Pablo Laso hopes to be coaching soon: 'I watch games, I miss training' / News - Basketnews.com

Pablo Laso hasn't given up on coaching and is willing to listen to offers. He talked about coaching principles, Luka Doncic, Rudy Fernandez's phenomenon, and things to live by in a coaching clinic.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

After being let go from Real Madrid, Pablo Laso is now a free agent. A day before his 55th birthday, he gave a speech at an Extremadura Basketball Federation Clinic in the city of Caceres, a city where he once played as a player back during the 1997-98 season.

A few years later, he became his coaching career which brought him numerous trophies with the Royal club. Considered to be one of the veterans of his profession, Laso admits that once you become a coach, it never goes away from you.

"To a certain extent, when you are a coach, you have it in your blood - you watch games, you miss training, it's normal, it's part of our job," Laso said. "A coach does not stop being a coach at any time, now I am not active but I am happy."

During the afternoon discussion, he revealed that he's willing to listen to offers and his passion for the sport hasn't faded yet, el Periodico Extremadura reports.

Further in his speech, Laso shared stories from his coaching career when he had to deal with many different players.

"There are players who are ready at 17 and others who are not even at 22," the coach explained. "I have trained more 22-year-old retired guys than Felipe Reyes when he was 40."

One particular 17-year-old Laso coached went on to become one of the greatest in all of current basketball, Luka Doncic. Asked about him, the Spanish specialist was clear - young Luka was driven to be the best.

"His only obsession was to be a professional and [to be] the best in the world," Laso told.

"Game reading is the hardest thing to teach," he later told. "Rudy Fernandez has a gift in that he can play basketball for as many years as he wants. He sees what is going to happen, and he gets ahead of himself. There are players who have it, you can try to get it out of the others and they remain the same."

In the end, Laso advised the listeners to strive to always improve as coaches.

"We have to demand of ourselves to be better. If you are not prepared, the first ones who realize it are the players," he concluded.

Pablo Laso did not charge anything neither for his trip to Caceres nor for his speech.

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