Fenerbahce GM talks Itoudis's departure and Jasikevicius's arrival / News - Basketnews.com

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul GM Derya Yannier talked about the coaching change that the club endured this year, which saw them go from Dimitris Itoudis to Sarunas Jasikevicius.

Credit: Fenerbahce.org Credit Fenerbahce.org

Being in charge of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's general manager duties, Derya Yannier has done a good job with the team this season by sacking Dimitris Itoudis and bringing in Sarunas Jasikevicius, who elevated the team to a different level.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul / Schedule

AS Monaco Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulWed17:00 AS Monaco Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulFri17:00

In an interview with FBTV, the experienced executive talked about Itoudis's departure and the arrival of Sarunas Jasikevicius, who had last coached FC Barcelona.

"We wanted to start a new chapter with Sarunas Jasikevicius. Of course, Sarunas was free at that time, which was an important plus for us. We had long conversations with him at that time," Yannier began. "Of course, we had a lot of discussions about the specifics of this year - team structure, goals - and also about building the future."

"I would like to thank him, especially in this sense: My approach, understanding, and working style are always in favor of transparent sharing and communication," the executive said.

"From the very first day, he approached the situation in a very open way and was completely on the same page as me in this respect. There is always an exchange of ideas between us," he noted, lauding Jasikevicius's approach to communication.

"Of course, there may be differences of opinion. But at the end of the day, I can say that Sarunas and I communicate very frequently, and we have good communication," he revealed. "From now on, this will be our biggest assurance while building the future of Fenerbahce."

For Yannier, it was crucial that Jasikevicius unlocked the potential of Fenerbahce, a roster that is arguably among the best in the EuroLeague.

"We already had a good team. I still think we have a good squad, and Sarunas wanted to take over this task because he had believed in the squad before he arrived," he said. "At this point, the team reacted very well [to Jasikevicius]."

3-pointers this season

39%11,2Points made:11,2Accuracy:39,1%Place in standings:1Record max:24Record min:5Most made 3FGs:Scottie WilbekinTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"Of course, it was a very difficult operation to take one of Europe's top coaches out of one team and bring in another one of Europe's top coaches in one season," he said, recalling Itoudis's sacking. "In that sense, those were tiring days, and it was not easy to predict the team's reaction to this," he remembered.

"At the end of the day, we had a process that we built on every day, both in terms of energy and the players' dialogue with Sarunas. In this sense, I am satisfied with the point we have reached," Yannier noted. "I hope we will reap the fruits of this in the playoff adventure we have started."

The Turkish GM has high ambitions: to restore Fenerbahce to the days it enjoyed under the coaching of Zeljko Obradovic.

"Our primary goal was to take Fenerbahce to the Final Four again. Two years ago, we came from a situation where we were out of the playoffs to a situation where we missed the Final Four in the last game last year," he stated with bittersweet satisfaction. "This year, I hope we can add a new piece to it and take our place in the Final Four again."

While the coaching change has inarguably helped Fenerbahce, helping them to clinch the 6th seed of the playoffs after a slow start to the season under Itoudis, there is another side to this story: that belonging to the sacking of the Greek coach.Dimitris ItoudisCredit IMAGO/Seskim Photo-Scanpix

"Every basketball season now has different stories. These players play close to 80 games. With the national teams, the number of games increases even more. You have to build a squad with a large number of players, and from the beginning to the end of the season, there are many different ups and downs during the season," Yannier began by giving context. "You have to manage this. This season has actually been such a season for us."

"At the beginning of last season, we had started a new restructuring. At the beginning of last year, we had announced our goal of returning Fenerbahce to the place where it had been in the Final Four every year, where it had won trophies, and where it was fighting to get back to the top of Europe," he recalled.

"Of course, we were aware that it would be very difficult, but on the other hand, in Fenerbahce, you have to set high goals. We started this project with Dimitris Itoudis as coach, and we started a certain plan with him."

While Itoudis had a promising first season, being eliminated by Olympiacos Piraeus narrowly and missing the Final Four, the slow start to the season and physical as well as mental exhaustion necessitated his exit from the club, according to Yannier.

"Sometimes, in terms of timing, when you observe the team dynamics in the season, you have to make bold decisions. This is also a part of this job," he claimed. "At that moment, we believed that such a change in terms of timing would be beneficial for the team at the point where the dynamics and conditions brought us. Then we took such a decision."

I thank Dimitris Itoudis for what he has done over the past one-and-a-half years. I wish him success in his career from now on. We sat down in a civilized manner when we parted, as we did when we agreed [to bring him as a coach], and we explained to him the reasons and the way it had to be," Yannier remembered. We told him that we would continue to fulfill our obligations as professionals, and we parted with him," he concluded.

With the combined efforts of Itoudis and Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce finished the season 6th with a record of 20-14. They will duel with AS Monaco for a place to compete for Final Four glory.

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