Basketball – Ilias Papatheodorou: “The best is in front of us”

A new start for the Swiss team which is starting its pre-season campaign this week.–qualification for Euro 2025. At the trip to Austria this Thursday (8:15 pm) succIt’swill be the reception of Cyprus in Freiburg, Sunday (5 p.m.). Swiss Basketball has set the course to follow for many months: it wants to see its team participate in its first major international competition since … 1955 and the European Championship played in Hungary.

This implies not to reproduce the disappointment of this summer, when the Nati failed at the pre-qualifying stage for the 2023 World Cup. Despite encouraging performances, they finished in last place in a group within their reach ( North Macedonia, Slovakia), tied with its two adversaries and outstripped on the point difference. Such an infuriating outcome.

Three months have passed since then and Switzerland wants to prove that it has the means to achieve its ambitions. These were consolidated with the arrival on the bench, in mid-July, of Ilias Papatheodorou. Finalist of the 2020 Champions League at the head of AEK Athens and former assistant in the Greek team, the Greek is trying to implant his high-level culture in Swiss basketball. Reached by phone, he makes a first diagnosis.

Three months after the end of your first meeting at the head of Switzerland, you find the selection. What is your state of mind?

A new challenge looms before us. Unfortunately, some important players are not able to help us: Toni Rokac is in the United States, Paul Gravet is injured, Jonathan Kazadi too and it is not yet known if he will be able to play this week. But on the other hand, those who are with us are putting a lot of intensity, like last summer. I was very satisfied with this first gathering. The players gave their all. I think we have done a very good job. The situation is new for all of us, it is not easy to bring something new in a few weeks. From now on, we must continue to work to progress as a team.

Looking back, what do you take away from this campaign, which ended with a frustrating elimination?

We worked hard and overall played good basketball. But there are some things you can’t control. I saw the players progress and give their maximum. It was a good opportunity for me to accompany them. We must continue to fight and move forward. I think the best is ahead, but we have to be patients and not to rely on our achievements.

What were the targeted areas of work when you arrived?

We started with a blank sheet. I wanted to push the players to work harder, to adopt a mentality more compatible with high level basketball. This is our philosophy. Like I said, it’s not easy and it doesn’t happen in a matter of weeks. This is why I am really proud of the players, because they have shown’humility and worked well. We have made tremendous progress, individually and collectively.

And this week, on what aspects do yous focusz you?

The problem with these international windows is that you only have two or three days to practice before each game. You can’t really dwell on the details, you have to focus on the fundamentals. We are only going to review certain things and continue the work started last summer.

Let’s come back to your appointment in mid-July. What prompted a coach of your caliber to apply for the bench Switzerland?

Each new opportunity is interesting to me. The speech of the leaders of Swiss Basketball convinced me. J’I wanted to get involved in a new environment and bring a little of my philosophy, but also to learn from another basketball. It is always interesting to discover a new mentality, new ideas.

What did you know about Swiss basketball and what attracted you?

Three years ago, when I was coaching PAOK Salonika, we faced Freiburg. It is my only experience of Swiss basketball as an opponent. I followed some players but I did not have a great knowledge of the Swiss environment. Now I know him better and the players understand me more.

What was your view on the potential of this selection?

Everyone knows that Swiss basketball is not one of the best in Europe, but some players have interesting potential. What is essential is to bring out new talents and ensure that in Switzerland more people are interested in basketball. The current level is not sufficient to reach the next stage.

You talk about the need to forge a new generation of players. How do you get there?

It’s not just up to me, of course. I have to share my vision as well as my advice to the federation and on the other hand, bring new blood to the team. Six players made their national debut last summer. We tryie to help young people, so that they have an idea of ​​European basketball and are able to carry the team in the future. This is my role. For the rest, Swiss Basketball and the clubs must work for the development of basketball in Switzerland. It’s not a major sport here and we have to change that.

Swiss basketball generally suffers from a lack of a winning culture. How to cure it?

Again, this is not the responsibility of one person. If you want to reach the top level, you have to find good coaches, players, managers, who know basketball and the recipe to progress. If Swiss basketball wants to become credible, the clubs must already be professionalized. The championship is not yet 100%. It is not a way to improve anything. We have to work together, make a plan. If you don’t have a vision to become better, it’s complicated.

Is the national team the first step in this plan?

Absoutely. This is the most visible part. Together, with the help of the clubs, we must move it forward. With the players, we only meet three or four times a year, which is not a lot. But if you get good results and play good basketball, people notice it and start watching the games. This is how we createe infatuation.

What is the Ilias Papatheodorou “paw”?

It’s all a question of mentality. Training and playing for two hours is not enough. If you want to grow and reach the next level, you have to pay attention to all aspects of basketball: private life, food, “extra” work, video analysis… Basketball is not just a game. story of passion, intensity, tactics, it’s a whole.

When you arrived, there was talk of finding a club, in parallel with your mission with Switzerland. What about this situation?

I’m too young to devote myself solely to a national team and work three to four times a year. Of course, I am still in the market but it is very important for me to find myself in good conditions. I have worked at a high level so I have certain requirements, but above all I want the club in question to believe in me and give me the keys. I don’t have one type of project in mind. I need something that can make me happy. I need to create, it’s my philosophy, not to have a job to say to have one. If I find something interesting, I will take the opportunity. So far I have not found anything to satisfy me.