Shane Larkin on Ergin Ataman: 'We never had a perfect relationship' / News - Basketnews.com

Anadolu Efes Istanbul superstar Shane Larkin gave an interview to SPORT24 in which touched upon a breadth of topics, including relationship with Coach Ergin Ataman, Vasilije Micic's departure and comparison to Darius Thompson, and the new Efes under Erdem Can.

Credit: Tolga Adanali/GettyImages Credit Tolga Adanali/GettyImages

Before Anadolu Efes Istanbul meets Olympiacos Piraeus tonight in Greece, Shane Larkin gave insights to Vasiliki Karamouza of SPORT24.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul / Schedule

Anadolu Efes Istanbul Valencia Basket77-73 Olympiacos Piraeus Anadolu Efes IstanbulThu19:00

Among the topics were the superstar's strained relationship with former coach Ergin Ataman, the departure of Vasilije Micic, the new Anadolu Efes, and predictions for this EuroLeague season.

"Me and Ataman never had a perfect relationship. He likes to keep things professional. A game is a game, but off the field, he doesn't tend to build relationships with the players," Larkin said, echoing comments he made earlier about coach Ataman.

This time, however, the guard had some venting to do. Particularly, Larkin talked about the Turkish national team crisis that unfolded between him, Scottie Wilbekin, and the Turkish Basketball Federation about the non-attendance of the two guards to the national team.

"Obviously there's mutual respect between us, and obviously we've achieved a lot together, so I'll always wish him luck in whatever he does, but his attitude this summer has left me feeling alienated," Larkin noted about how his relationship with Ataman, who is the head coach of the Turkish national team, deteriorated.

"Knowing my character for five years and knowing how many injuries I've played through to help the team, it made me wonder why he didn't come out to the media in the summer to say: 'I know Shane, I know his character and if he was in place to play would be here. The fact that he is not here means that he is indeed injured.'

"I wish he had," the American concluded.

On the note of the departure of Vasilije Micic, who left Anadolu Efes this year to sign a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shane Larkin had positive comments to make.

2-pointers this season

58%22,0Points made:22,0Accuracy:57,5%Place in standings:2Record max:24Record min:20Most made 2FGs:Tyrique JonesTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"When you stop playing with a player like Vasa [Micic] it's bittersweet. As you know, we achieved great success in the last five years. We built one of the best duos in EuroLeague history," Larkin said confidently.

"So it's bittersweet because you always want to play with a player of that caliber that you've had so much success with and had such chemistry with."

Larkin also talked about an interesting chapter of Efes history.

"The first 20 games we played with Micic we were miserable.I was almost cut from the team and sent back to America," Larkin revealed.

"It was a long process. When we met each other, everyone saw what we were transformed into."

Irrespective of Micic's departure, Larkin still has high hopes for Anadolu Efes's new season.

When asked where he was expecting Anadolu Efes to be at the end of the season, Larkin responded confidently.

"In the Final Four. Always. We always want to be a team that contends for the championship," Larkin began. "Right now you see a lot of teams have prospects, but you don't see a lot of teams that have figured it out yet, apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona who have players that they have been together for years," he stated about the only two teams who have not lost yet in the new EuroLeague season.

Continuing to talk about Anadolu Efes, Larkin reflected on new players and the new coach.

"We have 6-7 new players and great potential. Coach [Erdem] Can is hungry; he has good principles. We have to build every day and find each other on the floor to see what works best for us individually and as a team, what rotation works best, our chemistry. When we achieve this we will be as good as the rest."

Shane Larkin also specifically digressed on the case of Darius Thompson, responding to the comparisons made between the new Efes point guard and Vasilije Micic.

"Darius [Thompson] is doing a good job so far, trying to figure out the team's system," Larkin complimented his teammate. "They are different players.Micic focused more on scoring, while Thompson is a pass-first guard.We are trying to build chemistry and find each other, like I did with Vasa," Larkin drew a comparison between the two.

"We must have patience," Larkin said about Thompson. "We have to continue to talk on and off the field to build chemistry both as teammates and as people.When you bond and bond with someone, everything else comes naturally."

When asked about certain EuroLeague predictions, Larkin had some remarks to share. Firstly, he has the belief that Anadolu Efes has what it takes to go all the way to the championship this year.

"I'll say us, because I've been in the team for five years we've shown stability all this time, so I'll always have confidence and feel confident about my teammates." the Efes team captain said.

He also shared predictions about other Final Four contenders.

"At the moment, I'd definitely have to say Real Madrid. It's going great on both sides of the court."

"I would say that Barcelona are also looking very good now. Then there is a three-team tie.I mean Fenerbahce, Monaco and Maccabi, but nobody knows what will happen in this case," the guard stopped short of making a definitive prediction.

Finally, one of the most effective guards of the EuroLeague talked about the recent dominance of big men in the competition.

"There are a lot of great guards, but there arealsosome great [big men]. Every game is different, but I wouldn't say the [big men] dominate the EuroLeague," Larkin remained unphased about the apparent view that the guards were no longer dominant in the EuroLeague.

"The guards still dominate and win championships. Tavares, of course, was named MVP in last year's Final Four," the superstar still offered a grain of salt to his comments.

Ultimately, he seemed undecided on the issue.

"I don't know."

Anadolu Efes Istanbul meets Olympiacos Piraeus tonight in Greece. Both teams have a 2-2 win and loss record in the EuroLeague.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.