Should Scariolo resign from Spanish NT?

[Toxicity]

Spanish posters here should know more than me but it's pretty clear that Sergio Scariolo is not exactly "loved" by the Spanish NT players... the Navarros, Gasols, etc... Marc even accused him of the lost against Turkey. The gold medal can't erase this situation... and neither the 4-y contract signed by Sergio some months ago.

He' may not be the perfect coach for a team like Spain... his attitude and personality are too strong for a team full of stars and egos.

What do you think?

p.s.= we could exchange our coach Recalcati for Scariolo if you want...

[Morente]

That is a pretty difficult question.

If you ask me at the beginning of the tournament, I would vote for firing Scariolo as soon as possible. But with the gold medal and the impressive run in the elimination rounds, it is undeniable that he had the job done. I am not sure if either it was an strategy to begin slow defending without intensity or it was the players stepping up after a bad beginning. Anyway, credit should be given to Sergio for this success, and based only on that he should get another chance in next world championship.

But there is another motivation. I, and that is just myself, not meaning that my opinion is the only way to think, don't like the fact of a coach of a team also coaching a national team. Unfortunately, he is the coach of Khimkhi, where happens to play 2 spanish playrs whose inclusion on the team could be somewhat controversial. And maybe there could be a conflict with him calling his own players before others that deserved it more. Also he could not be full time preparing the NT games; on the other hand, I know it is difficult to hire an star coach full time for a national team.

About his abilities as a coach, well, I would grade him with a C+. This team is easy to coach and I don't dislike him so much.

And, I wasn't going to post this because it might sound xenophobe but anyway, don't like foreign coaches for NT. For my ACB favourite team (Real Madrid) no problem, but for team Spain I would like to have an Spanish coach. On the other hand, Scariolo has coached many years in Spain and well, I don't consider him a total foreigner.

All in all, I wouldn't care if he resigns, but wouldn't matter if he stays. I would give him another chance unless a top spanish coach applies for the job and commits full time to it. I miss Pepu...

p.s.= we could exchange our coach Recalcati for Scariolo if you want...

mmmm... let me think just a moment...

No thanks.

[damelo]

I remember Pepu said after WC2006 that this team didn't need a coach.
And, really, I don't think changing coach would change too much things. I don't see great differences.
When you don't play too easy, you are unbeatable. When you play easy(meaning all the balls over opponents heads to Pau), most teams can't stop you.

[Perseus1966]

yes ,next year will be very difficult...

[Toxicity]

That is a pretty difficult question.

If you ask me at the beginning of the tournament, I would vote for firing Scariolo as soon as possible. But with the gold medal and the impressive run in the elimination rounds, it is undeniable that he had the job done. I am not sure if either it was an strategy to begin slow defending without intensity or it was the players stepping up after a bad beginning. Anyway, credit should be given to Sergio for this success, and based only on that he should get another chance in next world championship.

But there is another motivation. I, and that is just myself, not meaning that my opinion is the only way to think, don't like the fact of a coach of a team also coaching a national team. Unfortunately, he is the coach of Khimkhi, where happens to play 2 spanish playrs whose inclusion on the team could be somewhat controversial. And maybe there could be a conflict with him calling his own players before others that deserved it more. Also he could not be full time preparing the NT games; on the other hand, I know it is difficult to hire an star coach full time for a national team.

About his abilities as a coach, well, I would grade him with a C+. This team is easy to coach and I don't dislike him so much.

And, I wasn't going to post this because it might sound xenophobe but anyway, don't like foreign coaches for NT. For my ACB favourite team (Real Madrid) no problem, but for team Spain I would like to have an Spanish coach. On the other hand, Scariolo has coached many years in Spain and well, I don't consider him a total foreigner.

All in all, I wouldn't care if he resigns, but wouldn't matter if he stays. I would give him another chance unless a top spanish coach applies for the job and commits full time to it. I miss Pepu...



mmmm... let me think just a moment...

No thanks.

Thank you for your opinion. Now i expect some other spanish posters about this argument...

Just one thing, regarding Scariolo as foreigner: i (as italian) almost don't consider him italian anymore... his wife is spanish, his childs born in Spain and his life is in your country so i can't think about a foreign coach with more relationship with Spain... even more than what we had with Boscia Tanjevic in '99 gold at Eurobasket. So maybe you're too hard with him...

[Mysh]

Whatever you do don't change a coach every year. It's not a professional attitude and it doesn't match with the champion profile Spain has at the moment.

Winning a gold and sucking the guy is insane.

[Useless]

Scariolo is a strategist and thats bad for a guys who love to run and gun.

Scariolo is a great coach, but he needs a longtime to get the best of their rosters. With Unicaja Málaga, he started all the seasons he coached this team with maaany defeats against weak teams, but after a few months the team started to get better and better and they even won a spanish cup, a league, they reached a F4 etc...

So imo, Scariolo is not a good coach for a short term but he´s always succesful in a long term.

[Fedfan]

I think Spain won the gold not because of his coaching,but in spite of it.He doesn't bode well with the players and their style of play.But in the end,it seems he gave up and let them play their own way.
I think it would better to fire him,because when a great coach will be really needed against tougher opposition i.e WC2010 ,Spain will not find it in him.

[Toxicity]

I think Spain won the gold not because of his coaching,but in spite of it.He doesn't bode well with the players and their style of play.But in the end,it seems he gave up and let them play their own way.
I think it would better to fire him,because when a great coach will be really needed against tougher opposition i.e WC2010 ,Spain will not find it in him.

Who would be a supposed better coach than Scariolo? Available i mean...

Scariolo is a great coach and he showed it in his career, period.

[Fedfan]

Who would be a supposed better coach than Scariolo? Available i mean...

Scariolo is a great coach and he showed it in his career, period.

Yes I didn't say he's not a great coach,I said that in my personal opinion his game philosophy isn't the right one for this spanish NT.

I don't have the slightest idea about an alternative,sorry.:/

[penzias]

Who would be a supposed better coach than Scariolo? Available i mean...

An inanimate carbon rod.

[Genjuro]

I think Scariolo should continue coaching Spain.

I do think the tournament meant a failure of his strategies. He wanted to play slower, a half-court basketball, with long plays, trying to get positional advantages (like playing both Gasol brothers at the same time), but the team couldn't get used to it and simply didn't deliver any effort.

You usually hear that good defense brings good offense. For the heterodox Spanish NT it might be right the other way around.

It all happened in the second quarter against Lithuania. Spain had executed a sight defense in the awful first quarter when it was completely obvious that if they pressured just a little bit the Lithuanian perimeter, their offense would collapse like a house of cards. They did it, they could run as a result, they delivered a superb 23-0 run and in the meantime forgot about any offensive schemes, taking quick shots as will. They never looked back, kept on running and the defense improved dramatically.

So, I believe there was some kind of "problem" between Scariolo and the players because of the playing style. But it was apparently sorted out and the team looked fantastic in the last three games on both ends of the court. And if something works, don't break it.

I hope that the Italian has learnt from his mistakes for the future. That's why I want him back. Besides, the team finished the championship on top form, which is always very important. However, there's always the risk of his coaching ego trying to impose his slow-tempo style again, especially if Gasol and Navarro (the team leaders) leave the NT. But I trust him being more reasonable than that.

[GtM]

Who would be a supposed better coach than Scariolo? Available i mean...

Scariolo is a great coach and he showed it in his career, period.

A great coach has the respect of his players.Can you imagine Teodosic criticizing Ivcovic on tv after a defeat?

[Toxicity]

I think Scariolo should continue coaching Spain.

I do think the tournament meant a failure of his strategies. He wanted to play slower, a half-court basketball, with long plays, trying to get positional advantages (like playing both Gasol brothers at the same time), but the team couldn't get used to it and simply didn't deliver any effort.

So, I believe there was some kind of "problem" between Scariolo and the players because of the playing style. But it was apparently sorted out and the team looked fantastic in the last three games on both ends of the court. And if something works, don't break it.

I hope that the Italian has learnt from his mistakes for the future. That's why I want him back. Besides, the team finished the championship on top form, which is always very important. However, there's always the risk of his coaching ego trying to impose his slow-tempo style again, especially if Gasol and Navarro (the team leaders) leave the NT. But I trust him being more reasonable than that.

It's also a failure of the players who refuse to adapt, having all the tools to do that...

I agree slow-paced play is not the best suited for this Spain NT but it was mainly a matter of effort by spanish players. They didn't like that style (and a coach like Scariolo, who knows) and probably didn't give their 100% or even 75%...

That being said, Scariolo made several mistakes in the first games and probably in his approach with the players... moreover the spanish federation knew what a coach like Scariolo brings to the table and the players too.

[Genjuro]

It's also a failure of the players who refuse to adapt, having all the tools to do that...

I agree slow-paced play is not the best suited for this Spain NT but it was mainly a matter of effort by spanish players. They didn't like that style (and a coach like Scariolo, who knows) and probably didn't give their 100% or even 75%...

That being said, Scariolo made several mistakes in the first games and probably in his approach with the players... moreover the spanish federation knew what a coach like Scariolo brings to the table and the players too.

That's why I was concerned when Scariolo was signed. I guess they didn't have many more choices. And you're right about the players but you can't do much about it.

Spanish NT players enjoy huge power. The Spanish Federation always wanted to have them happy, so they keep coming (if you think about it, it's pretty amazing how almost every single player reports to the NT every year despite their age and success). So, for example, there are very flexible rules so the players can party a lot during the preparation.

Anyway, that power allowed them to basically fire coach Pesquera by themselves back in 2005.

So Scariolo didn't have any other choice once it was clear that his strategy wasn't working and that the players weren't happy. Something probably was spoken on the locker room after the game against Turkey, when Marc Gasol openly criticized Scariolo on national TV for his decision in the last play of that game. Indeed the following day Scariolo himself, Navarro and president of the Spanish Federation altogether offered a press conference to show a image of unity. The following game was against Lithuania, and you know what happened.

All in all, this is a player's team, not a coaches' team, and whoever doesn't understand that will probably get fired.