Luca Banchi criticizes European basketball: 'Not a matter of quantity' / News - Basketnews.com

Banchi said players' health has to be taken into account when making developmental decisions in European basketball, and leagues should be more worried about the quality of basketball they put out instead of quantity.

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Coach Luca Banchi returned to the EuroLeague after multiple years of coaching clubs at the levels below the top European basketball competition. This season with Virtus Segafredo Bologna, he's proving the team to be a rightful playoff participant.

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Virtus were ranked at the bottom of the league before the season. Now, despite the recent slump, they are a top-five team in the league. Before Virtus, the last EuroLeague team Banchi coached was Brose Bamberg in 2018.

"Being back in the EuroLeague after six years in this new format, I was very curious to see, and I understand it's very demanding for the staff, for the team, for the clubs, for the player," Banchi told the Serbian media in Bologna.

"It's going into the next level, but still, we need to make some adjustments to find the best solution [on] who can promote basketball in media, with the fans, but on the other hand, to protect the players, not to expose them to such a long season," he said about the changes he'd like to see in the competition. "National team windows, summer competition, plus a stressful EuroLeague season, plus domestic league. When we talk about our players and our team, we go over 80 official games per season, plus the national team."

More often than not, EuroLeague players face a similar calendar to the NBA, yet the slogan of 'every game matters' runs deep within the blood of European organizations and fanbases. As such, the now-common NBA practice of resting players is very rare on this side of the Atlantic.

With the talk about the EuroLeague's expansion coming around the corner, players might face an even tougher calendar in the future. Banchi thinks it's the wrong way to promote basketball.

"It's time, in my opinion, to take into consideration the health of the players, plus the product we offer to the fans. If you want to promote basketball, we also have to be careful to promote a good level of basketball. It's not a matter of the quantity of potential customers, but it's also the quality," Banchi said.

"We consider EuroLeague the second-best tournament all around the world. We also have to work in terms of quality and protect the health of the players, who are definitely the main actors on the court," he concluded.

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