Pozzecco unveils aftermath of Banchero case, explains how Europe helps NBA players / News - Basketnews.com

Gianmarco Pozzecco reflects on how Italy and Paolo Banchero could have co-existed and tracks a change of mentality in some NBA players. He also names the reason why his NT hasn't won a medal since 2004 and what impressed him in Dimitris Giannakopoulos' phone call.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Regardless of the environment, the circumstances, the opponent, or the setting,Gianmarco Pozzeccois a man who knows that it's almost a capital sin to go unnoticed.

His gestures and the way he uses encouragement to light up his players' hearts and minds have been the stuff of legend. It's only normal that the Italian tactician has almost become an iconic figure in European basketball.

The autobiography written by Italy's captain Gigi Datome was titled, 'I play as I am' ('Gioco come sono'). Well, make no mistake. Pozzecco is definitely coaching the same way he used to play.

Once a phenomenal point guard, who worked miracles with Pallacanestro Varese, where he spent almost half of his playing career, he now wants to lead the Italian national team to new heights.

Handling all that energy and tension, as well as wiping it out after being involved in every play, is probably the hardest task for a sentimental coach.

"It's tough," Pozzeco admitted. "I live with great stress every game. I experience every emotion on the court, everything... It's one thing I can't get rid of. I'm there, period."

Taking over from Meo Sacchetti in 2022, he guided the 'Azzurri' to the EuroBasket quarter-finals, where a tough elimination at the hands of France awaited them. A couple of days earlier, the Italians had seen the brighter side of life by edging Serbia out, one of the squads slated to go all the way.

The 2023 FIBA World Cup tips off on August 25, and it's highly likely that by then, Italy will boast an unbeaten record in preparation games. After downing Turkey and China on home soil, they went on to win the 32nd Acropolis Tournament, beating Serbia and hosts Greece in the process.

Their next challenges include Puerto Rico on the 13th in Ravenna, where captain Gigi Datome will play his farewell game before the Italian crowd, and a couple more scrimmages against Brazil (August 20) and New Zealand one day later. Both of those games will take place in China, from where the squad will depart for the Philippines.

Credit FIBA

In Manila, Pozzecco and his 12-man lineup will face Angola, the Dominican Republic, and the hosts. The task at hand is hard, and one need only keep in mind that the last medal won by Italy in a major tournament came at the 2004 Olympics, with the final stage taking place at the OAKA arena. Pozzecco, a 32-year-old veteran at the time, was then coached by Carlo Recalcati, who's now an assistant to his former player.

Having racked up four wins in as many friendly games, the gregarious play-caller couldn't have been more satisfied with the results obtained.

"I'm very pleased," he told BasketNews in Athens. "We are practicing well, the boys are very attached to the national team and the blue jersey."

That last part is all you need to know about what it takes to play for Italy under Pozzecco. The 2019 FIBA Europe Cup champion with Sassari requires a high level of commitment from everyone.

His requirements would have extended toPaolo Bancheroas well, provided that the first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft had chosen to represent Italy on the international stage. However, that's not the case, and now Banchero is likely to face Italy as an opponent with Team USA.

Given the outcome, it seems that all the efforts made to convince the Orlando Magic forward amounted to nothing, since the player's dream -- as he admitted -- was to wear the US jersey. Pozzecco and the Italian federation essentially tried to talk Banchero into becoming the team's point of reference. He declined after months of deliberation, but Italy has somehow been able to carve out a playing style that can easily survive and pay dividends even without the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Pozzecco's plans haven't changed to the extent that other coaches, like Svetislav Pesic or Dimitris Itoudis, need to adjust to their star players' absences.

"Nothing has changed because we have never had Banchero on our team in the first place," he said.

"It was logical that we thought he would play with us at some point. But we also knew that he could play with Team USA, also because he's an enormously talented player."

Pozzecco describes Italy's playing style as one that places emphasis on passing the ball "in a mostly European way."

"We don't dribble too much, we play pick-and-roll to create a minimum of advantage, and we move the ball a lot. Had we had Banchero, we would have to show him how we play and hope that he'd understand. I talked to him a little bit. He's a guy who was supposed to help us because he's extremely smart," Pozzecco continued.

The specialist, who will turn 50 next September and just five days after the World Cup wraps up, has no doubt that Banchero would have been one of Italy's reference points, mostly as a scoring cornerstone.

"We would still prioritize moving the ball, trying to get everyone involved," Pozzeco pointed out. "And then maybe in the end, he would have been the one to call the plays and make decisions. But he's not here, and we keep going," he added.

So, if not Banchero, who's going to be the leader of this Italian team, which has nevertheless retained its fair share of veterans in Datome, Nicolo Melli, and Achille Polonara? For Pozzecco, the answer isn't too hard to find.

"The group," he uttered. "They are guys who have great respect for each other. It's true that there are always 8-9 players who make up the core of this national team -- Melli, Datome, [Simone] Fontecchio, [Marco] Spissu, Polonara, [Giampaolo] Ricci, who played the EuroBasket last year. Then, there are also 4-5 young players."

Among those youngsters, ALBA Berlin's Gabriele Procida, 21, and Matteo Spagnolo, 20, have stood out for their combination of decent athletic ability and long-distance shooting. In fact, connecting from downtown will be of crucial importance once do-or-die games set in. The lack of athletic or bulky bodies in the paint is another factor that corroborates the claim.

The fact that several Italian players (add Polonara, Melli, Datome and Fontecchio to the mix) have flourished away from their home country is a fact. In this vein, Pozzecco provided a disarming yet somewhat simplistic explanation as to why his national team hasn't reached the podium for almost 20 years.

"Because in the Italian league, they put foreigners to play," he argued.

However, Italy did try to recruit Paolo Banchero after all. When his case fell through, or even before that, some potential candidates for the naturalized player's position started to surface.

In a recent chat with BasketNews, Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanovic said he'd like for some regulations to be implemented when players apply for another passport. He even mentioned Thomas Walkup as a positive example of naturalization, since the American-born guard has been playing in Greece for two years.

Darius Thompson's two-year stint with Brindisi did not only propel him to the next level but also garnered him an Italian passport and an Italian wife in Chiara Pacifico. The couple married on August 22, 2020, and now parent a two-year-old daughter.

In an interview with BasketNews last April, Thompson admitted that the possibility of joining a European national team had never crossed his mind.

"I had never thought about that. I'm American," he said, echoing Walkup's earlier thoughts on the matter when the Texas-born guard was asked whether he'd consider joining Greece. "But with my lifestyle now and my wife being Italian, things have changed," Thompson stressed.

However, at this point, Pozzecco doesn't seem convinced that Darius Thompson -- or any other naturalized player for that matter -- could give the Italian team a different dimension.

"Look, I don't know," he replied when the question about Thompson was thrown at him.

"I want to go with the Italians, those who have a deep connection to the blue jersey. Until a foreign player of those who can obtain the [Italian] passport proves to me that they can buy into that concept, I will go with the guys that we have," Pozzecco responded.

Following a four-game winning streak in prep games, it wouldn't be unfair to rank Italy among potential contenders for at least a quarter-final spot in the upcoming tournament. Pozzecco named roughly a dozen of teams he thinks they're at the same level.

"You know, there are Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, France, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia, Greece, Serbia... It's going to be a great World Cup just for that reason."

And even though Banchero will show up at the World Cup, albeit with a team other than Italy, NBA megastars Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be absent. The Serbian big man wanted to take some rest after a championship season with the Nuggets, while the Greek forward was unable to overcome a knee injury.

Italy went up against both players at last year's EuroBasket, recording one loss to Greece in the group stage and one triumph over Serbia in the Round of 16. But now, the Italian tactician will miss out on the chance to jump into Giannis' arms in celebration, as he did in Berlin.

"It's not a question of whether I will miss them. Basketball will miss them," Pozzecco thinks.

"The first thing that comes to mind is the more stars are there, the better for basketball. Antetokounmpo and Jokic are two persons that I don't know perfectly, but still, [I know them] well enough to be able to say they're two great guys."

Looking at how several NBA stars, including those representing Team USA, prioritize the Olympics over the World Cup, it would be fair to assume that despite the tournament's prestigious name, its relevance is inextricably linked to the inarguably biggest sports event on the planet.

FIBA has tried to promote its flagship competition, but as long as players and teams have a different agenda, the basketball World Cup will hardly bear a resemblance to how popular and dominant its football counterpart has been.

"The football World Cup is the most important tournament because national teams in football snub the Olympics," Pozzecco noted.

"In my opinion, it's normal that today we see 110 FIBA players in the NBA. Hence, it makes sense that some of them won't be at the World Cup. But the level is extremely high. Something that has changed a lot over the years is that NBA players have realized that playing in European competitions helps you a lot to improve."

Pozzecco has no doubt that Europe is becoming the preferred destination for those NBA players who can't land another contract in the top league.

"It's because the EuroLeague is a top-level competition," he explained. "There are good contracts, strong teams, and NBA-style organizations."

Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

One of those organizations,Panathinaikos Athens, reached out to the Italian tactician last February to explore the possibility of a collaboration. Pozzecco ended up declining the offer to replace Dejan Radonjic on the Greek club's bench, although the Italian Basketball Federation president Gianni Petrucci had made clear that he wasn't going to prevent him from taking the deal.

Pozzecco recalls that prior to being sought after as a coach, he had received two offers to play in Greece.

"It was when [Zeljko] Obradovic was the coach of PAO, in 2000. But also from Olympiacos with [Dusan] Ivkovic, the year before (1999). I was fine in Varese. I was feeling like a king there, so I stayed," he walked down memory lane.

But in February 2023, Pozzecco picked up the phone and saw Dimitris Giannakopoulos' number on the screen. "I have to tell the truth. Mr. Giannakopoulos called me, and we had an amazing 30 minutes on the phone," he told NOVASPORTS' Dora Panteli in Milan last spring.

"But it was something in the way. I had become a father some days ago," he went on to say while leaving the door open to PAO. "You never know what happens in life. Maybe in the future, we can work together. I want to say 'thank you' to Mr. Giannakopoulos for spending those amazing 30 minutes on the phone. He sent me a message for my baby, which I didn't receive," the Italian coach concluded.

Several months later, Pozzecco took everyone by surprise when he once again thanked PAO's owner, literally out of nowhere, at the end of his last press conference for the Acropolis Tournament.

So, what was so special about that phone call?

"That he told me the truth," Pozzecco replied.

"He was incredibly true, sincere, incredible. A super, exceptional person. I was sorry to decline the offer because two days later, my daughter was born. But in the phone call we had, he just told me the truth about everything."

Pozzecco went on to mention some of the issues the two of them touched on.

"That he would spend a lot of money this year; that he would take the best coach in Europe -- and that's what he did with [Ergin] Ataman. It was just a matter of timing, and I thank him. I have a great memory of him, of that phone call and how he treated me."

Credit Vangelis Stolis;dpa/picture-alliance

The World Cup still lies ahead, but it will come to an end on September 10. Pozzecco has an exclusive deal with the Italian Federation, which runs through 2024. The discussions with Panathinaikos didn't materialize, but he could still be available to take over a team after the end of the tournament -- of course, provided that Petrucci gives his blessing.

In this respect, it might be just a matter of time until Pozzecco lands his first-ever EuroLeague head-coaching job.

"Yes, that's right," he laughed. "We shall see."

The league had better be ready for it.

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.