Danilo Gallinari leaves the national team on the melancholy notes of Fabrizio De André with a post on social media – is the farewell of the NBA champion to the blue shirt – but in Italy the disappointment for the exit to the European Championships and the resignation of Gianmarco Pozzecco still burns. Replacing the “Poz” on the blue bench and in the hearts of the fans is not an easy undertaking. It takes a high level profile. The Toto-Nomi of the new coach began immediately after the announcement of the same “Poz” even if the federation of Gianni Petrucci, obviously already aware of the decision of the outgoing coach, moved in advance. The favorite is Luca Banchi, the 60 -year -old Grosseto technician who recently left the Latvia bench. At present, he would be the successor of the coach – “to eighty percent of probability”, to what emerges from FIP environments, even if a definitive decision is not made. The second name that had circulated immediately after Slovenia is that of Sergio Scariolo who, however, should carve out time and space from the commitments with Real Madrid. On the other hand, the farewell of the Poz preludes a total revolution on the parquet. The young technician – always in elegant blue suit and white shirt but with posture and screams from ultrà – has sown, and well. However, those who arrive will have to use different weapons compared to those as a great motivator that make Pozzecco still unique. A sort of José Mourinho of the ball in wedges. The exit of Italy in the round of 16 of the European Championships by the Slovenia of Luka Doncic left disappointment and frustration in an environment, that of basketball, which seemed to have finally found the spirit of the golden years. Italy has made the blue fans dream and hope, playing the open face qualification against teams probably more structured on a physical level. This was the merit of Pozzecco or reporting enthusiasm where the eternal complaint absurd to the nursery rhyme reigned, of the type ‘we do not have long under the basket, we have no NBA players, the Italian athletes do not play even in our Serie A’. It is no longer so. It will also be due to the fact that the Italians then started playing, and successfully, outside of Italy. But so much of the merit is to be ascribed to the 52 -year -old coach of Gorizia. His outbursts on the bench, often and willingly sanctioned with technical fouls on the bench, loaded the team and created group spirit. “No team has players so tied to the shirt of his national team,” Pozzecco said in his last interview. Whoever comes will be able to start from this inheritance. But not only. The team skeleton is solid. Simone Fontecchio, at 28, is in his full sporting maturity and will have the task of guiding the team. Nicolò Melli and Giampaolo Ricci are 34 years old and they are being the hen to the new “long” from Nicola Akele to Mouhamet Quandul Diotf who will turn 24 on September 10. The blue center has exploded to these Europeans and has large growth margins. There will be no more Danilo Gallinari who at 37 years of age gave the national team to the national team. The more minutes will certainly have Gabriele Procida who has made room for dawn Berlin and now at Real Madrid. In directing there are the interchangeable Alessandro Pajola, Matteo Spanish and Massimo Spissu. And then there is the revelation player of the tournament or Saliou Niang, capable of 21 years of dragging his companions against Spain and of “holding” a sacred monster like Doncic in defense. Next year he will play in Bologna but his future is in NBA. Above all it is the future of Italy. Then there are the promising young people of the youth national teams: Italy had never achieved many successes at the junior level. A future with many color players and many talents that NBA observers have already marked on their notebooks.
