Greek coach on Walkup's naturalization: 'It was strange at first' / News - Basketnews.com

Former Olympiacos assistant coach Georgios Dedas said that the public opinion initially questioned Walkup's naturalization, speculating that it was done only to get a domestic player's status in the Greek League.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Lithuania easily overcame Greece in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Friday. Looking back to the game, a Greek coach who works in Lithuania - Georgios Dedas, the assistant coach at BCL's Rytas Vilnius - offered his local perspective.

Greece / Schedule

Jordan Greece71-92 Greece USA81-109 Greece New Zealand83-74 Lithuania Greece92-67 Greece MontenegroSun08:40

Georgios, former Olympiacos Piraeus assistant coach, is the brother of Stefanos Dedas, an assistant coach at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. It's his fourth year in Lithuania working in the Rytas organization. Talking about the World Cup game between the two countries, he was certain - it was an unusual match.

"I don't remember being in a game where one team makes 12 threes out of 16 in one half," he told BasketNews journalist Lukas Katilius. "It's not the reality, though. It doesn't mean that Lithuania doesn't have good shooters. They do have shooters, and most of the shots, if not all, were from open catch-and-shoot situations. Nevertheless, 12-for-16 is an unbelievable number, it kills the opponent psychologically."

Even though the game was close during the first 20 minutes, Lithuania outscored Greece by 29 points in the second half and ran off with the win. A big part of it, Dedas says, was the defensive change against Thomas Walkup.

"Obviously, the defensive plan against Montenegro was effective. Valanciunas defended Radoncic who was allowed to shoot open threes. A smart and perfectly executed move to safeguard JV," he said about the previous defensive plan. "It was a very good tactical decision from the Lithuanian coaching staff."

"At one moment against the Greeks, purposefully or not, Valanciunas was guarding Thanasis Antetokounmpo, executing a similar idea," Dedas continued. "The defense against Walkup was changed after the halftime break. It was a good decision as well since they had been going under the pick-and-roll screens for Walkup. He made a lot of threes, and they got rid of the initial plan."

The naturalization of players who have little to no ties to the country they later represent is a hot topic in European basketball circles. Despite having previously naturalized Tyler Dorsey, who played in EuroBasket 2022, not every Greek welcomed the news of Walkup's naturalization with open arms.

"When everyone sees how Walkup plays now, everyone loves him. There's not much to tell from the basketball side of things. When his possible naturalization was announced, it was strange at first because he had played only for a short time in Greece," the coach said.

"Honestly, I don't know how naturalization works, whether the player has to play for a certain period in the country or not. The Greek people were wary of the move and said that it was done only to gain a domestic player's status for Olympiacos," Dedas explained. "Some people say it publicly and choose not to keep their opinions private.

I'd say that was the public opinion. We have to agree, though, that Walkup was the best player on the Greek roster in the World Cup."

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