunter's response would be negative. Would he ever play for PAO?

"No, never! There are many reasons for me saying this, but I can't say. That being said, it's a great club. No one denies that. Big names in European basketball have played there. Diamantidis, Spanoulis, Batiste... But I would never play there."

As for his EuroLeague playoffs predictions? Hunter is picking Bayern, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, Baskonia, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Anadolu Efes and Monaco, whilst pointing out that "everything will be decided in the second round."

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