A couple of years away from the world of sports after a long stint as a journalist specializing in basketball, the Girona native Jordi Plà was working as a mediator at Caritas when he received an unexpected call from Marc Gasol. The Raptors’ pivot wanted him as sporting director of Bàsquet Girona for the premiere of his club at LEB Or. After walking around for a few days, Plà said “yes,” he watched a lot of basketball games again. after a time “without seeing half a whole”, he advised Gasol to do without Àlex Formento as coach and ended up making a squad that, with Carles Marco on the bench, many see with real options to fight to turn Girona back into an ACB place. “The only goal we have in terms of classification is to consolidate the promotion to LEB Or and we think we have a team that gives us guarantees to be able to achieve it. Beyond that, we want the players to improve and for the team to play a little better every time, being careful with the results and not conditioning our day to day “, says a prudent Plan qThe EU marks “decision-making” and “spaces” as the two fundamental concepts of its basketball.
From caritas to sports director
“The change is radical, but I have lived it well because before I made a decision I thought a lot about it. They didn’t call me and I said yes right away, but I thought about it because I at Caritas was doing very well with a decision I had made two years ago to change my job direction. And here, once I decided to accept the proposal, I also felt good and very well accompanied by the people of the club, who have never made me feel alone, helping me and being by my side because my inexperience in the charge was less noticeable.
Marc Gasol’s call
“Of course I was surprised that Marc (Gasol) called me. First because it was for a task I had never done and then because I had been out of this world for almost two years. I was very surprised that a person like him, with his knowledge and his situation, would think of me. I guess he asked people with whom I had, and still have, a relationship and they proposed my name to him talking not so much about my knowledge, that too, but about my day to day life. I did not know him personally, beyond having interviewed him, and I am convinced that when they proposed my name to him I did not know who I was.
Contact with basketball
“Of the two years I’ve been out of the basketball world, in the first I didn’t follow him at all. I would say I didn’t see any matches. I’ve always been in touch with people from the basketball world, because they’re my friends, and I’ve always kept talking about basketball but I didn’t follow it or watch matches. The first year I don’t remember seeing even half an entire game; and, in the second, a little more much of a nod. Then, once I make the decision to accept Marc’s proposal, seeing that the way he sees basketball and mine fit in, I logically start watching matches to make up for lost time. The first thing I did was watch all the Bàsquet Girona matches in LEB Plata and then, once we had confirmed that we would play in LEB Or, it was already a question of looking for players who would adapt to the category and basketball we want. as a club ”.
The basketball they want to play
“Basically, the idea of basketball that we all agree on at the club is the concept of decision making. We want to play basketball by making players make decisions. And this from the first team to the children’s team. Basketball is for the players and the best way for them to feel that the game belongs to them is to play from their decision making. Another key concept in today’s basketball is that of space. Playing basketball gets a little more complicated every day, because every time the players are taller, stronger, they jump more … And the court doesn’t change and, therefore, the space shrinks. There is no attack without widening the field and it is very difficult to defend without diminishing it. The framework between decision making and space use is where our basketball needs to move. However, the player must make decisions within general parameters. It’s not about getting up and throwing. If we get there and have a good shot, we should always take it. Be it the 5th or 18th of possession. All within guidelines, but what we do not want is for all attack movements to be marked or in a predetermined order.
I the one who is plays LEB Or
“The LEB Gold is a very tactical category where, in recent years, the weight of coaches has been very important. In our case, the bet we make for Carles (Marco) is because he knows the category very well, which was a fundamental requirement, and on the other hand he has a very recent facet as a player and is very present idea of making decisions. And that’s key for players to grow. We know that in LEB Or there are moments that, due to lack of success or because they do not let us take the initiative, in which we will have to play this more physical basketball and go to the top in the category, but if we take the initiative starting from the defense and the rebound we can propose another game having a good time the ball, and playing fast and doing a good basketball. In any case, we have people like Àlex Llorca, Pep Busquets, Ryan Logan and Biram Faye in the squad who have the capacity to endure this physical game ”.
Template
“We are happy with the squad we have made because we think they will give us this basketball we want. I think they will connect very well to the track, both for their strengths and their flaws, but we are aware that in September everyone is happy with their squad. Even those who have not been able to sign their first options think that the players who have come to their place are fine. For us there is no player without improvement and, if a few weeks pass, a player does not improve is that something we are not doing well as a coaching staff.
7 Catalan players
“Having seven Catalan players in the squad is sought after. And it is because we believe in local basketball and because Catalan basketball is a world reference at all levels: players, coaches, clubs, referees … If we are a Catalan basketball club, we must be able to respond to all those Catalan players, or trained in Catalan basketball, who are 23, 24 or 25 years old and who need an environment to grow. In general, the best moments of all players start at 26 or 27 years old and here, for some time now, it is considered that a 22 or 23 year old player who does not have a good season is no longer worth it. If we look for a profile that Catalan basketball gives us, we try to sign it. If it is not in the Catalan market, then we open the focus to other markets. Failure to do so would be incongruous. It would be as if a Swedish or Finnish ice hockey team did not sign Swedish or Finnish players.
Expectations
“The only goal in terms of classification is to consolidate the promotion to LEB Or and we think we have a team that gives us guarantees to be able to achieve it. Beyond that, we want the players to improve and the team to play a little better every time being careful with the results and not conditioning our day to day. It is inevitable that the results affect the day to day, it would only be missing, because we have come to win. Like everyone else. There is no one in professional sport who does not want to win. The system of competition with two groups means that the first match can end up being decisive. You can’t go slow and see what happens. We need to be very well prepared when the league starts »
Play without an audience
“What wouldn’t make sense is to interrupt the competition if you can play without an audience. In the face of the covid-19, we must always try to work in the context closest to competitive normality and, as soon as people can enter the pavilion, we will adapt to the different competitions. If both teams can play, we have to. Even without an audience. From the first moment, our decision is to prepare for the season as normal as possible and if there comes a time when we have to stop, we will adapt to what happens at that time.
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