"Ryan":

Ryan Pannone is currently the Head Coach of the GLeague team Birmingham Squadron and already has almost 20 years of coaching experience when he started as a young coach in High School. Shortly after he started to work as an Assistant for David Thorpe as a Player Development coach and quickly realized his passion. Throughout his career he had plenty of responsibilities as a young and aspiring Assistant Coach in Foshan, China which lead him to becoming an Assistant in Hanau, Germany later. He also was a player development coach and coaching staff member at Hapoel Jerusalem as well as a Head Coach in Prievidza, Slovakia.  

Timestamps for topics:

Finding Ryan:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanpannone/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#RyanPannone #GLeague #HeadCoach #AssistantCoach #PlayerDevelopment #Mentorship

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

"Avi":

Avi's career at Maccabi started in 2006 when he became Junior Head Coach and Sports Director while coaching the u16 Israeli National Team. In the 2007 he finally was promoted to the Assistant Coach position at Maccabi Tel Aviv! After working as an Assistant for 5 years, the ownership of Maccabi appointed him to lead the front office and scouting department in order to enhance the organization under Coach Blatt as the Head Coach. Not long after the Euroleague Championship was a in Maccabi's cabinet when the team captured the title at the Final Four in Milano in 2014.

Avi lived through many ups and downs with the club, most notably last season during the 2021/22 season when he was asked to take over Maccabi Tel Aviv as the temporary Head Coach. Avi's role is unique because up until when he took over the club, he not only was serving as an Executive at Maccabi but also as a player development & skills coach with the pros. He honed his skills as a coach while also running the scouting department...a very unique experience all around just to say the least.

In today's episode Avi and me talked about the variety of his experiences as an Executive as well as the Head Coach, as well how those roles intersected. We also talked about relationship building, motivation, handling conflict, team chemistry, the scouting process, gathering good intel, communication internally vs externally and many more topics that are interesting to listen to and compare with some other coaches.

Topics:

Finding Avi:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/avieven13/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#AviEven #MaccabiTelAviv #Maccabi #IsraelBasketball #HeadCoach #FrontOffice #Roles

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

"Anton":

Anton Gavel is a former Slovakian basketball player who became a German National Team player as well as Bundesliga legend. Besides having short stints in the ACB with Murcia as well as in the Greek League with Aris, he spent most of his time winning titles with Brose Bamberg as well as FC Bayern Munich, where he finished his career winning 'The Double' (Cup & League) while being the Team-Captain.

Anton is a five-time German League Champion, three-time German Cup winner as well as countless All-Star and MVP honors.

On today's episode with Anton the main topics included highlights from his career as a player, his advice for young players on how to adapt to new cultures, what he expected from Assistant Coaches as a player & coach, the importance of a cohesive coaching staff, fighting with Stefan Weissenboeck during the early stages of their work together and finding a common path, Retirement, Preparing to be a rookie Head Coach, handling family & work and much more.

Topics:

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#AntonGavel #Gavel #HeadCoach #Slovakia #RatiopharmUlm #Ulm #Deutschland #RookieHeadCoach

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

"Will":

Will Weaver is a long-time Basketball coach who's journey has taken him from the Texas Longhorns program through Sam Houston State all the way to the NBA. Along the road he has coached as a Head Coach in the GLeague and as well as in the Australian NBL leading the the Sydney Kings.

Our common path has crossed several times during our "summer jobs", him being with Australia's National Team and me being with Lithuania's National Team.

Today, we talked about our battles with our respective National Teams in various competitions but Will also opened up about his transition periods from taking on different roles with different teams and always looking to grow within that new role. He also addressed the importance of 'setting your north-star' as an organization in order to align each other's vision as well how to balance personal life with professional life...and much more!

Will's Book suggestion:

Dean Smith Book: "Multiple Offense & Defense"

Timestamps for topics:

Finding Will:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachwcw/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#WillWeaver #Coaching #AssistantCoach #CoachingTransitions

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

DONATE TO UKRAINE:

Lithuania:

https://www.panrs.lt/krasto-apsaugos-ministerijos-rekomendacijos-del-paramos-ukrainai/

Germany:

https://helferschwein.de

International:

https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en/

"Boki":

Boštjan is an accomplished player on various levels, from Europe to NBA, he has seen it all. After starting off as a prospect in Italy and being drafted #15 by the Houston Rockets he spent 6 years in the NBA. The next stages of his career were centered around playing in Europe, going on to play in Russia, Turkey, Germany & Spain while winning various domestic Championships and Cups in all of those countries. Boki retired in 2017 after spending two final seasons in Sevilla and moved on to "winning championships" with his family.

Today, Boki and me talked about a variety of topics, starting off about his experience as a podcaster, through his experience as a player in the NBA as well as Europe, adaptations and communication with coaches. We dove a bit deeper in the communication with Assistant coaches and the responsibilities that they have as well as US vs European coaching styles. Boki also talked about his duties with ELPA, being the Managing Director, he talked about the goals as well as achievements so far and the vision for young players going forward.

Boki's Book suggestion:

Topics:

Finding Boki:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bokinachbar/

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

#BostjanNachbar #Boki #Slovenia #ELPA #NBA #Communication

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch in the comments below or find me on the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

DONATE TO UKRAINE:

Lithuania:

https://www.panrs.lt/krasto-apsaugos-ministerijos-rekomendacijos-del-paramos-ukrainai/

Germany:

https://helferschwein.de/

International:

https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en/

#25 Martyna:

Martyna Motum is the wife of Brock Motum but certainly she has her own identity and is building her own career in the background. Martyna has finished her High School studies in Denmark, University studies in London and later obtaining a Master's Degree at the Euroleague program later on. After working for Zalgiris Kaunas and creating social media content, she eventually met Brock while he was playing in Kaunas and decided to build a future together abroad.

Today, Martyna and me talked about the challenges that coming with the "road-life" while moving to new countries with her husband and what it's like to build a social circle when living abroad. We also talked about the importance of having and continuing to build your own identity while being at home, looking for ways to build a career as well as the lifestyle behind the scenes. Life certainly changed when their son Maverick came into the world, which also presents its own challenges in a way. Meanwhile, Martyna is also building a new career of her own at BasketNews.com while traveling around Europe with her son and creating video content for the most popular european basketball platform.

Topics:

Finding Martyna:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/martynamotum/

Homepage - https://www.martynamotum.com/

- https://www.youtube.com/c/BasketNews_com/playlists

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#MartynaMotum #PlayerWife #Basketball #Career #MomLife #BasketNews

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

www.bmatke.com

Matteo and me first met during his time as an agent while working for the “ProTalent” Agency under the helm of Maurizio Balducci, who served as a mentor for Matteo. Before he was an agent, he took his first steps at the Stellazzurra Basketball Academy in Rome. Meanwhile, Matteo is serving as the Chief of International Relations and Marketing at the NBPA office in New York, working to provide a better perspective and pathways for international players within the NBA.

Matteo has a rich experience of dealing with different cultures around the world and managing all the different challenged that arise during a season, helping International players to find their own ways and mentoring them throughout the whole process after being drafted.

Today, Matteo and me met at the NBPA office in NYC and enjoyed a great live-conversation in the Playstation room, where all the players usually come to relax during their training days. We sat down and talked about his work, about culture in general and the main differences between US & Europe. Off course, Identity is a huge part and we used this episode to discuss the challenges players deal with as they start their career, with all the noise and attention around them.

This was a special episode not only because it was filmed live with both of us in the same space but also because we talked about “Identity”, which is also a huge topic for me and my journey.

Timestamps for topics:

Finding Matteo:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/matteozuretti/

NBPA Twittter - https://twitter.com/TheNBPA?s=20&t=v3H050DBjPXh9ILj7DhNuQ

To support my Podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#MatteoZuretti #NBPA #ChiefofInternationalRelations #International #NBA #NYC

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple:

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

DONATE TO UKRAINE:

Lithuania: https://www.panrs.lt/krasto-apsaugos-ministerijos-rekomendacijos-del-paramos-ukrainai/

#22 Thorsten:

Topics:

Finding Thorsten:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thorsten.leibenath

To support my podcast on Patreon click here (Ačiu!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

#ThorstenLeibenath #SportsDirector #HeadCoach #RatiopharmUlm #BBL #Eurocup

Sponsors:

Not yet :)

Find “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

…or just visit my website www.bmatke.com for more info.

Find Me: