Shengelia addresses PAO and Zvezda rumors, targets next big Georgian dream / News - Basketnews.com

Tornike Shengelia confirmed he will stay in Virtus Bologna for the 2023-24 season.

Credit: Euroleague Basketball via GettyImages Credit Euroleague Basketball via GettyImages

"Every time I go back and remember this, I'm getting goosebumps," Tornike Shengelia revealed when we revisited the heartbreaking incident that shattered his dream nearly 11 months ago.

Tornike Shengelia

Position:PFAge:31Height:206 cmWeight:103 kgBirth place:Tbilisi, GeorgiaProfileNewsStatistics

About 2-3 years before EuroBasket 2022, when Georgia was selected as one of the co-hosts of the competition, Tornike Shengelia consistently emphasized to his teammates, "Whenever you go and do extra work, keep this in the back of your head that this extra work is for what we want to be and try to reach our potential on the national team."

Shengelia's dedication extended to every practice, off-day, and even beyond.

"I was so ready, to be honest," he shared in an interview with BasketNews in Kaunas following an exhibition game against Lithuania.

"Physically and mentally, I felt great. At that point, I had scored 20+ points in the first half. We were just a week away... and I had such positive feelings. Goga [Bitadze], Shermadini, Mamu [Mamukelashvili], Duda [Sanadze], Rati [Andronikashvili]...

Everyone was in top form. I thought, 'Okay, this is it, we can really do something,'" he recalled his mindset before EuroBasket 2022.

"And you know... Then this happened... It shattered my entire dream," Shengelia expressed with a heavy heart.

In a FIBA World Cup qualifiers game against the Netherlands, during a fast break situation in the third quarter, the player from the opposing team accidentally stepped on Shengelia's leg, causing him to land awkwardly on his shoulder.

The pain was unbearable, and Shengelia's roar echoed through the gym, prompting the team doctor to rush to his side without hesitation.

"The injury itself was really painful, but realizing I wouldn't be able to make it to the tournament hurt a hundred times more," Shengelia admitted.

The diagnosis was clear: he would be out of action for at least two months, which meant missing the EuroBasket.

"In the end, whatever happens, happens. Then you're left with choices. Do you want to cry about it and play the pity card, wondering why it happened to you? Or do you accept reality and figure out what you can do from this position to help your team?" Shengelia reflected on his mindset after the devastating injury.

Shengelia traveled to Italy for rehabilitation and eagerly watched Georgia's first EuroBasket game against Belgium.

"Watching the game with my wife, I said: 'I need to be there.' I saw things I didn't like, such as the body language and lack of motivation among the guys," he recalled.

"Pack your bags. We're going," Shengelia told his wife.

Immediately after the game, Virtus Bologna's big man booked a flight and returned to Georgia.

"I wanted to be present, be vocal, and point out the things we needed to change," he said.

"The players in charge didn't have that experience. I wanted to be there and help my team in any way possible. Unfortunately, we didn't make it. It should serve as a valuable lesson for us. But I believe everything happens for a reason.

After my rehabilitation, we bounced back, won crucial games during the FIBA windows, and qualified for the World Cup.I believe this was a price I had to pay to make it for the World Cup because it was also one of my dreams during my captain career.We achieved that, and now I have only one more dream left – making it to the Olympics," Shengelia declared to BasketNews in Kaunas.

All the extra effort in the gym is now directed towards this new goal.

"We know that we have a really good chance. We never played in qualifiers for the Olympics. Now we have a good chance to put ourselves in the position to play those games and make it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we need to take advantage of it," Shengelia concluded.

During an interview with BasketNews, Tornike Shengelia addressed offseason rumors about Panathinaikos Athens and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and shared his views on whether Sandro Mamukelashvili and Goga Bitadze should consider a move to Europe.

During this offseason, rumors linked you to a couple of EuroLeague teams, including Panathinaikos and Crvena Zvezda. Virtus CEO Luca Baraldi refuted these rumors and stated that you are not on the market. Can you clarify what was true, what was false, and what was in between?I would not get into very detailed details about this matter. I would say that there was interest from the teams, which is normal. You are a player, there are teams, and they're interested.

So there was a situation. But nowadays, the word "reportedly" is such a funny word. Everybody is trying to say something that you did, although you didn't really do.

They're saying that I officially signed or I officially did this or did that without even asking me one question. But you know, this is the society we live in today, and at this point, we kind of used to it.

Many social media platforms want to get out the information to get clicks or whatever the case might be. There is some type of truth in it. It's not coming from thin air, but the facts they are stating... It was not true that I signed physically or personally some papers or contracts...

Including accepting Panathinaikos' offer?Listen, at the end of the day, me accepting or not accepting is not important because I have a contract [with Virtus].

I'm not talking about a particular team or player like me. I would say as an example. If the player is under the contract and the other team is interested, all three parties must be on the same page. If that happens, then a deal will happen. If one of those parties is not on the same page, then it won't happen.

So, that's all I'm going to say.

Crvena Zvezda president Nebojsa Covic mentioned that they were after you, but you were advised against playing in Serbia due to the potential impact on your future political career. Can you confirm if that was the case, and are you considering a political career after your basketball retirement?I personally haven't seen Mr. Covic's interview regarding this, so I would not comment on it.

If you ask me, today, I'm a bit far away from joining politics post-career. My mentality is to stay in basketball, use my experience, knowledge, and networking that I gathered throughout these years to help the young generations and big organizations.

This is my main goal. I want to help my country in any way I can, and for now, my strength is in sports, so I would say this is the direction I'm aiming for.

As players reach their 30s, they often start thinking about their future after playing. How would you like to contribute to your country, whether through a leadership role in the Georgian basketball federation, FIBA, or from a coaching perspective?Again, I would never say never, but coaching is off the table for now. I've seen their lifestyle, meaning how much energy, dedication, and sacrifice it takes. I think that if you've never been a player and you start to coach, it's different.

But if you are a player and have a family and you're away so much from your family, and then when you finish your career, it's even more demanding to be a coach. Then it's really difficult for families and the kids, from my point of view, and for this reason, I have so much respect for the individuals who decide to continue in a coaching career.

But there is also the NBA, and there are also positions as an assistant or player development coach, which gives you a little bit more flexibility. I try to never say no, but if you ask me today, it's a no to being a coach.

I want to open an academy in Georgia to create an environment for player development and opportunities by opening many doors to young players.

Every summer, I try to do some activities with the NBPA through ELPA. I did the Sports Business classroom in Las Vegas with NBA this summer, and I learned a lot and gathered many networks. I'm just laying down the foundation.

I don't 100% know exactly what I want to do, but 100% I know it's not just one thing I want to do. I want to be all around and use my knowledge and experience to spread out in many different aspects.

If you were to open a basketball academy, how would you focus on improving the development of guards in your country? Georgia was known for their frontline stars for so many years, but there was this disbalance of talent between the frontline and backcourt. How do you plan to nurture perimeter players crucial in today's basketball?That's a very good question. I mean, we cannot change genetics, right? We're genetically tall and strong people.

But I believe that we have many skilled players in the guard positions with good ball handling, good shooting, or whatever the case might be. But we need them to understand the game, to develop their knowledge of the game, to read the game, to understand the mismatches, who is not involved in the game, who we need to get involved and understand where the opponent's weak spot to attack. All of this.

I believe that if you have that and you're not as athletic or not as skilled or whatever, you're going to be perfect for the national team. If you are the mastermind of where to put your pieces and how to use them, because we have pieces to use, then we're going to win games.

Unfortunately, the thing is that many guards are looking to be Steph Curry's or Jason Tatums of the game. All these players are unbelievable scorers. So those guards' only mindset is to score, which is, I think, a big mistake.

Of course, you need to be able to score. Now 80-90% of college or Europe players can score. But how many players can read the game? I think you need to find a niche to differentiate yourself from others.

Before, everybody was 7 feet tall, and everybody was making centers, right? And Nowitzki was different by being the same height, but he was a shooter, right? So he changed the game from that perspective.

Now, Steph changed the perspective. And don't get me wrong, he's maybe one of the smartest point guards in basketball. But his main thing is shooting, right? Like unconscious shooting. And all the social media and everybody's pointing him out, and the narrative is how crazy of a shooter he is.

If you put out how crazy smart plays he makes and how crazy smart plays LeBron makes, that Draymond Green or Nikola Jokic makes, how they read the game... I think social media narratives control many things.

If the narrative goes in the right direction or we, as owners of the academy, will put this right direction narrative to the players, then we can really shape the form of good guards.

How do you try to put pieces to be competitive in the FIBA World Cup? What might be Georgia's go-to thing to reach the highest goals?We play three totally different teams in the group. You have Venezuela with shorter guys. They're like dogs, they play very aggressively, very physical, press full-court the entire game, so you need to be ready for those type of games.

Then you have a Cape Verde with Edy Tavares. It doesn't matter where he plays or who is around, Edy is a game-changer. We've seen this many times. We do have bigs, but now we need to find a way to bring him out, maybe, and attack with the speed, put him in foul trouble. I don't want to give all our secrets (smiles).

Then, we have Slovenia with Luka [Doncic]. Then you want to decide between letting Luka score 50 and not letting others get involved in the game. Or take Luka out of the game by double-teaming him and letting others score.

There are many things and situations that you can use, and the coaching staff is going to do a great job. We, the players, also need to understand our strengths and how to use them.

As a leader, it's very important for me to empower the players, find out their strengths, and put them in the right positions to reach their full potential. We still have almost a month to go, so I think we're going to figure it out. I'm very optimistic, to be honest.

Others look up to you as a veteran and leader in Georgian basketball. What advice would you give Sandro Mamukelashvili and Goga Bitadze, who are or were at a crossroads considering potentially returning to Europe? Having experienced returning from the NBA to Europe and then thinking about coming back to the league, what suggestions do you have for NBA players weighing a return to Europe?Listen, first and foremost, they're very talented players. Goga is 7 ft tall and incredibly skilled. He can dribble, shoot, and block shots, with great defense and a strong post-game.

He has pretty much everything, and he's just 24 years old. So he'll only get better with more experience. It's going to be amazing.

Mamu... Oh my God, how skilled he is. He has shooting, driving, athleticism, and defense.

For me, the NBA is the right place and right time situation. If they're on the right team and they give them a chance, I'm sure they can be starters in 1-2 years. With Goga, maybe even now.

For me, the NBA is this. If you don't get it in 1-2 years, then my question is, when is the time for you to decide: 'Listen, I feel I can do so much more, and here they don't give me opportunities to do it. So do I want to stay there, keep getting the contracts and be one of the guys sometimes? Or do I want to go back and make a career and reach my full potential?'

When I decided to come back, when I looked back, I wanted to say I did it my way. If I win, I contribute so much to winning. If I lose, I want to learn why I've lost, how I can win, and how I can get better.

One of the reasons why I chose it was my kids. If they decide to play basketball, if I were just sitting on the NBA bench and played only 10-15 minutes, not really contributing to wins or losses, if my kids are in the same situation, I would not have the experience and knowledge to teach them what to do next.

But coming to Europe, I wanted to build my career and reach my full potential. So when I look back, I can say, okay, I did the best I could, so I can live with it. If I had stayed here and retired after 10-15 years after playing 10-15 minutes, I would have always wondered what I could've done.

I chose this path. But everyone has their point of view and priorities.

I support their decisions. I think Sandro is in a great situation with the Spurs, one of the best you can be with one of the best coaches. I think he'll get a lot of chances.

And Goga, man, whoever reads it or not, please give him a chance. He's something else, I'm telling you. And the only way you'll find out is if you give him a chance to play. And he will show this.

Credit FIBA

Can we confirm that you will indeed stay with Virtus? What are your thoughts on Virtus rebuild?Yes, yes.

One thing we learned from last year, it's really hard to predict something. Some teams rebuild amazing, they brought amazing players, spent a lot of money, and didn't make the playoffs.

And some teams were chemistry bonded and made the playoffs. So it's really hard to predict until you're 2-3 months into the season to really see what direction teams are going.

I learned my lesson and won't make any predictions (smiles). I don't want it to come back at me.

But what I want to say, with the team, we're going to have, we will try to make the best out of it. Step by step, we always aim for whatever trophy we have first. Step by step, winning the first, trying to win the second, third, and then trying to make the playoffs.

URBONUS podcast:

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.