Coach Zvezda Mitrovic has overseen AS Monaco's rise from the French second division to the 7DAYS EuroCup Finals. In this Eurocupbasketball.com interview, he spoke about the club, its remarkable season and his coaching start.
Zvezdan Mitrovic, AS Monaco: 'It is a dream come true'
Interviews
11 mins read
AS Monaco has torn through the ranks of French and European basketball in recent years and has now reached the 7DAYS EuroCup Finals and become eligible to participate in the next edition of the Turkish Airline EuroLeague. One man who has been a part of the entire journey is head coach Zvezda Mitrovic. Now in his second stint with the club, Mitrovic was the man on the bench when the team made history in 2015 and reached the French elite level and almost six years later, he has guided Monaco to a 15-6 record in the EuroCup. Next up is a battle for a coveted trophy against UNICS Kazan. Before that, Mitrovic spoke to Eurocupbasketball.com about the club, its remarkable season and his coaching start. "All the guys really made an excellent effort the entire season," Mitrovic said. "They played with a huge heart, relationships on the team are great, we never gave up, we played every game to the maximum."
First of all, congratulations on reaching the EuroCup Finals! If we go back to your first day with Monaco when the club was playing in the ProB, could you have ever imagined this day?
"I arrived that season to lead the last 11 games. Monaco was in a good position and the goal was to get promoted to the first division. Thoughts about playing in European competitions at that time were very far away. It was more of thinking to try to move up, then avoid relegation the next season because oftentimes, promoted teams struggled to stay up. We were probably not even dreaming about this at that time."
"Different players came up big in different moments and we achieved this amazing success."
Monaco started the season with three straight wins and has been competitive all season long. Was there a moment or a victory when you thought to yourself: 'This team can go to the EuroCup Finals and win the title?'
"Only after we finished the Top 16. Because, to be honest, when we saw our regular season group, and knowing before anything started that the level of our budget was lower than in previous seasons, the only goal was to get into the Top 16, hoping we can get past Lietkabelis and Antwerp. We thought that was realistic and we made it through playing good defense and low-scoring games. After that, we exploded. Maybe our performances in the Top 16 were a result of playing without the pressure of having bigger goals and playing with a short rotation because we did not have more players than what we played. But even then, we did not think about the EuroCup Finals and earning a place in the EuroLeague. But after the Top 16, when we saw our playoff path, we did think we have an easier path than what it would be facing the two Russian clubs, UNICS and Lokomotiv, and undefeated Virtus. That's when we thought, we have our chance, why wouldn't we make a run for it."
Even though you were able to sweep Herbalife Gran Canaria in the semifinals, it was a tough series. Looking back, how would you summarize it?
"Both games had dramatic endings, but during each game we dominated. We led by double digits, even led by 18 in Game 1, but in both games, we gave them a chance to come back. Especially in Game 2, when we had an 8-point advantage entering the last minute. Maybe our hands got tied a little bit, we missed some free throws, committed some turnovers. However, I think we dominated more in each of those two games and had more control throughout each game than what we did against Buducnost in the quarterfinals. However, Gran Canaria always found a player that would bring it back to life. But we managed to pull both games out in close finishes."
Can you take us into the timeout after Andrew Albicy tied Game 2 in the last seconds? What was said and what were you thinking?
"We practiced that special-situation play the morning of the game. We had a similar situation against Buducnost, but with less time on the clock, which we also executed nicely; Lessort did everything he needed to do, but the ball did not want to go in. This time we opted for either Rob Gray or J.J. O'Brien. But that combination is something we practice and we ran it five-on-zero in practice that morning. So, we repeated it in the game. There are two options and whichever guy gets the ball, he needs to finish it, there is not much thinking. Luckily, Gray made the shot. Lessort missed it against Buducnost, that's sports. But let's not forget, Gran Canaria almost sent the game into overtime on the last play with 0.3 left. Every tenth of the second can count in those moments."
"Coach Priftis is a great colleague, a very positive person, and I am very happy for him, too."
One thing that stands out about Monaco is that it is truly a team where different players come up in big moments, whether it was Rob Gray, or Mathias Lessort, Dee Bost, Marcos Knight, J.J. O'Brien. The list goes on. It must be a pleasure to work with such a group.
"We have a short roster, and I have to say that a couple of young guys extremely stepped up to help us, especially defensively. First, Abdoulaye Ndoye, who has been doing great defensive work, then the kid Rudy Demahis who even made important shots and took over running the offense. They used their chance. But the rest, the other seven players that are the foundation of our team, all carried it out.
"Realistically, as a coach, I have to say we were lucky that the French League has had big breaks between games. We did not play too many games. If we had a series of games both in the domestic league and in the EuroCup, I doubt such a short roster would make it through. So, we had a chance to prepare the games throughout the EuroCup season. But all the guys really made an excellent effort the entire season. They played with a huge heart, the relationships on the team are great, we never gave up, we played every game to the maximum. And then, different players came up big in different moments and we achieved this amazing success."
Is there a player on the team who has outperformed your expectations this season and played a bigger role than you anticipated in getting this far?
"The young players really surprised me, and the rest each had their moments. Dee Bost opened the season great, then had some lows but then again played at a high level again. We added Rob Gray, he lifted us in the Top 16. Lessort played fantastic basketball in the second part of the season. And the story is similar with other players. None of them were dominant the entire season, but each played at their maximum at certain points of the season and that was the key."
Your coaching journey was unusual as you left your native Montenegro in your early 30s and spent 12 years coaching in Ukraine before you joined Monaco. Tell us please a little about your beginnings and your time in Ukraine and how it impacted you as a coach and a person.
"I started coaching very young, I was an assistant at 22 years of age at Picadilly Podgorica in my hometown after I played in the youth categories. Buducnost called me to join their staff in 1996 and that's when there started to be more investments in Buducnost. What has been great there is they were sending me to the clinics, giving me chances to learn, and I went to a lot of those and had a chance to talk to a lot of coaches, even professor Aleksandar Nikolic. It all helped my ambitions. We even played in the EuroLeague while I was an assistant, but I felt that I was not going to get a real chance. So I opted for Ukraine, it was a pioneering move. And I stayed there for 12 seasons. It was a huge experience of all kinds where you learn your coaching craft. And I always stayed in contact with some of the great coaches I had a chance to meet, so I would talk and watch practices of Zeljko Obradovic, follow Dusan Ivkovic at some tournaments in Ukraine. It was a constant education. I don't think there was a year I missed a clinic or listened to some seminars. And of course, the head coaching experience in Ukraine, where we always had a lot of games either for playing in some lower European competitions or we played in a couple of domestic leagues, got me used to a busy schedule. I think that helped me adapt. All if it played a role in shaping me as a coach."
UNICS Kazan presents a stiff challenge in the finals. Have you had a chance to see them play this season? What do you think about the team?
"I watched them because I watch all the games. I adore watching all the games. I know UNICS as a club, played them often while in Ukraine, but this UNICS today is a team with great energy, a team so tough to play against. They are similar to us, but I think with higher individual quality. They play undersized players who manage to do everything, like John Brown who dominated Game 3 against Virtus. They have incredible individual quality offensively, but their team defense gives them an option to improvise offensively and do what they do on offense. They have a few amazing shooters. Scoring 107 points against Virtus, which did not play bad defense, tells you how talented UNICS is. They play aggressive and eye-pleasing basketball and congratulations to them and their coach. We met back in a day when he was with Aris Thessaloniki. Coach Priftis is a great colleague, a very positive person, and I am very happy for him, too. He has done a great job."
"No matter how small our club is, it is fantastically organized."
What do you anticipate the keys to the series being?
"I think energy will be a key. We will both play our finals series after a busy domestic schedule. And I also think motivation will play a big role. This time, both teams know they already got a piece of the pie by becoming eligible to play in the EuroLeague next season. But now, everybody needs to realize there is another great prize to win the EuroCup, to win a trophy. I would say UNICS is the favorite, but so far this season, playing against favorites has not presented a problem for us. We will give our best. Looking at players in specific positions, I think the two teams match up nicely, we are similar."
As someone so engrained in the club after five seasons in Monaco, can you explain what your success – and being eligible to play in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague next season – means to the people at the club and around Monaco?
"Knowing our club president Sergey Dyadechko, who had EuroLeague ambitions back with Donetsk in Ukraine, I think it is a dream come true. He is a club president who is very involved, he is very ambitious, and it was a huge dream of his and I am so happy for him. And with him and sports director Oleksiy Yefimov, no matter how small our club is, it is fantastically organized and I am not saying that because I have been here for so long. It is an unbelievable achievement for everybody."