'Always there for us': Olympiacos players on Giorgos Bartzokas winning Coach of the Year Award / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

Giorgos Bartzokas became the latest recipient of the EuroLeague Coach of the Year award, as the Greek tactician won the accolade for the second time in his career after 2013.

3-pointers this season

36%9,2Points made:9,2Accuracy:35,6%Place in standings:5Record max:18Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Tyler DorseyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Olympiacos Piraeus'mastermind received the award named after the legendary coach Alexander Gomelski from Nena Ivkovic, the wife of the late coaching legend Dusan Ivkovic who had won the EuroLeague with the Greek side in 2012.

The Reds are preparing for their Final Four semi-final game against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, having three award-winning members in their ranks.

Forward Sasha Vezenkov and guard Kostas Sloukas were chosen to the All-EuroLeague First and Second Team, respectively, in addition to Sloukas racking up another accolade, the 'Magic Moment of the Year' award, thanks to his buzzer-beating 3-point shot against no other than Anadolu Efes in Piraeus.

Credit Olympiacos BC

While paying a visit to the Stark Arena mixed zone, Olympiacos' players answered BasketNews' questions regarding their award-winning coach.

"He deserves the award 100%," Sloukas said.

"He is the man who put this team together and dreamed of it, putting his touch, and now we all celebrate together that we are in the four best teams in Europe. But we don't stop here."

In a similar vein, Sasha Vezenkov pointed out that everyone on the team is happy because we are a family, a team with excellent chemistry.

"As I made the All-Euroleague First team, Kostas Sloukas made the second, so we're all happy about our coach being voted as the best because it's a team sport. One's success is another person's happiness.

He's teaching us, and he's giving us advice. He's always there for us. Like a family, we have some ups and downs," the Bulgarian forward continued.

Tyler Dorsey

Team:Olympiakos PiraeusPosition:PG, SGAge:26Height:193 cmWeight:83 kgBirth place:California, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Vezenkov also stressed that Bartzokas is a coach that prepares his players ahead of big games by putting pressure off their shoulders.

"He tells us it's a game like any other in the season," he commented.

Center Moustapha Fall concurs: "Coach Bartzokas makes sure we're all relaxed, without stress. Everyone plays with a lot of confidence. He gives a lot of freedom to players and prepares everyone mentally to be calm."

According to shooting guard Tyler Dorsey, we probably shouldn't expect anything new from Olympiacos in the semi-final game because the Greek tactician isn't keen on changing his approach.

"It's like a regular-season game," the former Maccabi Tel Aviv player said. "He only makes some minor adjustments, and the plan is pretty much the same. It's nothing out of the ordinary."

Dorsey called Bartzokas a great coach because of the work he put in, making Olympiacos look great all year on offense and defense.

But there's also another reason for the Greek-American guard to be happy about his coach winning the award - his own successful season.

"I think I had a bigger role this year. And it's all on the coach," Dorsey said and explained.

"He installed way more confidence in me this year, giving me that role. That's what it came down to. I just performed at the opportunity I was getting."

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Veteran forward Giorgos Printezis, like Sloukas, had worked with Bartzokas in the past. Those two won the 2013 EuroLeague with Olympiacos, the Red's last continental title up to this day.

Printezis thinks Bartzokas' first stint with the team was different because Duda Ivkovic had built the squad.

"It was a team that was playing more with the ball in players' hands. We had Spanoulis, I was younger," he remembered.

But now, Printezis thinks, Olympiacos are playing a different brand of basketball.

"Now, it's 100% Bartzokas' team. He's a coach that wants you to play at 100% and like a team. He created a very good team with excellent chemistry outside and inside the court. All the players' characters complemented each other," the Reds' captain went on to say.

In terms of his coaching style and the guidelines he gives to his players, Bartzokas is someone who fosters team play, according to Printezis.

"He tries to force us to play as a team. Always give an extra pass, and move the ball. That's the way he wants to play. To be tough on defense and try to play team basketball."

Although forward Quincy Acy isn't playing much, he can still acknowledge that Bartzokas is a player-oriented coach.

"He asks us what we think about everything and gives us the opportunity to get feedback, which is very important. He also listens to us. He uses more of a laid-back approach, but he wants to win and is very detail-oriented," the former NBA player pointed out.

Shaquielle McKissic came to Olympiacos in February 2020, making his EuroLeague debut with the three-time EuroLeague champs. Throughout less than three seasons, the 31-year-old American guard-forward has leveled up his game.

"I've been here for almost two and a half years now, and I've learned a lot from him. I'm extremely proud of him," he said.

For guard Thomas Walkup, who's getting ready for his first Final Four, the element that sets Bartzokas apart from the rest is his system and how the locker room and practices have been.

"Also, the guys who bought into him and into the system," Walkup added. "I think coach Bartzokas has been motivating us all season long. Another important factor is choosing the right time to increase the intensity and when it's best for him to let his players decide for themselves."

"He knows when to attack. He trusts his guys that they will get in the gym and put in the work, he's not on 100% of the time," he concluded.

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