Bogdan Tanjevic disses Kanter, Corbin, and the NBA

[JustOneFix]

You are an ignorant. Tanjevic is one of the best coaches in Europe with Željko Obradović, Bozidar Maljkovic, Dusko Ivanovic and Ettore Messina.

They are better than 90% of the NBA coaches.

The only thing they're better at is in making the game of basketball completely unwatchable. I'm from Europe (from Croatia as a matter of fact) and have to puke everytime when i accidentely stumble across any european game on television. It is that horrible. No wonder no one cares about basketball in Europe and playgrounds are all empty. People look elsewhere for excitement.

But the fact is, the game and basketball coaching philosophy are not the same overseas.

Thank God. You can leave your 52-49 pts games to yourself.

[JustOneFix]

Bogdan Tanjevic has long been a bitter individual. He knows he couldn't cut it in the NBA with his simple schemes and inability to blend talent.

He's a typical Balcanic redneck who thinks he knows it all but in reaility has no clue about anything. It's pretty common mindset around these parts. That's why we are where we are.

[seren]

You are an ignorant. Tanjevic is one of the best coaches in Europe with Željko Obradović, Bozidar Maljkovic, Dusko Ivanovic and Ettore Messina.

They are better than 90% of the NBA coaches.

The only thing they're better at is in making the game of basketball completely unwatchable. I'm from Europe (from Croatia as a matter of fact) and have to puke everytime when i accidentely stumble across any european game on television. It is that horrible. No wonder no one cares about basketball in Europe and playgrounds are all empty. People look elsewhere for excitement.

But the fact is, the game and basketball coaching philosophy are not the same overseas.

Thank God. You can leave your 52-49 pts games to yourself.

Agreed. If people don't care about basketball as much as football, those charlatans are one of the main reasons.

[MystikSpiral]

If there's one thing that America knows how to do it properly, is to develop young talent, as evident every frikking year where we have a potential next big star that might take over the league. From Jordan and Bird, to 96 class of Iverson, Nash, Kobe to Lebron, Wade, Carmelo to Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard, there's continuity of excellence.

Where's Europe, that has as a whole, even bigger population then the US, has produced what exactly? Dirk Nowitzki (who was being taught how to play in the US in the first place), Pau Gasol (basically the same thing) and....what else exactly?

You're comparing apples and oranges here...Europe is a football culture. This is not america, which is dominated by 3 more or less equal team sports in american football, basketball and baseball. In europe almost every kid grows up playing football...

I might as well ask you to list some of the world renowned football players that america has produced over the course of like.....ever.

Does that mean US football coaches are crap? No, of course not....

[seren]

If there's one thing that America knows how to do it properly, is to develop young talent, as evident every frikking year where we have a potential next big star that might take over the league. From Jordan and Bird, to 96 class of Iverson, Nash, Kobe to Lebron, Wade, Carmelo to Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard, there's continuity of excellence.

Where's Europe, that has as a whole, even bigger population then the US, has produced what exactly? Dirk Nowitzki (who was being taught how to play in the US in the first place), Pau Gasol (basically the same thing) and....what else exactly?

You're comparing apples and oranges here...Europe is a football culture. This is not america, which is dominated by 3 more or less equal team sports in american football, basketball and baseball. In europe almost every kid grows up playing football...

I might as well ask you to list some of the world renowned football players that america has produced over the course of like.....ever.

Does that mean US football coaches are crap? No, of course not....

They kind of are actually. One feeds the other you know. You seem to fail to understand that. Basketball is big in U.S. as from elementary school to NBA, everyone plays and enjoys. So the system produces players AND coaches (see number of American coaches overseas I posted). The system does not produce football (soccer to prevent confusion) players OR coaches in U.S.

Also the thread is about Tanjevic pretty much pooping on American coaches if you missed it.

[Mass Rig]

Not quite sure what's here to discuss - definitely Tanjevic is by far a better coach than Corbin, and definitely Kanter could have learned much more by spending the summer under Tanjevic with the Turkish team.

And Tanjevic is right - most actual coaching in the NBA is done by assistants, anyway.

[JustOneFix]

You're comparing apples and oranges here...Europe is a football culture. This is not america, which is dominated by 3 more or less equal team sports in american football, basketball and baseball. In europe almost every kid grows up playing football...

First, there's reason why it is a footbal culture. Why? Perhaps because they find the game of soccer more exciting then basketball. And why is that? Perhaps we should ask euroepan basketball minds (like Tanjevic) that question. I'm complete basketball junkie and i can't stand their way of playing. I can only imagine how the average viewer feels when he switches the chanell. Look, it's 45-47 with 2.5 minutes to go, how exciting!

Second, it wasn't always like this. In the 70's and 80's, european basketball was basically the same in style as the american one. You had 130-125 games, with 2 scorers like Drazen Petrovic and Nikos Gails going for 50 points each in the same game (completely unimaginable today), you had a guy like Dalipagic droping 40 on everybody. It was a run and gun type games with bunch of great scorers, high scoring and players actually had bunch of freedom. People were insane about basketball in those times, every frikking playground was full and you had a sense that everyone and their momma is bouncing basketball around. Then all of a sudden, some idiots and (mostly from eastern countries) and "experts" decided that zone defense for like 255 minutes straight, six millions passes in one possesions, complete anihilation of individuaility, and cutting points to half is the right way to go. That's when "european basketball culture" - on good trace till that momment - has died.

I might as well ask you to list some of the world renowned football players that america has produced over the course of like.....ever.

They just started to get into soccer (sadly, since i find that game pretty dumb and boring). Ask me this question for 15-20 years. It's too early.

[seren]

Not quite sure what's here to discuss - definitely Tanjevic is by far a better coach than Corbin, and definitely Kanter could have learned much more by spending the summer under Tanjevic with the Turkish team.

And Tanjevic is right - most actual coaching in the NBA is done by assistants, anyway.

Honestly, I don't know how bad Corbin is so I can't comment on that, but Tanjevic is really really bad. There is absolutely nothing that Kanter would learn from a guy who is calling him "not a center".

[Mass Rig]

Honestly, I don't know how bad Corbin is so I can't comment on that, but Tanjevic is really really bad. There is absolutely nothing that Kanter would learn from a guy who is calling him "not a center".

He didn't say he is not a center, he is saying that Corbin plays him as a center while he should be developed into a PF that can either rebound or stretch the floor shooting. And he is probably right.

[seren]

Honestly, I don't know how bad Corbin is so I can't comment on that, but Tanjevic is really really bad. There is absolutely nothing that Kanter would learn from a guy who is calling him "not a center".

He didn't say he is not a center, he is saying that Corbin plays him as a center while he should be developed into a PF that can either rebound or stretch the floor shooting. And he is probably right.

He is pretty much very wrong. The very first thing Enes needs is a post play. But Tanjevic wouldn't know a post play if he ever saw one. He is pretty much a chuck and duck coach.

[Mass Rig]

And he is right when he says that "America is the perfect place to lose your head". The NBA is the only basketball league with guaranteed contracts. What that means is that players can pretty much do what they want. Coaching them really means bending to their will, their playing style, their whims. That's why Doc Rivers is loved as a coach, and Stan VG is hated. The former is more of a leader than a coach, he doesn't pretty much do any coaching - most of it is carried out by his assistants. SVG wants players to do what he wants and that's why players generally don't like him. And that's why his brother doesn't get a job either.

In Europe this is different. You can be a star and getting paid millions, but if you don't do what your coaches want, you get fired. It's a different system and this has great repercussions of what "coaching" really is.

[Mass Rig]

He is pretty much very wrong. The very first thing Enes needs is a post play. But Tanjevic wouldn't know a post play if he ever saw one. He is pretty much a chuck and duck coach.

That's your opinion. Like it or not, the modern game (FIBA or NBA) is based on stretch bigs that can hit 3 pointers or long jumpers. Kanter is never going to be a center dominant enough to win games down low, no matter whether he develops a great post game or not, while he could be an excellent stretch 4 able to contribute to a contending team.

[seren]

And he is right when he says that "America is the perfect place to lose your head". The NBA is the only basketball league with guaranteed contracts. What that means is that players can pretty much do what they want. Coaching them really means bending to their will, their playing style, their whims. That's why Doc Rivers is loved as a coach, and Stan VG is hated. The former is more of a leader than a coach, he doesn't pretty much do any coaching - most of it is carried out by his assistants. SVG wants players to do what he wants and that's why players generally don't like him. And that's why his brother doesn't get a job either.

In Europe this is different. You can be a star and getting paid millions, but if you don't do what your coaches want, you get fired. It's a different system and this has great repercussions of what "coaching" really is.

Pretty much what it means is empty arenas. Guys like Tanjevic believes people are watching basketball to see the coach scream their lungs out.

[abark]

This dude just sounds like a bigot with a huge inferiority complex. Coaching cannot be measured in the same way that player production can, so its already pointless to try to compare it across leagues that have such different styles of play. But if Euro coaches are so superior, then why are there so few that are recruited by the NBA.

After D'antoni's initial success in Phoenix, I find it impossible to believe that other top Euro coaches wouldn;t have had their phones ringing off the hook if anything this dude said actually had truth to it. NBA owners care a lot more about winning and money than any vague sense of nationalism.

However even MikeD has struggled with his style without Nash, and the richest basketball league in the world continues to show little interest in foreign head coaches overall.

[MystikSpiral]

They kind of are actually. One feeds the other you know. You seem to fail to understand that. Basketball is big in U.S. as from elementary school to NBA, everyone plays and enjoys. So the system produces players AND coaches (see number of American coaches overseas I posted). The system does not produce football (soccer to prevent confusion) players OR coaches in U.S.

I don't see your point. You basically repeated what I just said. Nobody in the US gives a **** about football, thus there aren't any talents being developed. And nobody gives a **** about basketball in europe, same result...The coaches aren't the root of this evil...

And as far as staying on topic goes: Whatever. A guy I don't know being wrong about guys I don't care about. Continue...

[seren]

He is pretty much very wrong. The very first thing Enes needs is a post play. But Tanjevic wouldn't know a post play if he ever saw one. He is pretty much a chuck and duck coach.

That's your opinion. Like it or not, the modern game (FIBA or NBA) is based on stretch bigs that can hit 3 pointers or long jumpers. Kanter is never going to be a center dominant enough to win games down low, no matter whether he develops a great post game or not, while he could be an excellent stretch 4 able to contribute to a contending team.

The last guy who should talk about the modern game is Tanjevic. Kanter already has a good set shot and your comment about Kanter never going to be X at the age of 20 is where coaches like Tanjevic fails. These guys are far from developers. They have a set system where players are pieces that are forced to fit as opposed to trying to make the player the best they can be.

[Sedale Threatt]

Second, it wasn't always like this. In the 70's and 80's, european basketball was basically the same in style as the american one. You had 130-125 games, with 2 scorers like Drazen Petrovic and Nikos Gails going for 50 points each in the same game (completely unimaginable today), you had a guy like Dalipagic droping 40 on everybody. It was a run and gun type games with bunch of great scorers, high scoring and players actually had bunch of freedom. People were insane about basketball in those times, every frikking playground was full and you had a sense that everyone and their momma is bouncing basketball around. Then all of a sudden, some idiots and (mostly from eastern countries) and "experts" decided that zone defense for like 255 minutes straight, six millions passes in one possesions, complete anihilation of individuaility, and cutting points to half is the right way to go. That's when "european basketball culture" - on good trace till that momment - has died.

The NBA and NHL had to deal with this in the 90s/early 00s. Coaches realized they could level the playing field if they didn't have players like that by controlling tempo and focusing on defense. I can't exactly blame guys for doing what they feel they need to do to win, but I agree that it's a horrendous product.

Basketball is a sport of athleticism and spontaneous creation, and you lose so much of that when you've got some guy on the sideline trying to micromanage every possession. It's ironic guys are defending that, because that's the exact criticism I always hear about the NFL in comparison to football.

At any rate, I do think there are positives to both systems. One thing nobody's mentioned is that the limited amount of games in Europe make it easier to focus on fundamentals and whatnot. In the NBA they're playing three and four games a week, while the NCAA has major restrictions on practice time in order to prevent academics from being even more marginalized than they already are.

If there's one thing I would abolish in the USA, it's our AAU system. A complete meat grinder.

[seren]

They kind of are actually. One feeds the other you know. You seem to fail to understand that. Basketball is big in U.S. as from elementary school to NBA, everyone plays and enjoys. So the system produces players AND coaches (see number of American coaches overseas I posted). The system does not produce football (soccer to prevent confusion) players OR coaches in U.S.

I don't see your point. You basically repeated what I just said. Nobody in the US gives a **** about football, thus there aren't any talents being developed. And nobody gives a **** about basketball in europe, same result...The coaches aren't the root of this evil...

And as far as staying on topic goes: Whatever. A guy I don't know being wrong about guys I don't care about. Continue...

You don't know Tanjevic? Well, why are you discussing European basketball then?

[JustOneFix]

And he is right when he says that "America is the perfect place to lose your head". The NBA is the only basketball league with guaranteed contracts. What that means is that players can pretty much do what they want. Coaching them really means bending to their will, their playing style, their whims. That's why Doc Rivers is loved as a coach, and Stan VG is hated. The former is more of a leader than a coach, he doesn't pretty much do any coaching - most of it is carried out by his assistants. SVG wants players to do what he wants and that's why players generally don't like him. And that's why his brother doesn't get a job either.

Exactly the way it should be. NBA is a player's league's, first and foremost. And that's why it is the best and most atractive basketball league of all time. More freedom to players is just better and more exciting basketball, less freedom to players and all the power to coaches means schematic, faceless and boring type of basketball that no one wants to see.

[reue45754444]

Tanjevic had a great Italian national team and made them Euro champions. After that, it is all down. As a Turk, I can say he destroyed our basketball generation and made our team unbearable to watch. We played good defense, that is it. He can only be a defensive coach in NBA.

About his comments about Kanter, he is probably right. He is not playing at all, not learning anything at all. So national team camp and games could be a nice practice opportunity for him, instead he chose to get some tattoos or party all summer long. He is a bust, and he will be a bust. Okur was chosen in second round, and Kanter will not even reach his level as 3rd pick (even in a weak draft).

One more point, Utah Jazz loves to be mediocre. They never win, they never suck. If I was running the team, I would give their good young core much more playing time instead of trying to become the 40 win team every year. and yes, that means playing Kanter and Haywood instead of Jefferson and Milsap. But they love to have the 15th pick every year, so it is their decision. They will continue to be a farm team like Magic, to teams like Nets, Bulls, Lakers, etc.