By Bojan Brezovac/ info@eurohoops.net
It’s not a secret that Dusko Ivanovic is an old-school, very demanding head coach and he is not shy about his methods.
As he said after the win over ASVEL, he will continue to work as hard as ever with his players: “Before I came in, I watched the games, and I saw that the boys are strong. They are physically strong. Some are players who are also mentally strong, and there are also players who are mentally soft. There are some exceptions, but in general, they all know how to play, the difference is in the mental aspect. That’s why I believe in my own work, and I also believe in players who have character and who have a lot of work ahead of them. Faith is the most important thing, you have to believe in the players both when they hit the shot and when they make a mistake.”
That’s why when asked if he is going to use regularly a 12-player rotation as he did against ASVEL, he gave a straight answer: “This is not a social event to please someone. Everything will depend on the opponent and the situation on the field.”
Finally, there was the question of whether there would be another five-hour training, a report that created a lot of backlash among EuroLeague players.
“Well, no, I said it wasn’t five hours of training, but six and a half hours,” repeated Ivanovic with a laugh.