Head coaches from the 7DAYS EuroCup came together at the Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops in Barcelona this week to discuss the new look and rising status of the competition heading into the new 2021-22 season.
EuroCup coaches plan for new-look competition
EB Institute News
3 mins read
The EuroCup has a revamped format for the coming campaign, with an 18-game regular season followed by single-game knockout rounds from the round of 16 onwards.
Evgeny Pashutin of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar is particularly excited by the new structure for the latter stages, saying: "For sure, it will be more pressure because it’s win or go out. You have to be ready for each game and everybody will have to be sharp: players, coaches, organizations, everyone. It will be really interesting for fans and the media, and I am excited about it."
The bulk of the EuroCup coaches' workshop was an in-depth discussion with the competition's officiating department, allowing both sides to go into detail about how the game rules are interpreted and applied to make the on-court action better each season. The session was led by Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball's Senior Director of Officiating, who started by emphasizing the importance of ensuring that players, coaches and officials all have the same expectations in the interpretation and application of the rules.
Later in the session, there were video analyses of several foul situations, including the defensive semi-circle, act of shooting, landing space for shooters, traveling, post play and screening, with the aim of reducing misunderstandings and further strengthening the important relationship between coaches and officials.
Carles Duran of Joventut Badalona said: "There is a lot of communication between coaches and referees, especially with Richard Stokes, who is always open to having fluid communication. It is super-important that we all have the same criteria, and this is the right moment for us all to meet so that we have no doubts once the season starts. I believe the organization does its best to have that fluid communication."
Nenad Canak of Lietkabelis Panevezys added: "It is always important to try to understand things better. For sure, it is very helpful for us, coaches, to clarify some things. I think that the most important thing that coaches must have is good communication with the referees during the game. This is really important in basketball."
