Sports director Leibenath about Ratiopharm Ulm

Mr. Leibenath, your team knocked out the German champions Alba Berlin from the play-offs and defeated the cup winners Bayern Munich twice in the semi-finals in Munich. This Friday (7 p.m. at MagentaSport) you can throw the second Euroleague team out of the play-offs.

One may be injured and the other may have a long season in their bones. You have to do this first. However, we know that we still have to win a game to reach the final.

You were coach in Ulm for eight years, reached the cup final twice, the championship final series twice, and on top of that you set the league record of 27 consecutive wins in 2017. Does that motivate you to finally win the championship?

The motivation to win titles is always there. Perhaps less predominant than one would expect. The title is the logical consequence if what we set out to do works: player development and training. I think we’re doing a good job there. This favors the situation to play titles. If you are consistent in this, the championship can become the logical result. If we wanted to win the title by hook or by crook, we would play on the back burner for two years and put the saved money into a squad that can compete with the big clubs in the third. But no one here would agree with that. We want to be the best – in one very clear category: development.

How do you find players like Brazil’s Yago Dos Santos and Bruno Caboclo, like Spain’s 18-year-old Juan Núñez, who want to prove something and can prove something?

Very few Eurocup teams that, like us, aim to reach the play-offs in domestic competition would dare to sign a Brazilian who has never played in Europe. Would dare to get a player who is 18 years old. And would still dare to use these two players in the same position. From experience, what the two had to offer is pretty thin. Núñez made a couple of appearances for Real Madrid, usually when the game was underway. Yago has played in a league where the defensive level is below what we know here. Teams at our level say: let them play in Europe for a year or two and then we’ll talk.

They in Ulm make a bet that they will set up the game for them.

Yes, that is calculated. We have to take a risk if we want to invest more, bolder and more sustainably in development.

When asked where his progress came from, Núñez replied that in Ulm he got the minutes he needed. Do you guarantee him the working time?

No. We’ve built a reputation. Some accuse us of this: You hype players by letting them play, come what may. It’s not like that. We have very high standards and players only get minutes if they live up to them. We are aware that in order to promote players in the best possible way, mistakes need to be dealt with differently. The opportunity to make mistakes and play through. We look at mistakes differently than other clubs who may be under more pressure of expectations. We manage to have high expectations of player performance while still allowing them to play through despite mistakes. We don’t take them out at the first mistake. If we had done that, Núñez would probably not be with us anymore. His first five games really weren’t good. But we saw potential in the training, the attitude, the will to do things better.

They had to cope with some setbacks at the beginning of the season.

We didn’t panic and patiently let the team work and grow.

more on the subject

Was the worst setback the semi-final defeat in the Eurocup in Ankara?

I don’t see that as a disappointment at all. That was our greatest success in international competition. But of course, when you stand at the door of even greater success, you are also disappointed. We led for 35 minutes and had a chance to make it to the semifinals. That was bitter. But perhaps this experience was necessary for us to get a game or two across the finish line in the play-offs.

Do you have the same attitude towards coaches as towards players? You were succeeded by Slovenian newcomer Jaka Lakovič, and now you’ve given Anton Gavel his first appointment as head coach in the league.

I think it is wrong to assume that experience is the most important thing in this position. You can go wrong for thirty years; this is also an experience. For me it’s about competence. You can have that at a young age. Lakovič and Gavel are all about how they communicate with people, work with people, nurture people. Choosing Gavel in that regard was extremely easy because we’ve seen him do it in the NBBL and Pro B for three years. Before that, he had done a one-year internship in the field of individual training at Bayern Munich. We were convinced that he had the right mindset and that he could inspire people with his idea of ​​playing basketball.

Did the player Gavel also contribute to this belief?

I also saw this ability in him as a player. I’ve always been fascinated by the player Anton Gavel. I was allowed to work with him for two years as a co-trainer in Gießen. I don’t know anyone who has performed above his means like him. This is only possible with uncanny will and uncanny work attitude. I thought: If he exemplified that as a player, he will also be able to exemplify that as a coach. As he developed in the Pro B players, it was clear: he is the perfect choice.